9 hours ago ‘We are ready’: the ACLU is prepared to fight Trump’s attacks on civil liberties

Organization faces arguably its biggest test with Trump’s return to power with deportation, free speech and immigration on the agendaThe American Civil Liberties Union, a leading defender of rights and freedoms enshrined in the US constitution, has drafted several major lawsuits it is prepared to file should Donald Trump try to wield excessive or unlawful power at the start of his second presidency, which starts on Monday.Cecillia Wang, the ACLU’s recently appointed national legal director, said the organisation was fully set, with plaintiffs lined up and legal complaints already written. The incoming president’s plans to mass-deport millions of undocumented immigrants, his threats to pursue vendettas against his political enemies and his talk of mobilising the military for domestic purposes, are all squarely in the ACLU’s sights. Continue reading...

Politics

34 hours ago Donald Trump would ‘undermine entire global order’ if he makes Putin 'mistake'

A Russian academic branded a “foreign agent” by his homeland in 2023 has warned Donald Trump how allowing Vladimir Putin to annex swathes of Ukraine would be a big mistake

Politics

7 hours ago Trump’s policies risk stoking inflation and preventing rate cuts, IMF warns

Taking drive for deregulation too far could push the US on to a ‘dangerous boom-bust path’, fund cautions

Events

36 hours ago Danger of possible Trump tariffs greater for UK than other countries, minister warns

Jonathan Reynolds fears incoming president will usher in ‘challenging time’ for global trade

Politics

23 hours ago Trump’s Treasury pick warns unwinding tax cuts would spark ‘economic calamity’

Scott Bessent also tells US senators in heated confirmation hearing that he backs tougher sanctions on Russian oil

Events

41 hours ago Biden demands constitutional amendment on presidential immunity in final warning before Trump takes power

Trump’s administration is expected to be full of lawyers who fought to expand the scope of presidential power

Politics

27 hours ago The Guardian view on Biden’s warning of oligarchy: Trump and the malefactors of wealth | Editorial

The outgoing president was right, in his farewell address, to warn of the dangers posed by the billionaires around the tableAristocrats are “the most difficult Animals to manage, of anything in the whole Theory and practice of Government. They will not suffer themselves to be governed,” John Adams warned, writing after his presidency. Banning titles was insufficient; a few would still be distinguished by birth or, especially, wealth. The problem was not just their ability to buy political favours but the grip that their money had on people’s minds.Economic and political power entwine everywhere. Fear of the rich’s outsized influence has existed throughout US history. Yet at times the relationship becomes especially stark and threatening. On Wednesday, Joe Biden evoked the 19th-century Gilded Age and the robber barons – who crushed competitors, exploited workers, bought judges and politicians, and flaunted wealth – in his warning against oligarchs. Continue reading...

Events

43 hours ago Biden, 82, issues ominous warnings about Trump and Elon Musk in farewell speech after 50 years in politics

President Joe Biden used the farewell speech of his 50-year-political career to issue ominous warnings about his successor Donald Trump and the wealthy allies in his inner circle.

Politics

35 hours ago Biden warns of new American ‘oligarchy’ in farewell speech as Trump takes credit for Israel ceasefire: Live

Outgoing president tells nation new age of ‘robber barons’ in danger of eroding hard-won freedoms in last address from White House before making way for successor

Events

42 hours ago Biden bids farewell with dark warning for America – the oligarchs are coming | David Smith

The president did not air grievances or dwell on the past, but sounded an alarm call about the future under TrumpThere was a sting in the tail. Joe Biden’s farewell address had not seemed like a must-watch for most politics-weary Americans. Those who did dutifully tune in might have been expecting the president to deliver a yawn-inducing first draft of his White House memoir.But after more than half a century in elected office, the 82-year-old great-grandfather had one last surprise. The primetime speech did not mention Donald Trump by name. Instead it will be remembered for its dark, ominous warning about something wider and deeper of which Trump is a symptom. Continue reading...

Events