32 h. ago Mike Johnson wins his toughest battle yet – and shows he’s here to stay

The House speaker proves that no one can do it like him, writes John Bowden

Politics

39 h. ago ‘Laugh all you want’: Democrats erupt after Mike Johnson calls Trump ‘most respected president in the modern era’

Democrats burst out laughing after House Speaker Mike Johnson sang Donald Trump’s praises.

Politics

42 h. ago House passes Trump’s ‘big beautiful’ tax and spending bill after months of wrangling – US politics live

Sweeping legislation will now be sent to the SenateThe Kremlin said on Thursday that a report in the Wall Street Journal which said US president Donald Trump had told European leaders that President Vladimir Putin did not want to end the war in Ukraine contrasted with its own knowledge.The Journal said Trump had briefed European leaders after talking to Putin by phone on Monday and said Putin wanted to keep fighting in Ukraine because he thought he was winning.With a narrow 220-212 majority, House Speaker Mike Johnson could not afford to lose more than a handful of votes from his side.Republicans on the party’s right flank had pushed for deeper spending cuts to lessen the budget impact, but they met resistance from centrists who worried they would fall too heavily on the 71 million low-income Americans enrolled in the Medicaid health program. Continue reading...

Politics

46 h. ago Suspect in custody after two Israeli embassy staff shot dead near Washington DC Jewish museum – latest updates

Homicides are under investigation, police say during press conference, after fatal shooting of man and woman Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead near Washington DC Jewish museum – homeland security secretaryUS Speaker Mike Johnson on the shooting:I’ve been informed of the tragic shooting that occurred outside of the Capitol Jewish Museum tonight in Washington D.C. We are monitoring the situation as more details become known and lifting up the victim’s families in our prayers.Yoni Kalin and Katie Kalisher were inside the museum when they heard gunshots and a man came inside looking distressed, they said. Kalin said people came to his aid and brought him water, thinking he needed help, without realizing he was the suspect. When police arrived, he pulled out a red keffiyeh and repeatedly yelled, “Free Palestine,’” Kalin said. “This event was about humanitarian aid,” Kalin said. “How can we actually help both the people in Gaza and the people in Israel? How can we bring together Muslims...

Politics

58 h. ago US Speaker hails $3tn Trump budget bill deal but Republican hardliners hold out

Mike Johnson overcomes sticking point on taxes but needs to placate fiscal conservatives in his party ahead of vote

Economics

66 h. ago Pakistani paedophile who abused teenage girls wins battle in fight to stay in UK because he says he faces a fatwa if returned to his home country

Child sex offender Jamil Ahmed said he should not be sent back to the nation of his birth because he is worried he will be persecuted there.

Events

3 d. ago Mike Johnson inches closer to passing Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ but holdouts remain

Trump made clear he wants the SALT caucus to cut a deal. That could end up saving — or dooming — his ‘big, beautiful bill’

Politics

4 d. ago January 6 officer calls Trump ‘petty’ for Republican refusal to hang Capitol plaque

Michael Fanone slams Mike Johnson and Republicans for long delaying congressionally approved officer tributeDonald Trump and his Republican allies are “petty bitches” for refusing to display a congressionally approved plaque honoring police officers who protected the US Capitol when the president’s supporters attacked the complex on 6 January 2021, says one of the cops in question, Michael Fanone.Speaking recently on the show hosted by political broadcast journalist Jim Acosta, the famously candid and oft profane Fanone said he also had a suggestion about where Republican US House speaker Mike Johnson could position the commemoration. “I think that it would be perfect if the plaque was shoved up his ass,” said Fanone, who retired from the Washington DC police force after being wounded during the January 6th attack. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Newark Mayor Ras Baraka set to appear in court on charge of trespassing at immigration facility

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is set to appear in federal court for a status conference on the Trump administration’s charge he trespassed at an immigration detention center in the city last week

Events

1 week ago The warring tribes within the Republican party – and how their differences could sink Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’

The GOP is all on board for Medicaid work requirements. Beyond that, there’s little unity yet, writes John Bowden

Politics

1 week ago Danny Dyer reveals how a letter from his daughter Dani made him stay in rehab as he battled drug addiction

Danny Dyer has shared how a letter from his eldest daughter Dani made him stay in rehab when he was there to tackle his drug addiction.

Events

3 w. ago Just how hot is 'too hot' to work? UK employees' rights as temperatures heat up

As the UK enjoys the warmest start to May on record, with temperatures reaching 28C in Kew Gardens, many people will be busy battling to stay cool while in the workplace

Society

3 w. ago ‘I won’t vote for that’: Senior Republicans dig their heels in over Medicaid cuts as they try to push through Trump agenda

Lawmakers tell The Independent they’re determined to protect ‘vulnerable citizens’ – but for Mike Johnson, the cuts have to come from somewhere

Politics

3 w. ago Senate Democrats to mark Trump’s ‘100 days from hell’ with marathon speeches

Minority leader Chuck Schumer accuses president of ‘acting like a king, a despot, a wannabe dictator’Trump’s first 100 daysUS politics live – latest updatesDemocratic senators will on Tuesday mark Donald Trump’s 100th day in office with marathon floor speeches intended to highlight his administration’s failures, seizing on his divisive tariff policy and attacks on the judiciary to argue he was not joking when he mulled governing as “a dictator”.Republicans, meanwhile, praised the president’s actions over the first 100 days, though the House speaker, Mike Johnson, acknowledged “some bumps along the road” he described as the necessary byproduct of the radical changes Trump campaigned on. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Football Daily | It’s a right royal rumble down at the bottom of the Championship

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!While the last of this season’s three Premier League relegation spots was confirmed the moment referee John Brooks blew his whistle to signal the end of the Championship playoff final between Leeds and Southampton 11 months ago, the late scramble to avoid the bottom three in the second tier has been thrilling by comparison. It couldn’t not be, given that five of the six teams battling to stay out of the two remaining places in the drop zone at stumps on Saturday have each notched up more than the 10 victories Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich have managed between them.I told them, and I’m not exaggerating here, ‘Guys, bring your boots, bring your shorts, bring your T-shirts, and let’s play every ball together. We want to do something special’. That place has to be something that we haven’t seen before” – John Sitton Mikel Arteta apparently wants Arsenal fans to go the full John Terry when they take on PSG in the first leg of their ...

Sport

3 w. ago Black female WWII unit, 'Six Triple Eight,' to receive congressional honor

The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, commonly known as the “Six Triple Eight,” will be presented with the Congressional Gold Medal

Events

3 w. ago Inside the dirtiest race in Olympic history: ‘It wasn’t fair. I wasn’t on a level playing field’

How did the women’s 1500m in the 2012 London Olympics get its unenviable reputation? Athletes who were cheated out of medals talk about what happened that day – and how the results have slowly unravelledThe tunnel in which athletes wait before they enter a stadium ahead of a major race is “by no means a friendly place to be”, says Lisa Dobriskey – and as a former Team GB athlete who won Commonwealth gold and world championship silver at 1500m, she has stood in enough of them to know. “Different people handle it differently,” she says. “Some people are really relaxed and friendly; other people just look right through you. It’s scary. I remember my coach saying to me, ‘When you go to the Olympics, you’ll be standing next to the meanest, toughest, hardest people that you’ll ever face.’ Everybody wants to win.”As it turned out, the wait to walk into London’s Olympic stadium for the final of her event in August 2012 was even more stressful than she’d been warned. With British excitement ...

Sport