15 h. ago Trump says DC is now ‘crime free.’ It had 400 reported incidents in the last week

Trump began his so-called crime crackdown in D.C. on 11 August, sending National Guard and federal agents into the capital’s streets

Politics

23 h. ago Soldiers are doing landscaping in DC parks. I’m thrilled for them | Dave Schilling

They were deployed to fight crime. Instead, some are spreading mulch. It’s almost sweet – if you remove the contextIf soldiers are going to be deployed to your city, what would you prefer they do: point a rifle in your face or mow your grass? This is not a question I ever expected to have to consider in my days on this planet, but life is full of surprises. As part of Donald Trump’s military deployment to address Washington DC’s so-called “crime emergency”, national guard troops are being tasked with various groundskeeping duties around the United States capital. These duties include spreading mulch around cherry trees, picking up trash and general maintenance of public spaces. The president must have been too embarrassed to get Four Seasons Total Landscaping involved again, so he got the military to do it instead.It’s a real “swords into ploughshares” moment, or in this case, “M4 rifles into those grabber sticks you use to pick up plastic bottles full of piss.” It’s almost sweet, i...

Events

42 h. ago Newsom derides Kristi Noem claim that LA ‘wouldn’t be standing today’ had Trump not sent in the National Guard

Homeland Security Secretary claims Los Angeles ‘would’ve burned down if left to the devices of the mayor and the governor’

Politics

65 h. ago Chicago mayor announces measures to ‘protect our people’ from imminent influx of federal agents on Trump’s orders

Brandon Johnson warns that the city could see ‘some type of militarized activity by the federal government’ within days

Politics

3 d. ago Bondi fires justice department employee for making vulgar gesture at National Guard

Paralegal dismissed by US attorney general for ‘inappropriate conduct’ towards troops deployed on the streets of WashingtonThe US attorney general, Pam Bondi, has fired a justice department official for making a vulgar gesture to members of the National Guard deployed in Washington DC on her way to work.The employee, Elizabeth Baxter, was a paralegal at the department’s environmental defense section, according to a memo to her published by the New York Post, which first reported Friday’s dismissal. Continue reading...

Society

3 d. ago Trump’s approval rating plummets to record second term low, new poll says

Gaza, Jeffrey Epstein and National Guard occupation of Washington D.C. all fuel drop in Trump’s support with Republicans

Politics

3 d. ago As Trump threatens more Guard troops in US cities, here's what the law allows

Since sending the National Guard to Los Angeles and Washington, President Donald Trump has openly mused about sending troops to some of the nation’s most Democratic cities — including Chicago and Baltimore — where he claims they are needed to crack down on crime

Politics

3 d. ago Step back and take it in: the US is entering full authoritarian mode | Jonathan Freedland

Trump’s dictator-like behaviour is so brazen, so blatant, that paradoxically, we discount it. But now it’s time to call it what it isIf this were happening somewhere else – in Latin America, say – how might it be reported? Having secured his grip on the capital, the president is now set to send troops to several rebel-held cities, claiming he is wanted there to restore order. The move follows raids on the homes of leading dissidents and comes as armed men seen as loyal to the president, many of them masked, continue to pluck people off the streets Except this is happening in the United States of America and so we don’t quite talk about it that way. That’s not the only reason. It’s also because Donald Trump’s march towards authoritarianism is so steady, taking another step or two every day, that it’s easy to become inured to it: you can’t be in a state of shock permanently. And, besides, sober-minded people are wary of sounding hyperbolic or hysterical: their instinct is to play down...

Culture

4 d. ago Trump suggests more US cities need National Guard but crime stats tell a different story

President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the National Guard to Chicago and other big cities as a way to fight crime

Politics

4 d. ago Trump administration asks military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations

The Trump administration has asked a military base outside Chicago for support on immigration operations, the base said, signaling a push to expand its law enforcement crackdown to other cities

Events

5 d. ago FACT FOCUS: Rural hospitals are expected to lose money from Trump's bill, despite RFK Jr.'s promise

Rural hospitals are bracing for financial losses due to President Trump's tax and spending cut bill

Politics

6 d. ago National Guard called in to deal with ‘crime emergency’ in DC are now picking up trash outside the White House

The military was deployed as part of a ‘beautification and restoration mission’ in D.C., say officials

Events

6 d. ago Hero Ukrainian soldier has his throat cut and is buried alive by Russian torturers before crawling to safety for FIVE DAYS as he describes comrades being castrated and having eyes gouged out

The 33-year-old National Guard serviceman, identified only as Vladislav, was captured earlier this month near the city of Pokrovsk after Russian forces overran his unit's position.

Events

6 d. ago Photos of week three of Washington's federal takeover, as troops on patrol start carrying guns

Washingtonians are in their third week of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement patrolling their streets, now carrying firearms and drawing sporadic protests against President Donald Trump's directive.

Culture

6 d. ago Trump urges Democrats to ‘call him’ to send troops to their cities in apparent attempt to legitimize threats of federal takeovers – live

Despite criticism of repeated threats to take over police and send in National Guard, president claims Democratic leaders should demand takeoversLev Menand, a law professor at Columbia law school, said Donald Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve chief Lisa Cook is a “procedurally invalid removal under the statute”.Menand, who authored a book about the Fed’s actions during the coronavirus pandemic, also said for-cause firings are typically related to misconduct while in office, rather than based on private misconduct from before an official’s appointment. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Trump’s threat to deploy troops to Chicago sparks fear and defiance in a city on edge

President Donald Trump’s threats to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago sent ripples through America’s third-largest city as residents defended their home against Trump’s escalating rhetoric toward violent crime, including claims Chicago is a “killing field.”

Politics

6 d. ago Donald Trump claims Americans 'would like a dictator' in chilling new statement

Donald Trump has been attacked for his federal clampdown on Washington DC by sending in National Guard troops to support law enforcement with critics calling it an "authoritarian takeover"

Politics

6 d. ago Fuggedaboutit! NYPD commissioner tells AG Pam Bondi that NYC is safe and doesn’t need Trump’s National Guard troops

Top cop Jessica Tisch met with Bondi for half an hour at NYC’s police headquarters in Manhattan, where she made a case about the city’s declining crime rate

Politics

6 d. ago Angry town hall attendee rips Republican congressman for sucking up to Trump: ‘The man is a dictator’

Alford faced backlash in Missouri despite breaking from Trump on deploying the National Guard into cities

Politics

7 d. ago Bruise on Trump’s hand won’t go away, and neither will questions about his health – US politics live

Large bruise on president’s hands, hidden poorly under makeup, renews speculation that White House may be concealing information about his healthThe justice department is alleging in a new court filing that three Smartmatic executives who were indicted last year on bribery and money-laundering charges transferred money from a 2018 voting machine contract with Los Angeles county into slush funds that were originally set up to pay bribes to election officials in Venezuela and the Philippines between 2012 and 2016 to obtain and retain lucrative election contracts.Prosecutors say one of the executives transferred an undisclosed amount from the $282m LA county contract into the slush funds in 2019 but did not say if anyone actually received bribes from the county’s money at that point. Continue reading...

Politics