3 h. ago Secret Service and US military engineers face scrutiny over raising river water level for Vance’s birthday

Senator Adam Schiff suggests in letter that use of funds to alter outflow of lake for personal use may have been inappropriateUS politics live – latest updatesThe US Secret Service and US military engineers are facing scrutiny after Adam Schiff, the California senator, demanded they answer questions about the Trump administration’s recent decision to change the water level of a lake in Ohio to facilitate a family boating trip for JD Vance on his birthday.The Secret Service has said that it requested the outflow of the Caesar Creek Lake in Ohio be changed shortly before the vice-president’s 2 August trip so that his security detail could safely navigate the Little Miami River, which the lake feeds into. The story was first reported by the Guardian last week. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Golf for them, grind for us: Trump, Vance and the hellish US holiday divide | Arwa Mahdawi

While American workers battle burnout and ‘infinite workdays’, the men at the top are living the endless vacation dreamYou know what the problem is with the US? Nobody wants to work any more. People feel entitled to cushy jobs with fat salaries and unlimited holiday time. And by “people” I mean American politicians, who seem to treat public office as an excuse for endless vacations. Because the president and vice-president are technically always on duty, there’s no official holiday policy – and it rather feels as if they are taking advantage of this.Take the vice-president, JD “OOO (out of office)” Vance. When he’s not inspiring memes or threatening to deport menswear influencers, he always seems to be off on a jolly. So far this year, the man has been skiing in Vermont, shut down bits of Disneyland for his family’s use and apparently raised the water level of a river in Ohio for a kayaking trip. Now, the Vances are summering in the Cotswolds. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Secret Service request to raise river level made ‘without knowledge’ of JD Vance, his office says

Decision to alter Ohio river flow ‘made solely by agents’, the security agency said in a statementA spokesperson for JD Vance said he and his staff were unaware that the Secret Service decided earlier this month to ask military engineers to raise the water level of the Little Miami River ahead of a family boating trip, which took place on his birthday.“The Secret Service often employs protective measures without the knowledge of the vice-president or his staff, as was the case last weekend,” the spokesperson said.Do you have a tip related to this story? You can contact the Guardian via Signal on +1 646 886 8761 Continue reading...

Society

7 d. ago JD Vance blames Secret Service over raising of Ohio river level to accommodate VP’s birthday kayaking trip

JD Vance’s office claimed the vice president was ‘unaware’ that the water levels had been raised to accommodate his trip

Politics

8 d. ago Ohio river's level raised to accommodate Vice President JD Vance's birthday kayaking trip

Vice President JD Vance’s security detail had an Ohio river’s water level raised last week to accommodate a kayaking trip he took with his family for his 41st birthday

Politics

8 d. ago JD Vance’s team had water level of Ohio river raised for family’s boating trip

Exclusive: Incident raises questions of exploitation of public services, but Secret Service says it was requested for ‘safe navigation’JD Vance’s team had the army corps of engineers take the unusual step of changing the outflow of a lake in Ohio to accommodate a recent boating excursion on a family holiday, the Guardian has learned.The request from the US Secret Service was made to “support safe navigation” of the US vice-president’s security detail for an August outing on the Little Miami River, according to a statement by the US army corps of engineers (USACE). Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Was JD Vance’s birthday picture photoshopped? Questions raised over GOP’s celebratory tweet

The vice president turned 41 at the weekend but a picture shared by the GOP to mark the occasion has raised eyebrows

Culture