5 h. ago Before and after: Trump’s extreme goldening of the Oval Office

An extravagant – and ongoing – makeover of the White House’s decor has taken place during the president’s second term. One colour theme stands outIn just seven extraordinary months, Donald Trump’s administration has left an unprecedented mark on the United States. From rewriting the rules of free trade to upending the norms of due process and challenging scientific orthodoxy, no corner of the country has remained untouched, including the president’s own centre of power: the Oval Office.Leaning into his former career as a real estate developer and hotelier, the president has, in his own words, applied some “Trump touches” to the room’s decor. The results have split opinions, with some calling the revamped office a symbol of America’s new golden age, while other have compared it to a professional wrestler’s dressing room. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Judge stops U.S. from deporting group of unaccompanied Guatemalan children after some were loaded on planes overnight at Texas airport

The order comes as the Trump administration reportedly prepares to send federal agents to Chicago as part of its immigration crackdown

Society

9 h. ago Met Office weather maps for first week back at school as 'hottest summer on record' ends

It looks to be a wet start to the new month

Society

10 h. ago Judge orders US to halt deportation of hundreds of Guatemalan children

Washington judge says unaccompanied children cannot be deported for at least 14 days as legal process unfoldsA US judge on Sunday ordered an emergency halt to a plan by the Trump administration to deport a group of nearly 700 unaccompanied Guatemalan children back to their home country after immigrant advocates lawyers called the plan “illegal”.Attorneys for 10 Guatemalan minors, ages 10 to 17, said in court papers filed late on Saturday that there were reports that planes were set to take off within hours for the Central American country. But a federal judge in Washington said those children couldn’t be deported for at least 14 days, and after a hastily scheduled hearing on Sunday, she enforced that they needed to be taken off the planes and back to the Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities while the legal process plays out. Continue reading...

Events

10 h. ago JB Pritzker calls for ‘all to stand up’ to Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago

President is preparing for controversial federal takeover of US city in crusade against immigration ‘sanctuary cities’Illinois’s governor JB Pritzker has called on “all to stand up” to Donald Trump as the US president prepares to launch a federally led immigration crackdown across Chicago, a plan which has been met with widespread backlash from local leaders and the public.Pritzker’s comments come as White House officials vow to target Chicago next in its sweeping immigration crackdowns across the country. Recently, the White House requested that a US military base on the outskirts of Chicago assist with immigration operations as the Trump administration plans a broader takeover of Democratic-run “sanctuary cities”. Continue reading...

Politics

13 h. ago Federal judge blocks US from deporting unaccompanied children to Guatemala

Washington-based judge says removals of 10 children would violate US laws and schedules hearing for afternoonA federal judge on Sunday issued a restraining order blocking the Trump administration from deporting 10 unaccompanied Guatemalan children back to their home country after lawyers said the removals would violate US laws.The Washington DC-based district judge Sparkle Sooknanan ordered the administration to refrain from deporting the children for 14 days and called for a hearing at 12.30pm. The National Immigration Law Center, a pro-immigration advocacy group, brought the challenge on behalf of the children, who are ages 10-17. Continue reading...

Events

15 h. ago Parcels on working with Daft Punk and their euphoric electropop: ‘The ultimate goal is to cry on the dancefloor’

After forming at high school in Byron Bay, the Australian band’s nostalgic, disco-funk sound has been streamed more than 1bn timesGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailWithin six months of forming in high school in Byron Bay and just a handful of gigs, Parcels packed their bags and moved to Berlin. The band’s five members were barely out of their teens with no real plan; it was purely “vibes-based”, as vocalist and guitarist Jules Crommelin remembers: “It’s the inevitable small town [thing] – you either stay forever or you leave as quick as possible.”That spontaneous move a decade ago turned out to be a fortuitous decision for the young band: Crommelin, percussionist Anatole “Toto” Serret, keyboardist and vocalist Louie Swain, bassist Noah Hill and keyboardist, vocalist and guitarist Patrick Hetherington. Their 2015 self-released debut EP caught the attention of the French record label Kitsuné, who signed them.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop cultur...

Politics

16 h. ago Pope Leo demands end to ‘pandemic of arms’ after Minnesota school shooting

First US pope in history prays for victims of last week’s shooting that left two children dead and 18 others injuredPope Leo XIV called for the “pandemic of arms, large and small” to end during a weekly public prayer with crowds in St Peter’s Square on Sunday that also addressed the plague of mass shootings in the US.The first US pope in history, a native of Chicago, spoke in English as he prayed for the victims of last week’s shooting during a Catholic school mass in Minnesota which saw two children killed and others seriously injured. Continue reading...

Events

26 h. ago Trump wants to ax an affordable housing grant that's a lifeline for many rural communities

President Donald Trump and House Republicans want to cut new funding for a housing grant that many rural areas rely on to help fund affordable housing

Politics

28 h. ago Trump administration cut funding to shooting prevention programs in Minnesota weeks before school shooting

In Minnesota, $800,000 in federal grants to local agencies, including the state Department of Public Safety and Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, were cut last month, undermining efforts to prevent mass violence

Politics

37 h. ago Minneapolis school shooting latest: Funding for mass shooting prevention programs in Minnesota pulled before killings

Police say 23-year-old Robin Westman fired 116 rounds through the stained-glass windows of a church next to Annunciation Catholic School, trying to kill as many children as possible

Events

43 h. ago ‘I’m not coming home’: Trump policy holds people in Ice custody without bail

Restaurant worker’s case shows how Trump administration is ‘inflicting the maximum punishment’, experts sayLiset Fernandez spent most of the summer worried about her dad, Luis, but a few weeks ago she got some good news. After being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) custody for weeks, an immigration judge in Texas granted him release on a $5,000 bond.Luis, came to the US from Ecuador in 1994, had been held in detention at a facility in Livingston, Texas, thousands of miles away from his home in Queens. Liset, 17, had taken on extra shifts working a retail job to support her mom and nine-year-old brother. Luis’s co-workers at the Square diner, a railcar-style greasy spoon in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood for over 100 years, had raised more than $20,000 to support him and his family. Continue reading...

Politics

43 h. ago No moaning about the teachers and definitely no nudes! How to survive the school WhatsApp group

With the new school year starting next week, parents’ WhatsApp groups are pinging back into action. Here are the rules you must follow to avoid disasterBecoming a parent can be one of the richest, most rewarding things you can ever experience. That said, it’s a qualified reward, because to be a parent is often to be forced into joining the school WhatsApp group. In theory, it’s a community of like-minded peers who understand that it takes a village to raise a child. In reality, the school WhatsApp group is a vortex of petty drama, pointless competition and outright hostility.Navigating a mess like this can often leave a parent feeling bruised and overwhelmed. It is a task that requires diplomacy, patience and – sometimes, because everyone’s human – locking your phone away in a drawer until your blood pressure recovers. With that in mind, using real-life stories collected from friends and acquaintances, here are the top 10 rules of school WhatsApp group ...

Events

44 h. ago ‘Racist as hell’: Trump’s cabinet is almost all white, and he keeps firing Black officials

President’s targeting of Fed governor Lisa Cook highlights his efforts to remove diverse voices from governmentA day after Donald Trump announced that he was firing Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the board of governors of the Federal Reserve, the White House proudly released a photo. It showed Trump, his cabinet and other officials giving a thumbs-up. Of the 24 people in the Oval Office, only one was Black.For those who have studied the US president’s long and troubling history of racism, the two events were more than mere coincidence. They were indicative of a man who has recently brought white nationalist perspectives from the margins back to the mainstream. Continue reading...

Politics

44 h. ago Scientists breathe new life into climate website after shutdown under Trump

Climate.gov, which went dark this summer, set to be revived by volunteers as climate.us with expanded missionEarlier this summer, access to climate.gov – one of the most widely used portals of climate information on the internet – was thwarted by the Trump administration, and its production team was fired in the process.The website offered years’ worth of accessibly written material on climate science. The site is technically still online but has been intentionally buried by the team of political appointees who now run the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Continue reading...

Politics

53 h. ago EPA fires employees who publicly criticized agency policies under Trump

The Environmental Protection Agency has fired at least eight employees who signed a letter criticizing the agency’s leadership under Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump

Events

54 h. ago US bars Palestinian leader Abbas from UN meeting to recognise state

Trump administration extends visa ban to include authority’s president

Politics

57 h. ago Trump administration plans to remove nearly 700 unaccompanied migrant children, senator says

The Trump administration plans to remove nearly 700 Guatemalan children who crossed into the U.S. without their parents

Politics

59 h. ago Trump moves to scrap $4.9bn in already allocated US foreign aid

US president makes new effort to assert power over Congress with bid to cut ‘woke’ funding

Politics

59 h. ago Trump administration tells states to remove references to 'gender ideology' from sex ed materials

President Donald Trump's administration has told 40 states to remove references to what it calls “gender ideology” from federally funded sex education materials

Politics