90 m. ago Conor McGregor dons 'Make Ireland Great Again' cap and declares he has the 'complete backing of the entire Trump administration' in social media posts marking his White House visit

Conor McGregor proudly declared that he has the 'complete backing of the entire Trump administration' in one of a flurry of social media posts after his White House visit.

Politics

1 hour ago Takeaways from the AP's report on how USAID cuts are imperiling Agent Orange cleanup

A multi-year cleanup at a former U.S. air base in Vietnam was abruptly halted when the Trump administration cut funding, leaving tons of dioxin-contaminated soil exposed

Politics

1 hour ago Agent Orange cleanup and other efforts critical to ties with Vietnam jeopardized by USAID cuts

A multi-year cleanup at a former U.S. air base in Vietnam was abruptly halted when the Trump administration cut funding, leaving tons of dioxin-contaminated soil exposed

Politics

2 h. ago The US government has sent Columbia University a ransom note | Sheldon Pollock

Like a mob boss, the government threatens to cut off two of the university’s fingers: academic freedom and faculty governanceOn 15 March, Columbia University received what can only be described as the most dangerous letter in the history of higher education in America. The sender was the United States government. Like a ransom note, the government letter insists that Columbia comply with a list of Trump administration demands in order to even have a chance at recovering the $400m in federal funding for scientific research that the government canceled on 7 March.Oddly, one of the specific targets identified in the letter was Columbia’s Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (Mesaas), a small humanities department devoted to studying the languages, cultures and history of those regions. The government demanded the Mesaas department be put into “receivership” – basically, be taken over by the University – as a precondition to further negotiations. Continue readi...

Politics

3 h. ago Who Is Government? by Michael Lewis review – what Doge is trying to destroy

The Moneyball author is joined by writers including Dave Eggers and Geraldine Brooks in a hymn of praise to the workers who keep America’s cogs turningIt is a tad obnoxious for Michael Lewis, perhaps America’s most consistently successful nonfiction author, to open his new book by boasting that a previous one sold half a million copies, but bear with him. The book in question was 2018’s The Fifth Risk, in which Lewis smartly responded to Donald Trump’s first administration with profiles of a handful of unknown federal government employees in order to valorise what Trump scorned and highlight the cost of breaking it. His point in the introduction to Who Is Government? is that you could lift the lid on any department and find a similar treasure trove of stories: people you’ve never heard of, doing work whose importance you’ve never understood.Last year, Lewis assembled a crack team of long-form writers to uncover more of these stories for the Washington Post, and those articles are co...

Politics

4 h. ago Major change for millions of new and existing Social Security recipients

In an effort to limit fraudulent claims, recipients and applicants will no longer be able to verify their identity over the phone

Events

6 h. ago History buffs dig into thousands of JFK assassination files released by the Trump administration: Live updates

Trump did not say what new information could be included in the Kennedy assassination files, but said there would be no redactions

Politics

9 h. ago Trump releases thousands of pages on John F Kennedy assassination

Experts doubt new trove of information will change underlying facts in case of 35th president’s deathThe Trump administration on Tuesday released thousands of pages of files concerning the assassination of John F Kennedy, the 35th president who was shot dead in Dallas, Texas, in November 1963.“So people have been waiting decades for this,” Donald Trump told reporters on Monday while visiting the Kennedy Center, “and I’ve instructed my people that are responsible, lots of different people, put together by [director of national intelligence] Tulsi Gabbard, and that’s going to be released tomorrow.” Continue reading...

Politics

9 h. ago Trump administration may fire more than 1,000 EPA scientists and scrap research office, Democrats say

The potential layoffs listed in documents reviewed by Democrats are part of the White House'’s broader push to shrink the federal governmentThe Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to eliminate its scientific research office and could fire more than 1,000 scientists and other employees who help provide the scientific foundation for rules safeguarding human health and ecosystems from environmental pollutants.As many as 1,155 chemists, biologists, toxicologists and other scientists – 75% of the research programme’s staff – could be laid off, according to documents reviewed by Democratic staff on the house committee on science, space and technology. Continue reading...

Politics

10 h. ago Judge blocks Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in 'green bank' grants

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration

Economics

11 h. ago Trump administration says ‘many’ Venezuelans deported to El Salvador prison have no criminal record

ICE officials suggest a lack of information about immigrants summarily deported to the mega prison ‘highlights the risk they pose’

Events

11 h. ago Trump says his administration won’t defy judges after multiple setbacks to his agenda in numerous court cases

Trump previously called for a District of Columbia federal judge who ruled against the administration to be impeached, prompting a rare rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts

Events

11 h. ago Federal judge blocks Trump administration from banning transgender people from military service

A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military

Events

14 h. ago ‘I am a political prisoner’: Mahmoud Khalil says he’s being targeted for political beliefs

Exclusive: Palestinian activist and green card holder speaks out from Louisiana immigration detention for first timeNever miss global breaking news. Download our free app to keep up with key stories in real time.In his first public remarks since being detained by federal immigration authorities, Palestinian activist and recent Columbia graduate, Mahmoud Khalil, spoke out against the conditions facing immigrants in US detention and said he was being targeted by the Trump administration for his political beliefs.“I am a political prisoner,” he said in a statement provided exclusively to the Guardian. “I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law.”Read Khalil’s full statement here. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago Prince Harry's US immigration documents are unsealed after two

Prince Harry did not get special treatment when he emigrated to the United States, the Trump administration has revealed.

Politics

14 h. ago Musk and Doge’s USAid shutdown likely violated US constitution, judge rules

Judge halts efforts to fire USAid workers, a major setback in administration’s attempts to bulldoze federal governmentNever miss global breaking news. Download our free app to keep up with key stories in real time.A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Elon Musk and the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) likely violated the US constitution by shutting down USAid, ordering the Trump administration to reverse some of the actions it took to dismantle the agency.The decision by US district judge Theodore Chuang was sweeping in its scope and marked a major setback for the administration’s signature takedown in its effort to bulldoze through the federal government. Continue reading...

Events

14 h. ago DOGE's bitter blow after massive USAID shuttering is rejected as 'unconstitutional' by Obama

A U.S. judge has ordered the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk from further dismantling USAID as DOGE looks to make cuts across the federal government.

Politics

15 h. ago Woman who had sought protection from deportation in Colorado churches is detained, advocates say

Immigration advocates say a woman who gained prominence after she took refuge in Denver churches to avoid deportation during the first Trump administration has been detained

Politics

16 h. ago Trump waging ‘sickening’ psychological war, deported Venezuelan’s lawyer says

One detained man’s lawyer says he is gay artist who had fled persecution in his home country, not a gang memberA lawyer for one of the Venezuelan immigrants sent from the US to a notorious mega prison in El Salvador has accused the Trump administration of waging a “sickening” campaign of psychological warfare against asylum seekers and migrants.“In my 15 years of representing people in removal proceedings in the United States, this is the most shocking thing that I’ve ever seen happen to one of our clients,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, a California-based lawyer for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) group. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago The Trump administration accused him of being a gang member and deported him. His family says it’s all made up

Venezuelan barber Francisco Javier Garcia Casique sent to El Salvador mega-prison but has no ties to notorious Tren de Aragua criminal organization, his mother and brother insist

Politics