50 m. ago Social Security is pulling workers from its field offices to man the growing number of calls at its 1

Phones have been ringing off the hook at the Social Security Administration prompting the agency to use a temporary solution for a growing problem

Events

7 h. ago Planned Parenthood offices begin rejecting Medicaid after Trump signs bill to defund healthcare organization

Some offices continue to treat patients as provision in Trump’s policy bill was recently blocked by a court orderAt least two regional Planned Parenthood affiliates have notices on their websites telling patients that, thanks to a provision in Republicans’ new tax-and-spending bill that “defunds” the reproductive healthcare giant, they can no longer accept Medicaid.However, this provision – which abortion rights supporters have called a “backdoor abortion ban” – was recently blocked by a court order. Other Planned Parenthood affiliates are continuing to treat patients who use Medicaid to pay for treatment. Continue reading...

Society

55 h. ago Fifa opens office in Trump Tower, deepening ties with US president

Announcement follows Infantino appearances with TrumpLocation will be Fifa’s second US officeFifa’s relationship with US president Donald Trump now has a physically tangible marker, with soccer’s world governing body announcing that it has opened an office at Trump Tower in New York City.The announcement of the new office opening came on Monday evening, after Fifa placed the Club World Cup trophy on display in the lobby of the skyscraper on the south-west corner of Central Park in an event attended by several Fifa dignitaries including its president Gianni Infantino, the Brazilian great Ronaldo and Eric Trump, the son of the US president and executive vice-president of the Trump Organization. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Pride organisers warn Trump’s DEI purge directly hitting UK events as corporate sponsorships drop (cloned)

Experts have said ‘the golden era of corporate sponsorship might be over’ for Pride, as 75% of event see sponsorship funding drop

Events

7 d. ago Man who tried to kill wife in 'frenzied' bow and arrow attack jailed for 20 years

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: Stephen Carr fired arrows at his wife Lorna and stabbed her six times while she was on the phone to emergency services, Leeds Crown Court heard in his sentencing

Events

9 d. ago Planned Parenthood may not survive the Trump administration | Moira Donegan

The Trump administration has made repeated cuts targeting the organization’s clinics. Now the US supreme court has struck another blowPlanned Parenthood, the massive, 108-year-old network of women’s and reproductive health clinics that operates almost 600 health centers across the United States, may not survive the Trump administration. Long a hated symbol on the right, and unable to summon enthusiastic support from the left, the medical network has nevertheless remained a symbolic and material cornerstone of women’s equality, serving millions of patients – many of them indigent or low-income – each year, and housing one of the biggest feminist and pro-choice lobbying and litigation shops in America, in addition to being one of the nation’s largest healthcare providers.Since returning to power in January, the Trump administration has made repeated cuts targeting Planned Parenthood’s clinics, excluding the group from the vast Title X family planning program, on the pretext of scurril...

Politics

1 week ago Pride organisers warn Trump’s DEI purge directly hitting UK events as corporate sponsorships drop

Experts have said ‘the golden era of corporate sponsorship might be over’ for Pride, as 75% of event see sponsorship funding drop

Events

1 week ago Eric Trump suggests he could run for president when his father’s term ends

Forty-one-year-old has stayed away from politics, but says ‘political path would be an easy one’ if he chose to pursue itEric Trump has hinted that he or another of the Trump family could run for president when his father’s second term in the White House comes to an end.Eric, who is co-executive vice-president of the Trump Organization, said, the road to the White House “would be an easy one” if he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump Mobile removes ‘made in the USA’ tag from its gold smartphone as critics question price tag

Gold smartphone retails for approximately $499, a relatively cheap price point for a US-made device

Politics

2 w. ago Costa Rican court orders government to free migrants who were deported by US

About 200 people were brought to the country in February under an agreement with the Trump administrationA court in Costa Rica has ordered authorities to release foreign migrants who were locked up in a shelter after being deported by the US, according to a resolution issued on the eve of a visit by the US secretary of homeland security.About 200 people from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia as well as from Africa and some other Asian countries, including 80 children, were brought to the Central American nation in February under an agreement with the US administration of Donald Trump, a move criticized by human rights organizations. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago US to give $30m to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation despite violent and chaotic rollout of food distribution

Grant makes US a direct backer of aid organization that reportedly has collaboration with Israeli governmentThe Trump administration has authorised a $30m grant to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, making the US a direct backer of an aid organisation that is closely linked to private security contractors and has been accused by critics of “politicising” the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.According to a document seen by the Guardian, the state department has already disbursed $7m to GHF, a US- and Israeli-backed aid organisation that has been given preferential access to operate in Gaza because it says that it can deliver millions of meals to starving people without that food falling into the hands of Hamas. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Global vaccination efforts stall, leaving millions of children vulnerable to preventable diseases

Global efforts to protect children against diseases like measles, polio and tuberculosis have stalled since 2010, leaving millions vulnerable to deadly infections

Politics

2 w. ago Allo la France review – romance of French phone booths exposes funding cuts to rural services

In an endearingly whimsical road trip documentary, Floriane Devigne takes calls from her interview subjects in the last remaining phone boxes dotted across rural FranceThe humble telephone box, a souvenir from the days of analogue, can also be an intriguing cinematic locus. Floriane Devigne’s road trip documentary begins with such a relic: the last public phone booth in Paris, which also appears in Jacques Rivette’s mesmerising 1981 film Le Pont du Nord. Unlike their Instagrammable British counterparts, French phone boxes are usually painted in a demure grey and blend seamlessly with their surroundings.As it moves from the capital city to more remote areas, Devigne’s film observes the vanishing of a formerly essential utility as her cross-country odyssey sparkles with an endearing whimsicality. Instead of using talking heads, Devigne ducks into various phone boxes scattered across France, as she takes calls from her interview subjects. Stories of love and longing fill these unassumi...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration almost totally dismantles Voice of America with latest terminations

Terminations of 639 employees were announced at organization founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propagandaThe Trump administration has terminated 639 employees at Voice of America and its parent organization in the latest round of sweeping cuts that have reduced the international broadcasting service to a fraction of its former size.The mass terminations announced Friday rounds out the Trump-led elimination of 1,400 positions since March and represents the near-complete dismantling of an organization founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, whose first broadcast declared: “We bring you voices from America.” Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘It’s terrifying’: WhatsApp AI helper mistakenly shares user’s number

Chatbot tries to change subject after serving up unrelated user’s mobile to man asking for rail firm helplineThe Meta chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, called it “the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use”. But Barry Smethurst, 41, a record shop worker trying to travel by rail from Saddleworth to Manchester Piccadilly, does not agree.Waiting on the platform for a morning train that was nowhere to be seen, he asked Meta’s WhatsApp AI assistant for a contact number for TransPennine Express. The chatbot confidently sent him a mobile phone number for customer services, but it turned out to be the private number of a completely unconnected WhatsApp user 170 miles away in Oxfordshire. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago How will Trump Mobile work as US president unveils $500 phone?

The Trump Organisation hopes the smartphone can rival devices from tech giants like Apple and Samsung

Politics

3 w. ago Trump mobile: President unveils $499 gold phones for ‘real Americans’

The $499 handset follows other Trump-branded ventures, including steaks, sneakers and bibles

Politics

3 w. ago Trump kids to launch gold ‘T1’ mobile phones for MAGA faithful as they take on Apple and Samsung

The $499 handset follows other Trump-branded ventures, including steaks, sneakers and bibles

Politics

3 w. ago Trump Organization unveils $499 gold phone raising new concerns on conflicts of interest

President’s family business enters sector regulated by US agencies while Trump wields executive power over themUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has launched a mobile phone service and $499 gold smartphone, the latest monetization of his presidency by a family business empire now run by his sons.The Trump Organization unveiled Trump Mobile on Monday with a $47.45 monthly plan – both the service name and price referencing Trump as the 47th president. The company will also sell a gold-cased “T1” smartphone in September etched with the American flag. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump Organization to launch mobile phone service and $499 gold handset

‘Trump Mobile’ will offer 5G service through all three major US cellular carriers

Politics