1 hour ago Trump to visit Texas to survey damage from deadly flooding – live updates

While the Trump administration isn’t backing away from its pledges to shutter Fema, it has lessened its focus on the topic since the July 4 disasterThe US state department is firing more than 1,300 employees in line with the Trump administration’s reorganization plan initiated earlier this year. The department is sending layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with domestic assignments in the US, a senior State Department official told the Associated Press. Foreign service officers affected will be placed immediately on administrative leave for 120 days, after which they will formally lose their jobs, according to an internal notice obtained by the AP. For most affected civil servants, the separation period is 60 days, it said. “In connection with the departmental reorganization the department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” the notice says. “Headcount reductions have been carefully tailored to affect non-core f...

Events

2 h. ago Texas floods latest: Trump and Melania to tour devastation from ‘once in every 200

President’s visit comes amid reports that Kerr County officials were repeatedly denied state funding for an emergency flood warning system

Events

3 h. ago State Department is laying off over 1,300 staffers under Trump administration plan

The State Department is firing over 1,300 career diplomats and civil servants in line with a dramatic reorganization plan initiated by the Trump administration earlier this year

Politics

3 h. ago Texas floods latest: Trump and Melania to tour devastation from ‘once in a 200

President’s visit comes amid reports that Kerr County officials were repeatedly denied state funding for an emergency flood warning system

Events

4 h. ago Texas floods latest: Over 120 dead as Trump and Melania to tour devastation from ‘once in a 200

President’s visit comes amid reports that Kerr County officials were repeatedly denied state funding for an emergency flood warning system

Events

8 h. ago Trump announces 35% tariffs on Canadian goods and threatens blanket increases on the rest of the world

The two nations have been locked in deep negotiations trying to settle the tariff war that broke out when Trump returned to office and announced plans to upend world trade.

Politics

10 h. ago Trump plans to tour Texas flood damage as the scope of the disaster tests his pledge to shutter FEMA

President Donald Trump is visiting Texas on Friday to assess catastrophic flooding that has killed at least 120 people

Events

16 h. ago US state department announces plan to lay off nearly 15% of its domestic staff

Several hundred bureaus will be merged or eliminated after supreme court sided with Trump administrationThe US state department has announced that it plans to move forward with mass layoffs as part of the most significant restructuring of the country’s diplomatic corps in decades. Officials say the cuts will align their mission with Donald Trump’s vision of America first.The layoffs, which are commonly called reductions in force (or RIFs), along with voluntary redundancies, will affect nearly 15% of the state department’s domestic staff. A senior state department official said that was close to 1,800 people. The restructuring will also see several hundred bureaus merged or eliminated entirely. The department advises the president and leads the US in foreign policy issues. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago Lula threatens 50% tariff on US goods in retaliation for Trump levy on Brazil

Brazilian president says ‘if he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%’ after Trump cited trial of Bolsonaro to justify tariffBrazil threatened to hit back against Donald Trump’s plan to introduce 50% tariffs on its exports with its own 50% tariff on US goods, setting the stage for a precipitous trade war.“If he charges us 50%, we’ll charge him 50%,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president, told local news outlet Record, a day after Trump threatened to impose steep duties on Brazilian goods and accused the country of conducting a “witch-hunt” against its former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing a trial over his attempt to overturn his 2022 election defeat. Continue reading...

Politics

24 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

38 h. ago Trump administration reportedly planning to fire 2,145 Nasa employees

Cuts further the push to slash federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignationsThe Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 high-ranking Nasa employees with specialized skills or management responsibilities.According to documents obtained by Politico, most employees leaving are in senior-level government ranks, depriving the agency of decades of experience as part of a push to slash the size of the federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations. Continue reading...

Politics

38 h. ago Trump administration reportedly planning to cut 2,145 Nasa employees

Cuts further the push to slash federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignationsThe Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 high-ranking Nasa employees with specialized skills or management responsibilities.According to documents obtained by Politico, most employees leaving are in senior-level government ranks, depriving the agency of decades of experience as part of a push to slash the size of the federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations. Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago Pennsylvania man charged with beheading father says he was trying to perform a citizen's arrest

A Pennsylvania man accused of killing and beheading his father testified in his defense

Events

49 h. ago Planning under way for Donald Trump visit to Scotland 'in coming weeks'

Police Scotland preparing for ‘significant policing operation’ with arrival of US President later this month

Politics

61 h. ago Copper Futures in London Drop as Trump Plans 50% Import Tariff

Copper Futures in London Drop as Trump Plans 50% Import Tariff  MSN

Politics

61 h. ago The Latest: Supreme Court will allow Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce to go ahead

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings from experts that vital government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs

Politics

63 h. ago Talks to finalise US steel tariff exemption ongoing as deadline due to pass

President Donald Trump has said he plans to start implementing tariffs on the US’s trade partners on July 9.

Events

65 h. ago US supreme court clears way for Trump officials to resume mass government firings

Justices lift lower court order that froze ‘reductions in force’ federal layoffs while litigation in case proceededThe US supreme court has cleared the way for Donald Trump’s administration to resume plans for mass firings of federal workers that critics warn could threaten critical government services.Extending a winning streak for the US president, the justices on Tuesday lifted a lower court order that had frozen sweeping federal layoffs known as “reductions in force” while litigation in the case proceeds. Continue reading...

Politics

67 h. ago Trump threatens to escalate trade war amid confusion over new tariff rates

US president announces tariffs of up to 200% on foreign drugs and 50% on copper as he continues to shift plansDonald Trump vowed to further escalate his trade wars on Tuesday, threatening US tariffs of up to 200% on foreign drugs and 50% on copper, amid widespread confusion around his shifting plans.Hours after saying his latest deadline for a new wave of steep duties was “not 100% firm”, the US president declared that “no extensions will be granted” beyond 1 August. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Frustrated judge blasts Trump team over deportation plans for Kilmar Abrego Garcia: ‘Like trying to nail Jell

ICE plans to arrest and deport the Salvadoran dad, again, if he’s released from pretrial detention in criminal case

Politics