8 h. ago Trump readies SIEGE of Chicago as feds prepare for massive immigration raid in showdown with crime

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement is gearing up for a massive immigration raid of Chicago - the city President Donald Trump said he'd selected for the next federal military takeover.

Events

10 h. ago Kennedy Center ticket sales take a nosedive after Trump takeover

Prestigious Stuttgart Ballet likely to face 80% empty seats at DC’s premier arts venue as audiences ‘vote with their feet’Ticket sales at the Kennedy Center have continued to plummet following Donald Trump’s takeover of Washington DC’s premier performing arts venue, with the prestigious Stuttgart Ballet expected to dance next month to houses less than 20% full.Audiences are “voting with their feet to skip out” on shows that would once have been packed, in protest at the US president inserting himself into the center’s management and operations as its new chairman, amid discussions around the notion of renaming it after Trump, according to an analysis by the Washingtonian magazine. Continue reading...

Politics

14 h. ago The golden rule of Trump and Farage’s free speech crusade: they’re allowed to chat rubbish – you’re not | Marina Hyde

The Reform leader has been in the US, bemoaning Britain’s ‘awful authoritarian situation’. It’s a shame about his party’s own anti-media huff back homeSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and morePop quiz. Of whom did Donald Trump say admiringly: “I also learned that he loves his country very much”? And: “He wrote me beautiful letters. And they are great letters. We fell in love”?If you answered “Nigel Farage”, then I’m sorry. The Reform UK leader might have spent this pre-party conference week in his happy place – lodged several feet up the US presidential colon – and rhetorically demanding of US lawmakers: “At what point did [the UK] become North Korea?” But those Trump compliments were in fact previously made about Kim Jong-un, the dictator of well, you know the rest.Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Boston readies for Ice’s offensive amid Trump’s onslaught on sanctuary cities

Standoff escalates between Trump administration and Michelle Wu, city’s mayor, over immigrant protectionsTensions between Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, and the Trump administration have been escalating in recent months over the administration’s aggressive immigration policies, with reports now signaling the possibility of a federal immigration enforcement surge in the city.The friction came to a head last week when the Trump administration reportedly began preparing an “immigration enforcement blitz” for Boston in the coming weeks, according to Politico. Continue reading...

Events

17 h. ago Putin says western troops in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’ as European countries pledge security support – Europe live

Macron says 26 nations have offered security guarantees for Ukraine as Zelenskyy meets Slovakia’s Fico amid tension over Russian energy suppliesMacron says 26 countries ready to supply postwar military backing for UkraineHere is the full quote from the Kremlin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, via Reuters.“I have no doubt that if the presidents consider it necessary, their meeting can be organised very quickly. Just as the meeting in Alaska was quickly organised,” Peskov told the Russian news outlet Argumenty i Fakty, referring to last month’s Trump-Putin summit. Continue reading...

Events

31 h. ago Pentagon allows ICE to use Navy base as launchpad for immigration raids in Chicago: report

Chicago officials are preparing for an influx of federal immigration law enforcement

Politics

36 h. ago Trump’s domestic troop deployments aren’t about crime – they’re about intimidation | Moira Donegan

The president is targeting Chicago in his latest bid to assert authority over Democratic governance and racial pluralism“We’re going in,” Donald Trump said on Tuesday, when asked whether national guard troops would be sent to invade Chicago. The comment came as reports emerged that national guard troops from Texas – not yet federalized under direct presidential control – were preparing to deploy to Chicago in the coming days, in defiance of the opposition repeatedly and forcefully expressed by the Chicago mayor, Brandon Johnson, and the Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, both Democrats.The White House and the president’s allies have claimed that the deployment is a response to violent crime in Chicago. This is a lie. Crime in Chicago has dropped dramatically over the past decades, as it has in every major American city – including Los Angeles, where Trump deployed the national guard and the marines earlier this year, and Washington DC, where armed federal agents have patrolled the stre...

Politics

55 h. ago Court ruling blocking Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act hailed a ‘victory’

Fifth circuit says Alien Enemies Act can not justify removal of Venezuelans accused of gang ties in peacetimeA court ruling that blocked Donald Trump from invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans he alleged were part of a criminal gang has been hailed as “a victory for the rule of law”.In a 2-1 decision on Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the fifth US circuit court of appeals issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Trump administration using the 1798 law to justify rapid deportations. Continue reading...

Politics

59 h. ago Trump’s belligerence is pushing Xi, Putin and Kim together – and tearing the old world order apart | Simon Tisdall

The three-way partnership on show in Beijing is united in opposition to US hegemony and a western-dominated financial systemSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and moreDonald Trump’s first reaction to the disconcerting spectacle of China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un marching side-by-side at a huge military parade in Beijing was, predictably, all about him. This show of solidarity and strength, he complained, was nothing less than an attempt to “conspire” against the United States. Trump likes military parades – his own, that is. Even more, he likes to be on the podium, at the centre of attention. He casts himself as world number one. The images coming out of the Chinese capital this week challenged him on all three counts.This puncturing of Trump’s insecure ego, and the striking feebleness of his response, will greatly grat...

Politics

60 h. ago More than 1,000 health workers urge Kennedy to quit over anti

Letter says Kennedy endangered US health, installed ideologues and ignored pleas as resignations mounted at CDCUS politics live – latest updatesA letter published Wednesday from more than 1,000 past and present workers of the health and human services department (HHS) has demanded the resignation of Robert F Kennedy Jr, insisting the health secretary’s attacks on vaccines endangered the lives of all Americans.The hard-hitting letter, addressed to Congress members, blames Kennedy for turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including the firing of the agency’s chief and replacement by a Donald Trump loyalist with no medical or scientific background. Continue reading...

Politics

2 d. ago ‘You need solidarity and consistency’: Pedro Sánchez on the EU, Trump and fighting the far right

Spanish PM insists ‘migration is an opportunity’ and is not afraid to discuss what he considers Europe’s recent failuresWhen Pedro Sánchez and Keir Starmer meet in Downing Street on Wednesday it will be the first such bilateral summit between a Spanish prime minister and his British counterpart for more than a decade, an interregnum explained by Brexit and the now healed sore of Gibraltar.The absence of highest level diplomacy has become more glaring given the two men are the leading social democratic leaders of Europe, facing similar problems of migration, souring populist parties, the climate crisis and divisions over how to minimise the damage caused to the European global influence by Donald Trump’s erratic unilateralism. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. 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

5 d. 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

6 d. ago Coventry council to use Palantir AI in social work, Send and children’s services

Exclusive: Workers say £500k contract with US tech firm which supplies Israeli forces raises ‘serious ethical questions’Public sector workers have voiced “deep concern” after Coventry city council signed a £500,000-a-year artificial intelligence contract with the US data technology company Palantir.The deal is the first of its kind between a UK local authority and the Denver-based company, which supplies technology to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and to help Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Lotus to cut 550 UK jobs amid auto industry ‘uncertainty’ including Trump tariffs

Production in Norfolk due to restart in early September but sportscar maker announces ‘restructuring proposal’Sportscar maker Lotus has confirmed it will cut 550 jobs in the UK as part of wider restructuring plans that will deliver a fresh blow to Britain’s automotive industry.Lotus, which has been struggling with a drop in sales and cash shortages, said it was necessary to slash 42% of its 1,300-strong UK workforce to “secure a sustainable future”, amid uncertainty sparked by factors including Donald Trump’s trade war. Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago Lotus to cut 550 UK jobs amid ‘uncertainty’ including Trump tariffs

Chinese-owned sportscar maker insists it is committed to Britain and will restart production in Norfolk in September The sportscar maker Lotus has confirmed it will cut 550 jobs in the UK as part of wider restructuring plans that will deliver a fresh blow to Britain’s automotive industry.Lotus, which has been struggling with a drop in sales and cash shortages, said it was necessary to cut 42% of its 1,300-strong UK workforce to “secure a sustainable future”, amid uncertainty sparked by factors including Donald Trump’s trade war. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Court tosses Trump lawsuit against Maryland judges over US deportations

Trump-nominated federal judge said Maryland judges were ‘absolutely immune’ from suits over their judicial actionsUS politics live – latest updatesA federal judge on Tuesday dismissed an unprecedented lawsuit filed by the Trump administration earlier in the summer against all 15 judges serving on Maryland’s federal district court – a case that opposed pausing some deportations from the state.In a 37-page ruling, US district judge Thomas Cullen of Virginia’s western district – who was nominated and confirmed to his position during Donald Trump’s first presidency – wrote that “any fair reading of the legal authorities cited by defendants leads to the ineluctable conclusion that this court has no alternative but to dismiss”. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Finnish president says he hopes Trump’s patience with Putin will run out soon

Alexander Stubb says Russia deploying a ‘typical’ delaying tactic as Trump warns of ‘consequences’ if Putin-Zelenskyy meeting does not happenFinnish president Alexander Stubb has been speaking at a press conference before the country’s ambassadors’ conference in Helsinki.In comments reported by the Finnish public broadcaster, Yle, he said that he hoped Trump’s patience with Putin would run out soon. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Dr Pepper buys Peet’s owner in $18bn deal amid coffee industry tariff turmoil

Deal comes at a time when consumers are pulling back and Trump’s trade wars threaten to send coffee prices soaringKeurig Dr Pepper will buy the owner of Peet’s Coffee, Douwe Egberts and Kenco in an $18bn deal, then break itself in two, with one company selling coffee and the other selling cold beverages like Snapple, Dr Pepper, 7UP and energy drinks.The agreement announced Monday will essentially unwind the 2018 merger of Keurig and Dr Pepper and it arrives at a time when consumers are pulling back and the trade wars under Donald Trump threaten to send coffee prices soaring. Continue reading...

Economics

1 week ago Mounjaro users in UK warned against bulk buying before autumn price rise

Cost may increase as much as 170% from September, but patients warned against a quick switch to WegovyPeople using the weight loss jab Mounjaro have been warned against switching to black market sellers or bulk buying after its manufacturer announced the UK will get a significant price rise this autumn.The US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, which makes Mounjaro, recently announced plans to increase the price of the medication in the UK by as much as 170% from September. The move follows pressure from the US president, Donald Trump, to cut medication prices for Americans. Continue reading...

Events