4 h. ago Trump draft order calls for drastic restructure of state department

If enacted changes would be one of the biggest reorganizations of department since its founding in 1789A draft Trump administration executive order circulating among US diplomats proposes a radical restructuring of the US state department, including drastic reductions to sub-Saharan operations, envoys and bureaus relating to climate, refugees, human rights, democracy and gender equality.The changes, if enacted, would be one of the biggest reorganizations of the department since its founding in 1789, according to Bloomberg, which had seen a copy of the 16-page draft, which first reported on the draft. Continue reading...

Politics

16 h. ago Navy cancels speech by podcaster who planned to reference its ban on more than 300 books

The Annapolis, Maryland college was ordered to remove nearly 400 books from its shelves last month to comply with one of Trump’s executive orders

Politics

47 h. ago Trump ally pushes DoJ unit to shift civil rights focus, new messages show

Internal mission statements from Harmeet Dhillon pivots division’s priorities away from marginalized groups’ rightsThe justice department’s civil rights division is shifting its focus away from its longstanding work protecting the rights of marginalized groups and will instead pivot towards Donald Trump’s priorities including hunting for noncitizen voters and protecting white people from discrimination, according to new internal mission statements seen by the Guardian.The new priorities were sent to several sections of the civil rights division this week by Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump ally who was confirmed a little more than two weeks ago to lead the division. Several of them only give glancing mention to the statutes and kinds of discrimination that have long been the focus of the division, which dates back to the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Several of the mission statements point to Trump’s executive orders as priorities for the section. Continue reading...

Politics

50 h. ago Fishers celebrate Trump's seafood order while conservation groups fear overfishing

President Donald Trump’s executive order to boost the U.S. commercial fishing industry drew praise from commercial fishing groups and condemnation from environmental organizations

Politics

53 h. ago Trump officials create uncertainty to evade court orders rather than comply

Recalcitrance appears to be product of Trump White House’s maximalist interpretation of executive powersFaced with a flurry of adverse court orders it would rather not follow, the Trump White House is increasingly deploying a strategy of claiming or even manufacturing its own uncertainty to dodge their effects without appearing to outright defy them.The Trump administration has faced several major legal setbacks in recent weeks, most notably in its efforts to deport undocumented immigrants without due process under the Alien Enemies Act or in spite of protective orders. Continue reading...

Politics

68 h. ago US Olympic committee sidesteps transgender athlete policy amid LA28 buildup

USOPC won’t set transgender eligibility rules for LA28LA28 passes $1bn in sponsorship, confirms key venuesUSA Football certified ahead of flag football’s debutThe United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has said it will not set any policy on transgender athlete eligibility ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games, despite growing political pressure from the Trump administration and increasing scrutiny over access and inclusion in women’s sport.Speaking Thursday after the committee’s first board meeting of 2025, chief executive Sarah Hirshland said the USOPC had no plans to define eligibility criteria, even as US president Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201 – titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports – threatens to upend international participation protocols. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Nearly 300 apply as French university offers US academics ‘scientific asylum’

Aix-Marseille University generates interest amid a US crackdown and calls for a ‘scientific refugee’ statusNearly 300 academics have applied to a French university’s offer to take in US-based researchers rattled by the American government’s crackdown on academia, as a former French president called for the creation of a “scientific refugee” status for academics in peril.Earlier this year, France’s Aix-Marseille University was among the first in Europe to respond to the funding freezes, cuts and executive orders unleashed on institutions across the US by Donald Trump’s administration. Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Conservationists sue Trump administration over rollback of green policies

Lawsuit focuses on day-one executive order claiming to ‘unleash American energy’ by boosting oil industryConservationists on Wednesday sued the Trump administration over its attempts to boost the oil industry by rolling back green policies.Filed by the environmental non-profit Center for Biological Diversity, the litigation focuses on Trump’s day-one “unleashing American energy” executive order. In an effort to boost already booming US energy production, the emergency declaration directed federal agencies to identify all policies and regulations that “unduly” burden fuel producers and create “action plans” to weaken or remove them. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Nvidia boss visits China days after Donald Trump limits AI chip exports – business live

Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as Chinese state media publishes photo of Jensen Huang visiting BeijingNvidia boss Jensen Huang has travelled to China for talks despite limits on the chip company’s sales imposed by the White House under Donald Trump.The visit of Huang, chief executive of one of the US’s most valuable companies, will be closely followed amid the vicious trade war between the US and China.The SFO remains committed to stamping out international bribery wherever it may occur.British companies have a duty to prevent the harm caused by bribery when doing business at home and abroad, to ensure that the UK remains a safe and fair place to do business. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Temu and Shein drop US ad spending as they face tariffs on even small sales

E-tailers also hiking prices after Donald Trump ends ‘de minimis’ exemption for cheap shipments from China and Hong KongTemu and Shein are cutting back their spending on US social media advertising as they lose an exemption on tariffs for many of their shipments from China and Hong Kong.The online e-tailers, both of which ship low-priced China-made goods direct to US shoppers, had been on an ad spree until recently. But under an executive order from Donald Trump, as of 2 May their sales valued at under $800 will no longer be exempt from US tariffs. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Two service members killed after ‘civilian vehicle crash’ along highway that straddles southern border

Troops are deployed in the area in support of Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the US-Mexico border

Events

4 d. ago Two service members killed after ‘civilian vehicle crash’ near southern border

Troops are deployed in the area in support of Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the US-Mexico border

Events

4 d. ago Two killed in US border deployment vehicle accident near Fort Bliss

Troops are deployed in the area in support of Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the US-Mexico border

Events

5 d. ago Trump memo outlines plan to slash US state department budget in half

Cuts would mean dramatic decreases in funding for humanitarian aid, global health and international groupsThe Trump administration is reportedly proposing to slash the state department budget by nearly half in a move that could drastically reduce US international spending and end its funding for Nato and the United Nations, according to an internal memorandum.The memo based on spending cuts devised by the White House office of management and budget envisions the total budget of the state department and USAID, the main foreign assistance body which has been largely dismantled by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, being reduced to $28.4bn, a reduction of $27bn or 48% from what Congress approved for 2025. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Trump official who oversaw dismantling of USAID leaves US state department

Under Pete Marocco’s lead, nearly all USAID staff was fired, with funding slashed and contractors dismissedPete Marocco, the Trump administration official who played a major role in dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has left the state department, a US official said on Sunday.Donald Trump’s administration has moved to fire nearly all USAID staff, as billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” has slashed funding and dismissed contractors across the federal bureaucracy in what it calls an attack on wasteful spending. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Democrat Gretchen Whitmer tries to distance herself from Oval Office visit

Michigan governor criticized for appearance, including for blocking her face with binders while her photo was takenThe Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer – considered to be a 2028 White House Democratic contender – was trying to distance herself from a recent Oval Office appearance alongside Donald Trump, which saw her get photographed while blocking her face with binders.Whitmer visited the Republican president on Wednesday alongside a bipartisan delegation to discuss a northern Michigan ice storm, the state’s defense assets and tariffs, among other issues. Following the meeting, Whitmer was brought into the Oval Office where she – as the New York Times described – “stood glumly” during a press conference that saw Trump sign several executive orders that targeted his political opponents. Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Price hike on Shein? How Trump tariffs could shift the US’s love of fast fashion

Trump ended the ‘de-minimis’ rule while launching a trade war with China – which will make retail giants such as Temu more expensive, experts sayAfter a chaotic week of flip-flopping tariff policies, cheap clothes from China are nearly certain to face a steep price hike soon – prompting concern among fast fashion retailers and potentially pushing consumers to look for other alternatives.As part of a package of global tariff policies announced on “liberation day” last week, Donald Trump signed an executive order that ended a duty-free exemption for low-priced goods to enter the US from China and Hong Kong. Known as the “de-minimis” rule, packages under $800 do not qualify for any taxes or tariffs on the goods and are inspected minimally at the border. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Travel warnings issued for trans people planning trips to the US

Several European countries have issued travel advisories for their transgender, non-binary, and third-gender citizens hoping to travel to the US, after Donald Trump's recently signed executive order.

Events

9 d. ago Kennedy Center director snipes at musician for ‘vapidness’ over DEI concerns

Trump ally Richard Grenell sends series of hostile emails to Yasmin Williams despite saying he was ‘too busy’ to do soThe Kennedy Center’s interim executive director, Richard Grenell – a staunch ally of Donald Trump – accused a professional musician of “vapidness” after she emailed him over concerns of the now Trump-controlled center’s rollbacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.Earlier this week, Yasmin Williams, an award-winning musician who has performed multiple times at the Washington DC-based performing arts center, emailed Grenell regarding the center’s DEI plans, pointing to the cancellations of a concert by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington as well as Finn, a children’s musical about a shark who feels different from other sharks. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump ICC sanctions order challenged in US court by human rights advocates

Exclusive: Lawsuit says ‘unconstitutional’ order violates right to share information with court’s chief prosecutorDonald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC) is facing a legal challenge from two US human rights advocates who argue it is “unconstitutional and unlawful”.In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Friday, the advocates said the order had forced them to stop assisting and engaging with the ICC out of fear the US government would punish them with criminal prosecution and civil fines. Continue reading...

Politics