60 h. ago EU closing in on ‘framework’ trade deal with US to avoid Trump’s 50% tariffs

Diplomats and officials say bloc willing to accept 10% tariffs, but talks may go down to wire before Wednesday deadlineEurope live – latest updatesThe EU and US are closing in on a high-level “framework” trade deal that would avert 50% tariffs on all exports from the bloc next Wednesday, Donald Trump’s self-imposed deadline.Talks in Washington could go down to the wire, but diplomats and officials said the EU was willing to accept Trump’s 10% blanket tariffs. Negotiators will only accept this, however, in exchange for an extension in talks and possible concessions on a 25% car tariff, which is hurting the German car industry, sources said. Continue reading...

Economics

3 d. ago Trump’s DOJ looks at criminal charges for election officials it says don’t do enough to safeguard voting systems

Trump has spread unfounded claims the 2020 election was fraudulent

Politics

3 d. ago Trump administration sued for giving Medicaid data to deportation officials

Twenty states say giving immigrants’ health data to DHS broke privacy laws and threatens access to emergency careThe Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials, a group of 20 states allege in a lawsuit.Last month advisers to the secretary of the Department of Heath and Human Services (HHS), Robert F Kennedy Jr, ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington DC to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Could dengue spread in the UK? Experts fear climate change could bring tropical diseases to Europe

Climate change is pushing tropical infectious diseases northwards as pathogens thrive in hot and humid conditions

Politics

4 d. ago US halts weapons shipments to Ukraine over fears stockpiles are too low

Some shipments have been stopped ‘to put America’s interests first’, White House saysSee all our Ukraine war coverageThe US is halting some shipments of weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, officials said Tuesday, a setback for the country as it tries to fend off escalating attacks from Russia.Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to aid its defences during the more than three-year-old war. The pause reflects a new set of priorities under President Donald Trump and came after defence department officials scrutinised US stockpiles and raised concerns. Continue reading...

Events

4 d. ago 20 states sue after the Trump administration releases private Medicaid data to deportation officials

The Trump administration has violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to federal deportation officials last month, says California Attorney General Rob Bonta

Politics

4 d. ago New Trump portrait hangs in Colorado capitol months after president’s outburst

New White House-approved painting was donated after Trump described the original as ‘purposefully distorted’Months after Donald Trump expressed strong negative opinions about a presidential portrait of him in the Colorado state capitol that he described as “purposefully distorted”, a White House-approved replacement now hangs in its place.The new portrait, which Trump reportedly demanded be printed with a golden border so it would catch the light and “glimmer”, bears a close resemblance to Trump’s official second-term photograph, which hangs in more than 1,600 federal buildings across the US and thousands more on a voluntary basis. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago White House says Canadian PM ‘caved’ to Trump demand to scrap tech tax

Trump officials hail U-turn as Mark Carney says decision to rescind digital services tax means revival of trade talksThe United States has said that Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney “caved” to demands from the White House after his government abruptly scrapped their digital services tax on US technology companies, which was set to go into effect on Monday.“It’s very simple. Prime minister Carney and Canada caved to president [Donald] Trump and the United States of America,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a daily briefing. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago MAGA bikini congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna brings in bill to end sanctions on Syria

Anna Paulina Luna confirmed she would be introducing an act to the US Parliament to end official sanctions on Syria - just weeks after petitioning to cut Trump into Mount Rushmore

Politics

8 d. ago Former CIA director says people must understand ‘how dangerous a world we live in right now’ in the wake of Trump’s Iran strike

Donald Trump’s rejection of his own intelligence officials’ expert assessments undermines U.S. credibility and leaves the future ‘a very scary prospect,’ Leon Panetta warns

Politics

9 d. ago It’s time for America to remember how dangerous regime change is | Christopher Chivvis

For a superpower, toppling foreign governments is not so hard to do. Getting the outcome you want isThe ceasefire between Iran and Israel might still hold, but if not, the United States might double down on its weekend strikes and seek the overthrow of the Iranian regime. Donald Trump threatened this in comments and tweets earlier, and top officials such as Marco Rubio have said they wouldn’t mind it if it happened. Israeli leaders are openly in favor. If the US goes down this road, it will not be for the first time.In the last 80 years, Washington has overthrown many regimes. For a superpower, toppling foreign governments is not so hard to do. Getting the outcome you want is. This makes regime change as dangerous as it is seductive, as past US attempts clearly show. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump official in 'line of fire' for leaked Iran bombing intel as they're left out of major security briefing

The official is missing out on the Thursday meeting that will offer Congress a chance to see how successful the strikes were.

Events

9 d. ago Trump admin officials release ‘new intelligence’ claiming Iran’s nuclear program set back ‘years’

CIA Director John Ratcliffe says the bombed Iranian nuclear facilities ‘would have to be rebuilt over the course of years’

Politics

9 d. ago Trump officials cite ‘new intelligence’ to back president’s claims of success in strikes on Iran

Tulsi Gabbard and the CIA director say Iran’s nuclear sites were ‘destroyed’, amid reports of White House efforts to limit sharing of classified information with CongressDonald Trump’s administration ratcheted up its defence of the US’s weekend attacks on Iran, citing “new intelligence” to support its initial claim of complete success and criticising a leaked intelligence assessment that suggested Tehran’s nuclear programme had been set back by only a few months.The growing row came amid reports that the White House will to try to limit the sharing of classified documents with Congress, according to the Washington Post and the Associated Press. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago 'Daddy Donald' and death of NATO dignity: How Mark Rutte became Trump’s favourite puppet

Former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte and now NATO’s top official referred to Trump as “daddy” - a grotesque, grovelling gesture that might have raised eyebrows in a diplomatic dispatch but instead exploded into public farce during a high-stakes summit of alliance leaders.

Politics

1 week ago White House official claims Trump's nuclear strikes in Iran were 'pointless' and ordered by the 'deep state'

Andrew Kloster is a general counsel for the Office of Personnel Management which manages the civil service for the administration.

Events

1 week ago Millions of children at risk as global vaccine rates fall, study finds

Decline blamed on health inequalities, Covid disruption and soaring levels of misinformation and hesitancyMillions of children worldwide are at risk of lethal diseases because vaccine coverage has stalled or reversed amid persistent health inequalities and soaring levels of misinformation and hesitancy, the largest study of its kind has found.Major progress in rolling out jabs to billions of children in all corners of the globe over the last five decades has prevented the deaths of 154 million children, according to an analysis published in the Lancet. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Justice Department official suggested ignoring court orders on deportations, whistleblower claims

A top Justice Department official suggested the Trump administration might have to ignore court orders as it prepared to deport Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members, a fired department lawyer alleged in a whistleblower complaint made public Tuesday

Politics

1 week ago Trump lawyer turned top DOJ official said prosecutors should ignore court orders and tell judge ‘f*** you’: whistleblower

Attorney turns whistleblower after he was fired for admitting government mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia

Events

1 week ago Trump officials can resume deporting migrants to third countries after supreme court ruling – US politics live

Administration will be allowed to deport immigrants to countries other than their ownIt’s Richard Luscombe in the US taking over from my colleague Tom Ambrose, and I’ll be here to guide you through the day’s political developments.The conflict consuming Israel and Iran is dominating headlines, and you can follow happenings in our Middle East crisis liveblog here.Right now, the bill is held together with happy thoughts and spit. I think we’ll eventually pass something, I just can’t tell you when. Continue reading...

Politics