3 d. ago Republican senators indicate they won’t confirm Trump special counsel pick after ‘Nazi streak’ comments – US politics live

Senate majority leader John Thune reportedly says Paul Ingrassia is ‘not gonna pass’The Central Intelligence Agency is providing the bulk of the intelligence used to carry out the controversial lethal air strikes by the Trump administration against small, fast-going boats in the Caribbean Sea suspected of carrying drugs from Venezuela, according to three sources familiar with the operations.Experts say the agency’s central role means much of the evidence used to select which alleged smugglers to kill on the open sea will almost certainly remain secret. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Trump to host GOP senators at White House amid demolition work and government shutdown – US politics live

The president will host a lunch for Republicans in the Rose Garden as construction is carried out on the White House’s east wingPresident Donald Trump’s hopes for a quick summit in Budapest with Russian president Vladimir Putin stalled after a preparatory session between the leaders’ top foreign-policy aides this week was put on hold, CNN reported on Monday.Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNN said the reason for postponing the meeting between US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was unclear. One source cited differing expectations about ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, CNN said. Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago No Kings protesters on their hopes for resistance movement against Trump: ‘If we lose momentum, we lose the fight’

Fourteen protesters from LA to DC share thoughts on new leaders, shutdown negotiations, and Republican policiesMillions across all 50 US states march in No Kings protests against TrumpNo Kings protests across the US: in picturesSaturday’s No Kings protests brought millions to the streets across all 50 states in the latest demonstration against Donald Trump’s administration amid a government shutdown. But many protesters are already strategizing about what to do next.Some said continuing protests were a sign of vibrant civil resistance against the administration’s heavy-handed policies, which have challenged legal and constitutional norms in the US. They also discussed economic boycotts and strikes. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago JD Vance calls Republican operatives, aged 24 to 35, who wrote racist texts ‘kids’ – follow live

Vice-president further said media was paying too much attention to ‘what a bunch of kids say in a group chat’The far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Trump says US looking at land attacks in Venezuela after lethal strikes on boats – live

Trump also claims without evidence that every US strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat saves thousands of lives The far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Federal judge temporarily blocks mass layoffs as Trump official estimates 10,000 could be affected – live

Judge Susan Illston says administration has ‘taken advantage of lapse in government functioning’; Russell Vought says his office wants to be ‘very aggressive in shuttering bureaucracy’Full report: judge temporarily blocks firings by Trump administration during shutdownThe far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Federal judge says she’s ‘inclined’ to block mass layoffs as Trump official estimates 10,000 could be affected – live

Judge Susan Illston says administration has ‘taken advantage of lapse in government functioning’; Russell Vought says his office wants to be ‘very aggressive in shuttering bureaucracy’The far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Conservative supreme court justices appear skeptical of key provision of Voting Rights Act – live

Conservative justices appear sympathetic to the argument that new Louisiana congressional maps that added majority-Black district violate the constitutionThe far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Society

9 d. ago Supreme court hears Voting Rights Act challenge that could affect control of Congress – US politics live

GOP seeking to have section 2, designed to prevent discrimination in voting, declared unconstitutional as battles around redistricting take place across nationThe far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says list of ‘Democrat programs’ to be released on Friday as shutdown drags into third week – live

President says programs to be cut are ‘never going to come back’ as Congress remains at an impasse on stopgap funding bill to reopen governmentJohnson says ‘I don’t have anything to negotiate’ as US shutdown drags onChina has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago House speaker defends White House using research funding to pay military during government shutdown – live

Mike Johnson says Trump administration has ‘every right’ to move around ‘duly appropriated dollars from Congress to Department of Defense’China has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago House speaker defends administration’s move to keep military paid during government shutdown – US politics live

Mike Johnson says Trump administration has ‘every right’ to move around ‘duly appropriated dollars from Congress to Department of Defense’China has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago House speaker says shutdown ‘barreling towards one of longest on record’ as it enters day 14 – US politics live

Mike Johnson speaks on federal government shutdown as it enters 14th day with little end in sightChina has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Letitia James warns of ‘powerful voices trying to silence the truth’ – US politics live

New York attorney general strikes a defiant tone during Mamdani rally in first appearance since her indictmentBarack Obama took aim at institutions and businesses who made deals or worked out settlements with the Trump administration, noting on a new podcast episode: “We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand.”In a talk with Marc Maron on the comedian’s last edition of his long-running WTF With Marc Maron, the former US president said institutions – including law firms, universities and businesses – that have changed course during the Trump administration should have stood by their convictions. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Senate still deadlocked over shutdown as Trump reiterates threat to Democrats

Seventh round of votes fails to yield breakthrough while president threatens to cut funds for ‘Democrat programs’ The US Senate remained deadlocked on legislation to end the government shutdown on Thursday, as Donald Trump reiterated his threat to make Democrats pay for the funding lapse that has closed federal agencies and furloughed workers nationwide.The Senate took its seventh round of votes on competing Democratic and Republican proposals to restart the funding, but neither won enough bipartisan support to clear the 60-vote threshold for advancement in the chamber. In a sign that neither party had budged from its demands, no senators changed their votes from when the bills were last considered in recent days. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Senate again fails to pass stopgap funding bill as government shutdown drags into eighth day – live

Senate fails for sixth time to pass a funding bill in 54-45 vote – three Democrats sided with Republicans in attempt to reach 60-vote thresholdUS airport staffing shortages set to cause more delays amid shutdownDemocrat bill aims to help federal workers cover childcare costsA series of “violent” texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia’s attorney general has shaken up the state’s governor’s race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent’s double-digit polling lead.Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor’s race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting “two bullets to the head” and “breeding little fascists”. Continue reading...

Economics

2 w. ago ‘This madness needs to end’ say House Republicans as shutdown enters eighth day – US politics live

Majority leader Steve Scalise continues to blame Democrats for not passing House-passed funding bill as shutdown continuesEx-FBI director pleads not guilty on lying to Congress chargeA series of “violent” texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia’s attorney general has shaken up the state’s governor’s race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent’s double-digit polling lead.Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor’s race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting “two bullets to the head” and “breeding little fascists”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Former FBI director James Comey pleads not guilty in case accusing him of lying to Congress – US politics live

Trump critic arraigned at federal courthouse in VirginiaA series of “violent” texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia’s attorney general has shaken up the state’s governor’s race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent’s double-digit polling lead.Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor’s race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting “two bullets to the head” and “breeding little fascists”. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump says Chicago mayor ‘should be in jail’ for not protecting Ice officers after Texas national troops arrive in Illinois – live

Trump posts on social media that Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois governor JB Pritzker ‘should be in jail’ A series of “violent” texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia’s attorney general has shaken up the state’s governor’s race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent’s double-digit polling lead.Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor’s race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting “two bullets to the head” and “breeding little fascists”. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Pam Bondi spars with Democratic senator over Epstein ‘client list’ and national guard deployments in tense hearing – live

Illinois senator Dick Durbin grills Trump’s attorney general on the Epstein investigation and Bondi tells him ‘national guard is on the way’ to ChicagoBefore we turn our attention to Capitol Hill, we’re also keeping an eye on Illinois today. On Monday, a federal judge did not immediately block the president’s move to deploy national guard troops, including hundreds from Texas, to Chicago.Instead, the judge set a hearing for Thursday, leaving room for the military to make their way to the windy city as soon as today. Continue reading...

Politics