Focusing on the ex-president won’t distract Americans from the Trump administration’s foot-dragging on the Epstein filesI’ve got a sneaking suspicion that, somewhere in a makeshift situation room in Mar-a-Lago, there’s a whiteboard with “very high IQ strategies to distract everyone from Jeffrey Epstein” written on the top.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading… More
Classrooms have emptied, shops have shut, and the mood is tense – but as the federal operation has ramped up, so has residents’ responseAt 6.15am, Jac Kovarik revs up their SUV and snakes through the iced-over streets of south Minneapolis, eyes scanning for federal immigration agents.The neighborhood where Renee Good was killed by a federal officer has been eerily quiet. The bus stops are depleted of early shift workers. Continue reading… More
Strong media presence in Minneapolis has ensured Renee Good’s shooting, and its fallout, has received wide coverageAfter a federal immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with grisly videos quickly going viral on social media, news organizations from around the state, country and world dispatched correspondents and anchors to the scene.In the days since, that media presence has ebbed and flowed – though a well-resourced local news corps and many national journalists have remained, including reporters for the Guardian, covering additional clashes between police and protesters. Continue reading… More
Grantees outline risks to vulnerable populations over uncertainty of funds creating gaps in care A counseling program in Alabama for people with HIV, helping them get into treatment and housing. A training program in New Hampshire for first responders learning how better to respond to people in mental health crises. Mental health counseling for children in Tennessee experiencing trauma.On Wednesday, the funding for these and thousands of other programs was rescinded. The halt affected about 2,800 organizations across the nation offering mental health and substance use services, often on the front lines of the dual crises, in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Samhsa). Continue reading… More
US president’s increasingly bellicose demands for control of the island may force the EU to draw a line in the snow Greenland: new shipping routes, hidden minerals – and a frontline between the US and Russia?The crisis over Greenland may deliver the moment when Europe must stand up to Donald Trump, as officials have said a US attempt to annex the territory could shatter the Nato transatlantic alliance.European leaders have entertained Trump’s demands for nearly a year as he has pushed Nato countries to increase their defence spending to 5% of GDP, and threatened to pull US support from Ukraine as part of a peace process that appears to favour Russia. They have also given a muted response to US adventurism abroad including the capture and rendition of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. Continue reading… More
Governor Tim Walz says ‘weaponizing the justice system is an authoritarian tactic’ as he and Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey reportedly will be subpoenaedThe US justice department is investigating Minnesota’s political leaders for allegedly conspiring to obstruct the Trump administration’s controversial immigration crackdown there, according to multiple reports.The investigation, which CBS News first reported, marks an extraordinary use of federal power to challenge two of the crackdown’s most vocal Democratic critics, including the state’s governor, Tim Walz, and the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey. Continue reading… More
Each board member will manage ‘defined portfolio critical to Gaza’s stabilization and long-term success’, according to White House – key US politics stories from Friday 16 JanuaryDonald Trump’s so-called “board of peace” has been announced as the US president seeks to manage the reconstruction of Gaza and its transitional administration amid a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.The seven-member board includes US secretary of state Marco Rubio, former British prime minister Tony Blair, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and World Bank president, Ajay Banga. Trump himself will serve as chair, with further appointments expected in the coming weeks. Continue reading… More
This live blog is now closed.US justice agency to inquire into Minnesota leaders for alleged conspiracy to obstruct ICEIncident reports provide details of emergency response after fatal ICE shooting in MinneapolisTrump began his remarks today by undermining the Affordable Care Act, and touted his newly unveiled “Great Healthcare Plan”.A reminder that Affordable Care Act subsidies, that were extended during the Covid pandemic, expired at the end of last year, and legislation to revive them has stalled in Congress. Continue reading… More
