Evelyn Reynolds

Though he also discussed plans to ‘run’ Venezuela, the US president could not resist upending his moment of glory“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few but what I’d really like to talk about is my disastrous predecessor and some pathetic city mayors,” is what Winston Churchill didn’t say during Britain’s war against Adolf Hitler.On Saturday, Donald Trump fancied himself at his most Churchillian as he hailed the derring-do of US military heroes who toppled Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in an audacious overnight operation. Continue reading… More

As Maduro faces trial in New York on alleged involvement in narco-terrorism, how will Venezuelans judge their president?US strikes on Venezuela – live updatesNicolás Maduro, a former bus driver and union activist, rose from humble origins to rule Venezuela for 13 years and eight months before being unceremoniously ousted on Saturday by US special forces who seized the 63-year-old leader and flew him out of the country.For years Maduro had accused the US government of seeking to undermine the supposed socialist revolution that his late mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chávez, ushered in in 1999. Now in the custody of US authorities, he will face indictment on narcotics charges and a potentially long prison sentence. Continue reading… More

Across the US, federal public media cuts have galvanized many communities to donate to their local radio stationsAs soon as the US government voted to cut funding to more than 1,500 public media outlets last July, Luke Dennis, general manager at WYSO, a public radio station in Yellow Springs, Ohio, kicked into action an emergency funding drive.“The thing that really bothered me was not so much that the federal funding went away, because I felt like that was inevitable under the current administration, but to give us zero runway to prepare for it,” says Dennis. Continue reading… More

Years of scandal and disappointment have left a void in our politics. But New York’s new mayor offers an alternative to more apathy: hope On 1 January, to mark his inauguration as mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani threw a block party. As he was sworn in outside city hall in front of a crowd of a few thousand of us, a nearby street in Manhattan was closed to traffic so that tens of thousands more could gather to watch the historic moment live on enormous screens. The weather – a cloudless blue sky and arctic winds – felt somehow fitting: a licence to dream and a warning against complacency.Mayors don’t usually take office amid such a festival atmosphere. A smaller, more exclusive event is normally adequate. But a key feature of Mamdani’s rise has been the desire for mass participation in politics. There was no chance this day was going to pass without an open-invitation party. Continue reading… More

Venezuelan leader calls for ‘dialogue and diplomacy’ between Washington and Caracas following US claims of airstrike – key US politics stories from 2 January 2026The Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, has urged Donald Trump to abandon his “illegal warmongering” and begin “serious talks” with his administration as mystery continued to surround a purported pre-Christmas CIA airstrike on the South American country.Speaking during an hour-long TV interview, Maduro declined to confirm reports of the apparent US attack, which would be the first on Venezuelan soil since Trump began his five-month campaign of military pressure in August. Continue reading… More

Brian Cole, accused of planting bombs before Capitol attack, presents ‘intolerable risk of danger’, court findsA federal magistrate judge has ruled that the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican headquarters the night before the January 6 Capitol attack must remain in custody while awaiting trial.In a memorandum opinion, the court determined that Brian Cole Jr, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, “poses an intolerable risk of danger to the community if released”, granting the government’s motion for pretrial detention. Continue reading… More

Hiroshi Nagai, in a post on X, has objected to his artwork being used by the agency to promote its deportation agenda The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is facing backlash once again, this time from a Japanese artist who has condemned the agency for using, without permission, his work to promote deportations.In a post on X on New Year’s Eve, the department posted a photo featuring a pristine and empty beach with palm trees and a vintage car. Written across the photo was “America after 100 million deportations,” along with a separate caption that said: “The peace of a nation no longer besieged by the third world.” Continue reading… More

A UK government warning that Amal Clooney risks US sanctions over her role in the issuing of an arrest warrant for the Israeli prime minister is key among reasons the couple have sought French citizenshipThe exodus from Hollywood to shores not presided over by Donald Trump has been busy and loud. Ellen DeGeneres, Robin Wright and Courtney Love moved to England; Rosie O’Donnell opted for Ireland; Eva Longoria, Spain. Other Trump critics, including Richard Gere, Lena Dunham and Ryan Gosling, have upped sticks without citing the re-election as a motivating factor.In the case of Clooney, however, there has appeared little doubt that his decision to gain French citizenship was primarily because of Trump, whose re-election he energetically campaigned against. Yet amid the heat and headlines generated by the pair’s war of words, some of the actor’s reasons for relocating may have flown under the radar. Continue reading… More