Evelyn Reynolds

This live blog is now closed.Trump promise of $5,000 for US citizens after midterms decried as ‘bribery’Sign up for the US Breaking News emailThe Supreme Court has blocked a federal judge’s ruling that would’ve restored Republican-drawn congressional districts in Missouri.The decision, issued by justice Brett Kavanaugh, appeared to sound a death knell for efforts by the Missouri GOP to extract an additional Republican-leaning congressional seat for their party ahead of the midterm elections. Continue reading… More

Vice-president dog-whistled, exaggerated claims of success and echoed Trump talking points to excited audienceJD Vance made a clear pitch that he should be the heir to Donald Trump on Thursday night, closing out the Republicans’ midterm convention with a blistering speech that featured exaggerated claims of success, criticism of Democrats as “lunatics” and an aggressive dismissal of a protester waving a Mexican flag.Speaking in Dallas, the vice-president showed he could channel the basest instincts of his boss, filling his remarks with dog whistles and echoing Trump’s false claims that Democrats “cheered” the 7 October massacre of Israelis. Continue reading… More

The White House posted a photo of bald eagle attacking a Canada goose to send a message – but it was Canada that played a critical role in the recovery of the bird in the USIn late August, the White House posted a real photograph on social media of a bald eagle standing atop the limp neck of a Canada goose.The raptor presses the goose’s face into the grey winter slush. With its stark white head and brilliant yellow talons, the eagle looks victorious and defiant. Continue reading… More

The very mechanisms that allow the census bureau to resist partisan interference are coming undone. And Congress is silentWhen the constitutional architects of the United States got together, they came up with a crazy plan: “What if we count everyone in the country and allocate political representation that way?”It was a radical act. Until then, censuses had been used by kings to levy taxes and conscript men into war. With the penning of article 1, section 2 of the US constitution, being counted ensured that states would get financial resources and political representatives. Congress was tasked with building the processes to anchor representation to the population. People wanted to be counted. And politicians wanted their people to be counted more.danah boyd is the Geri Gay professor of communication at Cornell University and the author of Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census Continue reading… More

President suggested US might not help UK if Argentina tried to seize Falklands – a new low for UK-US ‘special relationship’Last week, Donald Trump suggested in an interview with the British TV channel GB News that he might not help the UK if Argentina tried again to seize the Falkland Islands. It was a new low for UK-US relations.The “special relationship” (Winston Churchill’s phrase) was never perfect, but the UK helped the US on countless occasions, from Korea to Iraq to Afghanistan. The US often stood by the UK as well – although not during the Suez Crisis of 1956, but Ronald Reagan’s government provided significant intelligence and logistics support to Britain during the dust-up over the Falklands in 1982. That relationship is fading fast. Continue reading… More

Charlie Kirk’s death created a vacuum of power that still consumes the Maga right a year later. Immediately after Kirk was shot and killed, his ultraconservative activist organization Turning Point USA announced that his widow, Erika Kirk, would replace her late husband as CEO. But as Guardian reporter J Oliver Conroy tells Kai Wright, conspiracy theories pushed by Kirk’s former allies and proteges have dogged both the organization and Erika Kirk herself. Real questions remain about whether Erika Kirk can maintain the enormous power and influence Turning Point holds on the right and what she is planning to do with the organization. Conroy spent months reporting on Charlie Kirk’s legacy talking to dozens of people within Turning Point USA and the larger Maga movement who view Charlie Kirk as a martyr. Conroy says martyrdom is a powerful force that can’t be controlledJ Oliver Conroy’s Guardian story on Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA:  Grief, fury, conspiracy: inside Turning Point USA after Charlie Kirk’s killing Continue reading… More

Donald Trump pledged to pay every adult citizen in the US a $5,000 dividend if the Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterms, during a rambling speech at the party’s midterm convention in Dallas.The US president claimed the payment was possible due to the country’s ‘tremendous economic success, like in history we’ve never had anything like what’s happening’. The proposal, which would cost more than $1tn, immediately raised ethical concernsUS citizens will receive $5,000 if Republicans win midterms, Trump claims Continue reading… More

President and first lady were in Washington DC at time of intrusion at their Florida residence – key US politics stories from 22 February 2026 at a glanceUS Secret Service agents have killed an armed man who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, were not at the club and residence at the time.The authorities said agents confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying shotgun and gasoline can early on Sunday. Continue reading… More