US Politics

Ruling follows arrests under DHS ‘re-vetting’ operation of more than 100 refugees who had been lawfully resettledA federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from detaining refugees in Minnesota, following a spate of arrests in the state.More than 100 refugees who had lawfully resettled in the state had been arrested in recent weeks, according to attorneys and advocacy groups. Some were flown to detention centers in Texas, according to attorneys representing the cases, and then were abruptly released – and left to find and pay their own way back home. Continue reading… More

County spokesperson says warrant seeks number of 2020 election records while FBI declines to give further detailsThe FBI executed a search warrant at the election office in Fulton county, Georgia, on Wednesday for records related to the 2020 election, according to a spokesperson for the county and the FBI.The warrant sought all ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton county, tabulator tapes, ballot images and voter rolls, according to a warrant obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading… More

US president tells Tehran that time is running out to make a deal on future of nuclear program – key US politics stories from 28 January 2026President Trump has again raised the spectre of military intervention in Iran, warning the country to “Come to the Table” and quickly negotiate a deal.Noting that time was running out, Trump threatened that if an agreement could not be reached: “The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again.” Continue reading… More

Video filmed from inside Ecuador’s consulate in Minneapolis shows an ICE agent trying to enter the building but being prevented by consulate staffers, according to the country’s foreign ministry. Reuters confirmed the location as the Ecuadorian consulate in Minneapolis, from the doors, windows, walls, ceiling fixtures and building across the street that are seen in the video which matched file imagery of the consulate and the area. The date was verified by Ecuador’s ministry of foreign affairs that said an ICE agent attempted to enter the consulate’s facilities in Minneapolis on Tuesday 27 January. US politics live Continue reading… More

Candidates are putting universal childcare on platforms, and strategists say it could be a winning issueWhen Francesca Hong ran for the Wisconsin state assembly in 2020, childcare was not front and center in her campaign. Now, the Democratic representative, restaurateur and mother is running for governor. And she has said that a universal childcare bill would be among the first measures she would like to sign into law if she becomes her state’s chief executive.“We’re in a childcare catastrophe. We haven’t invested enough in this infrastructure,” Hong said in an interview with the Guardian. “Universal childcare meets the moment of the crisis we’re in, with the speed and scale to spread across the state.” Continue reading… More

The US president bears political responsibility for having greenlighted ICE agents’ regularly lawless conductAs public outrage grows over the killing of two protesters by Donald Trump’s deportation agents in Minneapolis, the White House is going into damage-control mode. It has its work cut out for it. Trump didn’t pull the triggers that killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti, but he bears political responsibility for having greenlighted the agents’ regularly lawless conduct.Good and Pretti should not have been killed. As far as can be seen in the ample video evidence that has emerged, neither posed a threat to the agents at the scene or anyone else. Their sole “offense” was to take a stand against the deportation raids. Yet trigger-happy agents needlessly shot them – Good as she was turning her car away from the agents, Pretti while he was restrained by agents on the ground. There was no plausible self-defense to justify these killings. Continue reading… More

A 9,000-member group’s legal win could flip a congressional seat to Democrats in the midtermsEmma Petty Addams is used to navigating political divides. She grew up as a conservative Mormon in California’s progressive San Francisco Bay Area. She identified as a Republican while attending the largely liberal Stanford University. At a young age, she learned how to find common ground with those who may not agree with her.“I was oftentimes one of the most vocal, if not the only vocal, conservative in the room,” she said. “I learned how to speak my mind in a way that was hopefully persuasive.” Continue reading… More

Conservative figures such as Riley Gaines and Allie Beth Stuckey are urging their followers to ward off empathy for victims of ICE’s crackdownRiley Gaines, the former collegiate swimmer turned anti-transgender activist, makes motherhood and femininity a core part of her brand. Her husband, Louis Barker, is a naturalized US citizen who moved to this country from the UK. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Margot, in September; Gaines said there was “nothing” she would not do to protect her baby. But do not think that Gaines is at all sympathetic to families targeted by ICE.This weekend, Gaines spoke on her podcast about Liam Ramos, the five-year-old boy taken by ICE agents from his driveway in Minneapolis. Images of Liam, clad in snowpants and wearing a blue hat with bunny ears, being held by a federal agent prompted widespread disgust in the US. How could a preschooler be considered one of the “dangerous” criminals Trump’s administration rails against? Continue reading… More