US Politics

After months of community resistance, the president backed down. Leadership from below succeeded when politics as usual failedFor most politicians and journalists, the answer to nearly every question is to look up. Not at the moon, the stars or even the chimney tops, but at their leaders: the people who sit atop institutions, wield power and set the line that others follow. The top of the totem pole is the sole focal point, and the stories that count usually come from the heights of power.Bend your neck back far enough and Davos becomes not a talking shop in a Swiss ski resort, but a gathering of world leaders; Keir Starmer flying into Beijing is a summit of great powers; even who should be the MP for Gorton and Denton is really all about the Labour leadership. For this piece, the Guardian’s research librarians counted how many times the words “leader” or “leadership” appeared across the British press. Over the past week alone, the rough total stands at 2,000. A third of those stories concern one man: Donald Trump.Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist Continue reading… More

After saying the US would attack if protesters were harmed, the president appears now to be tying the threat of airstrikes to Iran’s nuclear programmeDonald Trump has warned that Iran must come to the table to negotiate a deal over its nuclear programme or face the possibility of airstrikes and regime change, capping off a month of bellicose posturing and whiplash inducing u-turns from the US president.The US president’s demands threaten to open a new chapter in America’s long and tumultuous relationship with Iran, which in just over a decade has seen rapprochement, broken deals, targeted assassinations and unprecedented airstrikes. Continue reading… More

This blog has now closed. Read our latest story hereTwo federal officers fired their guns during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, according to an initial review by the Department of Homeland Security that was obtained by NBC News.Three sources told NBC News that the preliminary report, from a Customs and Border Protection internal investigation led by the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility, was sent to congressional committees yesterday, including the House homeland security and judiciary committees. Continue reading… More

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