US Politics

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

Lawyer for administration had apologized earlier for violating court order and admitted ‘mistake’A US federal judge in Boston on Friday gave the Trump administration three weeks to “rectify the mistake” it made by deporting a college student to Honduras while she was traveling home to visit her family for Thanksgiving as he recommended it issue her a student visa.The US district judge, Richard Stearns, imposed the deadline after a lawyer for the administration earlier this week apologized for having violated a court order that should have prevented 19-year-old Any Lucia López Belloza from being sent to Honduras. She is a Honduran national who was brought to the United States by her mother when she was eight while seeking asylum. Continue reading… More

Federal agents face widespread accusations of misconduct – but Trump administration leaders won’t prosecute themUS citizens and permanent residents: have you been racially profiled by ICE?Rochelle Bilal, Philadelphia’s sheriff, warned ICE agents last week: “If any of them want to come in this city and commit a crime, you will not be able to hide.“Nobody will whisk you off,” she said. “You don’t want this smoke, ’cause we will bring it to you.” Continue reading… More

Late-night hosts spoke on Trump’s comments about skipping elections and his newly donated Nobel peace prizeLate-night hosts covered alarming new comments by Donald Trump as well as his outburst at a heckler in Michigan. Continue reading… More

When he returned to power last year, Trump was eager to negotiate a new deal with Tehran, but a diplomatic breakthrough has been elusiveWill Donald Trump order a US military attack on Iran? That question captivated the world for the past two weeks, as the US president issued bellicose threats warning the Iranian regime not to crack down on nationwide protests demanding economic and social reforms. On Tuesday, as he was scheduled to be briefed by Pentagon officials on various options for a strike, Trump posted a message on social media urging Iranians to continue their demonstrations and take over government institutions. The president signaled that he was leaning toward ordering an attack, telling protesters that “help is on its way”.But by Wednesday, Trump pulled back from the brink of a military intervention, saying he had received assurances from “very important sources” that Iran had stopped killing protesters and was not moving forward with executions. A group of US allies in the Middle East – including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Turkey – seem to have succeeded in a last-ditch effort to convince Trump not to launch airstrikes against Tehran, warning it could unleash a wider conflict in the region. While many Sunni-led Arab states resent Shia Iran’s influence in the Arab world, they are also worried about retaliatory attacks by Iran and its allies, an influx of refugees and a civil war that could lead to the collapse of the Iranian state. Continue reading… More

To longtime immigrant rights activists, the reckoning around the fatal shooting in Minnesota may feel familiarUS citizens and permanent residents: have you been racially profiled by ICE?As mass protests erupted over the past week after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killed Renee Nicole Good, thousands of Americans hoisted signs and marched to thunderous chants of “abolish ICE”.The mantra has quickly captured the bursting anger and grief of a nation; activists and progressive lawmakers like the representative Ayanna Pressley, and even the conservative commentator Bill Kristol have embraced the demand. Shri Thanedar, a Democratic representative from Michigan, said he planned to introduce the “Abolish ICE act”, a bill that would dismantle the federal agency and its current enforcement authority. For the first time, more US adults now support eliminating ICE than those who oppose it, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll. Continue reading… More

Family members left stunned and bereft after their loved ones were spirited away by federal immigration agentsPeople in Minneapolis and St Paul: what is life like in the Twin Cities right now?Paulo Sosa Garcia and Ramona Cecilia Silva were heading to work in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, on Monday morning when federal immigration agents pulled them over and arrested them. By the next morning, they were detained in El Paso, Texas.Tomas Martinez Gregorio was driving his wife, Daisy Martinez, and their six-year-old son, Jayren, to a hospital in Brooklyn Park when federal agents pulled them over and took Gregorio. Jayren never made it to his tonsillectomy appointment. Continue reading… More