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      Trump says Ukraine could regain all territory lost to Russia since 2022 invasion after meeting Zelenskyy at UN – live

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      In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that Ukraine is in a position to “fight and win back” all of the territory it has lost since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion.“Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump wrote, in a rare full-throated endorsement of Ukraine’s potential.“Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” Trump said in his lengthy social media meditation. He added that the US will continue to supply Nato with weapons for purchase.Earlier, in a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that the “Russian economy is terrible right now” and Ukraine has done a “pretty amazing” job at staving off the Kremlin’s forces.Donald Trump’s meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders at the United Nations has concluded. The president did not answer any questions, but White House pool reporters noted that he said he had a “very good meeting” and teased his intention to follow up with a meeting with Israel.The Associated Press also noted that special envoy Steve Witkoff offered a thumbs-up in response to a question about how the meeting went.China’s representative to the Security Council criticized the use of sanctions, a strategy that the Trump administration has shown renewed interest in at this meeting of the UN General Assembly.“Abusing unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction under the pretext of the crisis does not contribute to a political settlement,” the representative said.The United States has previously levied sanctions against China, and Chinese companies, for supporting Russia.Secretary of state Marco Rubio touted Donald Trump’s role in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine during a meeting of the UN Security Council, while also noting that the president was open to levying “additional economic costs” on Russia and selling additional defensive weaponry and “potentially offensive weaponry” to Ukraine.“The president is a very patient man,” Rubio said, “but his patience is not infinite.”“The United States remains as committed as it has ever been to a peaceful resolution to this dangeorous conflict, but there will come a moment where we will have to conclude that perhaps there is no interest in a peaceful resolution,” he added.Defense secretary Pete Hegseth has decided to close a Defense Department advisory committee dedicated to recruiting and retaining women in the military.In a social media post announcing the closure of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson wrote: “The Committee is focused on advancing a divisive feminist agenda that hurts combat readiness, while Secretary Hegseth has focused on advancing uniform, sex-neutral standards across the Department.”The advisory committee was founded in 1951 under Harry Truman’s presidency. The Military Times reported earlier this year that the committee was one of 14 defense advisory committees flagged for potential termination, though many of those would require congressional approval to be disbanded.Here’s more from my colleague Rachel Leingang:Speaking to the UN General Assembly today, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said that “trade is now being used as a weapon against a number of countries in the world.”The comment may have been a reference to Donald Trump’s tariffs – which include a 30% levy against South Africa. In May, Ramaphosa met Trump in the Oval Office, where the president played Ramaphosa a video that he falsely claimed proved genocide was being committed against white people under “the opposite of apartheid”.Here’s more on the state of the US-South Africa relationship from my colleague David Smith:Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer criticized Donald Trump for canceling a meeting with top Congressional Democrats, scheduled for Thursday, ahead of an approaching government funding deadline at the end of the month.At a press conference, Schumer said Trump should “stop ranting” and that “time is of the essence” as the 30 September deadline approaches.“Mr. President, do your job,” Schumer said.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also speaking currently at a UN meeting of the Security Council. “One of the prominent members of this council is doing everything to prolong the largest war in Europe since World War II,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia does this with its veto power.”“China is also represented here, a powerful nation on which Russia relies completely,” he added. “Without China, Putin’s Russia is nothing.”Zelenskyy also nodded to his recent meeting with Donald Trump. “We expect America’s actions to push Moscow toward peace,” he said.Donald Trump’s multilateral meeting with several leaders of Arab and Muslim countries has begun.In brief remarks to reporters, Trump said, “We want to end the war in Gaza.”“This is my most important meeting,” he added. “We’re going to end something that should have probably never started.”During his pull aside with Macron, Donald Trump flagged that his next meeting – a multilateral sitdown with several leaders of Arab and Muslim countries – will be crucial to address the ongoing crisis in Gaza.“We’re going to see if we can do something about it. We want to stop that. We want to get our hostages back, or their hostages back.”Much like his address to the general assembly today, the president said that we can’t “forget” the October 7 attack by Hamas in his meeting with Macron. In response, the French president said “nobody forgets the seventh of October”.This week, France joined Britain, Canada, Portugal and Australia to formally recognize Palestinian statehood. For his part, Donald Trump has branded the move as a “reward to Hamas”.In a meeting with French president Emanuel Macron, Donald Trump reiterated his recent comments on Truth Social that Ukraine has the potential to win back all the territory it has lost to Russia in the three and a half years since the most recent war in the region began.Trump said that Ukraine’s ability to fight back might prove that Russia is a “paper tiger”.“I feel that way. I really do feel that way. Let them get their land back,” the president added.In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump said that Ukraine is in a position to “fight and win back” all of the territory it has lost since the beginning of the 2022 Russian invasion.“Why not? Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump wrote, in a rare full-throated endorsement of Ukraine’s potential.“Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that! Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act,” Trump said in his lengthy social media meditation. He added that the US will continue to supply Nato with weapons for purchase.Earlier, in a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that the “Russian economy is terrible right now” and Ukraine has done a “pretty amazing” job at staving off the Kremlin’s forces.Earlier, president of the EU commission Ursula von der Leyen said that Donald Trump was “absolutely right” about European countries continuing to buy Russian energy products. A move the president described as “inexcusable” in his address to the UN general assembly today.“We’re on it. We have reduced already massive gas supply from Russia, completely gotten out of Russian coal, and massively also reduced the oil supply. But there’s still some coming to the European continent,” von der Leyen said during a pull aside meeting with the presiden. “So what we do now? We put sanctions out to those ports where, for example, energy is coming from Russia. And we want to put tariffs on oil supplies that are still coming to the European Union.”Ryan Routh, the man who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at the president’s Florida golf course last year, has been found guilty in federal court today.Routh, 59, was convicted on five counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. In September 2024, he was spotted with a rifle hiding in the bushes at the president’s West Palm Beach club as Trump’s golfing party approached. Routh represented himself in court, and prosecutors accused him of plotting for months to kill Donald Trump during his successful run to return to the White House.“Today’s guilty verdict against would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh illustrates the Department of Justice’s commitment to punishing those who engage in political violence,” said attorney general Pam Bondi.Jurors deliberated for just a few hours before returning with a guilty verdict. According to reports from the courtroom, as the verdict was being read, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen.Fox News reports that four marshals then dragged Routh out of the court room, shackled him, and brought him back. More

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      Trump says he believes Ukraine can regain all land lost to Russia since 2022 invasion

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      Donald Trump has said he believes Ukraine can regain all the land that it has lost since the 2022 Russian invasion in one of the strongest statements of support he has given Kyiv.The US president delivered his upbeat assessment by claiming Russia was in big economic trouble in a post on Truth Social after meeting the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in New York.He wrote: “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form.“With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option. Why not?”Trump added: “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years, a war that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win.”The US president said this was not making Russia look distinguished, but instead a paper tiger, pointing to the long queues for petrol inside the country. He added: “Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.” He also promised “to supply weapons to NATO for NATO to do what they want with them”.Earlier, Trump said that he planned to enforce his demand that Nato countries stop importing Russian oil – including Hungary, led by his close ally Viktor Orbán.In his speech to the UN general assembly the US president renewed his demand for Europe to end its “embarrassing” purchase of oil and gas from Russia, saying until it did so he would not impose his long-promised economic punishment on Moscow.Trump also said he believed Nato aircraft should shoot down Russian aircraft if they entered its airspace, but later qualified his remarks by saying it depended on the circumstances.He made his remarks alongside Zelenskyy, whom he described as a “brave man”. Asked if he still trusted the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, Trump said he would know in a month’s time.It came after the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had given less wholehearted support for shooting down Russian planes in Nato airspace, saying this should only happen “if they’re attacking”.View image in fullscreenIn his speech to the UN Trump mocked Nato allies’ failure to curb oil imports, saying: “China and India are the primary funders of the ongoing war by continuing to purchase Russian oil. But inexcusably, even Nato countries have not cut off much Russian energy and Russian energy products … I found out about it two weeks ago, and I wasn’t happy.“They’re funding the war against themselves. Who the hell ever heard of that one? In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs.“But for those tariffs to be effective, European nations, all of you … gathered here right now, would have to join us in adopting the exact same measures.”Trump did not specify the measures, but he has been stalling on a package that includes tariffs against countries that do business with Russia, such as India and China. He has already imposed 50% tariffs on India, but is also in the middle of negotiations that could see those lifted.Regarding Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, Trump said: “He’s a friend of mine. I have not spoken to him [about importing Russian oil], but I have a feeling if I did, he might stop, and I think I’ll be doing that.”In response to Trump’s demands, the EU is trying to bring forward the date by which it ends the import of liquid natural gas imports from Russia to 2026 – a year earlier than planned. The EU is opposed to imposing vast tariffs on China or India, but is looking at more targeted measures against Indian and Chinese oil refineries.Trump said he would be discussing the issue with EU leaders, adding: “They can’t be doing what they’re doing. They’re buying oil and gas from Russia while they’re fighting Russia … They have to immediately cease all energy purchases from Russia. Otherwise, we are all wasting a lot of time.”The EU’s 19th sanctions package also proposes export controls on another 45 companies that are deemed to be cooperating on sanctions evasion. Those include 12 Chinese, two Thai and three Indian entities that have enabled Russia to circumvent the bloc’s sanctions.View image in fullscreenHungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, told the Guardian that Hungary could not wean itself off Russian energy supplies. He said: “We can’t ensure the safe supply [of energy products] for our country without Russian oil or gas sources,” while adding that he “understood” Trump’s approach.“For us, energy supplies are a purely physical question,” he said. “It can be nice to dream about buying oil and gas from somewhere [besides Russia] … but we can only buy from where we have infrastructure. And if you look at the physical infrastructure, it’s obvious that without the Russian supplies, it is impossible to ensure the safe supply of the country.”Budapest relies on the Druzhba oil pipeline and the TurkStream gas pipeline to receive Russian hydrocarbons.Slovakia, the second EU country still importing Russian oil, said it had already spoken to the US about the issue, and received a sympathetic response. “As long as we have an alternative route, and the transmission capacity is sufficient, Slovakia has no problem diversifying,” said the economy minister, Denisa Saková.Hungary and Slovakia are the two countries that have most frequently called for the EU to reduce its support for Ukraine. More

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      Global investment in renewable energy up 10% on 2024 despite Trump rollback

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      Investment in renewable energy has continued to increase around the world despite moves by Donald Trump’s White House to cancel and derail low-carbon projects.In the first half of 2025, investment globally in renewable technologies and projects reached a record $386bn, up by about 10% on the same period last year.Investment in energy around the world is likely to hit about $3.3 trillion (£2.4tn) this year. While more than $1tn of the total is still likely to flow into fossil fuels, double that amount – about $2.2tn – is expected for low-carbon forms of energy.A report from the Zero Carbon Analytics thinktank, published on Tuesday, shows that the rate of increase in renewable energy investment has not slowed significantly. Between the first half of 2023 and of 2024, the total increased by 12% and from 2022 to 2023 the increase was 17%.Joanne Bentley-McKune, research analyst at the group, said: “This shows the sector still has momentum and underlying strength. There has been a decline [in the rate of growth] but it aligns with the average [of the last three years], and suggests that renewable energy investment is more resilient than might have been expected.”Finance for onshore and offshore wind increased by about a quarter in this first half of this year, reaching £126bn. China and Europe were the biggest markets for offshore wind.Since January this year, at least $470bn in future clean energy finance has been announced, according to the report, of which roughly three-quarters is slated for energy grids and electricity transmission. This is good news for governments hoping to reach their commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, as ageing and inadequate grids have been a major bottleneck for the achievement of renewable energy goals.A separate report, also published on Tuesday, found that big companies are also continuing to press ahead with their climate promises, despite hostility from Donald Trump’s administration in the US, and some high-profile moves to row back on commitments.According to data compiled by the Net Zero Tracker, a research consortium made up of thinktanks and academics, companies representing about 70% of the revenue of the top 2,000 listed companies globally were actively pursuing net zero plans.While Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement, and dismantled federal efforts to tackle the climate crisis, not all of the US has followed the federal government’s lead: 19 states remain committed to net zero, and 304 large companies headquartered in the US have net zero targets, up from 279 last year. Together, those companies account for nearly two-thirds of US corporate revenue, or about $12tn in revenue globally.John Lang, lead author of the report, said the impact of the White House on climate decisions made by large companies appeared limited. “Talk of a net zero recession is overblown. Backtracking is confined to fossil fuels and their financiers, while more companies are moving from box-ticking to real emission cuts – a long-overdue reset,” he said.But countries and companies still need to move faster, the report found. Although more are now putting measures in place to match their commitments, there is still a large gap between aspiration and action.Thomas Hale, professor of global public policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, said: “US companies know they need to keep pace with the EU, China and other regions where climate policy is increasingly shaping competitiveness. Net zero is less a political battleground and more a race to secure future markets, investment and jobs.” More

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      Europe has lost one superpower ally – can it afford to be in the crosshairs of two? | Nathalie Tocci

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      Europe’s relationship with the US is unmoored, but it has also lost its bearings with regard to China, caught by competing forces that pull and push in opposite directions.Europe’s China policy used to be a function of Washington’s. When Barack Obama tried and then failed to pivot to Asia in 2011, sucked into turmoil in the Middle East instead, Europeans lulled themselves into the belief that their relationship with Asia could continue to be driven by trade, with security an afterthought.Despite rising tensions in the South China Sea, the Korean peninsula and the Taiwan strait, European governments viewed Asia, including China, through a predominantly economic lens. China’s belt and road initiative was initially seen as a purely economic endeavour, lacking strategic edge. It was only as US-China relations soured, under the first Trump administration and then especially under Joe Biden, that Brussels switched gears.China was no longer seen only as a partner, but more warily, as a competitor and systemic rival. Investment screening, tariffs and export controls entered the European lexicon when talking about China. The link to the US was clear. While the EU rejected any decoupling from China, considering it undesirable and impossible, it began advocating “de-risking” instead. Once unpacked, this is no different from other trademark European concepts such as strategic autonomy and economic security. But the timing and the framing of Brussels’s more hawkish line made it clear that its north star on China was Washington.This worked so long as the transatlantic relationship was strong and Washington’s approach to China was clear and predictable. None of that is true today. Toughening up to match China’s assertiveness, for instance, by accepting and even advocating for Nato’s role in east Asia, continues to anger Beijing.But it no longer necessarily rallies favour in Washington. The Trump administration may bully Europeans to inflict costs on China, for example by applying secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas. But this does not guarantee that Trump will stand by Europe on Ukraine, or that Washington has any intention of exerting meaningful economic pressure on Beijing. So far, it’s China that has retained the upper hand in the trade war with the US. Trump treats Europe as subservient: he’s happy to see it inflict economic pain on Beijing at its own cost, but wants to avoid incurring such costs himself. As with most things Trump-related, it’s a toss of the coin whether he escalates or strikes deals with Beijing, naturally over the heads of European and Asian partners.With Washington’s north star gone, Europeans are left figuring out what they actually think, and how they’ll act towards China. Should they double down on trade protectionism to counter the negative impact on Europe of Chinese industrial overcapacity? Should they encourage Chinese technology transfers to the continent, avoid a trade war and jointly develop a strategy with Asia to save the global trade order? Should they embrace Chinese green tech, aware that proceeding with the energy transition and meeting climate ambitions is impossible without it, or try to dilute green dependency on China? And in the global south, as the US exits from the development aid field, can the EU realistically counter China’s vast belt and road initiative, or should it reconcile itself to its own “global gateway” infrastructure initiative being complementary to it?View image in fullscreenNone of these questions have simple answers. Making them harder still are two underlying dilemmas that lie at the heart of Europe’s own future.First is the future of liberal democracy in Europe. Democracy is under threat in the west. Far-right, nationalist and populist forces are on the rise, as is polarisation, radicalisation, disinformation and extremism, threatening fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and the separation of powers. China, unlike Russia and the Maga movement in the US, does not explicitly back these far-right forces, nor does it appear to have any desire to export its model of government. However, given that China is the ultimate case of an economically successful authoritarian system, it inspires those in Europe who want to see their countries move in an illiberal direction. No wonder that China’s closest European partners are Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia, as was blatantly on display when their leaders (or, in Hungary’s case, foreign minister) attended China’s military parade in Beijing in September. When it comes to the magnetic draw that China exerts on authoritarian and illiberal forces in Europe, there’s not much European governments and institutions can expect from Beijing. The onus is on them to demonstrate that liberal democracy delivers.The second dilemma regards security, and in particular the war in Ukraine. While China claims to be neutral maintaining ties with Kyiv and Moscow – and, at least theoretically, supports sovereignty and territorial integrity – in practice it sides with Moscow. President Xi Jinping’s no-limits friendship with Vladimir Putin is increasingly on display, and Beijing’s peace efforts on Ukraine have proved empty. In fact, China has visibly benefited from the war, not only through cheap Russian oil and gas, but especially strategically: Russia has become the junior partner in the relationship.Europe cannot push China to turn its back on Russia, nor expect it to stop trading with Russia. But if China were truly neutral, it wouldn’t support Russia through the export of dual-use technology. If it genuinely wanted the war to end, it would exert pressure on Moscow, just like it did to mitigate Putin’s worst instincts when he irresponsibly threatened the use of nuclear weapons. Especially now that Trump’s failed diplomacy on Ukraine has revealed to all that it’s Putin, and Putin alone, that does not want the war to end.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionWhen I was in Beijing this month, I argued that Ukraine now represents a core interest for Europe, and that China’s stance on the war is the biggest thorn in Europe-China relations. I said that it was not only a question of values – on which, tragically, any remaining European credibility has collapsed since the Gaza war – but of security interests. The replies I got were telling. Just as Europeans now view their relationship with China through the lens of Russia, China sees Europe through the paradigm of its competition with the US. Beijing believes that if worst comes to worst in US-China relations, Europe would stand with Washington, notwithstanding Trump and the US’s abandonment and betrayal of Europe. For China, I was told, keeping Russia on side is a strategic must. In the current circumstances Russia trumps Europe from Beijing’s perspective. It’s hard not to see the logic.Russia represents a vital threat to European security and Europeans will bend over backwards to keep the US engaged in their defence. This is likely to fail – regardless of how much flattery and self-abasement they offer to Trump. And while Europe could potentially confront Russia without the US, it cannot do so while China is in its crosshairs too.This leaves Europe with no easy way out, but wishing the problem away is no answer.

      Nathalie Tocci is a Guardian Europe columnist More

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      Trump officials unveil highly contentious conclusions on autism

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      The Trump administration unveiled highly contentious conclusions about the causes of autism, together with a push for research purporting to find a possible “cure” for the condition on Monday.After months of widely trumpeted investigations spearheaded by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump announced that pregnant women should limit their use of acetaminophen, usually branded as Tylenol in the US, which he claimed heightens the risk of autism when it used by pregnant women, an assertion hotly contested by scientists internationally and contradicted by studies.Speaking from the White House, flanked by Kennedy, the president said he had “waited for 20 years for this meeting … and added: “It’s not that everything’s 100% understood or known, but I think we’ve made a lot of strides.”But he declared: “Taking Tylenol is not good … All pregnant women should talk to their doctors about limiting the use of this medication while pregnant.”Kennedy followed, announcing that the health department and US Food and Drug Administration would work to change the label on acetaminophen risks.He also spoke about upcoming recommendations that the hepatitis B shot, currently given to newborns as part of the national vaccine standards, should be given in a delayed manner or in smaller doses, despite limited evidence of the impacts.The announcements were made by Trump amid a blaze of fanfare at the White House, in a ceremony attended by other senior administration figures.Trump, who has frequently voiced his concern over autism and said, along with Kennedy, that the US is suffering from an “epidemic”, flagged up a major initiative on Sunday at Charlie Kirk’s memorial in Arizona.“Tomorrow we’re going to have one of the biggest announcement[s] … medically, I think, in the history of our country,” he said. “I think you’re going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism.”One in 31 children aged eight had a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) – a condition denoting communication and social difficulties, along with repetitive behaviors – in the US in 2022, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That compares to about one in 150 in 2000.Kennedy, who previously peddled the theory that the condition is caused by vaccinations, has attributed the rise to “environmental toxins”.However, specialists say the increase is mainly due to increased screening, combined with evolving definitions of the disorder. They have also said the causes are predominantly dictated by genetics.Scientists in the US and UK reacted to the Tylenol link sceptically, with British physicians denouncing it as “fearmongering” that risked stigmatising parents of children with autism.Speaking on a call organized by Defend America Action, a campaign group, Debra Houry, a former chief medical officer and deputy director at the CDC, told journalists: “As of three weeks ago, we hadn’t seen evidence that acetaminophen was linked with autism, so it’s curious to know how quickly that was developed.”“There are many studies which refute a link, but the most important was a Swedish study of 2.4m births published in 2024 which used actual sibling data and found no relationship between exposure to paracetamol [known in the US as acetaminophen] in utero and subsequent autism, ADHD or intellectual disability,” said Dr Monique Botha, associate professor in social and developmental psychology at Durham University“The fearmongering will prevent women from accessing the appropriate care during pregnancy.US medical practitioners also cast doubt on the putative link with acetaminophen.Dan Jernigan, another former CDC career scientist and former director of the national center for emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases, criticised Kennedy’s efforts to study autism.“We were all asked to be a part of autism studies and to put together [an autism plan],” he said. We helped develop some of that. But then over time, what we saw was [Kennedy] having an increasingly top down approach, essentially ‘my way or the highway,’ with no regard again for the scientific processes.”Some researchers have also pleaded caution on hopes for leucovorin, which has been reportedly shown in some tests to trigger marked improvements in the speaking and understanding ability of some people with autism.Irva Hertz-Picciotto, an epidemiologist and autism specialist at the University of California, Davis, told the Washington Post that unrealistic expectations could lead to a loss of trust.“I worry that it feels like everything is now tainted that comes out of the current administration,” she said.Bruce Mirken, communications co-chair of Defend Public Health, poured cold water on the announcements in advance. “While we don’t know what he will claim today, we do know that Kennedy has a history of false statements related to autism and that the scientific evidence shows there is no ‘autism epidemic’,” he said.Additional reporting by Melody Schreiber and agencies More

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      Democrats urge Trump border czar investigation over bribery allegation

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      Democrats have urged treasury watchdogs to investigate reports that Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan accepted a $50,000 bag of cash from an undercover FBI agent in return for political favours.In the alleged scheme, Homan promised immigration-related government contracts when he joined the Trump administration in exchange for the money, according to unnamed sources quoted by multiple media outlets. The justice department subsequently shut down a bribery investigation.On Monday, Congressman Dave Min of California, a member of the House of Representatives oversight committee, wrote to treasury inspector general Russell George and treasury inspector general for tax administration Russell Martin to call for scrutiny of whether Homan reported the payment and whether it was connected to his private consulting firm.“History suggests that we should follow the money – especially if it went unreported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS),” wrote Min, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s Fighting Corruption Taskforce. “Under federal law, all income, legal or illegal, must be reported to the IRS, including payments stemming from bribery.“Knowingly failing to report this income would likely violate federal tax law. Accordingly, I request that your offices investigate whether Mr Homan properly reported this payment on his 2024 federal tax return.”Homan oversees the Trump administration’s campaign of mass deportations of people in the country illegally. An unapologetic immigration hardliner, he explained a decision to defy a court order that barred the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members by stating: “I don’t care what the judges think.”Homan was previously an official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) under Barack Obama and its acting director in Trump’s first term. During Trump’s four years out of power, he ran a consulting business to help companies obtain immigration-related government contracts.In the recorded sting operation, Homan accepted a $50,000 bribe contained in a bag from the restaurant chain Cava, claiming he would keep the money in a trust until he had completed his service in the Trump administration, a source told the Reuters news agency.Homan was then investigated for bribery and other crimes but this was shut down after Trump took office, reportedly because he did not hold a government position at the time and because of the difficulty of proving that he had agreed to carry out any specific acts in exchange for the money.At a press briefing on Monday, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied that Homan had accepted such a payment. “Mr Homan never took the $50,000 you’re referring to, so you should get your facts straight,” she told one reporter.“The White House and the president stand by Tom Homan 100% because he did absolutely nothing wrong,” Leavitt added. She insisted that FBI agents and prosecutors found no evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing by the border czar.But Carol Leonnig, one of the MSNBC journalists who broke the story, responded on social media: “White House spokesperson says that Homan never took $50,000; we reviewed internal document saying Homan accepted the cash payment from undercover FBI agents in September 2024.”Political pressure on Homan is mounting. On Sunday Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator for Massachusetts, posted on the X platform: “The act was caught on camera. The administration must turn over the tapes to Congress. Every decision made by Homan must be scrutinized for possible corruption.”Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut added on Monday: “$50,000 cash in a bag – clearly Border Czar Tom Homan isn’t afraid to solicit personal payments in exchange for government favors. Trump leaders aren’t serving the country – they’re failing it, putting personal profit first. Another example of rampant corruption in this admin.”Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania wrote on X: “White House knew Homan had accepted $50K to influence contracts. They appointed him anyways. Then they disbanded the DOJ’s Public Integrity unit and quashed the Homan investigation. There’s no end to the corruption in Trump’s White House.” More

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      Zohran Mamdani withdraws from ABC town hall in Kimmel protest

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      Zohran Mamdani, the New York Democratic mayoral candidate, has announced he is withdrawing from a televised town hall hosted by a local ABC station in protest of the network’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s talkshow.ABC indefinitely pulled Kimmel’s late-night show off air on 17 September after the chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses if the network did not act against Kimmel. Kimmel had criticized the Trump administration’s reaction to the killing of rightwing youth organizer Charlie Kirk.The suspension sparked backlash from politicians, media figures and free-speech organizations, and it has prompted boycotts and protests against both ABC and its parent company, Disney.Mamdani, who was set to participate in a town hall event with New York’s WABC on Thursday, said he would no longer take part.“I am withdrawing not as an indictment of the local affiliate or the hard-working journalists, but rather in response to the corporate leaders who have put their bottom line ahead of their responsibility in upholding the freedom of the press,” Mamdani said on Monday during a news conference.“We cannot understand this moment of authoritarianism as solely coming from the White House, when it is also characterized by the cowardice of those in response to it.”He also mentioned his opponents in the mayoral race, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Eric Adams. The Trump administration has reportedly explored offering Adams a position in exchange for the incumbent’s dropping out of the race, with polling suggesting the contest would tighten in favor of Cuomo, whom the president prefers to Mamdani.Mamdani said: “I am running to be the next mayor of the city to finally make clear what it looks like to stand up, not just for this city, but also for the constitution.“We have to understand who suffers in these moments. It’s not just a question of Jimmy Kimmel himself, it’s also a question of the engineers, the writers, the musicians who are feeling this attack on the very city they call home. The message that it sends to each and every American across this country is a message that [free speech] is no longer a right that can be counted on, but rather that it is the government which will determine what should and should not be discussed, what can and cannot be spoken.”Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.On Friday, Variety reported that Disney and Kimmel were working on a compromise that would bring his talkshow back on air.Meanwhile, a report from Front Office Sports explored some potential complications to such a compromise. The outlet reported that Disney could be facing a choice between putting Kimmel back on air and completing a multibillion-dollar deal with the National Football League to swap the NFL Network, RedZone brand, NFL Fantasy Football and other media assets for a 10% stake in Disney-owned sportscaster ESPN.Mamdani, a state assembly member from Queens, won the Democratic nomination in June, defeating Cuomo. With less than two months until the 4 November general election, Mamdani has continued to hold a commanding lead in the polls.A recent poll showed Mamdani with 43% support among registered New York City voters. Cuomo, who is now running as an independent, received 28% support in the poll.Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa polled at 10% support, and Adams, also running as an independent, polled at 8%. Nine percent of respondents said they were still undecided.Kathy Hochul, the Democratic New York governor, has endorsed Mamdani in his race to become the next mayor of one of the world’s most prominent cities. More

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      Vance puts Charlie Kirk’s Christian faith front and center – with an eye on 2028

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      JD Vance went into confessional mode. “I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking about my faith in public,” he said. “As much as I love the Lord, and as much as it was an important part of my life, I have talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life.”The crowd at rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk’s memorial service at a football stadium in Glendale, Arizona on Sunday rose to its feet and roared its approval.The apparent ad lib by the US vice-president showed his ability to read the room. The service had put Kirk’s Christian faith front and centre. Vance’s moment of self-revelation could also have political utility if and when he runs to succeed Donald Trump as president in 2028.Trump, a thrice-married New Yorker with little knowledge of scripture, secured the evangelical vote with promises that included a pliant supreme court. Candidate Vance would have to win them all over again, and knows the new generation of young Christians who idolised Kirk would be a good start.The 41-year-old former Ohio senator has already taken a lead role in mobilising Kirk’s online army at Turning Point USA, likely to be a crucial part of the next Republican electoral coalition, and seeking to claim his mantle as “youth whisperer”.After Kirk was shot dead at an event in Utah, Vance posted a heartfelt tribute on social media, describing him as “true friend” who had advocated for him to be Trump’s running mate.He personally escorted Kirk’s casket from Utah to Arizona on the vice presidential plane Air Force Two. After disembarking, his wife Usha held hands with Kirk’s widow Erika – both dressed in all black and wearing sunglasses – as Vance followed dutifully behind.Vance then guest-hosted Kirk’s podcast from his ceremonial office and demanded that anyone caught celebrating the murder be named and shamed. “Hell, call their employer,” he said.Some of this may be the genuine response of a friend. But it is also impossible to ignore Vance’s ruthless ambition. The author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, drawing on his upbringing in Ohio and Kentucky, only joined the Senate in 2023 and is now vice-president.In her new book, 107 Days, former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris described Vance as a “shape-shifter” and “a shifty guy” who, in last year’s vice presidential debate against Tim Walz, “sane-washed the crazy” and played the role of “a mild-mannered, aw-shucks Appalachian”.Vance’s presidential campaign for 2028 is already said to be in “soft launch” mode as he positions himself as the frontrunner for the Republican nomination. He has reportedly expressed a desire for Susie Wiles, the White House of chief staff, to manage his potential campaign.His most overt move came in March, when he was appointed finance chair of the Republican National Committee – a role unprecedented for a sitting vice-president. It positions him at the nexus of Republican money, allowing frequent interactions with mega-donors.Vance has methodically built a profile that blends Trump’s populist bombast with a sharper focus on economic nationalism and cultural warfare. Vance is sceptical of foreign intervention in Ukraine and elsewhere. He bared his teeth in February when, sitting in the Oval Office, he berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for showing insufficient gratitude to Trump.His media strategy builds on Trump’s “podcast election” playbook, emphasising unfiltered platforms to rally the base. His appearance on the memorial Charlie Kirk Show demonstrated a merger of Maga’s grassroots fervour with Turning Point’s youth-focused activism – a partnership likely to define the party’s outreach strategy in future elections.Vance’s willingness to engage critics in online debate has an echo of Kirk’s go-everywhere, talk-to-anyone approach. When US forces recently struck a vessel allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, Vance wrote on X: “Killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”Brian Krassenstein, a podcaster and Trump critic, responded to Vance’s post by stating: “Killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.” Vance shot back “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” (Rand Paul, a Republican senator, responded: “What a despicable and thoughtless sentiment it is to glorify killing someone without a trial.”)Charlie Sykes, a political commentator and author of How the Right Lost Its Mind, says: “The only question I have is whether JD Vance wants to be the heir apparent to Donald Trump or to Charlie Kirk.“The line between people wanting to be influential podcasters and real political power is getting somewhat shaky. Apparently JD Vance has decided his route to power is to essentially try to fill Charlie Kirk’s shoes and engage in his kind of rhetoric.”Vance’s lead in hypothetical 2028 Republican primary polls is commanding, a testament to his proximity to Trump. A June 2025 Emerson College Polling survey of 416 likely Republican primary voters found Vance at 46% support, dwarfing secretary of state Marco Rubio (12%) and Florida governor Ron DeSantis (9%).His performance on Sunday will have done no harm, especially with the religious right. He referenced God 10 times, spoke of “the truth that Jesus Christ was the king of kings” and said of Kirk “He would tell me to pray for my friends, but also for my enemies. He would tell me to put on the full armour of God and get back to work.”His white shirt, red tie and blue suit were all the same shade as Trump’s, and he delivered his remarks from a lectern with the presidential seal. It was a glimpse of a possible future featuring an occupant of the White House who could prove even more hard-edged, pitiless and authoritarian than Trump himself.Sykes adds: “I would never describe Trump as more moderate but I do think that JD Vance’s rhetoric could be a warning that, if you think things are bad, they can possibly get even worse.” More