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\n Richard Luscombe is a reporter for Guardian US based in Miami, Florida
","uri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/lists/tag/profile/richardluscombe"},"cards":[{"title":"US teen accused of stabbing three horses at Las Vegas rodeo","rawTitle":"US teen accused of stabbing three horses at Las Vegas rodeo","item":{"trailText":"Prosecutors seek to try 17-year-old as adult after animals injured at major barrel racing event","body":"A teenage girl who allegedly stabbed three show horses at a weekend rodeo in Las Vegas, Nevada, is a “crazy, obsessed stalker” who waited in a darkened barn to commit the attacks, the owner of one of the animals has said.
\nThe Nevada city’s police department arrested a 17-year-old female on Saturday for the incidents at the National Barrel Horse Association’s supershow, a competition for the sport’s top riders at the South Point equestrian arena on the Las Vegas strip.
\nArielle Phillips, the owner and rider of Detail, one of the horses that was stabbed, said the alleged perpetrator had been following her on social media “for a long time”, and saw the show as a chance to finally meet her and her mare.
\n“Last night at 11pm I was sitting with Detail at her stall for an hour,” Phillips said in a post on Facebook on Sunday. “This girl came by twice trying to make conversation and ask weird questions. She had no business hanging out in [the] barn.”
\nPhillips said the attacker struck just minutes after she left the horse latched in its stable for the night, confirmed by security camera footage that showed her entering Detail’s stall, and that of two other animals.
\nA statement from the Las Vegas metropolitan police department said the suspect used “a sharp object” to injure Detail, and other owners’ horses identified as Rocket and Saaul Good, nicknamed Sully.
\n“The teen had access to the barn, and investigators believe she may have used a knife to inflict multiple injuries to the horses,” the statement said.
\n“While the injuries are not considered life-threatening, they are expected to prevent the horses from competing.”
\nSteven Wolfson, the Clark county district attorney, said in a statement that his office was seeking to try the girl as an adult on charges of willful or malicious killing, maiming or torturing an animal; and three counts of felony malicious destruction of private property.
\n“These allegations involve deliberate acts of extreme cruelty against defenseless animals and have had a significant impact on the victims, the owners, and the broader equestrian community,” Wolfson wrote.
\nAccording to Phillips, the girl remained in the barn after attacking the horses, and claimed in a phone call to the daughter of Phillips’s boyfriend shortly after midnight on Saturday that she noticed the stall door open and that Detail was “quivering”.
\n“Impossible! I latch and triple wrap the latch before I leave,” Phillips wrote. She said she raced to the scene to find the girl hosing down the horse, and that a vet who stitched up Detail at 2.30am confirmed the injuries were “perfect stab wounds”.
\nThe alleged attacker left, and was arrested later in the morning at a nearby hotel, the police statement said. She is not being identified because she is a minor.
\nNBC News reported that Sully was hurt after securing a first-place finish in the first race of the show on Saturday. The rider, Hailey Krahenbuhl, could not be reached for comment, the outlet said.
\n“I can’t even put into words the pain I feel for my mare and for Hailey’s Sully,” Phillips wrote on Facebook.
\n“Detail, the mare that would walk away from a fresh pile of hay just to come greet me and love on me, she now does not let me even put my hands near her. She is traumatized.
\n“Everytime she runs away from the approach of my hand, I burst into tears. This is my best friend. An innocent sweet horse, who only knows how to give me her ALL was brutally tortured for no reason.”
\nA statement from the NBHA said the three-day show “experienced an isolated incident … involving the mistreatment of a limited number of equine athletes by an event competitor”.
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\nPolice in Muscatine, about 50 miles (80km) south-east of Cedar Rapids, said 52-year-old Ryan Willis McFarland fatally shot four people at a home in the city, then killed himself on a riverfront trail as officers spoke to him.
\nTwo victims were employees of the Muscatine community school district, and two were students, said Clint Christopher, the district’s superintendent, in a “message to the school community” posted on Facebook.
\nTwo other men also believed to be relatives of McFarland were later found fatally shot elsewhere in the city, according to Anthony Kies, the Muscatine police chief.
\nOne man was found in his home and the other was discovered dead inside a business, Kies said at a press conference.
\nA preliminary investigation indicated the shootings “stemmed from a domestic-related dispute”, the Muscatine police department said in a statement.
\nIt was the ninth mass murder of 2026 in the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), which defines such cases as one in which four or more victims are killed with a firearm, excluding the attacker.
\nResearch has shown that 94% of “family annihilations”, more commonly known as familicides, are committed by male perpetrators – and firearms are used in 86% of such cases.
\nUsing data from the GVA, which tracks all reported shootings across the US, the Indianapolis Star determined in 2023 that this specific category of crime occurs on average once every five days.
\nIn the three years to July 2023, the newspaper found, there were at least 227 familicides and 754 deaths. The analysis focused on two types of immediate family members: a spouse or partner, children, parents or siblings; and killings involving former spouses and partners, and stepfamily members.
\nPerpetrators killed themselves in 64% of the cases, as happened in Monday’s case. McFarlane was found to have left the residence when officers arrived and was traced to Muscatine’s riverfront walking trail.
\nOfficers and emergency medical personnel attempted life-saving measures for what they said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but McFarland was pronounced dead at the scene.
\nAuthorities have yet to release the names of the victims or any details about them.
\nAn ABC television affiliate reported that at least two of the victims were children.
\n“Today I simply do not have the words,” Kies said. “This act of evil and what it has done to our community.”
\nThe city’s police department is continuing to investigate the shootings, working to process the crime scenes and conduct interviews. Police have asked anyone with information to contact its major crimes unit.
\nKies confirmed that McFarland had a criminal record did but not elaborate further.
\nThe Associated Press and Reuters contributed reporting
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\nAcross the street, two people silently held a giant “NO CONCENTRATION CAMPS” sign. Members of local chapters from Indivisible, a national movement behind the No Kings protests, held handmade posters reading “Gov Sherrill, stop lying about Delaney Hall” and “NJ Staties were the aggressors” – a reference to Sherrill and state attorney general Jennifer Davenport’s calling the anti-ICE protesters “violent”.
\n\n On Friday Sherrill had announced that state law enforcement would be taking over policing duties outside the detention center from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to try to lower tensions after eight days of confrontations with supporters of immigrants being held inside. But the situation remains tense, with more attenders visiting the Delaney Hall protests in recent days, either to support detainees being released or stand with other protesters facing law enforcement.
\nOfficials in New Jersey said earlier that several protesters were arrested overnight for defying a curfew at Delaney Hall. Davenport posted on X that a group of individuals “had come to the protest armed with helmets, shields, or gas masks, [and] deliberately refused to comply with repeated orders to leave the area”, resulting in their arrest.
\nThe New York Post, which had journalists at the scene, reported the number of arrests was at least between 20 and 25 – and published photographs of several people being led away in cuffs by state police. A social media post from advocacy groups, including the Immigration Coalition, late on Sunday said there were “over 46 Delaney Hall protesters … arrested”.
\nCBS News reported that state officers in riot gear, and others on horseback, rushed the crowd less than 15 minutes after issuing a dispersal order to people gathered outside a half-mile exclusion zone around the facility, some of the scenes captured on a video posted to YouTube by bystanders.
\nAt the state legislature protest, Diane Herbert Cooper, a member of an Indivisible chapter in nearby Camden county, grew emotional on the mic addressing the crowd, recounting what she had witnessed. “Sherill made it worse,” Cooper continued. “That is 100% true — the state police did not make it any better, they made it worse.”
\n“Mikie, focus on the detainees,” pleaded Eileen Bird with Resistencia en Accion New Jersey, one of the groups making up the state’s Eyes on ICE Coalition. “They have rotten food, they have no medical care, they need more legal support and they need freedom.”
\nDelaney Hall detainees have been engaged in hunger and labor strikes against conditions at the center, and the temporary suspension by government officials of visitation rights for their families.
\n![\"A](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/95da4da43280e65f0ab0b9fb37349106b296593e/0_0_3000_2000/1000.jpg\")
\n Multiple attenders, including Cooper, said they had been a part of getting Sherrill elected, or had voted for her, on the assumption that she would stand up against violent ICE operations, something that she flagged early in her tenure. Not yet five months into her tenure as governor, protesters were discussing how to recall her.
\nNeal McGrath of Hopewell, New Jersey, was at Delaney on Sunday, but left before the violence began. He said he went to support the people detained within the ICE facility, but due to the “free speech zone” the governor enacted on Friday keeping protesters away from the entrance to the facility, that wasn’t possible.
\n“Sherrill’s state police made sure we were so far away that [the detainees] had no idea we were out there, so it was meaningless,” said McGrath. “They weren’t just depriving our civil rights to protest, but they were taking [our presence] away from the kidnapped victims that are being held in that so-called detention center.”
\nOther public officials, however, raised concern along Sherrill and Davenport.
\n\nNewark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, said in a social media post on Sunday that he was mandating an immediate 9pm to 6am curfew “due to the escalating situation at Delaney Hall and the increasing need for police intervention … to protect public safety”. Multiple individuals, he said, were arrested on Saturday night in possession of weapons.
\nMeanwhile, the X account of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a video on Sunday night of an apparently unarmed protester sitting on a curb who was dragged at gunpoint behind a line of officers in riot gear and shields. “Don’t be this guy,” the caption said.
\nA succession of similar, previous DHS posts through Sunday carried messages including, “law and order”, “ZERO tolerance for rioters” and “if you riot, you will face the consequences”.
\nThe DHS has claimed allegations of mistreatment or denial of medical care for detained immigrants – and complaints of meager or inedible food portions sometimes containing maggots – are “a hoax” promoted by certain politicians.
\n“No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been better treated than illegal aliens,” the post said.
\n“ALL detainees receive FULL due process and are provided comprehensive medical care and 3 meals a day. Our menu at Delaney Hall even includes a WIDE range of meals like fajitas, burritos, jambalaya, fruit, vegetables, salads, brownies, and cake.”
\nThe government’s assertions are starkly at odds with testimony from Democratic politicians about what they saw inside the ICE facility, which is operated by the Geo Group, one of the biggest private prison companies in the US, and which has an average daily population of between 800 and 900.
\n“We spoke to several individuals, none of whom has a criminal record, many of whom have been detained here at Delaney Hall for months,” the top US House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, told reporters after a congressional oversight visit on Sunday with party congressional colleagues Josh Gottheimer, Rob Menendez Jr and LaMonica McIver.
\n![\"Police](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/52a4a98da98499f9fec6f92bcc295c1c0c5dfd9d/0_0_4096_2653/1000.jpg\")
\n “The lack of access to quality food, that’s not America. The lack of access to adequate medical treatment, that’s not America. The retaliation that’s taking place, that’s not America.
\n“The fact there are 18-year-old high school girls being held here is not America.”
\nSherrill confirmed on Sunday that family visitation at Delaney Hall had been restored to at least part of the site, and would resume fully on Monday after it was suspended by the DHS citing the violence in the facility’s proximity.
\nPhotojournalist Adriano Kalin, who traveled from Chicago to New Jersey to document the action at Delaney Hall, was on the ground over the weekend at the protests – as he has been at multiple other anti-ICE demonstrations across the country.
\nAs a journalist and an immigrant, Kalin said, he believes it was important for him to bear witness to what was happening. “The press have been in harm’s way [at other anti-ICE protests], but we’ve never been targeted,” he said. “This is the first time that I’ve seen state or local [police] charge and attack press directly.”
\nKalin posted on Instagram footage of a flash-bang grenade thrown directly at his feet as he recorded the state police pressing into the crowd in riot gear. “America has always been this volatile, especially for marginalized communities, but what is making people very uncomfortable is that everyone has their iPhone with them,” he said. “I mean, 4K footage is very hard to dispute.”
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\nThe divided, majority opinion by a three-judge panel of the US court of appeals for Washington DC is expected to be challenged by the government. And the case is ultimately likely to reach the US supreme court.
\nThe ruling was held from going into immediate effect, allowing the administration time to ask the full appeals court to hear the case.
\nBut it represents a blunt rebuke of the US defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s implementation of Donald Trump’s January 2025 presidential order mandating the removal of hundreds of transgender service members.
\n\nSuch banning of transgender people from the military is illegal and “both arbitrary, and based on animus”, Robert Wilkins, a circuit judge, wrote in the majority opinion.
\nMonday’s decision mostly upholds a preliminary injunction issued by Ana Reyes, a district court judge, in March 2025 preventing the dismissal of six active-duty transgender people who are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
\nAt the time, Reyes wrote: “The court knows that this opinion will lead to heated public debate and appeals. In a healthy democracy, both are positive outcomes.
\n“We should all agree, however, that every person who has answered the call to serve deserves our gratitude and respect.”
\nHegseth indicated in a social media post that the Trump administration intends to appeal the decision. “See you at SCOTUS,” the post read in response to a Fox News reporter posting about the ruling.
\nTrump’s order had claimed the sexual identity of transgender service members “conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life”. The order also argued that transgender service members’ sexual identity was harmful to military readiness.
\nHegseth subsequently issued a policy presumptively disqualifying people with gender dysphoria, a medical condition arising from a person’s distress related to feelings about their gender identity, from military service.
\nThe appeals court judges on Monday were ruling on the government’s appeal of Reyes’s injunction. They decided to narrow its scope to the estimated 1,000 members of the military who openly identify as trans – but not those who are seeking to join.
\n“In this litigation, the government has not attempted to defend or provide any factual basis for these disparaging characterizations of American citizens,” Wilkins wrote, adding that the policy “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group: persons who identify as transgender”.
\nWilkins was appointed to the appeals court by Barack Obama, a former Democratic president.
\nThe dissenting judge, Justin Walker, appointed by Trump during the Republican’s first presidency, argued that the judiciary did not have the necessary authority or experience to determine who could be excluded from the military.
\nHe wrote that only the executive and legislative branches of the federal government “are responsible for system-wide military judgments about the composition of the armed forces”.
\n“The supreme court has never assumed that role for itself,” Walker added. “Neither has the DC Circuit. Not until today.”
\nThere was no immediate reaction to the ruling from the White House or defense department.
\nThe Associated Press contributed reporting
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\nKeith Ellison, a Democrat, said Saturday’s gesture at the state Republicans’ annual convention in Duluth was “an act of profound cruelty” to Floyd’s family and “disrespectful” to Minnesota’s law enforcement personnel.
\n“This decision dishonors the memory of George Floyd and wounds his loved ones all over again,” Ellison said in a statement.
\nAlluding to how the murder had happened six years earlier almost exactly, Ellison added: “To honor the man convicted of murdering George Floyd – days after the very anniversary of that terrible day – is an act of profound cruelty to the Floyd family and to every Minnesotan who believes in accountability under law.
\n“To honor a man who disgraced his oath to uphold the law and his badge is disturbing. And to honor a man who damaged the reputation of the brave men and women who protect our communities night and day is disrespectful.”
\nAccording to the local station Fox 9 News, the Minnesota Republican party granted the request of a delegate on the second morning of its two-day gathering to recognize Chauvin, who was sentenced to a 22-and-a-half-year prison term in 2021 for the second-degree murder of Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020.
\nAttenders reportedly stood in silence for about 10 seconds before the start of official business for the day.
\nThe disgraced officer received a separate, concurrent 21-year sentence in 2022 for violating Floyd’s civil rights during their encounter, in which Chauvin knelt on his victim’s neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin has had a succession of appeals rejected and was moved to a low-security facility in Texas in August 2024 after surviving a stabbing in prison in Arizona nine months earlier.
\nThe death of Floyd, who was Black, at the hands of Chauvin – who is white – sparked violent protests in Minneapolis, along with a wider reckoning embodied by the Black Lives Matter movement over police brutality and racial injustice.
\nMore recently, however, Chauvin has become something of a cause celebre for political rightwingers and conservative influencers, including Ben Shapiro, who has asserted Floyd was not suffocated but died of a pre-existing medical condition.
\nCalls for Trump to pardon Chauvin have been amplified by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and ally of the US president. Analysts say such a move by Trump would not secure Chauvin’s release from prison but would see him transferred instead to a state facility.
\nEllison, in his statement, acknowledged Floyd’s family and noted that Chauvin had all but exhausted his legal options after the US supreme court denied an appeal against his conviction in 2023. State courts have also repeatedly declined to grant him a new trial.
\n“George Floyd’s children lost their father,” Ellison wrote. “His siblings lost their brother. His community lost a neighbor and friend. That loss is permanent and irreparable. The jury heard all the evidence. The appeals courts reviewed every claim. Justice was rendered according to our system of law.
\n“As the lead prosecutor whose team presented this case to a jury of 12 Minnesotans and then prevailed at every step of the appeals process, I am deeply troubled by what [the moment of silence] says about the state of our politics. I apologize to the Floyd family and to all the dedicated officers who do their jobs honorably every day.”
\nThe Minnesota Republican party did not immediately return a request for comment.
\nThe Democratic state lawmaker Jamie Long, a former majority leader of the Minnesota legislature, called the act “disgusting” in a post on X on Sunday.
\nHe noted that the state’s Republicans “opened their convention with a moment of silence for Derek Chauvin. Not for those we lost to gun violence. Not for soldiers killed overseas.
\n“To a literal convicted murderer. Disgusting.”
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Minneapolis. 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\nFederal wildlife inspectors found multiple other violations during a March inspection at Zoological Wildlife Foundation (ZWF), including dilapidated, insecure or unsafe housing conditions for wild animals, filthy cages, and water and food contaminated with algae and dead insects.
\nThe zoo, which charges $1,500 an hour for offsite “field trips” showing off animals including alligators, arctic foxes and ball pythons, is owned by Mario Tabraue, a former cocaine trafficker who served 12 years of a 100-year sentence for his 1989 conviction on narcotics and racketeering charges.
\nTabraue appeared in the hit 2020 Netflix series Tiger King that focused on the shady world of exotic animal trading, and was presented as the probable inspiration for the cult 1983 gangster movie Scarface.
\nAnimal welfare groups renewed calls for the closure of ZWF after the capybara’s death and severe injury to Petra, a female leopard whose leg was mauled by a male that staff were attempting to mate her with.
\n“The facility chases profits at the expense of animal welfare, and animals are paying with their lives and limbs at this hideous roadside zoo,” said Klayton Rutherford, the director of captive wildlife advocacy at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta). “We’ve seen time and again that animals are injured, humans are injured, in businesses like this, including specifically at ZWF.”
\n\nA veterinary medical officer from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) made an inspection visit on 30 March and cited the incidents involving the leopard and capybara, which took place in January, as critical violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The law requires animals housed with or near each other to be compatible.
\n“The clouded leopards did not live together but had been put together for the purpose of breeding,” wrote Danisha Bullock, the medical officer.
\n“In this instance, the two were in separate enclosures with a shared wall and guillotine door that had a gap at the bottom. The licensee believes that the female clouded leopard reached her paw into the enclosure of the male via the gap under the door, and the male clouded leopard then attacked the female’s paw.
\n“The injury resulted in the amputation of the entire left leg of the female clouded leopard.”
\nRutherford said ZWF then tried to profit from the incident, posting to social media a video of Petra, the zoo’s oldest leopard, with Tabraue, and asking for donations for the veterinary bill and to build her a new home.
\n“This former drug kingpin with a lengthy criminal history runs this zoo where essentially the business model is based on forcing wild animals, often baby wild animals, into dangerous direct contact public encounters,” he said.
\n“These businesses rely on denying wild animals everything that is natural to them. A facility offering hands-on encounters with wild animals is a telltale sign they’re not doing what’s in the best interest of animals, they’re interested in lining their pockets.”
\nBullock wrote that the female capybara was found dead on 1 January in an enclosure it shared for about six weeks with a male, with ZWF hoping the pair would breed.
\n“The licensee stated he was 100% certain that the male killed the female while trying to mate with her,” Bullock wrote. “Animals housed in the same primary enclosure must be compatible. Animals shall not be housed near animals that interfere with their health or cause them discomfort.”
\nThe USDA ordered immediate rectification to ensure incompatible animals were permanently kept apart. The agency did not respond to an inquiry about whether a re-inspection had yet taken place.
\nAn email from the Guardian to a media contact listed on the ZWF website was returned as undeliverable. The zoo did not respond to questions sent to two general email addresses.
\nRutherford said the ZWF incidents had parallels in the recent deaths of dozens of sloths taken from South American rainforests for exhibition at a planned theme park in Orlando.
\n“There’s no way to run a business like this in an ethical manner that gives the animals what they need to thrive,” he said.
\n“These citations, the closure of Sloth World before it even got off the ground, the closure of Miami Seaquarium, all are examples of the larger problem, that these businesses are not compatible with animal welfare.”
\nZWF has a history of previous violations and incidents, including injuries to handlers and guests. A “critical citation” in July 2021 followed an incident four months earlier in which a lion cub older than 16 weeks bit a child.
\n“It’s hard to be confident in the USDA, but in recent years there has been a shift in the way the public especially views animal welfare,” Rutherford said.
\n“As a result of increased public awareness and public pressure we are seeing a shift in the way the federal government approaches animal welfare and hopefully that carries over into meaningful change and actual action.”
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at Zoological Wildlife Foundation. Photograph: Photograph: Google Maps","credit":"Google Maps","altText":"thatched roof gazebo overlooking trees, with a rug on ground marked 'Zoological Wildlife Foundation'","cleanCaption":"Federal wildlife inspectors found multiple other violations during a March inspection at Zoological Wildlife Foundation.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Google Maps"},"campaigns":[],"designType":"Article","palette":{"background":"#00000000","mediaIcon":"#00000000","pillar":"#C70000","main":"#C70000","secondary":"#FF4E36","headline":"#121212","commentCount":"#707070","metaText":"#707070","elementBackground":"#FF4E36","shadow":"#DCDCDC","immersiveKicker":"#FF4E36","topBorder":"#DCDCDC","mediaBackground":"#EDEDED","pill":"#EDEDED","accentColour":"#C70000","kickerText":"#C70000","kickerColours":{"plainKickerText":"#C70000","plainPill":"#EDEDED","liveKickerText":"#F6F6F6","livePill":"#C70000","featureKickerText":"#FFF4F2","featurePill":"#EDEDED","featureLiveKickerText":"#EDEDED","featureLivePill":"#AB0613"},"mediaPillBackground":"#121212","mediaPillForeground":"#FFFFFF","featureAccentColour":"#FFF4F2"},"atoms":[]},"trailText":"Endangered snow leopard had leg amputated and capybara died at Mario Tabraue’s controversial roadside facility","showQuotedHeadline":false,"showLiveIndicator":false,"sublinks":[],"mainImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2b30c3448d8faaf0ef9d88924200688a0fda386b/285_0_1678_1344/master/1678.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=ffd2e32a9d7561afd7734414e0f34f06","height":1344,"width":1678,"orientation":"landscape","credit":"Google Maps","altText":"thatched roof gazebo overlooking trees, with a rug on ground marked 'Zoological Wildlife Foundation'","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Google Maps"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/30/miami-zoo-violations-mario-tabraue-tiger-king?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/30/miami-zoo-violations-mario-tabraue-tiger-king?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/30/miami-zoo-violations-mario-tabraue-tiger-king?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"cardDesignType":"Article","correspondingTags":[],"type":"Article","importance":0},{"title":"Former senior CIA official accused of stealing $40m in gold bars from agency","rawTitle":"Former senior CIA official accused of stealing $40m in gold bars from agency","item":{"trailText":"David Rush’s trial for allegedly taking 303 gold bars and $2m in foreign currency from agency was pushed to next week","body":"A senior intelligence operative accused of stealing hundreds of gold bars worth more than $40m and hiding them at home remained in custody in Virginia on Friday after a judge pushed his first court appearance to next week.
\nDavid Rush, a former executive service-level employee for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is alleged to have taken 303 bullion bars, each weighing 2.2lb (1kg), and more than $2m in foreign currency, from his government office, according to an eight-page FBI affidavit.
\nHe was arrested last week and charged with stealing public money after a search warrant executed at his home “in the eastern district of Virginia” also turned up 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolex.
\n\n“On or around November 2025 through on or around March 2026, Rush made several requests to the [United States government] to obtain a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses,” FBI special agent Matthew Johnson wrote in the criminal complaint, filed in US district court in the eastern district of Virginia.
\nThe document did not explain what Rush intended to do with the gold and cash, which was discovered missing from an office he used at a government storage space.
\nThe theft of public money charge relates not to the bullion or currency, but to the allegation that Rush falsified his educational qualifications and military service to secure his job with the CIA, which he joined in 2009 and secured “top secret/secure compartmented information clearance”, according to the FBI.
\nRush is also alleged to have committed timecard fraud.
\n“Since being honorably discharged in February 2015, Rush has claimed 744 hours of military leave on his official timesheet, representing approximately $77,000 in compensation,” Johnson wrote, adding that Rush left the navy as a lieutenant but represented himself in the navy reserves as a captain.
\nHe also falsely claimed to have been a navy pilot, Johnson wrote.
\nA joint statement from the CIA and the FBI said Rush was arrested on 19 May. “After a CIA internal investigation identified potential violations of the law, CIA director John Ratcliffe referred the information to the FBI for a law enforcement investigation,” it said, according to the New York Times.
\nRush was denied bond and the magistrate judge William Fitzpatrick on Thursday agreed to postpone a detention hearing until 5 June.
","atomsCSS":[],"shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"discussionId":"/p/x56f7m","section":"US news","id":"us-news/2026/may/29/cia-official-gold-theft-trial","displayImages":[{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/31dfc86b66f1ed7c60d8e58ce7d3bc3e158fce8f/291_0_2918_2334/master/2918.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=66de562326742d8b01ef334c805466b6","height":2334,"width":2918,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"David Rush was accused of stealing gold and cash that he had requisitioned from the CIA for ‘work-related expenses’. Photograph: Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters","credit":"Shannon Stapleton/Reuters","altText":"Stacked gold bars","cleanCaption":"David Rush was accused of stealing gold and cash that he had requisitioned from the CIA for ‘work-related expenses’.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters"}],"shouldHideAdverts":false,"standFirst":"David Rush’s trial for allegedly taking 303 gold bars and $2m in foreign currency from agency was pushed to next week
\nTrump shared a draft Iran peace deal with Israel and other allies. Trump circulated a draft peace agreement for his war with Iran among allies including Israel, as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal.
\nThe Bureau of Economic Analysis released the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy. The PCE price index rose in April at an annual rate of 3.8% – that is an increase from 3.5% in March and 2.8% in February.
\nSupport for the military is why Trump “is insistent on increasing defense budget to $1.5tn”, says JD Vance during his commencement address at the US Air Force Academy. Vance also brought up Trump’s golden dome and the use of AI in warfare, during his speech.
\nScott Bessent held White House press briefing in which he said “I don’t think there’s anything untoward about having the president’s face on the 250th anniversary bill.”
\nTrump refiles $10bn defamation suit against Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. A judge threw out an earlier version of the suit over legal deficiencies. The lawsuit is one of several that the president has brought in his personal capacity against news organizations.
\nThis concludes out live coverage of the second Trump administration, on a day when the wheels fell off its planned concert series to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Here are the latest developments:
\nA jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
\nNew Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.
\nAt least six of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced.
\nUS vice-president JD Vance on Thursday told reporters that Washington was “not there yet” with Iran but he said the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran’s nuclear program. Earlier, Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries had not yet been finalised or confirmed.
\nAfter video of former border patrol chief Greg Bovino arriving at Newark Airport on Thursday was posted on social media by the conservative video journalist Brendan Gutenschwager, a Democratic New Jersey congresswoman, Bonnie Watson Coleman, responded with a two-word comment: “Outside agitator”.
\nEarlier on Thursday, Bovino had posted that he was on his way to Newark, where protesters have rallied outside an ICE detention facility, and asked his social-media followers: “Should I just handle this myself?”
","cleanBody":"After video of former border patrol chief Greg Bovino arriving at Newark Airport on Thursday was posted on social media by the conservative video journalist Brendan Gutenschwager, a Democratic New Jersey congresswoman, Bonnie Watson Coleman, responded with a two-word comment: “Outside agitator”. Earlier on Thursday, Bovino had posted that he was on his way to Newark, where protesters have rallied outside an ICE detention facility, and asked his social-media followers: “Should I just handle this myself?”","postType":"blog","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18e66e8f08cf8299b1718b","title":"Country music star Martina McBride drops out of Trump-linked concert series","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-29T01:18:22Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-29T01:28:10Z","body":"Country music star Martina McBride is the latest musician to announce that she will not be taking part in the Trump-linked Great American State Fair concert series on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer.
\nIn a social-media statement, McBride told her fans that she wanted to “clear the air”.
\n“I will not be performing at the Great American State Fair on June 25th. I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” she said.
\n“I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,” she added. “Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”
\n![\"Martina](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/742e3b989ecda65ea5b9c98a0e00b7f1d14d1080/0_1415_3331_3585/929.jpg\")
\n “It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the DC area very soon.”
\nMcBride is the sixth of nine featured performers announced on Wednesday to say that she will not take part in the event organized by Freedom 250, a group created by Donald Trump and staffed by his allies.
\nIn response to McBride’s Instagram post, Jason Isbell, an Alabama musician who performed at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, commented: “WHEW \uD83D\uDE4C” and the country musician Ashley McBryde added, “Amen”.
","cleanBody":"Country music star Martina McBride is the latest musician to announce that she will not be taking part in the Trump-linked Great American State Fair concert series on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer. In a social-media statement, McBride told her fans that she wanted to “clear the air”. “I will not be performing at the Great American State Fair on June 25th. I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” she said. “I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,” she added. “Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”\n“It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the DC area very soon.” McBride is the sixth of nine featured performers announced on Wednesday to say that she will not take part in the event organized by Freedom 250, a group created by Donald Trump and staffed by his allies. In response to McBride’s Instagram post, Jason Isbell, an Alabama musician who performed at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, commented: “WHEW \uD83D\uDE4C” and the country musician Ashley McBryde added, “Amen”.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18d8d88f08cf8299b17134","title":"At White House briefing, pro-Trump reporters for partisan outlets helped Bessent promote administration's agenda","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-29T01:05:00Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-29T02:49:00Z","body":"The Trump administration’s effort to remake the White House press corps, by granting credentials to a host of reporters from openly partisan, rightwing outlets and regularly calling on them to ask questions that bolster Donald Trump’s agenda, has been so successful that it is rarely mentioned in news accounts these days.
\nBut Thursday’s briefing, led by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, was remarkable for how it started.
\n![\"On](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/e05f166f043550f4da32e332583c7896edb52b4d/0_0_5472_3648/1000.jpg\")
\n After Bessent began with a pitch to promote a new app for managing Trump accounts, a type of investment account created by the administration for children, who get a one-time federal contribution of $1,000, he turned to his right and called on Beni Rae Harmony, a correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice invited by the White House to sit in seats beside the stage reserved for staff.
\nHarmony, a former employee of the Republican advocacy group Turning Point USA, who claimed last year that her tearful on-air tribute to the late Charlie Kirk got her suspended (though the station denied that), asked Bessent to expand on how the new investment accounts would help “working-class Americans”.
\n“Great question”, Bessent responded, before continuing to promote the administration policy.
\nBessent then called on a Fox Business correspondent, using his first name, “Ed”, and the Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy.
\nA few minutes later, after taking two questions from nonpartisan reporters for ABC and CBS, Bessent pointed to the right side of the room and picked out Cara Castronuova, a former reality TV fitness trainer now working as White House correspondent for LindellTV, the pro-Trump outlet created by Mike Lindell, the pillow salesman who played a key role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
\nCastronuova asked Bessent another softball question, inviting him to explain how the administration is putting in place safeguards for cryptocurrency, “to make sure new digital payment systems protect Americans privacy and freedoms”.
\nAfter Bessent assured the viewers of LindellTV that crypto will be safe for them to use, he turned further to his to his right and asked another invited guest he referred to by his first name, Jack Posobiec, of Turning Point and Real America’s Voice, to help him move along to what looked like a prepared moment.
\nPosobiec, who first gained prominence in 2016 as a Republican activist spreading the anti-Democrat conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate, asked Bessent to explain the origins of the $1.776bn fund created by the Department of Justice to compensate people who claim that they were the victims of politically motivated prosecutions by the Biden administration.
\n“Thank you for the question. This is going to be the only question I’ll take on this matter today,” Bessent replied. He then looked down at the podium, apparently to read a prepared statement on the matter without opening himself up to adversarial questioning.
\n“There’s ongoing litigation, so, it would be inappropriate for me to comment,” he continued. “President Trump is a great American who has endured more than ten years, ten years, of nonstop harassment and weaponization from federal and state government actors.”
\n“The Department of Justice represented Treasury and the IRS in this matter, and I’m going to have to refer any questions to acting attorney general Todd Blanche,” Bessent said, and then pointed to Steve Nelson, a reporter for the reliably pro-Trump New York Post.
\nLater in the briefing, Bessent picked out Reagan Reese, of the Daily Caller, which was created by Tucker Carlson, who asked the secretary for an update on the investigation into “who’s funding Antifa”.
\nPosobiec and Harmony then went outside the briefing room to do a live segment for Real America’s Voice promoting the Trump accounts under the banner headline: “MEDIA IS WRONG: TRUMP ACCOUNTS IS FOR ALL FAMILIES”.
","cleanBody":"The Trump administration’s effort to remake the White House press corps, by granting credentials to a host of reporters from openly partisan, rightwing outlets and regularly calling on them to ask questions that bolster Donald Trump’s agenda, has been so successful that it is rarely mentioned in news accounts these days. But Thursday’s briefing, led by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, was remarkable for how it started.\nAfter Bessent began with a pitch to promote a new app for managing Trump accounts, a type of investment account created by the administration for children, who get a one-time federal contribution of $1,000, he turned to his right and called on Beni Rae Harmony, a correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice invited by the White House to sit in seats beside the stage reserved for staff. Harmony, a former employee of the Republican advocacy group Turning Point USA, who claimed last year that her tearful on-air tribute to the late Charlie Kirk got her suspended (though the station denied that), asked Bessent to expand on how the new investment accounts would help “working-class Americans”. “Great question”, Bessent responded, before continuing to promote the administration policy. Bessent then called on a Fox Business correspondent, using his first name, “Ed”, and the Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. A few minutes later, after taking two questions from nonpartisan reporters for ABC and CBS, Bessent pointed to the right side of the room and picked out Cara Castronuova, a former reality TV fitness trainer now working as White House correspondent for LindellTV, the pro-Trump outlet created by Mike Lindell, the pillow salesman who played a key role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Castronuova asked Bessent another softball question, inviting him to explain how the administration is putting in place safeguards for cryptocurrency, “to make sure new digital payment systems protect Americans privacy and freedoms”. After Bessent assured the viewers of LindellTV that crypto will be safe for them to use, he turned further to his to his right and asked another invited guest he referred to by his first name, Jack Posobiec, of Turning Point and Real America’s Voice, to help him move along to what looked like a prepared moment. Posobiec, who first gained prominence in 2016 as a Republican activist spreading the anti-Democrat conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate, asked Bessent to explain the origins of the $1.776bn fund created by the Department of Justice to compensate people who claim that they were the victims of politically motivated prosecutions by the Biden administration. “Thank you for the question. This is going to be the only question I’ll take on this matter today,” Bessent replied. He then looked down at the podium, apparently to read a prepared statement on the matter without opening himself up to adversarial questioning. “There’s ongoing litigation, so, it would be inappropriate for me to comment,” he continued. “President Trump is a great American who has endured more than ten years, ten years, of nonstop harassment and weaponization from federal and state government actors.” “The Department of Justice represented Treasury and the IRS in this matter, and I’m going to have to refer any questions to acting attorney general Todd Blanche,” Bessent said, and then pointed to Steve Nelson, a reporter for the reliably pro-Trump New York Post. Later in the briefing, Bessent picked out Reagan Reese, of the Daily Caller, which was created by Tucker Carlson, who asked the secretary for an update on the investigation into “who’s funding Antifa”. Posobiec and Harmony then went outside the briefing room to do a live segment for Real America’s Voice promoting the Trump accounts under the banner headline: “MEDIA IS WRONG: TRUMP ACCOUNTS IS FOR ALL FAMILIES”.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18cc2f8f08cf8299b17102","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:35:48Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:35:47Z","body":"An anti-crime taskforce ordered by Donald Trump on to the streets of Memphis has been accused of targeting community observers with widespread intimidation including “immense force”.
\nAgents have been “retaliating against, intimidating, and harassing” observers attempting to monitor the federal taskforce’s activity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee, which alleges that officials have tailed cars, surveilled homes and even “falsely arrested” a community observer.
\nThe ACLU filed a lawsuit this month against Tennessee state and federal officials administering the anti-crime initiative.
\nAdditional declarations filed on Thursday by six community observers detail “cowboy tactics” they say have been used in recent months, from bumper-riding their cars in unmarked vehicles and pretextual traffic stops to an arbitrary arrest.
\nThe taskforce was launched last September by Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, following an executive order by Trump, who cited the persistently high rate of violent crime in Memphis. Lee promptly activated the national guard and flooded his state’s second-largest city with more than 2,000 state and federal police officers.
\n","cleanBody":"An anti-crime taskforce ordered by Donald Trump on to the streets of Memphis has been accused of targeting community observers with widespread intimidation including “immense force”. Agents have been “retaliating against, intimidating, and harassing” observers attempting to monitor the federal taskforce’s activity, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee, which alleges that officials have tailed cars, surveilled homes and even “falsely arrested” a community observer. The ACLU filed a lawsuit this month against Tennessee state and federal officials administering the anti-crime initiative. Additional declarations filed on Thursday by six community observers detail “cowboy tactics” they say have been used in recent months, from bumper-riding their cars in unmarked vehicles and pretextual traffic stops to an arbitrary arrest. The taskforce was launched last September by Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, following an executive order by Trump, who cited the persistently high rate of violent crime in Memphis. Lee promptly activated the national guard and flooded his state’s second-largest city with more than 2,000 state and federal police officers.","postType":"blog","contributors":["george-chidi"]},{"id":"block-6a18cbdf8f08cf8299b17100","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:13:11Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:13:11Z","body":"US vice-president JD Vance on Thursday told reporters that Washington was “not there yet” with Iran but he said the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran’s nuclear program.
\nEarlier, Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries had not yet been finalised or confirmed.
\nDonald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal.
\nThe US vice-president told reportersthere were a couple of sticking points in talks with Tehran about its enriched uranium stockpile and the question of enrichment.
\n“It’s hard to say exactly when or if the president is going to sign the MOU. We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points,” Vance said.
\n“I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it,” he said.
\n","cleanBody":"US vice-president JD Vance on Thursday told reporters that Washington was “not there yet” with Iran but he said the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran’s nuclear program. Earlier, Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries had not yet been finalised or confirmed. Donald Trump has circulated a draft peace agreement for the war with Iran among allies including Israel as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal. The US vice-president told reportersthere were a couple of sticking points in talks with Tehran about its enriched uranium stockpile and the question of enrichment. “It’s hard to say exactly when or if the president is going to sign the MOU. We’re going back and forth on a couple of language points,” Vance said. “I can’t guarantee that we’re going to get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it,” he said.","postType":"blog","contributors":["wendy-frew"]},{"id":"block-6a18c3fd8f08cf8299b170d8","title":"Anti-ICE protesters, including Afghanistan War veteran, found guilty of conspiracy to ‘impede or injure a federal officer’","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T22:51:13Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T22:51:12Z","body":"A jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
\nThe US military veteran, Bajun Mavalwalla, told the Guardian in March that he had refused to plead guilty and was ready to face justice.
\nThe right to protest is “supposed to be fundamentally American”, he said.
\n“It’s among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect,” he said. “You can’t do it violently. You can’t do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in.”
\nMavalwalla, 36, now faces six years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to “impede or injure a federal officer” when he joined other demonstrators who sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who had been arrested by ICE at a routine immigration hearing in Spokane in June 2025.
","cleanBody":"A jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The US military veteran, Bajun Mavalwalla, told the Guardian in March that he had refused to plead guilty and was ready to face justice. The right to protest is “supposed to be fundamentally American”, he said. “It’s among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect,” he said. “You can’t do it violently. You can’t do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in.” Mavalwalla, 36, now faces six years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to “impede or injure a federal officer” when he joined other demonstrators who sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who had been arrested by ICE at a routine immigration hearing in Spokane in June 2025.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18b33c8f08cf8299b17069","title":"Young MC, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli follow Morris Day in saying they will not play in Trump's Freedom 250 bash","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T22:13:41Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:58:17Z","body":"At least five of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced.
\nThe first to drop out, hours after the announcement, was Morris Day, who called his scheduled participation a baseless “rumor”.
\nLater on Wednesday, Young MC posted a message that began: “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event”.
\n“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” he added, before casting doubt on the claim from the Trump-appointed organizer that the series was nonpartisan.
\n![\"Young](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/d63d0fe8333644c30afb335664ca74b0d2e59cfb/471_0_4713_3771/1000.jpg\")
\n So far on Thursday, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have all either dropped out or expressed surprise that they were ever booked.
\n“The Commodores will not be performing”, the group said in a statement. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”
\nFreedom Williams, C + C Music Factory’s lead rapper, said in a video statement apparently recorded in a bathroom that he had been blindsided by texts from friends and fellow celebrities horrified that he was “doing the Trump Freedom show” and “fucking with Trump”.
\n“I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’” Williams said he replied to people “I’ve know for years, who know I don’t fuck with Trump”.
\n“I’m God Cipher Divine, I know where I stand. I know who the fuck I am,” he added, before explaining that his agent had not mentioned any connection with Donald Trump when he pitched the show.
\nAfter going online to research the series on Wednesday, Williams said, he told his agent he was out.
\nWilliams went on to attack Trump, saying, as a New Yorker, “I know the type of fucking anarchy he creates” and brought up the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE officer. But Williams reserved his most intense anger for Democrats who threatened to cancel him if he did not drop out of the series. He went on to also attack Barack Obama and covid vaccines, before suggesting that he might still change his mind and perform with the “Maga crew” out of spite, even though the event was in honor of “250 years of motherfucking capitalism and death; it’s 250 years of straight murder.”
\nMilli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told the Associated Press that no one had even asked her or her sister Linda Rocco or anyone else in the current group to perform. “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli’, as one of the performers”, Rocco wrote to the AP in an email.
\nThe poster for the Freedom 250 series included an image of Milli Vanilli’s former frontman, Fab Morvan, who just lip-synched the band’s hits and has been performing apart from the group.
\nAt least one of the featured performers, Vanilla Ice, said in an Instagram video that he was still in. “I’m super honored to do this concert with everybody”, he said, on the apparent assumption that he will not, in the end, be performing alone. The rapper has performed at multiple New Year’s Eve shows at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beach club.
\nLast December, as the deadly immigration crackdown by federal ICE agents ramped up, the two leaders of the effort, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, were filmed singing along with the rapper to his hit 1990 “Ice, Ice Baby.”
","cleanBody":"At least five of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced. The first to drop out, hours after the announcement, was Morris Day, who called his scheduled participation a baseless “rumor”. Later on Wednesday, Young MC posted a message that began: “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event”. “The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” he added, before casting doubt on the claim from the Trump-appointed organizer that the series was nonpartisan.\nSo far on Thursday, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have all either dropped out or expressed surprise that they were ever booked. “The Commodores will not be performing”, the group said in a statement. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.” Freedom Williams, C + C Music Factory’s lead rapper, said in a video statement apparently recorded in a bathroom that he had been blindsided by texts from friends and fellow celebrities horrified that he was “doing the Trump Freedom show” and “fucking with Trump”. “I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’” Williams said he replied to people “I’ve know for years, who know I don’t fuck with Trump”. “I’m God Cipher Divine, I know where I stand. I know who the fuck I am,” he added, before explaining that his agent had not mentioned any connection with Donald Trump when he pitched the show. After going online to research the series on Wednesday, Williams said, he told his agent he was out. Williams went on to attack Trump, saying, as a New Yorker, “I know the type of fucking anarchy he creates” and brought up the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE officer. But Williams reserved his most intense anger for Democrats who threatened to cancel him if he did not drop out of the series. He went on to also attack Barack Obama and covid vaccines, before suggesting that he might still change his mind and perform with the “Maga crew” out of spite, even though the event was in honor of “250 years of motherfucking capitalism and death; it’s 250 years of straight murder.” Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told the Associated Press that no one had even asked her or her sister Linda Rocco or anyone else in the current group to perform. “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli’, as one of the performers”, Rocco wrote to the AP in an email. The poster for the Freedom 250 series included an image of Milli Vanilli’s former frontman, Fab Morvan, who just lip-synched the band’s hits and has been performing apart from the group. At least one of the featured performers, Vanilla Ice, said in an Instagram video that he was still in. “I’m super honored to do this concert with everybody”, he said, on the apparent assumption that he will not, in the end, be performing alone. The rapper has performed at multiple New Year’s Eve shows at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beach club. Last December, as the deadly immigration crackdown by federal ICE agents ramped up, the two leaders of the effort, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, were filmed singing along with the rapper to his hit 1990 “Ice, Ice Baby.”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18a38a8f08714896b923c7","title":"New Jersey health inspector denied full access to Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, governor says","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T20:57:42Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:34:14Z","body":"New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.
\n![\"Federal](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/b7a97721fe998eeae43498f121144e3af8f87300/0_0_6330_4222/1000.jpg\")
\n “The New Jersey Department of Health today sought to conduct a health inspection of Delaney Hall, but it was denied full access and was allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility,” Sherrill, a Democrat elected last year in a landslide said.
\n“As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” she continued. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down. I am calling for ICE to immediately de-escalate the situation as I continue working to keep New Jersey residents safe.”
\nThe Department of Homeland Security tried to push back on reports, like one this week from our Guardian colleagues José Olivares and Julius Constantine Motal, that document complaints from 300-400 Delaney Hall strikers over inedible food containing worms, a lack of air conditioning and proper ventilation, a persistent flu and other viruses spreading throughout the facility, delayed medical care and lags in their immigration cases.
\nIn privately-run ICE detention centers nationwide, detainees perform cooking, cleaning and laundry work, getting paid as little as $1 an hour.
\nIn response to reports about harsh conditions at the center, Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, recorded a social media video in which he scoffed at the concerns of Democratic elected officials, including the governor and senator Andy Kim, who was pepper-sprayed by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel outside the facility this week.
\nIn the video, Mullin claimed that the detentions were necessary because of the alleged violent crimes committed by a list of eight foreign nationals the department has arrested “recently”.
\nThe secretary appeared to have some trouble making it through his prepared text in the video, however. There were 21 edits in the first 35 seconds of the published video, to cover apparent flubs in delivery, and Mullin so badly mispronounced the name of one country he said a detained man came from, “Wallamala”, that it was only possible to parse his meaning by consulting the on-screen text, which read: Guatemala.
","cleanBody":"New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.\n“The New Jersey Department of Health today sought to conduct a health inspection of Delaney Hall, but it was denied full access and was allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility,” Sherrill, a Democrat elected last year in a landslide said. “As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” she continued. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down. I am calling for ICE to immediately de-escalate the situation as I continue working to keep New Jersey residents safe.” The Department of Homeland Security tried to push back on reports, like one this week from our Guardian colleagues José Olivares and Julius Constantine Motal, that document complaints from 300-400 Delaney Hall strikers over inedible food containing worms, a lack of air conditioning and proper ventilation, a persistent flu and other viruses spreading throughout the facility, delayed medical care and lags in their immigration cases. In privately-run ICE detention centers nationwide, detainees perform cooking, cleaning and laundry work, getting paid as little as $1 an hour. In response to reports about harsh conditions at the center, Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, recorded a social media video in which he scoffed at the concerns of Democratic elected officials, including the governor and senator Andy Kim, who was pepper-sprayed by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel outside the facility this week. In the video, Mullin claimed that the detentions were necessary because of the alleged violent crimes committed by a list of eight foreign nationals the department has arrested “recently”. The secretary appeared to have some trouble making it through his prepared text in the video, however. There were 21 edits in the first 35 seconds of the published video, to cover apparent flubs in delivery, and Mullin so badly mispronounced the name of one country he said a detained man came from, “Wallamala”, that it was only possible to parse his meaning by consulting the on-screen text, which read: Guatemala.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a189bf78f0897699fdba2d7","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T19:50:24Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T19:50:23Z","body":"Hakeem Jeffries, the top US House Democrat, has said a $250 bill with the president’s portrait is a “hard no,” on a post on X. He said:
\n\n","cleanBody":"Hakeem Jeffries, the top US House Democrat, has said a $250 bill with the president’s portrait is a “hard no,” on a post on X. He said: Get over yourself. The upcoming July 4th anniversary is not about a wannabe King. It’s about celebrating the American journey.","postType":"blog","contributors":[]}],"keyEvents":[{"id":"block-6a1898fe8f0897699fdba2b7","title":"Here's a recap of the day so far:","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T19:43:16Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T19:43:16Z","body":"Get over yourself. The upcoming July 4th anniversary is not about a wannabe King. It’s about celebrating the American journey.
\n
Trump shared a draft Iran peace deal with Israel and other allies. Trump circulated a draft peace agreement for his war with Iran among allies including Israel, as both sides try to prevent fresh breaches of the ceasefire escalating out of control and scuppering any deal.
\nThe Bureau of Economic Analysis released the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding food and energy. The PCE price index rose in April at an annual rate of 3.8% – that is an increase from 3.5% in March and 2.8% in February.
\nSupport for the military is why Trump “is insistent on increasing defense budget to $1.5tn”, says JD Vance during his commencement address at the US Air Force Academy. Vance also brought up Trump’s golden dome and the use of AI in warfare, during his speech.
\nScott Bessent held White House press briefing in which he said “I don’t think there’s anything untoward about having the president’s face on the 250th anniversary bill.”
\nTrump refiles $10bn defamation suit against Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. A judge threw out an earlier version of the suit over legal deficiencies. The lawsuit is one of several that the president has brought in his personal capacity against news organizations.
\nNew Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.
\n\n “The New Jersey Department of Health today sought to conduct a health inspection of Delaney Hall, but it was denied full access and was allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility,” Sherrill, a Democrat elected last year in a landslide said.
\n“As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” she continued. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down. I am calling for ICE to immediately de-escalate the situation as I continue working to keep New Jersey residents safe.”
\nThe Department of Homeland Security tried to push back on reports, like one this week from our Guardian colleagues José Olivares and Julius Constantine Motal, that document complaints from 300-400 Delaney Hall strikers over inedible food containing worms, a lack of air conditioning and proper ventilation, a persistent flu and other viruses spreading throughout the facility, delayed medical care and lags in their immigration cases.
\nIn privately-run ICE detention centers nationwide, detainees perform cooking, cleaning and laundry work, getting paid as little as $1 an hour.
\nIn response to reports about harsh conditions at the center, Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, recorded a social media video in which he scoffed at the concerns of Democratic elected officials, including the governor and senator Andy Kim, who was pepper-sprayed by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel outside the facility this week.
\nIn the video, Mullin claimed that the detentions were necessary because of the alleged violent crimes committed by a list of eight foreign nationals the department has arrested “recently”.
\nThe secretary appeared to have some trouble making it through his prepared text in the video, however. There were 21 edits in the first 35 seconds of the published video, to cover apparent flubs in delivery, and Mullin so badly mispronounced the name of one country he said a detained man came from, “Wallamala”, that it was only possible to parse his meaning by consulting the on-screen text, which read: Guatemala.
","cleanBody":"New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.\n“The New Jersey Department of Health today sought to conduct a health inspection of Delaney Hall, but it was denied full access and was allowed to inspect only a limited part of the facility,” Sherrill, a Democrat elected last year in a landslide said. “As I’ve said repeatedly, refusing to provide full access raises serious questions about what ICE is trying to hide from public view,” she continued. “New Jersey believes in the rule of law, will uphold the Constitution, and Delaney Hall should be closed down. I am calling for ICE to immediately de-escalate the situation as I continue working to keep New Jersey residents safe.” The Department of Homeland Security tried to push back on reports, like one this week from our Guardian colleagues José Olivares and Julius Constantine Motal, that document complaints from 300-400 Delaney Hall strikers over inedible food containing worms, a lack of air conditioning and proper ventilation, a persistent flu and other viruses spreading throughout the facility, delayed medical care and lags in their immigration cases. In privately-run ICE detention centers nationwide, detainees perform cooking, cleaning and laundry work, getting paid as little as $1 an hour. In response to reports about harsh conditions at the center, Markwayne Mullin, the DHS secretary, recorded a social media video in which he scoffed at the concerns of Democratic elected officials, including the governor and senator Andy Kim, who was pepper-sprayed by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel outside the facility this week. In the video, Mullin claimed that the detentions were necessary because of the alleged violent crimes committed by a list of eight foreign nationals the department has arrested “recently”. The secretary appeared to have some trouble making it through his prepared text in the video, however. There were 21 edits in the first 35 seconds of the published video, to cover apparent flubs in delivery, and Mullin so badly mispronounced the name of one country he said a detained man came from, “Wallamala”, that it was only possible to parse his meaning by consulting the on-screen text, which read: Guatemala.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18b33c8f08cf8299b17069","title":"Young MC, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli follow Morris Day in saying they will not play in Trump's Freedom 250 bash","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T22:13:41Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T23:58:17Z","body":"At least five of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced.
\nThe first to drop out, hours after the announcement, was Morris Day, who called his scheduled participation a baseless “rumor”.
\nLater on Wednesday, Young MC posted a message that began: “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event”.
\n“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” he added, before casting doubt on the claim from the Trump-appointed organizer that the series was nonpartisan.
\n\n So far on Thursday, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have all either dropped out or expressed surprise that they were ever booked.
\n“The Commodores will not be performing”, the group said in a statement. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.”
\nFreedom Williams, C + C Music Factory’s lead rapper, said in a video statement apparently recorded in a bathroom that he had been blindsided by texts from friends and fellow celebrities horrified that he was “doing the Trump Freedom show” and “fucking with Trump”.
\n“I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’” Williams said he replied to people “I’ve know for years, who know I don’t fuck with Trump”.
\n“I’m God Cipher Divine, I know where I stand. I know who the fuck I am,” he added, before explaining that his agent had not mentioned any connection with Donald Trump when he pitched the show.
\nAfter going online to research the series on Wednesday, Williams said, he told his agent he was out.
\nWilliams went on to attack Trump, saying, as a New Yorker, “I know the type of fucking anarchy he creates” and brought up the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE officer. But Williams reserved his most intense anger for Democrats who threatened to cancel him if he did not drop out of the series. He went on to also attack Barack Obama and covid vaccines, before suggesting that he might still change his mind and perform with the “Maga crew” out of spite, even though the event was in honor of “250 years of motherfucking capitalism and death; it’s 250 years of straight murder.”
\nMilli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told the Associated Press that no one had even asked her or her sister Linda Rocco or anyone else in the current group to perform. “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli’, as one of the performers”, Rocco wrote to the AP in an email.
\nThe poster for the Freedom 250 series included an image of Milli Vanilli’s former frontman, Fab Morvan, who just lip-synched the band’s hits and has been performing apart from the group.
\nAt least one of the featured performers, Vanilla Ice, said in an Instagram video that he was still in. “I’m super honored to do this concert with everybody”, he said, on the apparent assumption that he will not, in the end, be performing alone. The rapper has performed at multiple New Year’s Eve shows at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beach club.
\nLast December, as the deadly immigration crackdown by federal ICE agents ramped up, the two leaders of the effort, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, were filmed singing along with the rapper to his hit 1990 “Ice, Ice Baby.”
","cleanBody":"At least five of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced. The first to drop out, hours after the announcement, was Morris Day, who called his scheduled participation a baseless “rumor”. Later on Wednesday, Young MC posted a message that began: “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event”. “The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” he added, before casting doubt on the claim from the Trump-appointed organizer that the series was nonpartisan.\nSo far on Thursday, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli have all either dropped out or expressed surprise that they were ever booked. “The Commodores will not be performing”, the group said in a statement. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.” Freedom Williams, C + C Music Factory’s lead rapper, said in a video statement apparently recorded in a bathroom that he had been blindsided by texts from friends and fellow celebrities horrified that he was “doing the Trump Freedom show” and “fucking with Trump”. “I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about?’” Williams said he replied to people “I’ve know for years, who know I don’t fuck with Trump”. “I’m God Cipher Divine, I know where I stand. I know who the fuck I am,” he added, before explaining that his agent had not mentioned any connection with Donald Trump when he pitched the show. After going online to research the series on Wednesday, Williams said, he told his agent he was out. Williams went on to attack Trump, saying, as a New Yorker, “I know the type of fucking anarchy he creates” and brought up the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE officer. But Williams reserved his most intense anger for Democrats who threatened to cancel him if he did not drop out of the series. He went on to also attack Barack Obama and covid vaccines, before suggesting that he might still change his mind and perform with the “Maga crew” out of spite, even though the event was in honor of “250 years of motherfucking capitalism and death; it’s 250 years of straight murder.” Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told the Associated Press that no one had even asked her or her sister Linda Rocco or anyone else in the current group to perform. “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli’, as one of the performers”, Rocco wrote to the AP in an email. The poster for the Freedom 250 series included an image of Milli Vanilli’s former frontman, Fab Morvan, who just lip-synched the band’s hits and has been performing apart from the group. At least one of the featured performers, Vanilla Ice, said in an Instagram video that he was still in. “I’m super honored to do this concert with everybody”, he said, on the apparent assumption that he will not, in the end, be performing alone. The rapper has performed at multiple New Year’s Eve shows at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago beach club. Last December, as the deadly immigration crackdown by federal ICE agents ramped up, the two leaders of the effort, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, were filmed singing along with the rapper to his hit 1990 “Ice, Ice Baby.”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18c3fd8f08cf8299b170d8","title":"Anti-ICE protesters, including Afghanistan War veteran, found guilty of conspiracy to ‘impede or injure a federal officer’","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T22:51:13Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T22:51:12Z","body":"A jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
\nThe US military veteran, Bajun Mavalwalla, told the Guardian in March that he had refused to plead guilty and was ready to face justice.
\nThe right to protest is “supposed to be fundamentally American”, he said.
\n“It’s among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect,” he said. “You can’t do it violently. You can’t do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in.”
\nMavalwalla, 36, now faces six years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to “impede or injure a federal officer” when he joined other demonstrators who sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who had been arrested by ICE at a routine immigration hearing in Spokane in June 2025.
","cleanBody":"A jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility. The US military veteran, Bajun Mavalwalla, told the Guardian in March that he had refused to plead guilty and was ready to face justice. The right to protest is “supposed to be fundamentally American”, he said. “It’s among the rights that when I joined the military, I thought I was joining to protect,” he said. “You can’t do it violently. You can’t do it in a way that harms other people, but you have a right to stand up for what you believe in.” Mavalwalla, 36, now faces six years in prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to “impede or injure a federal officer” when he joined other demonstrators who sought to block the transport of two Venezuelan immigrants who had been arrested by ICE at a routine immigration hearing in Spokane in June 2025.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18d8d88f08cf8299b17134","title":"At White House briefing, pro-Trump reporters for partisan outlets helped Bessent promote administration's agenda","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-29T01:05:00Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-29T02:49:00Z","body":"The Trump administration’s effort to remake the White House press corps, by granting credentials to a host of reporters from openly partisan, rightwing outlets and regularly calling on them to ask questions that bolster Donald Trump’s agenda, has been so successful that it is rarely mentioned in news accounts these days.
\nBut Thursday’s briefing, led by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, was remarkable for how it started.
\n\n After Bessent began with a pitch to promote a new app for managing Trump accounts, a type of investment account created by the administration for children, who get a one-time federal contribution of $1,000, he turned to his right and called on Beni Rae Harmony, a correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice invited by the White House to sit in seats beside the stage reserved for staff.
\nHarmony, a former employee of the Republican advocacy group Turning Point USA, who claimed last year that her tearful on-air tribute to the late Charlie Kirk got her suspended (though the station denied that), asked Bessent to expand on how the new investment accounts would help “working-class Americans”.
\n“Great question”, Bessent responded, before continuing to promote the administration policy.
\nBessent then called on a Fox Business correspondent, using his first name, “Ed”, and the Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy.
\nA few minutes later, after taking two questions from nonpartisan reporters for ABC and CBS, Bessent pointed to the right side of the room and picked out Cara Castronuova, a former reality TV fitness trainer now working as White House correspondent for LindellTV, the pro-Trump outlet created by Mike Lindell, the pillow salesman who played a key role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
\nCastronuova asked Bessent another softball question, inviting him to explain how the administration is putting in place safeguards for cryptocurrency, “to make sure new digital payment systems protect Americans privacy and freedoms”.
\nAfter Bessent assured the viewers of LindellTV that crypto will be safe for them to use, he turned further to his to his right and asked another invited guest he referred to by his first name, Jack Posobiec, of Turning Point and Real America’s Voice, to help him move along to what looked like a prepared moment.
\nPosobiec, who first gained prominence in 2016 as a Republican activist spreading the anti-Democrat conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate, asked Bessent to explain the origins of the $1.776bn fund created by the Department of Justice to compensate people who claim that they were the victims of politically motivated prosecutions by the Biden administration.
\n“Thank you for the question. This is going to be the only question I’ll take on this matter today,” Bessent replied. He then looked down at the podium, apparently to read a prepared statement on the matter without opening himself up to adversarial questioning.
\n“There’s ongoing litigation, so, it would be inappropriate for me to comment,” he continued. “President Trump is a great American who has endured more than ten years, ten years, of nonstop harassment and weaponization from federal and state government actors.”
\n“The Department of Justice represented Treasury and the IRS in this matter, and I’m going to have to refer any questions to acting attorney general Todd Blanche,” Bessent said, and then pointed to Steve Nelson, a reporter for the reliably pro-Trump New York Post.
\nLater in the briefing, Bessent picked out Reagan Reese, of the Daily Caller, which was created by Tucker Carlson, who asked the secretary for an update on the investigation into “who’s funding Antifa”.
\nPosobiec and Harmony then went outside the briefing room to do a live segment for Real America’s Voice promoting the Trump accounts under the banner headline: “MEDIA IS WRONG: TRUMP ACCOUNTS IS FOR ALL FAMILIES”.
","cleanBody":"The Trump administration’s effort to remake the White House press corps, by granting credentials to a host of reporters from openly partisan, rightwing outlets and regularly calling on them to ask questions that bolster Donald Trump’s agenda, has been so successful that it is rarely mentioned in news accounts these days. But Thursday’s briefing, led by treasury secretary Scott Bessent, was remarkable for how it started.\nAfter Bessent began with a pitch to promote a new app for managing Trump accounts, a type of investment account created by the administration for children, who get a one-time federal contribution of $1,000, he turned to his right and called on Beni Rae Harmony, a correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice invited by the White House to sit in seats beside the stage reserved for staff. Harmony, a former employee of the Republican advocacy group Turning Point USA, who claimed last year that her tearful on-air tribute to the late Charlie Kirk got her suspended (though the station denied that), asked Bessent to expand on how the new investment accounts would help “working-class Americans”. “Great question”, Bessent responded, before continuing to promote the administration policy. Bessent then called on a Fox Business correspondent, using his first name, “Ed”, and the Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy. A few minutes later, after taking two questions from nonpartisan reporters for ABC and CBS, Bessent pointed to the right side of the room and picked out Cara Castronuova, a former reality TV fitness trainer now working as White House correspondent for LindellTV, the pro-Trump outlet created by Mike Lindell, the pillow salesman who played a key role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Castronuova asked Bessent another softball question, inviting him to explain how the administration is putting in place safeguards for cryptocurrency, “to make sure new digital payment systems protect Americans privacy and freedoms”. After Bessent assured the viewers of LindellTV that crypto will be safe for them to use, he turned further to his to his right and asked another invited guest he referred to by his first name, Jack Posobiec, of Turning Point and Real America’s Voice, to help him move along to what looked like a prepared moment. Posobiec, who first gained prominence in 2016 as a Republican activist spreading the anti-Democrat conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate, asked Bessent to explain the origins of the $1.776bn fund created by the Department of Justice to compensate people who claim that they were the victims of politically motivated prosecutions by the Biden administration. “Thank you for the question. This is going to be the only question I’ll take on this matter today,” Bessent replied. He then looked down at the podium, apparently to read a prepared statement on the matter without opening himself up to adversarial questioning. “There’s ongoing litigation, so, it would be inappropriate for me to comment,” he continued. “President Trump is a great American who has endured more than ten years, ten years, of nonstop harassment and weaponization from federal and state government actors.” “The Department of Justice represented Treasury and the IRS in this matter, and I’m going to have to refer any questions to acting attorney general Todd Blanche,” Bessent said, and then pointed to Steve Nelson, a reporter for the reliably pro-Trump New York Post. Later in the briefing, Bessent picked out Reagan Reese, of the Daily Caller, which was created by Tucker Carlson, who asked the secretary for an update on the investigation into “who’s funding Antifa”. Posobiec and Harmony then went outside the briefing room to do a live segment for Real America’s Voice promoting the Trump accounts under the banner headline: “MEDIA IS WRONG: TRUMP ACCOUNTS IS FOR ALL FAMILIES”.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18e66e8f08cf8299b1718b","title":"Country music star Martina McBride drops out of Trump-linked concert series","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-29T01:18:22Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-29T01:28:10Z","body":"Country music star Martina McBride is the latest musician to announce that she will not be taking part in the Trump-linked Great American State Fair concert series on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer.
\nIn a social-media statement, McBride told her fans that she wanted to “clear the air”.
\n“I will not be performing at the Great American State Fair on June 25th. I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” she said.
\n“I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,” she added. “Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”
\n\n “It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the DC area very soon.”
\nMcBride is the sixth of nine featured performers announced on Wednesday to say that she will not take part in the event organized by Freedom 250, a group created by Donald Trump and staffed by his allies.
\nIn response to McBride’s Instagram post, Jason Isbell, an Alabama musician who performed at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, commented: “WHEW \uD83D\uDE4C” and the country musician Ashley McBryde added, “Amen”.
","cleanBody":"Country music star Martina McBride is the latest musician to announce that she will not be taking part in the Trump-linked Great American State Fair concert series on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer. In a social-media statement, McBride told her fans that she wanted to “clear the air”. “I will not be performing at the Great American State Fair on June 25th. I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,” she said. “I asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,” she added. “Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”\n“It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case. I appreciate every single fan who has reached out. I hope to get back to the DC area very soon.” McBride is the sixth of nine featured performers announced on Wednesday to say that she will not take part in the event organized by Freedom 250, a group created by Donald Trump and staffed by his allies. In response to McBride’s Instagram post, Jason Isbell, an Alabama musician who performed at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, commented: “WHEW \uD83D\uDE4C” and the country musician Ashley McBryde added, “Amen”.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a18f2c28f08714896b925c7","title":"Closing summary","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-29T02:01:52Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-29T02:01:51Z","body":"This concludes out live coverage of the second Trump administration, on a day when the wheels fell off its planned concert series to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Here are the latest developments:
\nA jury in Spokane, Washington found an Afghanistan War veteran and two others guilty of federal conspiracy charges on Thursday for their part in a protest last June outside the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.
\nNew Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, said that state health inspectors were denied full access to the privately run Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, where detainees are staging a hunger and labor strike over health and sanitary conditions, and protesters rallying outside have been tased, pepper-sprayed and detained.
\nAt least six of the nine featured musical acts recruited to play on the National Mall in Washington DC this summer, in a concert series planned by the Trump administration to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, have dropped out of the concert series, just one day after the lineup was announced.
\nUS vice-president JD Vance on Thursday told reporters that Washington was “not there yet” with Iran but he said the parties were close, adding that the US was in a position where it could substantially set back Tehran’s nuclear program. Earlier, Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing a source close to the negotiating team, said the text of a potential memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries had not yet been finalised or confirmed.
\nThis live blog is now closed.
\nNasa’s plans to build a lunar base and return humans to the moon in the next two years were thrown into jeopardy after a New Glenn rocket from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin company exploded during a test in Florida.
\nA massive fireball engulfed and destroyed the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center seconds after the start of the scheduled “hotfire” test at 9pm ET, and an orange sky was visible in Fort Pierce, 185km (115 miles) to the south.
\nIt is the type of rocket that Blue Origin intends to use to launch landers to the moon for Nasa, including the landers that will take astronauts to the lunar surface.
\nBezos, the Blue Origin founder, tweeted that all his company’s employees were accounted for, safe and uninjured, but lamented a “very rough day”.
\nOn Tuesday, Nasa announced that Blue Origin had won the contract to launch the first of three planned missions this year to begin construction of its $20bn moon base.
\nIt is also in competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to provide a lunar lander for the Artemis IV mission planned for 2028 that will see astronauts land on the moon for the first time since 1972.
\nJared Isaacman, the Nasa administrator, posted to X that a full evaluation of that timeline would be conducted after the explosion, which Blue Origin described as “an anomaly”.
\n“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” he wrote.
\n“We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.
\n“We will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available.”
\nBezos, in his tweet, said: “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
\nShockwaves from the explosion were felt along the stretch of Florida’s Atlantic Ocean seaboard known as the space coast, and residents in South Carolina hundreds of miles north reported seeing a glow in the sky.
\nA livestream posted by NSF, an aerospace news organization, captured the fiery plume. Homes shook in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach around 9pm, with residents turning to social media to ask what happened. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 is visible from the beach, and the internet quickly filled with photos of the orange fireball.
\nEmergency officials said there was no threat due to fumes or other potential hazards. Flames were still burning at the launchpad more than two hours after the explosion.
\nBlue Origin has endured a sequence of setbacks as it vies with SpaceX for Nasa contracts for the Artemis program. A payload from the third flight of New Glenn ended up in the wrong orbit during a flight last month, and the rocket was temporarily grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
\nThursday’s test was the first static fire test – one in which the rocket remains on the launchpad – since the FAA cleared it to return to flight last week. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding whether Thursday’s explosion will trigger another investigation.
\nBlue Origin and SpaceX have both built large new facilities in or close to the Cape Canaveral space center to support crewed and cargo missions in partnership with Nasa.
\nArtemis III, planned for 2027, is scheduled to test Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander, and SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS), to determine which will ferry the Artemis IV crew from Orion capsule to the lunar surface.
\nMusk was quick to offer his take on Thursday’s Blue Origin explosion.
\n“Most unfortunate,” he said in a discussion on X, which he owns. “Rockets are hard.”
\nBezos also has a vested interest in space tourism. Last April, the company made headlines as it sent an all-female, star-studded crew into space. Gayle King and Katy Perry were on board the flight.
\nThe Associated Press contributed reporting
","standFirst":"No personnel were harmed in the incident, the company said on social media, calling the explosion an ‘anomaly’
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video ","description":"Nasa’s plans to build a lunar base and return humans to the moon in the next two years were thrown into jeopardy after a New Glenn rocket from Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin company exploded during a test in Florida. A massive fireball engulfed and destroyed the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center seconds after the start of the scheduled “hotfire” test at 9pm ET, and an orange sky was visible in Fort Pierce, 185km (115 miles) to the south
Blue Origin rocket explodes during test in latest setback for Jeff Bezos-owned company
Nasa selects Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin for first of three uncrewed lunar missions
Dozens of former federal judges have joined the push to thwart Donald Trump’s creation of a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization fund” that would funnel taxpayer dollars to the president’s political allies.
\nThe bipartisan group of 35 judges filed a lawsuit in the southern district of Florida on Wednesday seeking to reopen Trump’s legal case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leaking of his tax information by a whistleblower who was later sentenced to five years in prison.
\nTrump, who had been seeking $10bn in damages, settled that case earlier this month in exchange for a financial agreement with the IRS allowing him to set up what critics have called a “slush fund” for his allies. This could include those convicted of violence during the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot he incited when trying in vain to overturn his defeat by Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Trump pardoned those convicted after returning to the White House last year.
\nThe former judges said the settlement fund was “a product of collusion and is itself a fraud on the Court”, and urged the Miami-based federal judge Kathleen Williams, appointed by Barack Obama, to reconsider her 18 May decision to approve it.
\nReopening the case would, the lawsuit said: “Allow the Court to commence an inquiry into whether the Court was deceived, including with respect to the existence of an underlying case or controversy and any purported arms-length negotiations undertaken to resolve.”
\nDemocrats, and other critics, believe Williams was undercut by the deal days before she was set to rule on whether Trump’s IRS lawsuit had merit. The judges argue that she may have been hoodwinked by the settlement, which was not yet a matter of public record, and had the authority to reopen the case because it was a product of fraud.
\n“The parties here dismissed this case before the Court could complete its inquiry into whether there was an actual case or controversy, and then cited their ‘settlement’ of this case as the legal justification for looting the federal treasury of $1.776bn,” the filing said.
\nThe jurists behind the lawsuit include former appellate judge J Michael Luttig, a conservative longtime Trump critic, and former district court judges Nancy Gertner and Shira Scheindlin, CBS News reported.
\nThe move follows a week of growing opposition to the settlement, and at least one other lawsuit seeking to block it.
\nHarry Dunn, a retired US Capitol police officer, and Daniel Hodges, a Metropolitan police department officer, who were both on duty and injured by rioters during the 6 January insurrection, sued Trump in US district court in Washington DC last week.
\n“In the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century, President Donald J Trump has created a $1.776bn taxpayer-funded slush fund to finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name,” their lawsuit said.
\n“By its very existence, the fund encourages those who enacted violence in the president’s name to continue to do so. Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence on [a] regular basis; the fund substantially increases the danger.”
\nOpposition has also come from within Trump’s own Republican party. Senior figures in the US Senate have expressed “concern” that money could be diverted to convicted felons, and the chamber last week held up a $72bn Trump-backed immigration enforcement funding bill.
\nAn Economist/YouGov poll this week found that 52% of Republicans, and 45% of those who consider themselves supporters of Trump’s hardline Maga (make America great again) agenda, were against the fund.
\nThe justice department, and acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, have defended it. “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American,” Blanche said last week, claiming that applications for a payout would be open to anybody who felt they had been subject to politically motivated prosecution.
\nOn his Truth Social platform, however, Trump said the payouts were intended for those “so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden administration”.
\nAmong the first to express interest was Enrique Tarrio, a former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, pardoned by Trump last year after being sentenced to a 22-year prison term for plotting to overturn Biden’s victory.
\nTarrio has told PBS News that he believed he was entitled to “somewhere in the mid-tens of millions” of dollars from the fund.
\nLast year, Tarrio sued the government for allegedly violating his civil rights, and the justice department announced last month it was seeking to overturn the seditious conspiracy convictions of leaders of the Proud Boys and another extremist group, the Oath Keepers, stemming from the Capitol attack.
","atomsCSS":[],"shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"discussionId":"/p/x569yy","section":"US news","id":"us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund","displayImages":[{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5b19ca08147b01e60a0148141145608de0891bd5/1170_0_6410_5127/master/6410.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=ab5e9559c157c78af4c635ae46e22434","height":5127,"width":6410,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"Donald Trump speaks to the press before walking to board Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House on 12 May. Photograph: Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images","credit":"Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images","altText":"a man speaks","cleanCaption":"Donald Trump speaks to the press before walking to board Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House on 12 May.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images"}],"shouldHideAdverts":false,"standFirst":"Lawsuit says settlement fund was ‘fraud on the court’ that would funnel taxpayer dollars to Trump allies
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attack"],"publishedAt":"2026-05-28T16:12:07Z"},"links":{"uri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/uk/items/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund","shortUrl":"http://www.theguardian.com/p/x569yy","relatedUri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/uk/items-related/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund","webUri":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund","dcrUri":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk","renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk"}},"byline":"Richard 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House on 12 May. Photograph: Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images","credit":"Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images","altText":"a man speaks","cleanCaption":"Donald Trump speaks to the press before walking to board Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House on 12 May.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images"},"campaigns":[],"designType":"Article","palette":{"background":"#00000000","mediaIcon":"#00000000","pillar":"#C70000","main":"#C70000","secondary":"#FF4E36","headline":"#121212","commentCount":"#707070","metaText":"#707070","elementBackground":"#FF4E36","shadow":"#DCDCDC","immersiveKicker":"#FF4E36","topBorder":"#DCDCDC","mediaBackground":"#EDEDED","pill":"#EDEDED","accentColour":"#C70000","kickerText":"#C70000","kickerColours":{"plainKickerText":"#C70000","plainPill":"#EDEDED","liveKickerText":"#F6F6F6","livePill":"#C70000","featureKickerText":"#FFF4F2","featurePill":"#EDEDED","featureLiveKickerText":"#EDEDED","featureLivePill":"#AB0613"},"mediaPillBackground":"#121212","mediaPillForeground":"#FFFFFF","featureAccentColour":"#FFF4F2"},"atoms":[]},"trailText":"Lawsuit says settlement fund was ‘fraud on the court’ that would funnel taxpayer dollars to Trump allies","showQuotedHeadline":false,"showLiveIndicator":false,"sublinks":[],"mainImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5b19ca08147b01e60a0148141145608de0891bd5/1170_0_6410_5127/master/6410.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=ab5e9559c157c78af4c635ae46e22434","height":5127,"width":6410,"orientation":"landscape","credit":"Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images","altText":"a man speaks","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/federal-judges-trump-anti-weaponization-fund?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"cardDesignType":"Article","correspondingTags":[],"type":"Article","importance":0},{"title":"‘True patriot’: White House pays bizarre tribute to Harambe 10 years after gorilla’s death","rawTitle":"‘True patriot’: White House pays bizarre tribute to Harambe 10 years after gorilla’s death","item":{"trailText":"White House made lengthy post about gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure in 2016","body":"The White House has posted on social media a tribute to mark Thursday’s 10th anniversary of the death of a figure it called “a true patriot”.
\nThe hero was not a human, however; it concerned the infamous case of the 400lb western lowland gorilla that had been named Harambe, which was shot dead at the Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure and interacted with the animal.
\nIn a lengthy post on Wednesday evening, what would have been the primate’s 27th birthday, the official government account mourned “an icon that became part of internet history, American culture, and an entire generation’s timeline”.
\nSecurity staff at the zoo shot and killed the male silverback on 28 May 2016 after the boy, three-year-old Isaiah Dickerson, climbed a fence, crawled through a hedge, and dropped 15ft into the enclosure holding Harambe and fellow gorillas. Video captured the gorilla pulling the boy, who received only minor injuries, through water.
\nThe incident became a viral internet sensation, prompting memes, tributes both fake and real, music and poetry, and calls for sports teams to be renamed for Harambe. It also sparked safety improvements at the zoo, which reopened its gorilla enclosure a year later with higher walls and other barriers.
\nWednesday’s bizarre 123-word memorial post to the animal by the White House, which remained silent when the former Republican vice-president Dick Cheney died in November, evoked that aftermath.
\n“He became a symbol of loyalty, strength, chaos, unity, and the strange beauty of the internet bringing millions of people together for one cause: never forgetting Harambe,” it said.
\n“Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news. And somehow, a decade later, his legacy still lives on. Gone, but never forgotten. Rest easy to a true patriot.”
\nHarambe was born in captivity at a zoo in Brownsville, Texas, in May 1999.
\nSoon after the 2016 incident, Donald Trump, then a presidential candidate, spoke of how it was “so beautiful to watch” Harambe with the child.
\n“It was almost like a mother holding a baby … looked so beautiful and calm, and there were moments where [it] looked pretty dangerous,” he told reporters at a press conference, adding that he would not criticize zoo staff for opening fire.
\n“I don’t think they had a choice,” he said. “You have a child, a young child is at stake, and you know it’s too bad there wasn’t another way.”\n
White House made lengthy post about gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure in 2016
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Photograph: Photograph: John Minchillo/AP","credit":"John Minchillo/AP","altText":"visitors entering a zoo next to a sign that says 'gorilla world'","cleanCaption":"Visitors enter the Gorilla World exhibit at the Cincinnati zoo and botanical garden in June 2016.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: John Minchillo/AP"},"campaigns":[],"designType":"Article","palette":{"background":"#00000000","mediaIcon":"#00000000","pillar":"#C70000","main":"#C70000","secondary":"#FF4E36","headline":"#121212","commentCount":"#707070","metaText":"#707070","elementBackground":"#FF4E36","shadow":"#DCDCDC","immersiveKicker":"#FF4E36","topBorder":"#DCDCDC","mediaBackground":"#EDEDED","pill":"#EDEDED","accentColour":"#C70000","kickerText":"#C70000","kickerColours":{"plainKickerText":"#C70000","plainPill":"#EDEDED","liveKickerText":"#F6F6F6","livePill":"#C70000","featureKickerText":"#FFF4F2","featurePill":"#EDEDED","featureLiveKickerText":"#EDEDED","featureLivePill":"#AB0613"},"mediaPillBackground":"#121212","mediaPillForeground":"#FFFFFF","featureAccentColour":"#FFF4F2"},"atoms":[]},"trailText":"White House made lengthy post about gorilla shot dead at Cincinnati zoo after a toddler entered his enclosure in 2016","showQuotedHeadline":false,"showLiveIndicator":false,"sublinks":[],"mainImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d0a3002772e682a4361dc5604035726a66d7222a/560_0_3855_3084/master/3855.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=7d4aa7ec3afc665355151d419cfea0d6","height":3084,"width":3855,"orientation":"landscape","credit":"John Minchillo/AP","altText":"visitors entering a zoo next to a sign that says 'gorilla world'","cleanCredit":"Photograph: John Minchillo/AP"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/white-house-harambe-tribute?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/white-house-harambe-tribute?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/28/white-house-harambe-tribute?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"cardDesignType":"Article","correspondingTags":[],"type":"Article","importance":0},{"title":"Trump’s justice department reportedly opens criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll – as it happened","rawTitle":"Trump’s justice department reportedly opens criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll – as it happened","item":{"trailText":"This live blog is now closed.","liveContent":{"liveBloggingNow":false,"blocks":[{"id":"block-6a17a04f8f085ed9af254f7d","title":"Closing summary","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T01:59:40Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T01:59:39Z","body":"This concludes our live chronicle of the second Trump administration to a close, on a day when the president casually suggested that the US ally Oman had to “behave” or “we’ll have to blow ‘em up”. Here are the latest developments:
\nIn a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump. Pressed to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”
\nCNN reports that the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5m civil judgment against Donald Trump in 2023, when a federal jury found that he had sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied attacking her.
\nTwo House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”.
\nCam Higby, a rightwing activist disguised as a pro-Palestinian activist, disrupted a news conference with the Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
\nCNN reports that the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5m civil judgment against Donald Trump in 2023, when a federal jury found that he had sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied attacking her.
\nAccording to CNN’s sources, who were not named, the investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony in her two civil lawsuits against Trump, one for allegedly sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in 1996, and the second for defamation.
\nThe apparent legal theory prosecutors are pursuing is a claim that Carroll lied in a 2022 deposition when she said she had received no outside funding for her lawsuit.
\nNearly six months later, before the trial started, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that a nonprofit funded by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder, had paid some legal fees and expenses. Carroll’s lawyers said she never met or spoke with anyone from the nonprofit. The judge allowed Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, to question Carroll again in a second deposition.
\nExcerpts from Carroll’s videotaped depositions with Habba were included in a new documentary, Ask E Jean, which opened last week in New York.
\n![\"E](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/cae7397954f8de59e04e647901d381a7bc8aa597/0_0_3984_2656/1000.jpg\")
\n Juries later awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages, which the president is appealing. Trump has appealed the $5m in damages in the sexual abuse case judgement and $83m in the defamation case. Trump has repeatedly tried to have the awards thrown out.
\nA three-judge federal appeals court panel in New York already dismissed the claim that Carroll had lied in her deposition in 2024. In their opinion affirming the judgement against Trump, on 30 December 2024, the judges wrote:
\n\n\nMs. Carroll plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained in September 2020 when this question was first posed to her in 2022, and the additional discovery did not indicate otherwise. Rather, it showed that Ms. Carroll simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs. Ms. Carroll testified that, after her counsel informed her in September 2020 that they had received some outside funding, she did not speak with her counsel about this topic again until the spring of 2023 and did not even know the funder’s political position or why they were partially funding her lawsuit. Therefore, by the time of her deposition in October 2022, Ms. Carroll had not spoken with her counsel about the matter of outside funding for over two years.
\n
The New York Times reports that the investigation was opened by Andrew Boutros, the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who was appointed by Trump.
\nTodd Blanche, the acting attorney general, defended Trump in the Carroll case, and has recused himself, sources told both CNN and the Times.
\nBoutros is currently at the center of an inquiry himself, after a defense attorney for an anti-ICE protester whose case was dismissed told a federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday that he has “reason to believe” that Boutros had personal contact with the grand jury in the case.
","cleanBody":"CNN reports that the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5m civil judgment against Donald Trump in 2023, when a federal jury found that he had sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied attacking her. According to CNN’s sources, who were not named, the investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony in her two civil lawsuits against Trump, one for allegedly sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in 1996, and the second for defamation. The apparent legal theory prosecutors are pursuing is a claim that Carroll lied in a 2022 deposition when she said she had received no outside funding for her lawsuit. Nearly six months later, before the trial started, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that a nonprofit funded by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder, had paid some legal fees and expenses. Carroll’s lawyers said she never met or spoke with anyone from the nonprofit. The judge allowed Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, to question Carroll again in a second deposition. Excerpts from Carroll’s videotaped depositions with Habba were included in a new documentary, Ask E Jean, which opened last week in New York.\nJuries later awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages, which the president is appealing. Trump has appealed the $5m in damages in the sexual abuse case judgement and $83m in the defamation case. Trump has repeatedly tried to have the awards thrown out. A three-judge federal appeals court panel in New York already dismissed the claim that Carroll had lied in her deposition in 2024. In their opinion affirming the judgement against Trump, on 30 December 2024, the judges wrote: Ms. Carroll plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained in September 2020 when this question was first posed to her in 2022, and the additional discovery did not indicate otherwise. Rather, it showed that Ms. Carroll simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs. Ms. Carroll testified that, after her counsel informed her in September 2020 that they had received some outside funding, she did not speak with her counsel about this topic again until the spring of 2023 and did not even know the funder’s political position or why they were partially funding her lawsuit. Therefore, by the time of her deposition in October 2022, Ms. Carroll had not spoken with her counsel about the matter of outside funding for over two years. The New York Times reports that the investigation was opened by Andrew Boutros, the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who was appointed by Trump. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, defended Trump in the Carroll case, and has recused himself, sources told both CNN and the Times. Boutros is currently at the center of an inquiry himself, after a defense attorney for an anti-ICE protester whose case was dismissed told a federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday that he has “reason to believe” that Boutros had personal contact with the grand jury in the case.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a177ac98f085ed9af254e8d","title":"Anti-ICE protesters in New Jersey unmask rightwing influencer disguised in keffiyeh","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T23:51:02Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T00:15:43Z","body":"Protesters outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey discovered that a videographer who heckled two Democratic congressmen while covering his face in a keffiyeh on Wednesday was Cam Higby, a rightwing influencer who works with Turning Point USA, the late Charlie Kirk’s advocacy organization.
\nEarlier in the day, protesters outside the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where detainees are on hunger strike, reportedly became suspicious of the videographer, who concealed his face in the black and white Palestinian scarf while holding a selfie-stick in one hand and, at one point, a Polymarket-branded mic in the other.
\nVideo recorded by an Intercept reporter, Noah Hurowitz, showed that Higby loudly heckled the congressmen, Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler, shouting anti-immigrant rhetoric at them during a news conference, while his head was still covered in the kind of keffiyeh worn by pro-Palestinian protesters.
\n![\"Cam](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/4058736f80baa8bbcbed2fd282b77d82fb2eec4a/0_0_5213_3475/1000.jpg\")
\n Then, as Higby’s own video, and a second clip shot by the protest reporter Ford Fischer showed a protester tried to pull the scarf from around his neck while one of her colleagues said: “Take off that fake-ass keffiyeh. You’re not about Free Palestine; you’re a fake, infiltrator”.
\nAs Higby was chased away from the protest by activists, he briefly paused to take what looked like a pair of Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses from his backpack, as ICE officers stepped in to guard him from the anti-ICE protesters.
\nHigby, a rightwing influencer who makes a living filming himself confronting leftwing protesters, was one of the the supposed experts who attended the White House Antifa roundtable last October, to brief Donald Trump on antifascism.
\nWhile his social-media profile highlights “Undercover Infiltrations” as a speciality, in his remarks at the White House, Higby cast himself as a reporter unfairly targeted by antifascists. “I’m attacked every time I do my job. When I leave my house to go to work, I’m violently assaulted. I’ve had guns pulled on me. I’ve been bear-sprayed. I’ve been beaten down. I’ve been almost killed,” he said.
","cleanBody":"Protesters outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey discovered that a videographer who heckled two Democratic congressmen while covering his face in a keffiyeh on Wednesday was Cam Higby, a rightwing influencer who works with Turning Point USA, the late Charlie Kirk’s advocacy organization. Earlier in the day, protesters outside the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where detainees are on hunger strike, reportedly became suspicious of the videographer, who concealed his face in the black and white Palestinian scarf while holding a selfie-stick in one hand and, at one point, a Polymarket-branded mic in the other. Video recorded by an Intercept reporter, Noah Hurowitz, showed that Higby loudly heckled the congressmen, Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler, shouting anti-immigrant rhetoric at them during a news conference, while his head was still covered in the kind of keffiyeh worn by pro-Palestinian protesters.\nThen, as Higby’s own video, and a second clip shot by the protest reporter Ford Fischer showed a protester tried to pull the scarf from around his neck while one of her colleagues said: “Take off that fake-ass keffiyeh. You’re not about Free Palestine; you’re a fake, infiltrator”. As Higby was chased away from the protest by activists, he briefly paused to take what looked like a pair of Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses from his backpack, as ICE officers stepped in to guard him from the anti-ICE protesters. Higby, a rightwing influencer who makes a living filming himself confronting leftwing protesters, was one of the the supposed experts who attended the White House Antifa roundtable last October, to brief Donald Trump on antifascism. While his social-media profile highlights “Undercover Infiltrations” as a speciality, in his remarks at the White House, Higby cast himself as a reporter unfairly targeted by antifascists. “I’m attacked every time I do my job. When I leave my house to go to work, I’m violently assaulted. I’ve had guns pulled on me. I’ve been bear-sprayed. I’ve been beaten down. I’ve been almost killed,” he said.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1773578f084f59d1844517","title":"Singer Morris Day says he is not performing at Trump administration event: 'It’s A No For Me'","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T23:11:17Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T23:12:25Z","body":"Hours after the Trump administration announced a not quite star-studded lineup of musical acts for its Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington this summer, one of the announced performers, Morris Day, made it clear that he would not, in fact, be performing.
\nDay posted a graphic on Instagram with a red circle and a line through it with the message: “Contrary to rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing at ‘the Great American State Fair’”.
\nThe singer added, in a caption: “It’s A No For Me”.
\nDay’s name and photo was included on a poster published earlier in the day by Freedom 250, the organization producing the event to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in partnership with the White House.
\nThe musicians who have not (yet) denied that they will take part are: Martina McBride, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, the Commodores, Flo Rida and Bret Michaels.
\nAs some observers pointed out on social media, four of those acts are currently taking part in a nationwide I Love the 90s tour, including the surviving member of Milli Vanilli, a German pop duo that lost their Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after it was reveled that they did not sing on the record but just lip-synched in music videos and on stage.
","cleanBody":"Hours after the Trump administration announced a not quite star-studded lineup of musical acts for its Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington this summer, one of the announced performers, Morris Day, made it clear that he would not, in fact, be performing. Day posted a graphic on Instagram with a red circle and a line through it with the message: “Contrary to rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing at ‘the Great American State Fair’”. The singer added, in a caption: “It’s A No For Me”. Day’s name and photo was included on a poster published earlier in the day by Freedom 250, the organization producing the event to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in partnership with the White House. The musicians who have not (yet) denied that they will take part are: Martina McBride, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, the Commodores, Flo Rida and Bret Michaels. As some observers pointed out on social media, four of those acts are currently taking part in a nationwide I Love the 90s tour, including the surviving member of Milli Vanilli, a German pop duo that lost their Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after it was reveled that they did not sing on the record but just lip-synched in music videos and on stage.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a176bed8f0812dff661ce0b","title":"Trump administration re-imposes sanctions on Francesca Albanese, UN expert on human rights of Palestinians under Israeli occupation","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T22:27:15Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T22:27:14Z","body":"The Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on Wednesday against Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who was appointed by UN Human Rights Council to monitor human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
\nAn entry on the US treasury department’s website was updated on Wednesday to include Albanese, two weeks after a federal judge had temporarily blocked US sanctions against her for criticizing Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it a likely violation of her free speech rights.
\nAlbanese was appointed US special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2022, a role filled by an independent expert.
","cleanBody":"The Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on Wednesday against Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who was appointed by UN Human Rights Council to monitor human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. An entry on the US treasury department’s website was updated on Wednesday to include Albanese, two weeks after a federal judge had temporarily blocked US sanctions against her for criticizing Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it a likely violation of her free speech rights. Albanese was appointed US special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2022, a role filled by an independent expert.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a175f0d8f0812dff661cda4","title":"House Democrats to introduce bill to block construction of Trump's 'triumphal arch'","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T21:38:23Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T22:29:57Z","body":"Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced on Wednesday that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”, they said in a statement.
\nGiven that the Democrats are in the minority, and their Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act would need two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate to override a veto from Trump, the legislation has little chance to become law, but it does focus resistance to the planned 250-foot knock-off of the Arc de Triomphe the president insists he can build without congressional authorization.
\n![\"Donald](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/626ffdbb76edbd528ee90a503063256bc4bba006/36_0_3747_2999/1000.jpg\")
\n Renderings of the giant monument Trump said last October would be in honor of himself show that it would obstruct the view of the Lincoln Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery.
\nBeyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), and whose parents, grandparents, and sister are buried there, said:
\n\n\nArlington National Cemetery is sacred ground, the resting place for some of our nation’s greatest heroes. It is unthinkable that we would desecrate this hallowed space to build a monument to Donald Trump’s ego.
\nTrump’s vanity project would waste taxpayer money, brazenly violate existing law, and become yet another vehicle for his corruption. The Administration has also given no consideration to potential harmful effects on the region including impacts on air safety and traffic on major roadways.
\n“Worst of all, Trump is not trying to build this arch to commemorate national heroes, servicemembers who lie in Arlington National Cemetery, or to celebrate freedom. He did not dedicate it to the American people or our country’s greatness. Asked who this arch is for, Trump said, simply: ‘me.’
\n
Representative Titus added: “As President Trump strips away the necessary safety nets from Americans who are struggling to afford their basic needs like groceries and healthcare, he builds his unauthorized, grandiose Triumphal Arch. While destroying historical monuments and artifacts important to our American identity, he is erecting monuments to honor himself.”
","cleanBody":"Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced on Wednesday that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”, they said in a statement. Given that the Democrats are in the minority, and their Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act would need two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate to override a veto from Trump, the legislation has little chance to become law, but it does focus resistance to the planned 250-foot knock-off of the Arc de Triomphe the president insists he can build without congressional authorization.\nRenderings of the giant monument Trump said last October would be in honor of himself show that it would obstruct the view of the Lincoln Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery. Beyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), and whose parents, grandparents, and sister are buried there, said: Arlington National Cemetery is sacred ground, the resting place for some of our nation’s greatest heroes. It is unthinkable that we would desecrate this hallowed space to build a monument to Donald Trump’s ego. Trump’s vanity project would waste taxpayer money, brazenly violate existing law, and become yet another vehicle for his corruption. The Administration has also given no consideration to potential harmful effects on the region including impacts on air safety and traffic on major roadways. “Worst of all, Trump is not trying to build this arch to commemorate national heroes, servicemembers who lie in Arlington National Cemetery, or to celebrate freedom. He did not dedicate it to the American people or our country’s greatness. Asked who this arch is for, Trump said, simply: ‘me.’ Representative Titus added: “As President Trump strips away the necessary safety nets from Americans who are struggling to afford their basic needs like groceries and healthcare, he builds his unauthorized, grandiose Triumphal Arch. While destroying historical monuments and artifacts important to our American identity, he is erecting monuments to honor himself.”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a174efb8f085ed9af254d63","title":"Jill Biden tells CBS News she thought Joe Biden was 'having a stroke' during 2024 debate","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T20:27:59Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T21:00:31Z","body":"In a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump.
\nAsked if she was horrified as she viewed the debate, the former first lady said: “I wasn’t horrified, I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that – before or since. Never.”
\nPressed by the interviewer, Rita Braver, to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean when, as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”
\nThe comments were made in an interview that will air in full on Sunday.
\nThe admission from the former first lady prompted immediate reactions from hosts of the podcast Pod Save America, former aides to Barack Obama who called for Joe Biden to immediately drop out of the presidential race in the aftermath of the debate. Biden did, eventually, step aside, but only after sustained pressure from Democrats, in the face of resistance from the president’s closest advisors and family, who insisted that he was fine.
\n“Those of us who agreed with Jill Biden’s actual assessment (i.e., people who could see and hear) were told by the Bidens and the campaign and the online dead-enders that we were all wildly overreacting and that his debate performance was fine -- even good!” Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau wrote.
\n“I think this is how most voters felt while watching that debate, and why it was obvious that Biden had to drop out of the race,” Favreau’s co-host Tommy Vietor added. “The impression left by Biden’s performance was unfixable, and pretending otherwise was insulting to voters.”
\nAs the MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner noted, immediately after the debate, Jill Biden stood on stage with Joe Biden and told him: “you did such a great job; you answered every question, you knew all the facts!”
","cleanBody":"In a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump.\nAsked if she was horrified as she viewed the debate, the former first lady said: “I wasn’t horrified, I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that – before or since. Never.” Pressed by the interviewer, Rita Braver, to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean when, as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.” The comments were made in an interview that will air in full on Sunday. The admission from the former first lady prompted immediate reactions from hosts of the podcast Pod Save America, former aides to Barack Obama who called for Joe Biden to immediately drop out of the presidential race in the aftermath of the debate. Biden did, eventually, step aside, but only after sustained pressure from Democrats, in the face of resistance from the president’s closest advisors and family, who insisted that he was fine. “Those of us who agreed with Jill Biden’s actual assessment (i.e., people who could see and hear) were told by the Bidens and the campaign and the online dead-enders that we were all wildly overreacting and that his debate performance was fine -- even good!” Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau wrote. “I think this is how most voters felt while watching that debate, and why it was obvious that Biden had to drop out of the race,” Favreau’s co-host Tommy Vietor added. “The impression left by Biden’s performance was unfixable, and pretending otherwise was insulting to voters.” As the MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner noted, immediately after the debate, Jill Biden stood on stage with Joe Biden and told him: “you did such a great job; you answered every question, you knew all the facts!”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1745098f084f59d18443e2","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T19:26:06Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T19:26:05Z","body":"The day before Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration.
\nLast month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records.
\nUnder the contract, awarded by the Bureau of Prisons to LEO Technologies, the company will use artificial intelligence to translate, transcribe and monitor prison phone calls. Broidy lists himself as the founder and CEO of LEO.
\nIn a letter to the Guardian, LEO’s attorneys said Broidy sets the strategy of the company but does not run the day-to-day operations.
\nThe company has previously won awards in state and local prison systems, but the new contract with the Bureau of Prisons marks the first time it is doing business with the federal government. On its website, the Texas-based company says that prisoners’ phone calls “represent the world’s largest concentration of criminally-minded activity – all on recorded lines, all legally accessible”.
\n","cleanBody":"The day before Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration. Last month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records. Under the contract, awarded by the Bureau of Prisons to LEO Technologies, the company will use artificial intelligence to translate, transcribe and monitor prison phone calls. Broidy lists himself as the founder and CEO of LEO. In a letter to the Guardian, LEO’s attorneys said Broidy sets the strategy of the company but does not run the day-to-day operations. The company has previously won awards in state and local prison systems, but the new contract with the Bureau of Prisons marks the first time it is doing business with the federal government. On its website, the Texas-based company says that prisoners’ phone calls “represent the world’s largest concentration of criminally-minded activity – all on recorded lines, all legally accessible”.","postType":"blog","contributors":["aram-roston"]},{"id":"block-6a173b1f8f084f59d184438c","title":"Analysis: Trump’s iron grip on the GOP has never been stronger. What about the US?","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T18:58:16Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T18:58:15Z","body":"Ken Paxton’s clear victory in a Texas runoff – the widest primary defeat of an incumbent US senator in almost five decades – highlights the extraordinary loyalty Trump continues to command over his base. But Democrats are still optimistic that Paxton’s extremism and scandal-riddled past will bring disenchanted Cornyn voters to their camp.
\nPaxton’s confirmation has bolstered Democratic optimism that the party is in with a shot of winning statewide office in Texas for the first time in more than three decades, with the help of old guard Republicans and Latino voters switching back from the GOP.
\n","cleanBody":"Ken Paxton’s clear victory in a Texas runoff – the widest primary defeat of an incumbent US senator in almost five decades – highlights the extraordinary loyalty Trump continues to command over his base. But Democrats are still optimistic that Paxton’s extremism and scandal-riddled past will bring disenchanted Cornyn voters to their camp. Paxton’s confirmation has bolstered Democratic optimism that the party is in with a shot of winning statewide office in Texas for the first time in more than three decades, with the help of old guard Republicans and Latino voters switching back from the GOP.","postType":"key-event","contributors":["callum-jones"]},{"id":"block-6a173afc8f084f59d184438b","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T18:42:32Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T18:42:31Z","body":"Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that he plans to attend this year’s NBA finals after the New York Knicks clinched their place in the championship series earlier this week.
\nTrump, a New York native, has counted James Dolan, who owns the Knicks, the NHL’s Rangers and Madison Square Garden, as a friend and a campaign donor in recent years. The president said he had been invited to the finals by Dolan and “numerous” others.
\n“Jim Dolan’s great guy, [he], as you know owns … Madison Square Garden. He’s having a good year. Boy, what a team. They won all their games. They really have some great players,” the president told reporters during a cabinet meeting. “I think I’ll be going to one of the games, yeah. I was invited by numerous people and Jim – and I think I’ll be going. Great to see. The Knicks have really, they’ve really suffered for years. They’re doing right now very well.”
\n","cleanBody":"Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that he plans to attend this year’s NBA finals after the New York Knicks clinched their place in the championship series earlier this week. Trump, a New York native, has counted James Dolan, who owns the Knicks, the NHL’s Rangers and Madison Square Garden, as a friend and a campaign donor in recent years. The president said he had been invited to the finals by Dolan and “numerous” others. “Jim Dolan’s great guy, [he], as you know owns … Madison Square Garden. He’s having a good year. Boy, what a team. They won all their games. They really have some great players,” the president told reporters during a cabinet meeting. “I think I’ll be going to one of the games, yeah. I was invited by numerous people and Jim – and I think I’ll be going. Great to see. The Knicks have really, they’ve really suffered for years. They’re doing right now very well.”","postType":"blog","contributors":[]}],"keyEvents":[{"id":"block-6a174efb8f085ed9af254d63","title":"Jill Biden tells CBS News she thought Joe Biden was 'having a stroke' during 2024 debate","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T20:27:59Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T21:00:31Z","body":"In a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump.
\nAsked if she was horrified as she viewed the debate, the former first lady said: “I wasn’t horrified, I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that – before or since. Never.”
\nPressed by the interviewer, Rita Braver, to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean when, as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”
\nThe comments were made in an interview that will air in full on Sunday.
\nThe admission from the former first lady prompted immediate reactions from hosts of the podcast Pod Save America, former aides to Barack Obama who called for Joe Biden to immediately drop out of the presidential race in the aftermath of the debate. Biden did, eventually, step aside, but only after sustained pressure from Democrats, in the face of resistance from the president’s closest advisors and family, who insisted that he was fine.
\n“Those of us who agreed with Jill Biden’s actual assessment (i.e., people who could see and hear) were told by the Bidens and the campaign and the online dead-enders that we were all wildly overreacting and that his debate performance was fine -- even good!” Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau wrote.
\n“I think this is how most voters felt while watching that debate, and why it was obvious that Biden had to drop out of the race,” Favreau’s co-host Tommy Vietor added. “The impression left by Biden’s performance was unfixable, and pretending otherwise was insulting to voters.”
\nAs the MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner noted, immediately after the debate, Jill Biden stood on stage with Joe Biden and told him: “you did such a great job; you answered every question, you knew all the facts!”
","cleanBody":"In a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump.\nAsked if she was horrified as she viewed the debate, the former first lady said: “I wasn’t horrified, I was frightened, because I had never, ever seen Joe like that – before or since. Never.” Pressed by the interviewer, Rita Braver, to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean when, as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.” The comments were made in an interview that will air in full on Sunday. The admission from the former first lady prompted immediate reactions from hosts of the podcast Pod Save America, former aides to Barack Obama who called for Joe Biden to immediately drop out of the presidential race in the aftermath of the debate. Biden did, eventually, step aside, but only after sustained pressure from Democrats, in the face of resistance from the president’s closest advisors and family, who insisted that he was fine. “Those of us who agreed with Jill Biden’s actual assessment (i.e., people who could see and hear) were told by the Bidens and the campaign and the online dead-enders that we were all wildly overreacting and that his debate performance was fine -- even good!” Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau wrote. “I think this is how most voters felt while watching that debate, and why it was obvious that Biden had to drop out of the race,” Favreau’s co-host Tommy Vietor added. “The impression left by Biden’s performance was unfixable, and pretending otherwise was insulting to voters.” As the MS NOW correspondent Akayla Gardner noted, immediately after the debate, Jill Biden stood on stage with Joe Biden and told him: “you did such a great job; you answered every question, you knew all the facts!”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a175f0d8f0812dff661cda4","title":"House Democrats to introduce bill to block construction of Trump's 'triumphal arch'","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T21:38:23Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T22:29:57Z","body":"Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced on Wednesday that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”, they said in a statement.
\nGiven that the Democrats are in the minority, and their Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act would need two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate to override a veto from Trump, the legislation has little chance to become law, but it does focus resistance to the planned 250-foot knock-off of the Arc de Triomphe the president insists he can build without congressional authorization.
\n\n Renderings of the giant monument Trump said last October would be in honor of himself show that it would obstruct the view of the Lincoln Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery.
\nBeyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), and whose parents, grandparents, and sister are buried there, said:
\n\n\nArlington National Cemetery is sacred ground, the resting place for some of our nation’s greatest heroes. It is unthinkable that we would desecrate this hallowed space to build a monument to Donald Trump’s ego.
\nTrump’s vanity project would waste taxpayer money, brazenly violate existing law, and become yet another vehicle for his corruption. The Administration has also given no consideration to potential harmful effects on the region including impacts on air safety and traffic on major roadways.
\n“Worst of all, Trump is not trying to build this arch to commemorate national heroes, servicemembers who lie in Arlington National Cemetery, or to celebrate freedom. He did not dedicate it to the American people or our country’s greatness. Asked who this arch is for, Trump said, simply: ‘me.’
\n
Representative Titus added: “As President Trump strips away the necessary safety nets from Americans who are struggling to afford their basic needs like groceries and healthcare, he builds his unauthorized, grandiose Triumphal Arch. While destroying historical monuments and artifacts important to our American identity, he is erecting monuments to honor himself.”
","cleanBody":"Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced on Wednesday that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”, they said in a statement. Given that the Democrats are in the minority, and their Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act would need two-thirds majorities in both the House and the Senate to override a veto from Trump, the legislation has little chance to become law, but it does focus resistance to the planned 250-foot knock-off of the Arc de Triomphe the president insists he can build without congressional authorization.\nRenderings of the giant monument Trump said last October would be in honor of himself show that it would obstruct the view of the Lincoln Memorial from Arlington National Cemetery. Beyer, who represents a Northern Virginia district that includes Arlington National Cemetery (ANC), and whose parents, grandparents, and sister are buried there, said: Arlington National Cemetery is sacred ground, the resting place for some of our nation’s greatest heroes. It is unthinkable that we would desecrate this hallowed space to build a monument to Donald Trump’s ego. Trump’s vanity project would waste taxpayer money, brazenly violate existing law, and become yet another vehicle for his corruption. The Administration has also given no consideration to potential harmful effects on the region including impacts on air safety and traffic on major roadways. “Worst of all, Trump is not trying to build this arch to commemorate national heroes, servicemembers who lie in Arlington National Cemetery, or to celebrate freedom. He did not dedicate it to the American people or our country’s greatness. Asked who this arch is for, Trump said, simply: ‘me.’ Representative Titus added: “As President Trump strips away the necessary safety nets from Americans who are struggling to afford their basic needs like groceries and healthcare, he builds his unauthorized, grandiose Triumphal Arch. While destroying historical monuments and artifacts important to our American identity, he is erecting monuments to honor himself.”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a176bed8f0812dff661ce0b","title":"Trump administration re-imposes sanctions on Francesca Albanese, UN expert on human rights of Palestinians under Israeli occupation","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T22:27:15Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T22:27:14Z","body":"The Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on Wednesday against Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who was appointed by UN Human Rights Council to monitor human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
\nAn entry on the US treasury department’s website was updated on Wednesday to include Albanese, two weeks after a federal judge had temporarily blocked US sanctions against her for criticizing Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it a likely violation of her free speech rights.
\nAlbanese was appointed US special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2022, a role filled by an independent expert.
","cleanBody":"The Trump administration re-imposed sanctions on Wednesday against Francesca Albanese, an Italian lawyer who was appointed by UN Human Rights Council to monitor human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. An entry on the US treasury department’s website was updated on Wednesday to include Albanese, two weeks after a federal judge had temporarily blocked US sanctions against her for criticizing Israel’s war on Gaza, calling it a likely violation of her free speech rights. Albanese was appointed US special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 2022, a role filled by an independent expert.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1773578f084f59d1844517","title":"Singer Morris Day says he is not performing at Trump administration event: 'It’s A No For Me'","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T23:11:17Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T23:12:25Z","body":"Hours after the Trump administration announced a not quite star-studded lineup of musical acts for its Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington this summer, one of the announced performers, Morris Day, made it clear that he would not, in fact, be performing.
\nDay posted a graphic on Instagram with a red circle and a line through it with the message: “Contrary to rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing at ‘the Great American State Fair’”.
\nThe singer added, in a caption: “It’s A No For Me”.
\nDay’s name and photo was included on a poster published earlier in the day by Freedom 250, the organization producing the event to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in partnership with the White House.
\nThe musicians who have not (yet) denied that they will take part are: Martina McBride, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, the Commodores, Flo Rida and Bret Michaels.
\nAs some observers pointed out on social media, four of those acts are currently taking part in a nationwide I Love the 90s tour, including the surviving member of Milli Vanilli, a German pop duo that lost their Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after it was reveled that they did not sing on the record but just lip-synched in music videos and on stage.
","cleanBody":"Hours after the Trump administration announced a not quite star-studded lineup of musical acts for its Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington this summer, one of the announced performers, Morris Day, made it clear that he would not, in fact, be performing. Day posted a graphic on Instagram with a red circle and a line through it with the message: “Contrary to rumor, Morris Day & The Time will not be performing at ‘the Great American State Fair’”. The singer added, in a caption: “It’s A No For Me”. Day’s name and photo was included on a poster published earlier in the day by Freedom 250, the organization producing the event to mark the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in partnership with the White House. The musicians who have not (yet) denied that they will take part are: Martina McBride, Young MC, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, the Commodores, Flo Rida and Bret Michaels. As some observers pointed out on social media, four of those acts are currently taking part in a nationwide I Love the 90s tour, including the surviving member of Milli Vanilli, a German pop duo that lost their Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990 after it was reveled that they did not sing on the record but just lip-synched in music videos and on stage.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a177ac98f085ed9af254e8d","title":"Anti-ICE protesters in New Jersey unmask rightwing influencer disguised in keffiyeh","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T23:51:02Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T00:15:43Z","body":"Protesters outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey discovered that a videographer who heckled two Democratic congressmen while covering his face in a keffiyeh on Wednesday was Cam Higby, a rightwing influencer who works with Turning Point USA, the late Charlie Kirk’s advocacy organization.
\nEarlier in the day, protesters outside the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where detainees are on hunger strike, reportedly became suspicious of the videographer, who concealed his face in the black and white Palestinian scarf while holding a selfie-stick in one hand and, at one point, a Polymarket-branded mic in the other.
\nVideo recorded by an Intercept reporter, Noah Hurowitz, showed that Higby loudly heckled the congressmen, Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler, shouting anti-immigrant rhetoric at them during a news conference, while his head was still covered in the kind of keffiyeh worn by pro-Palestinian protesters.
\n\n Then, as Higby’s own video, and a second clip shot by the protest reporter Ford Fischer showed a protester tried to pull the scarf from around his neck while one of her colleagues said: “Take off that fake-ass keffiyeh. You’re not about Free Palestine; you’re a fake, infiltrator”.
\nAs Higby was chased away from the protest by activists, he briefly paused to take what looked like a pair of Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses from his backpack, as ICE officers stepped in to guard him from the anti-ICE protesters.
\nHigby, a rightwing influencer who makes a living filming himself confronting leftwing protesters, was one of the the supposed experts who attended the White House Antifa roundtable last October, to brief Donald Trump on antifascism.
\nWhile his social-media profile highlights “Undercover Infiltrations” as a speciality, in his remarks at the White House, Higby cast himself as a reporter unfairly targeted by antifascists. “I’m attacked every time I do my job. When I leave my house to go to work, I’m violently assaulted. I’ve had guns pulled on me. I’ve been bear-sprayed. I’ve been beaten down. I’ve been almost killed,” he said.
","cleanBody":"Protesters outside an immigration detention facility in New Jersey discovered that a videographer who heckled two Democratic congressmen while covering his face in a keffiyeh on Wednesday was Cam Higby, a rightwing influencer who works with Turning Point USA, the late Charlie Kirk’s advocacy organization. Earlier in the day, protesters outside the Delaney Hall facility in Newark, where detainees are on hunger strike, reportedly became suspicious of the videographer, who concealed his face in the black and white Palestinian scarf while holding a selfie-stick in one hand and, at one point, a Polymarket-branded mic in the other. Video recorded by an Intercept reporter, Noah Hurowitz, showed that Higby loudly heckled the congressmen, Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler, shouting anti-immigrant rhetoric at them during a news conference, while his head was still covered in the kind of keffiyeh worn by pro-Palestinian protesters.\nThen, as Higby’s own video, and a second clip shot by the protest reporter Ford Fischer showed a protester tried to pull the scarf from around his neck while one of her colleagues said: “Take off that fake-ass keffiyeh. You’re not about Free Palestine; you’re a fake, infiltrator”. As Higby was chased away from the protest by activists, he briefly paused to take what looked like a pair of Meta Ray-Ban sunglasses from his backpack, as ICE officers stepped in to guard him from the anti-ICE protesters. Higby, a rightwing influencer who makes a living filming himself confronting leftwing protesters, was one of the the supposed experts who attended the White House Antifa roundtable last October, to brief Donald Trump on antifascism. While his social-media profile highlights “Undercover Infiltrations” as a speciality, in his remarks at the White House, Higby cast himself as a reporter unfairly targeted by antifascists. “I’m attacked every time I do my job. When I leave my house to go to work, I’m violently assaulted. I’ve had guns pulled on me. I’ve been bear-sprayed. I’ve been beaten down. I’ve been almost killed,” he said.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1789598f084f59d1844596","title":"Trump's justice department reportedly opens criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, who won sexual abuse case against Trump","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T00:49:56Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T01:18:17Z","body":"CNN reports that the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5m civil judgment against Donald Trump in 2023, when a federal jury found that he had sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied attacking her.
\nAccording to CNN’s sources, who were not named, the investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony in her two civil lawsuits against Trump, one for allegedly sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in 1996, and the second for defamation.
\nThe apparent legal theory prosecutors are pursuing is a claim that Carroll lied in a 2022 deposition when she said she had received no outside funding for her lawsuit.
\nNearly six months later, before the trial started, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that a nonprofit funded by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder, had paid some legal fees and expenses. Carroll’s lawyers said she never met or spoke with anyone from the nonprofit. The judge allowed Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, to question Carroll again in a second deposition.
\nExcerpts from Carroll’s videotaped depositions with Habba were included in a new documentary, Ask E Jean, which opened last week in New York.
\n\n Juries later awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages, which the president is appealing. Trump has appealed the $5m in damages in the sexual abuse case judgement and $83m in the defamation case. Trump has repeatedly tried to have the awards thrown out.
\nA three-judge federal appeals court panel in New York already dismissed the claim that Carroll had lied in her deposition in 2024. In their opinion affirming the judgement against Trump, on 30 December 2024, the judges wrote:
\n\n\nMs. Carroll plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained in September 2020 when this question was first posed to her in 2022, and the additional discovery did not indicate otherwise. Rather, it showed that Ms. Carroll simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs. Ms. Carroll testified that, after her counsel informed her in September 2020 that they had received some outside funding, she did not speak with her counsel about this topic again until the spring of 2023 and did not even know the funder’s political position or why they were partially funding her lawsuit. Therefore, by the time of her deposition in October 2022, Ms. Carroll had not spoken with her counsel about the matter of outside funding for over two years.
\n
The New York Times reports that the investigation was opened by Andrew Boutros, the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who was appointed by Trump.
\nTodd Blanche, the acting attorney general, defended Trump in the Carroll case, and has recused himself, sources told both CNN and the Times.
\nBoutros is currently at the center of an inquiry himself, after a defense attorney for an anti-ICE protester whose case was dismissed told a federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday that he has “reason to believe” that Boutros had personal contact with the grand jury in the case.
","cleanBody":"CNN reports that the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5m civil judgment against Donald Trump in 2023, when a federal jury found that he had sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied attacking her. According to CNN’s sources, who were not named, the investigation is focused on whether Carroll committed perjury in testimony in her two civil lawsuits against Trump, one for allegedly sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in 1996, and the second for defamation. The apparent legal theory prosecutors are pursuing is a claim that Carroll lied in a 2022 deposition when she said she had received no outside funding for her lawsuit. Nearly six months later, before the trial started, Carroll’s attorneys informed the judge and Trump’s lawyers that a nonprofit funded by Reid Hoffman, the billionaire LinkedIn co-founder, had paid some legal fees and expenses. Carroll’s lawyers said she never met or spoke with anyone from the nonprofit. The judge allowed Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, to question Carroll again in a second deposition. Excerpts from Carroll’s videotaped depositions with Habba were included in a new documentary, Ask E Jean, which opened last week in New York.\nJuries later awarded Carroll millions of dollars in damages, which the president is appealing. Trump has appealed the $5m in damages in the sexual abuse case judgement and $83m in the defamation case. Trump has repeatedly tried to have the awards thrown out. A three-judge federal appeals court panel in New York already dismissed the claim that Carroll had lied in her deposition in 2024. In their opinion affirming the judgement against Trump, on 30 December 2024, the judges wrote: Ms. Carroll plausibly represented that she had forgotten about the limited outside funding counsel obtained in September 2020 when this question was first posed to her in 2022, and the additional discovery did not indicate otherwise. Rather, it showed that Ms. Carroll simply was not involved in the matter of who was or was not funding her litigation costs. Ms. Carroll testified that, after her counsel informed her in September 2020 that they had received some outside funding, she did not speak with her counsel about this topic again until the spring of 2023 and did not even know the funder’s political position or why they were partially funding her lawsuit. Therefore, by the time of her deposition in October 2022, Ms. Carroll had not spoken with her counsel about the matter of outside funding for over two years. The New York Times reports that the investigation was opened by Andrew Boutros, the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who was appointed by Trump. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, defended Trump in the Carroll case, and has recused himself, sources told both CNN and the Times. Boutros is currently at the center of an inquiry himself, after a defense attorney for an anti-ICE protester whose case was dismissed told a federal judge in Chicago on Tuesday that he has “reason to believe” that Boutros had personal contact with the grand jury in the case.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a17a04f8f085ed9af254f7d","title":"Closing summary","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-28T01:59:40Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-28T01:59:39Z","body":"This concludes our live chronicle of the second Trump administration to a close, on a day when the president casually suggested that the US ally Oman had to “behave” or “we’ll have to blow ‘em up”. Here are the latest developments:
\nIn a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump. Pressed to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”
\nCNN reports that the US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation of E Jean Carroll, the writer who won a $5m civil judgment against Donald Trump in 2023, when a federal jury found that he had sexually abused her in 1996 and defamed her in 2022 when he denied attacking her.
\nTwo House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”.
\nCam Higby, a rightwing activist disguised as a pro-Palestinian activist, disrupted a news conference with the Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey.
\nThis live blog is now closed.
\nUS justice department reportedly opens criminal inquiry into Trump accuser E Jean Carroll
\nThe Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, resigned on Tuesday after a report found that he probably interfered with an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
\nO’Hara stepped down after a meeting with the Minnesota city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, who earlier this month nominated him to serve a second term after his appointment in 2022 to steady a police department still in turmoil after the murder of George Floyd two years earlier.
\nFrey issued O’Hara with a “serious misconduct” reprimand after receiving the report on Tuesday, and warned he faced discipline up to and including dismissal, according to the New York Times.
\nFrey announced O’Hara’s resignation at a Tuesday evening press conference, at which he said he had lost confidence in the chief’s ability to lead.
\n“Trust is not secondary to the job, it is the job,” Frey said. “When trust is broken it becomes extremely difficult to continue leading effectively.”
\nThe investigation into O’Hara’s conduct found no evidence to confirm allegations he had improper sexual relationships with city employees, the Times said, but concluded he had probably deleted a contact from his phone last year while facing a previous internal investigation, amounting to interference.
\n“Your behavior, as substantiated by the investigation, demonstrates poor judgment, is inconsistent with the level of integrity this role requires, and has made it extraordinarily difficult for you to continue effectively in your role,” Frey’s letter to O’Hara stated.
\nO’Hara has not yet commented publicly about his resignation.
\nThe mayor said assistant police chief Katie Blackwell would take over acting leadership of the department until a permanent replacement could be found. Blackwell is expected to be among the candidates.
\nO’Hara was appointed in November 2022 with a mandate to reform the Minneapolis police department, which had just seen four of its officers sentenced for their involvement in Floyd’s 2020 murder. They included Derek Chauvin, who received a 22.5-year prison term for the killing, and a subsequent, concurrent 21-year term for violating Floyd’s civil rights that saw the former officer moved to federal prison.
\nA two-year justice department investigation concluded in 2023 that the department engaged in a pattern of excessive force and years of unlawful discrimination against Black Americans.
\nFrey, at the Tuesday press conference, credited O’Hara with rebuilding public trust in the department, but said that trust needed to extend to the person leading it.
\n“Everyone makes mistakes, including me, but what I can’t allow is a breach of trust,” Frey said. His comments were a reversal from his position earlier this month when Frey said O’Hara was “the right leader for this moment and for this city”.
\nAnnouncing his support for the chief to serve another term, he added: “Minneapolis didn’t ask for small steps, we demanded real, measurable change. And under his leadership, that’s exactly what we’ve been seeing.”
\nO’Hara is credited with reversing a slew of resignations from the police department, and heading off a call from some Black lawmakers for it to be disbanded, a proposal rejected by voters in 2021.
\nMore recently, he has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge into Minneapolis, which saw the deaths of two unarmed US citizen protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in January by federal officers.
\nHe condemned the shootings in a 25 January appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation, during which he said Minneapolis residents had “had enough” of the violence.
\n“This is the third shooting now in less than three weeks,” he said. “The Minneapolis police department went the entire year last year, recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds and hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn’t shoot anyone.
\n“And now this is the second American citizen that’s been killed, it’s the third shooting within three weeks.”
\nThe June 2025 murders of the Democratic Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband; and a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic school in south Minneapolis two months later, also came during O’Hara’s tenure.
\nFrey said at the 7 May nomination event that the number of Minneapolis police department officers had climbed from 550 to more than 640, applications were up by 200%, and that crime had fallen across the city since O’Hara became chief.
\nTodd Barnette, commissioner of the Minneapolis office of community safety, recognized those achievements in a statement to the Guardian on Wednesday.
\n“Chief O’Hara helped advance police reform efforts, replenish sworn staffing and guide the department through some of the city’s most challenging moments,” he said, thanking him for his “commitment” to public safety.
\n“We will continue moving forward – building trust in our police department through transparency, accountability, and collaboration with community members.”
","atomsCSS":[],"shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"discussionId":"/p/x5648j","section":"US news","id":"us-news/2026/may/27/minneapolis-police-chief-resigns","displayImages":[{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cfc8e0f4b7f9d724b7413767e1259cd658e66470/217_1_3106_2486/master/3106.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=6dc1e160b22b1397489e5ff6a14cc60b","height":2486,"width":3106,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"Brian O'Hara speaks during a news conference on 10 January 2026 in Minneapolis. Photograph: Photograph: Jen Golbeck/AP","credit":"Jen Golbeck/AP","altText":"a man speaks","cleanCaption":"Brian O'Hara speaks during a news conference on 10 January 2026 in Minneapolis.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Jen Golbeck/AP"}],"shouldHideAdverts":false,"standFirst":"A report found that Brian O’Hara probably interfered with investigation in what mayor called a ‘breach of trust’
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Photograph: Photograph: Jen Golbeck/AP","credit":"Jen Golbeck/AP","altText":"a man speaks","cleanCaption":"Brian O'Hara speaks during a news conference on 10 January 2026 in Minneapolis.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Jen Golbeck/AP"},"campaigns":[],"designType":"Article","palette":{"background":"#00000000","mediaIcon":"#00000000","pillar":"#C70000","main":"#C70000","secondary":"#FF4E36","headline":"#121212","commentCount":"#707070","metaText":"#707070","elementBackground":"#FF4E36","shadow":"#DCDCDC","immersiveKicker":"#FF4E36","topBorder":"#DCDCDC","mediaBackground":"#EDEDED","pill":"#EDEDED","accentColour":"#C70000","kickerText":"#C70000","kickerColours":{"plainKickerText":"#C70000","plainPill":"#EDEDED","liveKickerText":"#F6F6F6","livePill":"#C70000","featureKickerText":"#FFF4F2","featurePill":"#EDEDED","featureLiveKickerText":"#EDEDED","featureLivePill":"#AB0613"},"mediaPillBackground":"#121212","mediaPillForeground":"#FFFFFF","featureAccentColour":"#FFF4F2"},"atoms":[]},"trailText":"A report found that Brian O’Hara probably interfered with investigation in what mayor called a ‘breach of trust’","showQuotedHeadline":false,"showLiveIndicator":false,"sublinks":[],"mainImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/cfc8e0f4b7f9d724b7413767e1259cd658e66470/217_1_3106_2486/master/3106.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=6dc1e160b22b1397489e5ff6a14cc60b","height":2486,"width":3106,"orientation":"landscape","credit":"Jen Golbeck/AP","altText":"a man speaks","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Jen Golbeck/AP"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/minneapolis-police-chief-resigns?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/minneapolis-police-chief-resigns?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/minneapolis-police-chief-resigns?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"cardDesignType":"Article","correspondingTags":[],"type":"Article","importance":0},{"title":"Biden sues justice department to block release of Robert Hur interview audio","rawTitle":"Biden sues justice department to block release of Robert Hur interview audio","item":{"trailText":"Former president says disclosure of recordings tied to classified files inquiry would violate his privacy","body":"Joe Biden, the former president, has filed a lawsuit to try to prevent the justice department (DoJ) from releasing transcripts and audio of interviews that exposed his frequent memory lapses and helped derail his 2024 re-election campaign.
\nThe decade-old conversations with the author of his biography ended up in the hands of Robert Hur, the special counsel who was appointed to look into allegations Biden improperly handled classified documents.
\nHur evaluated the files, and also spent five hours interviewing Biden himself, concluding in a 2024 report to Congress that there was no criminal wrongdoing, but portraying the then 81-year-old president as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory”.
\nBiden withdrew from the 2024 election following repeated questioning of his age and mental competence, and endorsed Kamala Harris as the ultimately unsuccessful Democratic nominee.
\nHis lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington DC, accuses the DoJ of an “unwarranted invasion of President Biden’s privacy”.
\nIt seeks to halt the department, which once fought to keep the transcripts and recordings secret, from handing them over to the Republican-controlled House judiciary committee and conservative Heritage Foundation.
\n“Every American, including a sitting or former vice-president, has a right to privacy in the personal conversations he has within his own home,” his attorneys wrote of the conversations from 2016 and 2017 with Mark Zwonitzer, the author who worked with Biden on two memoirs .
\n“And when the US Department of Justice obtains that private information through a criminal investigation, the Department bears a particular responsibility to protect it from disclosure.”
\nThe recordings, made during and immediately after Biden served as Barack Obama’s vice-president, were scrutinized by Hur, a Republican, as part of his investigation.
\nIn his report, Hur found Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen”, including “classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan”, but said it did not warrant criminal charges.
\nBiden welcomed the 345-page report, but pushed back on Hur’s assertion he had a “significantly limited” memory because he struggled to recall key events and facts.
\n“My memory is fine,” he told a reporter in February 2024, noting that his interview with Hur was immediately following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. “I was in the middle of handling an international crisis.”
\nBiden has separately fought the release of the audio of his interview with Hur, a portion of which was leaked last year. The Republican-controlled House in 2024 voted to hold Merrick Garland, Biden’s attorney general, in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over that audio after the White House exerted executive privilege, shielding it from Congress.
\nWhile Biden was adamant that he treated classified information seriously, the transcript shows that he was at times fuzzy about dates and details and he said he was unfamiliar with the paper trail for some of the sensitive documents he handled.
\nRepublicans have argued Biden was being given a pass by his own justice department and that Donald Trump, who was also under investigation for improperly taking classified documents and storing them at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort home, had been unfairly victimized by prosecutors.
\nTrump was investigated by another special counsel, Jack Smith, and charged in a case that was ultimately dismissed by Aileen Cannon, a Florida judge he appointed. In February, Cannon blocked the justice department from ever publishing Smith’s report into the investigation.
\nDemocrats stressed Biden’s cooperation in the investigation against him, and contrasted that with Smith’s case against Trump, who was accused of refusing to return classified documents requested by the National Archives.
\nThe Associated Press contributed to this report
\n\n
\n
Former president says disclosure of recordings tied to classified files inquiry would violate his privacy
","webPublicationDate":"2026-05-27T13:19:37Z","style":{"navigationColour":"#005689","navigationDownColour":"#4bc6df","navigationButtonColour":"#005689","ruleColour":"#4bc6df","headlineColour":"#333333","quoteColour":"#999999","standfirstColour":"#676767","metaColour":"#999999","dividerColour":"#dcdad5","backgroundColour":"#ffffff","savedForLaterTrueColour":"#333333","savedForLaterFalseColour":"#999999","kickerColour":"#005689","colourPalette":"news"},"lastModified":"2026-05-27T22:32:16Z","listenToArticle":{"uri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/uk/audio/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur","durationInSec":257},"bodyImages":[],"pillar":{"id":"pillar/news","name":"News"},"permutiveTracking":{"id":"us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur","title":"Biden sues justice department to block release of Robert Hur interview audio","type":"Article","section":"us news","authors":["Richard Luscombe"],"keywords":["Joe Biden","US news","US politics"],"publishedAt":"2026-05-27T13:19:37Z"},"links":{"uri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/uk/items/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur","shortUrl":"http://www.theguardian.com/p/x563nf","relatedUri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/uk/items-related/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur","webUri":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur","dcrUri":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk","renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk"}},"byline":"Richard Luscombe and agency","atomsJS":[],"paletteDark":{"background":"#00000000","mediaIcon":"#00000000","pillar":"#C70000","main":"#FF4E36","secondary":"#FF4E36","headline":"#DCDCDC","commentCount":"#999999","metaText":"#999999","elementBackground":"#FF4E36","shadow":"#333333","immersiveKicker":"#FF4E36","topBorder":"#333333","mediaBackground":"#545454","pill":"#333333","accentColour":"#FF4E36","kickerText":"#FF4E36","kickerColours":{"plainKickerText":"#FF4E36","plainPill":"#333333","liveKickerText":"#EDEDED","livePill":"#AB0613","featureKickerText":"#FFF4F2","featurePill":"#333333","featureLiveKickerText":"#EDEDED","featureLivePill":"#AB0613"},"mediaPillBackground":"#121212","mediaPillForeground":"#FFFFFF","featureAccentColour":"#FFF4F2"},"metadata":{"commentable":false,"commentCount":0,"contributors":[{"id":"richardluscombe","name":"Richard Luscombe","uri":"https://mobile.guardianapis.com/lists/tag/profile/richardluscombe"}],"feature":false,"keywords":["Joe Biden","US news","US politics"],"tags":[{"id":"us-news/joebiden","webTitle":"Joe Biden"},{"id":"us-news/us-news","webTitle":"US news"},{"id":"us-news/us-politics","webTitle":"US politics"}],"tracking":[{"id":"tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news","webTitle":"US News"}],"section":{"id":"us-news"},"topics":[{"displayName":"Richard Luscombe","topic":{"type":"tag-contributor","name":"profile/richardluscombe"}}],"embeddedVideos":[],"adTargetingPath":"us-news","adServerParams":{"sens":"f","su":"0","edition":"uk","tn":"news","p":"app","k":"joebiden,us-politics,us-news","sh":"https://www.theguardian.com/p/x563nf","ct":"article","s":"us-news","co":"richardluscombe","url":"/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur"},"trackingVariables":{"commissioningDesks":[{"id":"tracking/commissioningdesk/us-news","webTitle":"US News"}]},"interactive":false,"commercial":{"adUnit":"us-news/article","adTargeting":{"sens":"f","su":"0","edition":"uk","tn":"news","p":"app","k":"joebiden,us-politics,us-news","sh":"https://www.theguardian.com/p/x563nf","ct":"article","s":"us-news","co":"richardluscombe","url":"/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur"}},"journalism":{"campaignsUrl":"https://callouts.guardianapis.com/formstack-campaign/submit"}},"title":"Biden sues justice department to block release of Robert Hur interview audio","type":"article","headerImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c81bcdb3cad87326554b183cea4839f2c1920dce/0_0_2030_1354/master/2030.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=935d847d0d6c67e3c3dc468dcd120702","height":1354,"width":2030,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"Joe Biden speaks during a memorial service to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson, in Chicago on 6 March 2026. Photograph: Photograph: Jim Vondruska/Reuters","credit":"Jim Vondruska/Reuters","altText":"a man speaks into a microphone","cleanCaption":"Joe Biden speaks during a memorial service to celebrate the life of the civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson, in Chicago on 6 March 2026.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Jim Vondruska/Reuters"},"campaigns":[],"designType":"Article","palette":{"background":"#00000000","mediaIcon":"#00000000","pillar":"#C70000","main":"#C70000","secondary":"#FF4E36","headline":"#121212","commentCount":"#707070","metaText":"#707070","elementBackground":"#FF4E36","shadow":"#DCDCDC","immersiveKicker":"#FF4E36","topBorder":"#DCDCDC","mediaBackground":"#EDEDED","pill":"#EDEDED","accentColour":"#C70000","kickerText":"#C70000","kickerColours":{"plainKickerText":"#C70000","plainPill":"#EDEDED","liveKickerText":"#F6F6F6","livePill":"#C70000","featureKickerText":"#FFF4F2","featurePill":"#EDEDED","featureLiveKickerText":"#EDEDED","featureLivePill":"#AB0613"},"mediaPillBackground":"#121212","mediaPillForeground":"#FFFFFF","featureAccentColour":"#FFF4F2"},"atoms":[]},"trailText":"Former president says disclosure of recordings tied to classified files inquiry would violate his privacy","showQuotedHeadline":false,"showLiveIndicator":false,"sublinks":[],"mainImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c81bcdb3cad87326554b183cea4839f2c1920dce/169_0_1692_1354/master/1692.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=3f822deed6a1b2736a5124cc5e8ccca4","height":1354,"width":1692,"orientation":"landscape","credit":"Jim Vondruska/Reuters","altText":"a man speaks into a microphone","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Jim Vondruska/Reuters"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"1.11.1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/27/biden-sues-justice-department-robert-hur?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"cardDesignType":"Article","correspondingTags":[],"type":"Article","importance":0},{"title":"John Cornyn says he’ll back Ken Paxton, who is set to face Democrat James Talarico in Texas Senate race – as it happened","rawTitle":"John Cornyn says he’ll back Ken Paxton, who is set to face Democrat James Talarico in Texas Senate race – as it happened","item":{"trailText":"This live blog is now closed.","liveContent":{"liveBloggingNow":false,"summary":{"id":"block-6a1646558f08d8810cdd1e07","title":"Summary","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:59:24Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:59:23Z","body":"Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here.
\nHere is a summary of the key developments from today:
\nKen Paxton defeated four-term incumbent John Cornyn, winning the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat. In his concession speech, Cornyn said he will back Paxton in the general election.
\nChristian Menefee defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017. Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.
\nTwo Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps in Alabama and South Carolina hit setbacks. In Alabama, a federal court said the proposed map could not be used because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map due to political and administrative reasons.
\nConstruction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.
\nDonald Trump completed his annual physical after year of public attention to health issues. Trump, the oldest inaugurated president in US history, completed a physical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed national military medical center, amid questions around his health. “Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” the US president declared in a social media post.
\nThe Trump administration considered asking federal workers to sign NDAs. The goal of asking federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements is to prevent them from sharing confidential information with journalists.
\nUber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts have become the first in the nation to certify a union for gig-economy workers of ride-hailing apps. On Friday, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations certified the App Drivers Union, which represents nearly 70,000 drivers classified as independent contractors.
\nNasa announced ambitious plans for three uncrewed lunar missions this year to kickstart construction of a $20bn moon base, and said it had chosen the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to conduct the first. The news came the same day that the United States Space Force awarded a $2.29 bn contract to SpaceX, which would see the tech billionaire’s aerospace and artificial intelligence company build a satellite communications network to connect military sensors and weapons platforms around the world.
\nOur live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here.
\nHere is a summary of the key developments from today:
\nKen Paxton defeated four-term incumbent John Cornyn, winning the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat. In his concession speech, Cornyn said he will back Paxton in the general election.
\nChristian Menefee defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017. Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.
\nTwo Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps in Alabama and South Carolina hit setbacks. In Alabama, a federal court said the proposed map could not be used because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map due to political and administrative reasons.
\nConstruction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.
\nDonald Trump completed his annual physical after year of public attention to health issues. Trump, the oldest inaugurated president in US history, completed a physical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed national military medical center, amid questions around his health. “Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” the US president declared in a social media post.
\nThe Trump administration considered asking federal workers to sign NDAs. The goal of asking federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements is to prevent them from sharing confidential information with journalists.
\nUber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts have become the first in the nation to certify a union for gig-economy workers of ride-hailing apps. On Friday, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations certified the App Drivers Union, which represents nearly 70,000 drivers classified as independent contractors.
\nNasa announced ambitious plans for three uncrewed lunar missions this year to kickstart construction of a $20bn moon base, and said it had chosen the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to conduct the first. The news came the same day that the United States Space Force awarded a $2.29 bn contract to SpaceX, which would see the tech billionaire’s aerospace and artificial intelligence company build a satellite communications network to connect military sensors and weapons platforms around the world.
\nDonald Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday it was “critically important” that the federal government retain control over the multibillion-dollar prediction market industry, as he cast a critical eye on state attempts to impose new restrictions.
\nThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should retain “exclusive authority” over prediction markets, Trump said.
\nPrediction markets allow users to make speculative bets on the outcome of events. Their meteoric rise in recent years has attracted attention from state governments, who view trading on prediction markets as gambling by another name, which in many cases would subject the activity to state gaming laws.
\nIndustry leaders such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which make money by charging fees on transactions, describe prediction markets as a form of derivatives trading. Derivatives are contracts that allow traders to make bets on the future value of an asset.
\nThe federal government has agreed in practice, regulating them through the CFTC, a government agency that oversees derivatives markets with the goal of protecting consumers from fraud.
\n","cleanBody":"Donald Trump wrote in a social media post on Tuesday it was “critically important” that the federal government retain control over the multibillion-dollar prediction market industry, as he cast a critical eye on state attempts to impose new restrictions. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) should retain “exclusive authority” over prediction markets, Trump said. Prediction markets allow users to make speculative bets on the outcome of events. Their meteoric rise in recent years has attracted attention from state governments, who view trading on prediction markets as gambling by another name, which in many cases would subject the activity to state gaming laws. Industry leaders such as Kalshi and Polymarket, which make money by charging fees on transactions, describe prediction markets as a form of derivatives trading. Derivatives are contracts that allow traders to make bets on the future value of an asset. The federal government has agreed in practice, regulating them through the CFTC, a government agency that oversees derivatives markets with the goal of protecting consumers from fraud.","postType":"blog","contributors":["roque-planas"]},{"id":"block-6a1646d58f0803c3c6f95a29","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:44:38Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:44:37Z","body":"In his first ad of the general election, Texas Democrat James Talarico called Ken Paxton “the Most Corrupt Politician in America.” Talarico released the video just minutes after the Associated Press called the Republican nomination for Paxton, meaning the former attorney general will face off against Talarico in the state’s general election for its open US Senate seat this November.
\nIn a separate post on social media, Talarico thanked John Cornyn, who represented Texas in the US Senate for four terms, and told his supporters “you have a place in our campaign.
\n“I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state,” Talarico wrote. “We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service.”
","cleanBody":"In his first ad of the general election, Texas Democrat James Talarico called Ken Paxton “the Most Corrupt Politician in America.” Talarico released the video just minutes after the Associated Press called the Republican nomination for Paxton, meaning the former attorney general will face off against Talarico in the state’s general election for its open US Senate seat this November. In a separate post on social media, Talarico thanked John Cornyn, who represented Texas in the US Senate for four terms, and told his supporters “you have a place in our campaign. “I want to thank Senator John Cornyn for his years representing our state,” Talarico wrote. “We don’t agree on everything, but we both still believe in public service.”","postType":"blog","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1648158f08d8810cdd1e1b","title":"Cornyn will back Paxton","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:26:20Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:27:03Z","body":"John Cornyn will back Ken Paxton in the general election, Cornyn said in his concession speech.
\n“After a public service career lasting more than four decades and 18 consecutive campaign wins, tonight we’ve come up short in this primary runoff,” he said.
","cleanBody":"John Cornyn will back Ken Paxton in the general election, Cornyn said in his concession speech. “After a public service career lasting more than four decades and 18 consecutive campaign wins, tonight we’ve come up short in this primary runoff,” he said.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1643f08f08d8810cdd1df9","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:15:12Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:15:12Z","body":"With Ken Paxton positioned to face off against James Talarico in the November general election for John Cornyn’s former US Senate seat, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is trying to walk back fears that a Democrat could win the seat.
\n“A state President Trump won by nearly 14 points isn’t going to elect James Talarico — a radical leftist who thinks God is nonbinary and that Texas should be a welcome mat for illegals,” said regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell. “He is the most dangerous flank of the far left. Texas isn’t swapping brisket for open borders.”
\nAn April survey by The Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR) has Talarico ahead of both Cornyn and Paxton in one-on-one contests. According to the poll, which surveyed the intentions of 1,865 likely voters, Talarico has a five point lead – 46% to 41% over Paxton.
","cleanBody":"With Ken Paxton positioned to face off against James Talarico in the November general election for John Cornyn’s former US Senate seat, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is trying to walk back fears that a Democrat could win the seat. “A state President Trump won by nearly 14 points isn’t going to elect James Talarico — a radical leftist who thinks God is nonbinary and that Texas should be a welcome mat for illegals,” said regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell. “He is the most dangerous flank of the far left. Texas isn’t swapping brisket for open borders.” An April survey by The Texas Public Opinion Research (TPOR) has Talarico ahead of both Cornyn and Paxton in one-on-one contests. According to the poll, which surveyed the intentions of 1,865 likely voters, Talarico has a five point lead – 46% to 41% over Paxton.","postType":"blog","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1642288f08d8810cdd1def","title":"Paxton wins Republican nomination for Texas Senate seat","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:03:34Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:03:33Z","body":"Ken Paxton has won the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat, after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week.
\nThe scandal-ridden state attorney general was competing against four-term incumbent John Cornyn.
\nPaxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat.
","cleanBody":"Ken Paxton has won the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat, after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week. The scandal-ridden state attorney general was competing against four-term incumbent John Cornyn. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1641a78f08d8810cdd1deb","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:00:02Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:00:01Z","body":"Polls have closed across all of Texas, as the clock strikes 7pm in the Mountain time zone.
","cleanBody":"Polls have closed across all of Texas, as the clock strikes 7pm in the Mountain time zone.","postType":"blog","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a163ec78f083196193de6b4","title":"Menefee beats Green for Texas congressional seat","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:50:28Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:57:19Z","body":"Christian Menefee has defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district.
\nGreen, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017.
\n![\"Christian](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/4a6dbed9956412c6159d710250eb704c4c490101/210_0_2881_2304/1000.jpg\")
\n Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.
\nAlthough Menefee still has to win the November general election, he’s favored in the heavily Democratic district.
","cleanBody":"Christian Menefee has defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017.\nMenefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn. Although Menefee still has to win the November general election, he’s favored in the heavily Democratic district.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a163a218f08d8810cdd1db6","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:30:10Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:30:10Z","body":"Donald Trump has appointed Pam Bondi to an advisory committee focused on artificial intelligence, Axios reports.
\nThe news that the former US attorney general will join the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology comes about two months after Trump fired Bondi from her post as head of the justice department.
\n“Pam has been an enormously valuable asset to the president’s team, and I’m thrilled for her and for all of us that she’s going to remain involved in confronting some of the most important issues the administration faces,” JD Vance said in a statement.
","cleanBody":"Donald Trump has appointed Pam Bondi to an advisory committee focused on artificial intelligence, Axios reports. The news that the former US attorney general will join the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology comes about two months after Trump fired Bondi from her post as head of the justice department. “Pam has been an enormously valuable asset to the president’s team, and I’m thrilled for her and for all of us that she’s going to remain involved in confronting some of the most important issues the administration faces,” JD Vance said in a statement.","postType":"blog","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a16345f8f083196193de671","title":"Texas runoff polls mostly closed","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:03:05Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:06:11Z","body":"The majority of polls in Texas, where Republican voters are considering whether to nominate Ken Paxton or John Cornyn for US Senate, have closed.
\nThe state is spread across two time zones, Central and Mountain, meaning some polls in the Westernmost parts of the state will remain open one more hour.
","cleanBody":"The majority of polls in Texas, where Republican voters are considering whether to nominate Ken Paxton or John Cornyn for US Senate, have closed. The state is spread across two time zones, Central and Mountain, meaning some polls in the Westernmost parts of the state will remain open one more hour.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]}],"keyEvents":[{"id":"block-6a15e1508f083196193de478","title":"South Carolina Senate rejects Trump's push to reshape congressional districts","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-26T18:16:53Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-26T18:16:53Z","body":"The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map in order to gain an additional Republican seat, the AP reported.
\nThe push to redraw the map had come from Trump but senators had political concerns with the new boundaries – they didn’t think the new boundaries would guarantee Republican success.
\nAdditionally, there were administrative concerns; with primaries only about a month away and early voting starting even sooner, new maps would mean conducting another statewide primary for US House races in August.
\nTrump’s push for South Carolina comes as other states are also redrawing their maps in the hope of impacting election results.
","cleanBody":"The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map in order to gain an additional Republican seat, the AP reported. The push to redraw the map had come from Trump but senators had political concerns with the new boundaries – they didn’t think the new boundaries would guarantee Republican success. Additionally, there were administrative concerns; with primaries only about a month away and early voting starting even sooner, new maps would mean conducting another statewide primary for US House races in August. Trump’s push for South Carolina comes as other states are also redrawing their maps in the hope of impacting election results.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a161bda8f0803c3c6f9591a","title":"Another construction project takes shape on White House grounds","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-26T22:39:57Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-26T23:32:42Z","body":"Construction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.
\n![\"Equipment](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/28a3ee67c0d006037edffc050cc3412dad19f34c/0_0_8346_5564/1000.jpg\")
\n Photos of cranes and other construction equipment on the White House lawn today show the beginnings of the temporary construction. Trump has said that the finished project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.”
\nTrump first floated the idea of hosting a UFC fight on the White House grounds last year, during an appearance in Idaho on 4 July 2025 when he announced festivities planned to celebrate the United States’s 250th birthday on 4 July 2026.
\n“Think of this on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there,” he said, originally adding that it would be a “full fight” with 20,000 to 25,000 people in attendance.
\n![\"Equipment](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/944637c5b0e2c99c64be00db6cf2deed1bccfda0/0_0_5616_3744/1000.jpg\")
\n In December, Trump said the White House event would host “eight or nine championship fights – the biggest fights they’ve ever had.” But like the size of the crowd, the number of fights expected to be held on the White House lawn has shrunk. The fight card includes two title fights: a lightweight championship fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje in the main event, and an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane.
\nTrump has long been a fan of mixed martial arts, and is close friends with Dana White, the UFC’s president.
\nAs construction began on the White House lawn, competitors at the Scripps National Spelling Bee navigated around it Tuesday. After 15 years at a convention center in Maryland, the spelling bee was relocated to Washington DC’s Constitution Hall. Families staying at the nearby J.W. Marriott would usually walk across the Ellipse to reach the hall, but with construction ongoing there, families are making a longer trek around. The parent of one speller, Rajeev Malhotra, described the scene as “two very disparate forms of entertainment.”
","cleanBody":"Construction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.\nPhotos of cranes and other construction equipment on the White House lawn today show the beginnings of the temporary construction. Trump has said that the finished project will feature “a 5,000-seat arena right outside the front door of the White House.” Trump first floated the idea of hosting a UFC fight on the White House grounds last year, during an appearance in Idaho on 4 July 2025 when he announced festivities planned to celebrate the United States’s 250th birthday on 4 July 2026. “Think of this on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there,” he said, originally adding that it would be a “full fight” with 20,000 to 25,000 people in attendance.\nIn December, Trump said the White House event would host “eight or nine championship fights – the biggest fights they’ve ever had.” But like the size of the crowd, the number of fights expected to be held on the White House lawn has shrunk. The fight card includes two title fights: a lightweight championship fight between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje in the main event, and an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. Trump has long been a fan of mixed martial arts, and is close friends with Dana White, the UFC’s president. As construction began on the White House lawn, competitors at the Scripps National Spelling Bee navigated around it Tuesday. After 15 years at a convention center in Maryland, the spelling bee was relocated to Washington DC’s Constitution Hall. Families staying at the nearby J.W. Marriott would usually walk across the Ellipse to reach the hall, but with construction ongoing there, families are making a longer trek around. The parent of one speller, Rajeev Malhotra, described the scene as “two very disparate forms of entertainment.”","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a16345f8f083196193de671","title":"Texas runoff polls mostly closed","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:03:05Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:06:11Z","body":"The majority of polls in Texas, where Republican voters are considering whether to nominate Ken Paxton or John Cornyn for US Senate, have closed.
\nThe state is spread across two time zones, Central and Mountain, meaning some polls in the Westernmost parts of the state will remain open one more hour.
","cleanBody":"The majority of polls in Texas, where Republican voters are considering whether to nominate Ken Paxton or John Cornyn for US Senate, have closed. The state is spread across two time zones, Central and Mountain, meaning some polls in the Westernmost parts of the state will remain open one more hour.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a163ec78f083196193de6b4","title":"Menefee beats Green for Texas congressional seat","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:50:28Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T00:57:19Z","body":"Christian Menefee has defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district.
\nGreen, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017.
\n\n Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.
\nAlthough Menefee still has to win the November general election, he’s favored in the heavily Democratic district.
","cleanBody":"Christian Menefee has defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017.\nMenefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn. Although Menefee still has to win the November general election, he’s favored in the heavily Democratic district.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1642288f08d8810cdd1def","title":"Paxton wins Republican nomination for Texas Senate seat","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:03:34Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:03:33Z","body":"Ken Paxton has won the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat, after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week.
\nThe scandal-ridden state attorney general was competing against four-term incumbent John Cornyn.
\nPaxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat.
","cleanBody":"Ken Paxton has won the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat, after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week. The scandal-ridden state attorney general was competing against four-term incumbent John Cornyn. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1648158f08d8810cdd1e1b","title":"Cornyn will back Paxton","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:26:20Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:27:03Z","body":"John Cornyn will back Ken Paxton in the general election, Cornyn said in his concession speech.
\n“After a public service career lasting more than four decades and 18 consecutive campaign wins, tonight we’ve come up short in this primary runoff,” he said.
","cleanBody":"John Cornyn will back Ken Paxton in the general election, Cornyn said in his concession speech. “After a public service career lasting more than four decades and 18 consecutive campaign wins, tonight we’ve come up short in this primary runoff,” he said.","postType":"key-event","contributors":[]},{"id":"block-6a1646558f08d8810cdd1e07","title":"Summary","publishedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:59:24Z","lastUpdatedDateTime":"2026-05-27T01:59:23Z","body":"Our live coverage is ending now. In the meantime, you can find all of our live US politics coverage here.
\nHere is a summary of the key developments from today:
\nKen Paxton defeated four-term incumbent John Cornyn, winning the Republican nomination for Texas’s open US Senate seat after receiving Donald Trump’s endorsement last week. Paxton will face off against Democrat James Talarico in November’s general election. Recent polls have put Talarico, with his blend of faith-based populism, bipartisan appeal and generational energy, in a tight race that could see Texas unexpectedly elect a Democrat. In his concession speech, Cornyn said he will back Paxton in the general election.
\nChristian Menefee defeated Al Green to represent Texas’s newly redrawn 18th congressional district. Green, 78, had served 11 terms as a Democrat, earning a reputation as one of Donald Trump’s top critics, when he became the first member of Congress to call for his impeachment, as early as 2017. Menefee, 38, began serving in Congress earlier this year after he won a special election. The two Democrats faced off against each other in this year’s election after Republican redistricting saw their home districts near Houston redrawn.
\nTwo Republican-led efforts to redraw congressional maps in Alabama and South Carolina hit setbacks. In Alabama, a federal court said the proposed map could not be used because it was drawn to intentionally discriminate against Black voters. The South Carolina Senate voted against redrawing the state’s congressional map due to political and administrative reasons.
\nConstruction is under way on the White House lawn for a UFC arena that will host a cage-match next month to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary and Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. The mixed martial arts fight is planned for 14 June.
\nDonald Trump completed his annual physical after year of public attention to health issues. Trump, the oldest inaugurated president in US history, completed a physical exam on Tuesday at Walter Reed national military medical center, amid questions around his health. “Everything checked out PERFECTLY,” the US president declared in a social media post.
\nThe Trump administration considered asking federal workers to sign NDAs. The goal of asking federal employees to sign nondisclosure agreements is to prevent them from sharing confidential information with journalists.
\nUber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts have become the first in the nation to certify a union for gig-economy workers of ride-hailing apps. On Friday, the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations certified the App Drivers Union, which represents nearly 70,000 drivers classified as independent contractors.
\nNasa announced ambitious plans for three uncrewed lunar missions this year to kickstart construction of a $20bn moon base, and said it had chosen the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, ahead of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, to conduct the first. The news came the same day that the United States Space Force awarded a $2.29 bn contract to SpaceX, which would see the tech billionaire’s aerospace and artificial intelligence company build a satellite communications network to connect military sensors and weapons platforms around the world.
\nThis live blog is now closed.
\nTrump-backed Ken Paxton ousts John Cornyn in heated Texas race after scandal-plagued campaign
\nAmerica’s ugliest primary? Texas Republican infighting could hand Senate seat to Democrat
\nThe US has launched fresh strikes on Iran despite suggestions that a peace deal could be within reach. Donald Trump faces growing criticism from Republicans over the proposed plan to end the war, which reportedly contained major concessions from Washington. But could an agreement still be imminent? Lucy Hough speaks to diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour
","type":"youtube"}]},"trailText":"This live blog is now closed.","showQuotedHeadline":false,"showLiveIndicator":false,"sublinks":[],"mainImage":{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/d9d43d426d86ef796e11ac010236f1e916b0202b/0_0_5000_4000/master/5000.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=2490a628c85a18e968ee2fb2de933673","height":4000,"width":5000,"orientation":"landscape","credit":"Composite: Brandon Bell/Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images","altText":"Left: John Cornyn, Republican US senator from Texas. Right: Texas attorney general Ken Paxton","cleanCredit":"Composite: Brandon Bell/Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images"},"renderedItemProd":{"minBridgetVersion":"8.0.0","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/may/26/donald-trump-medical-walter-reed-republicans-texas-runoff-iran-latest-news-updates?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemBeta":{"minBridgetVersion":"8.0.0","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/may/26/donald-trump-medical-walter-reed-republicans-texas-runoff-iran-latest-news-updates?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"renderedItemDebug":{"minBridgetVersion":"8.0.0","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/may/26/donald-trump-medical-walter-reed-republicans-texas-runoff-iran-latest-news-updates?dcr=apps&edition=uk"},"cardDesignType":"Article","correspondingTags":[],"type":"Article","importance":0},{"title":"US senator says he was pepper-sprayed by federal agents during protest at ICE facility","rawTitle":"US senator says he was pepper-sprayed by federal agents during protest at ICE facility","item":{"trailText":"Democrat Andy Kim says he saw ‘chaos’ at the New Jersey ICE facility amid ‘standoff’ between protesters and agents","body":"Protests continued on Tuesday outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey where US senator Andy Kim said he was pepper-sprayed by federal agents the day before during a demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outside the facility.
\nVideo posted on social media showed Kim, a Democrat representing New Jersey, receiving help from a volunteer on Monday, who is seen pouring water in his eyes outside Delaney Hall in Newark, where detainees have said they are staging a hunger strike against poor conditions and the denial of medical care.
\nDemonstrators had clashed with immigration officers who used batons and pepper spray over the weekend as they attempted to transfer a detainee who organized the hunger strike to another facility. On Tuesday, masked ICE officials forced people out of the way as vehicles moved in and out of the facility.
\n\nKim, a senator from New Jersey, had joined the state’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, also a Democrat, at the protest to speak with relatives of some of those detained. He told USA Today that the incident in which he was sprayed by a chemical substance came shortly after he had been inside Delaney Hall to see conditions for himself.
\nHe said he emerged to a “standoff” between protesters and agents from ICE, who he said had deployed an armored vehicle as a barricade, and that he “kind of lined up in front of them” to try to de-escalate the situation.
\n“ICE officials told me that they were going to push through the crowd with their vehicle and they wanted to get some vehicles out of there,” Kim said.
\n“I tried to arrange a situation where people would not get hurt, where there wouldn’t be a confrontation. Unfortunately, ICE just continued on.”
\nPeople were “getting tackled and brought to the ground” and ICE “started pushing through with their vehicles” and “started shooting at us with pepper balls and using pepper spray”, he said.
\n“I tried to do whatever I could standing in the middle to keep people safe.”
\nIn a post on X, Kim said he saw “chaos inside and outside” of the facility, adding:
\n“What I witnessed and experienced today was shameful. Delaney Hall is a failure; it’s this administration’s failure. The only way to make this right for our communities is to shut it down and make sure the failures we’ve seen never happen again.”
\nDemonstrators have been at Delaney Hall since Friday, alleging detainees have been denied fresh food and medical care, and that air conditioning was not working.
\nDetainees released a letter to advocates on Tuesday morning, asserting that they were on hunger strike and a work strike at the facility, and demanding that Sherrill meet with the strikers. Sherrill has said that she had been denied access to the facility.
\nAt the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the parent agency of ICE, the departmental secretary, Markwayne Mullin, posted on X denying that there was a hunger strike at Delaney Hall, in response to Cory Booker, the senior US senator from New Jersey and a Democrat, posting about it. Mullin’s post also said: “There are no sub-prime conditions” at the facility.
\nThe Delaney facility is located in an industrial part of Newark, surrounded by dozens of factories, logistical centers and packaging plants. A nonstop convoy of massive trucks drove by the facility on Tuesday, with few honking in solidarity with the protesters as they drove by.
\n“Some of [the people detained] have been detained more than eight to 12 months,” Ana Paola Pazmiño from Resistencia en Accion New Jersey, a migrant rights organization, claimed, adding: “The horrible conditions that they’re living in inside are terrible.”
\nShe claimed people were being served rotten or insufficient food, a frequent assertion from those in ICE detention in many parts of the US, and a claim consistently denied by the DHS.
\nThe air surrounding the facility is putrid, smelling like sewage and chemicals, which only seemingly worsened as the weather warmed up on Tuesday, after torrential rain for much of the Memorial Day weekend.
\n“We’re just tired of this place. We shouldn’t be doing this to fellow human beings,” said the Rev Erich Kussman from the St Bartholomew Lutheran church in Trenton. Kussman has been protesting at the facility since it reopened last year as an immigration detention facility.
\nTensions had escalated during Sunday when word spread that authorities were planning to move Martin Soto, a detainee who had announced the strike, to another facility. The DHS later said he had been moved to another facility.
\nKim told USA Today on Monday night that his eyes and throat were still burning. He said he would continue to fight the “lawlessness and unaccountability perpetuated by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress”.
\nThe DHS in a post on X, had blamed “rioters” for the violence.
\n“No individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles,” the post said.
\nThe DHS further said: “On May 25, 2026, rioters obstructed law enforcement from exiting the ICE facility. Officers issued multiple lawful verbal commands for rioters to clear the area. Rioters refused to follow law enforcement commands and continue to obstruct the exit route. Our law enforcement followed their training and used the minimum amount of force necessary to protect themselves, the public and federal property.
\n“The first amendment protects speech and peaceful assembly – not rioting. DHS is taking appropriate and constitutional measures to uphold the rule of law and protect our officers and the public from dangerous rioters.”
\nMonday’s violence came amid stalled efforts by the Trump administration to pass a $70bn funding measure for ICE and the border patrol. Senate Republicans last week derailed the bill, at least temporarily, in a dispute over Donald Trump’s plans for a White House ballroom and the creation of a $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund that could enrich people who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 when Trump sought in vain to overturn his electoral defeat by Joe Biden.
","atomsCSS":[],"shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"discussionId":"/p/x55p95","section":"US news","id":"us-news/2026/may/26/senator-pepper-sprayed-ice-facility-protest-new-jersey","displayImages":[{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2dff5aca4ea8b632041a0f9c845d66d9e932a740/0_0_8192_5464/master/8192.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=e10c2330e70f8b5e882a85d1067688f0","height":5464,"width":8192,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"Andy Kim outside the Delaney Hall detention center on 25 May 2026 in Newark, New Jersey. Photograph: Photograph: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis/Getty Images","credit":"Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis/Getty Images","altText":"a man in a suit stands among law enforcement agents","cleanCaption":"Andy Kim outside the Delaney Hall detention center on 25 May 2026 in Newark, New Jersey.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis/Getty Images"}],"shouldHideAdverts":false,"standFirst":"Democrat Andy Kim says he saw ‘chaos’ at the New Jersey ICE facility amid ‘standoff’ between protesters and agents
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\nThe revelation by Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, at a press conference in Washington DC marked the first detailed public explanation of how and when the moon base will be built.
\nHe said the three missions planned for 2026 would be followed by “more than a dozen” more in the coming years to test systems and equipment. He said the highly successful Artemis II mission last month that sent four astronauts around the moon for the first time since 1972 had been both a catalyst and incentive to advance the moon base plan.
\n\n“People are looking up again, believing in big things again, and paying attention as America returns to the moon again, and this time to stay,” he said.
\nHe added, without mentioning any names, that the agency had been “having the tough conversations with those failing to meet expectations” since the Artemis splashdown on 10 April.
\n“We are not jumping right into the glass dome moon base. We intend to take an iterative approach, sending a demand signal to industry for a lot of landers and rovers and tech demonstrations, and all the scientific payloads these missions can accommodate,” Isaacman said.
\n“We are leveraging the Nasa playbook from the 1960s, figuring out what works and what doesn’t in this epic science of survival, because the moon base is as beautiful as it is hostile.”
\nThe headline announcement was the selection of Bezos’s Blue Origin company to conduct the first mission, as early as fall. It has been awarded $230.4m to support each of its first two moon base missions, Nasa said, but will largely fund the operation itself.
\n“Moon Base One will be the first privately funded lunar lander mission in history,” Isaacman said. It will take Endurance, Blue Origin’s cryogenically propelled cargo lander, holding multiple scientific payloads from Nasa and private partners, to the Shackleton de Gerlache Ridge area of the moon’s south pole.
\nIsaacman said the objective was to “demonstrate critical capabilities that reduce risk for the human landing system missions”, and that Bezos’s company was picked “because of the role Blue Origin plays in the Artemis program”.
\nBlue Origin is competing with SpaceX to provide crew landers for an upcoming sequence of Artemis missions, including the planned 2028 return of humans to the moon on Artemis IV. Nasa will evaluate the SpaceX Starship Human Landing System (HLS) and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander during next year’s Artemis III test mission in lower Earth orbit and decide thereafter.
\nBlue Origin suffered a setback last month when a payload from the third flight of its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket ended up in the wrong orbit, but was cleared to return to flight by the Federal Aviation Administration last week.
\nBoth companies have built large new facilities in or close to Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center to support crewed and cargo missions in partnership with Nasa.
\nAs well as awarding Blue Origin the first moon base mission, Nasa announced a series of smaller contracts with private companies involved in the agency’s moon-to-Mars projects. They include Lunar Outpost, which has been working on lunar rovers, and Firefly Aerospace, which in March last year became the first private operator to make a successful moon touchdown with its Blue Ghost lander.
\nThe agency’s “blueprint for an enduring lunar presence” is also laid out on a new Nasa moonbase website launched on Wednesday, which gives a timeframe between 2029 and 2032 for establishing a base with “operating capability”. A “semi-permanent presence” will follow in 2032 or beyond, it said.
\nThe moon base project forms part of Donald Trump’s national space policy, including directing Nasa to accelerate the Artemis program to achieve the next human moon landing ahead of China, establish a permanently habitable lunar base and develop a nuclear space reactor.
\nPartnerships with private operators, Nasa has said, can significantly reduce the cost to taxpayers, and create a thriving space economy providing thousands of new jobs while conducting inspiring missions of science and discovery.
\nIsaacman, who has attempted to align the Trump administration’s planned budget cuts to Nasa with the president’s ambitious vision, said the world had “paused to take notice” during Artemis II. He said he hoped that mission, along with moon base plans and other moon-aligned projects, would inspire what he called a “golden age of exploration”.
\n“I’m often asked why we send our astronauts into such harsh and dangerous and unforgiving environment of space or the lunar surface, and at such great cost,” he said.
\n“We go for the technology we will pioneer to get there, the science, and all that we will learn that will make life better here on Earth, to advance humankind on this great adventure, to inspire the next generation to do it better than we can, and, to be very clear, to master the skills for where we will inevitably go next.”
","atomsCSS":[],"shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"discussionId":"/p/x56vx6","section":"Science","id":"science/2026/may/26/nasa-jeff-bezos-blue-origin","displayImages":[{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/800db8dfad60d3f3942f6b3f1aad972df5173d56/0_0_6698_4465/master/6698.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=989bef427c6d20b408c98e52ada4479a","height":4465,"width":6698,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, speaks during a news conference in Washington DC on Tuesday, to outline plans for lunar base. Photograph: Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images","credit":"Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images","altText":"A man at a Nasa podium presents in front of a large screen showing a lunar lander, with two people seated at a table","cleanCaption":"Nasa’s administrator, Jared Isaacman, speaks during a news conference in Washington DC on Tuesday, to outline plans for lunar base.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images"}],"shouldHideAdverts":false,"standFirst":"Three lunar landings are planned for this year in preparation for the construction of a $20bn moon base
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\nKennedy, who has previously admitted dumping the carcass of a bear cub in New York’s Central Park, and is also alleged to have cut the penis off a road-kill raccoon, is seen grabbing the pair of serpents with his bare hands.
\nHis wife, Cheryl Hines, is heard urging her husband to be careful as Kennedy shows them off to the camera, then recoils as one rears up and appears to bite his hand.
\n“Cheryl cheerleads the removal of a pair of Black Racers from Dr Oz’s patio,” the post states. It refers to both the species of snake, and where the video was captured, believed to be the Palm Beach waterfront mansion belonging to Mehmet Oz, the controversial celebrity medic now serving as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
\n\nNon-venomous southern black racers are the most common species of snake in Florida, and are known for their speed and agility. They are harmless to humans.
\nIt is not clear when the 49-second recording was made, or what happened to the snakes.
\nA voice that sounds like Oz surmises the snakes were having sex, then queries if they were fighting. Kennedy, in a blue shirt and tie, laughs as he handles the pair together, well back from their heads, in his right hand, then veers back in apparent pain as one of the snakes rises up and strikes his left.
\n“You’re nuts,” a female voice says.
\nKennedy’s prior dealings with the animal kingdom have become a rich source of curiosity and controversy. An article last month in the Week lists six separate encounters, including a 2014 episode in which he admitted to finding a dead bear cub on a road trip and putting it in his van with a plan to skin it and eat it later.
\nHe said he dumped the animal in Manhattan’s Central Park when he ran out of time before a flight, and placed a bicycle on top of it in the hope of framing a cyclist.
\nLast month, in an equally outlandish story, it emerged from the newly published biography RFK Jr: The Fall and Rise that he had mutilated the carcass of a raccoon he found dead on a New York highway in 2001.
\n“I was standing in front of my parked car on I-684 cutting the penis out of a road-killed raccoon, thinking about how weird some of my family members have turned out to be,” he wrote in his journal at the time, according to the book’s author, Isabel Vincent.
\nThe book also alludes to Kennedy’s alleged fascination with seagulls and desire to add to his collection of skulls of deceased birds.
\nPerhaps the most extreme example, however, was the 2024 recounting of an undated incident in which Kennedy allegedly severed the head of a washed-up whale with a chainsaw, then drove home with it strapped to his car’s roof.
\nOther alarming claims include one that part of Kennedy’s brain was eaten by a worm, and another that he enjoyed eating barbecued dog.
\nThe Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A source close to Kennedy, however, said he was “doing just fine”.
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\nAt first, she was able to overlook his shockingly gaunt appearance and weight loss, hesitant movements and moments of slurred speech. The tonic of being back in her Miami apartment, she thought, would surely hasten his return to health.
\n\nThat was on Thursday. By Sunday, however, Justo Betancourt was in the emergency room, with doctors suspecting he had suffered a series of mini strokes, during his detention and since his release. They were unable to perform an MRI scan on his brain to confirm the diagnosis because of the electronic monitoring tag affixed to his ankle.
\n“If he had a headache, if he didn’t feel good, if his glucose was high, they’d just tell him to drink more water,” Arianne Betancourt said of his guards’ reaction to her diabetic father’s requests for medical help and his twice-daily insulin injections.
\n“I’m furious at the condition he’s in now. He’s not the same person he was before they took him in there, and I don’t know if he’ll ever be the same.”
\nThe detention center, hastily constructed last summer on a disused airstrip adjacent to fragile wetlands and Native American ancestral tribal lands in the mosquito-infested Florida Everglades, will close next month. It was condemned as “a failed experiment in human suffering” by critics, and still costs Florida taxpayers more than $1m a day.
\n![\"A](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/0cd267df21c93d68095505bc7d3b9fe6bb1117fa/0_0_3024_4032/750.jpg\")
\n Its imminent shuttering follows lawsuits from environmental groups; protests from immigration advocates; unannounced visits by Democratic politicians who called conditions inside the facility “inhumane”; and a 2025 Amnesty International report highlighting commonplace physical abuse of detainees and human and legal rights violations.
\nBeyond that, there are the individual human stories such as Betancourt’s that will endure after the jail’s closure, and become part of the legacy of Ron DeSantis, Florida’s hard-right governor, who will be termed out of office in January.
\nDeSantis, a champion of the remote tented camp surrounded by alligators and Burmese pythons, celebrated that 22,000 detainees, all slated for deportation, were kept in metal cages during the nine months of the jail’s existence.
\n“We did not create the Four Seasons [hotel]. That’s not the intent of this,” he said last year.
\nThe experience of Betancourt, a Cuban national with decades-old drug convictions that were previously not considered a barrier to his continued presence in the US, is largely typical of those who have been held there.
\nHe was taken during a routine immigration appointment in October and shuffled around detention centers in Miami and Texas, before ending up at the Florida facility.
\nBefore a judge issued a writ of habeas corpus last week, concluding there was no reasonable prospect of the government deporting him to his homeland, Betancourt spent four and a half months in the Everglades jail. His daughter said he was traumatized by his own treatment and what he witnessed others experience.
\n“It’s so much worse than I think most people imagine,” she said. “Guys in there [are] not getting food, all they know is being locked in a cage for months, then they’re dumped in a country where they have no family, nothing.”
\nThe Florida division of emergency management, which runs the jail using a combination of state employees, military personnel and private contractors, has denied any mistreatment or deprivation. The homeland security department has called reports “hoaxes”.
\nBut other former detainees have described conditions inside as “hell”, with cramped and dirty cages, no privacy for showers, overflowing toilets, lights on 24 hours a day, malfunctioning air conditioning, and tiny food portions sometimes infested with worms or maggots.
\nAdvocates say their exposure of the jail’s conditions and its cost has turned the tide of public opinion and hastened its demise.
\nDeSantis, who is also reportedly mulling another run for the US presidency, already appears to be distancing himself from the jail he once supported.
\n![\"A](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/8bd933f49f88c94b488a519015b1b7f0f32832db/0_0_5000_3335/1000.jpg\")
\n “Ideally, I wouldn’t want to be involved in this business at all,” DeSantis said at a press conference last week, in comments starkly at odds with his initial enthusiasm and eagerness for opening and operating the jail on behalf of the US Department of Homeland Security.
\n“We knew it was going to be temporary.”
\nAt a subsequent media event, he said: “If we shut the lights out on it tomorrow, we will be able to say it served its purpose.”
\nThat perceived indifference to human suffering dismays opponents of the detention center, who have staged vigils outside its gates every Sunday since August, a month after it opened.
\n“If in saying Alligator Alcatraz has ‘served its purpose’, Governor DeSantis means it has stirred the moral conscience of the nation, I would agree,” said Tony Fisher, minister of the Unitarian Universalist congregation of Greater Naples.
\n“It has also laid bare the moral depravity of our state and federal administrations. The goal is not to close just one detention center, but all of them. The end is to elect people of either party who can show they have compassion for their fellow human beings.”
\nSome political analysts believe DeSantis miscalculated when he went all in on the detention center, and invited Donald Trump to tour it with him last July, months after the governor’s unsuccessful challenge for the Republican presidential nomination.
\n“I don’t think it’s going to be quite the political positive that it looked like it would be at one time,” said Aubrey Jewett, a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida.
\n“When he first pushed it, the average American was still supporting cracking down on illegal immigration. It seemed a clear win for DeSantis, his way of regaining national exposure on this big issue that Republicans cared a lot about, and getting back into Trump’s good graces after challenging Trump and losing and really being an outcast from Trump world.
\n“In the longer term, maybe not. Overall, public opinion has turned against aggressive immigration enforcement, the average American thinks President Trump has gone too far, and Alligator Alcatraz might be held up as a prime example. DeSantis pushed something really expensive, in an environmentally sensitive area, and with a reputation for not providing even basic civil rights.”
\n![\"People](\"https://media.guim.co.uk/7373f6fbe4fedb41baf063d0fe329711d4ada7f4/0_0_6692_4461/1000.jpg\")
\n Yet, as Jewett acknowledges, DeSantis is not completely backing away. He told reporters last week that far from soaking about $1bn from Florida’s emergency preparedness fund, the jail had actually saved taxpayers money by not having to fund the “staggering cost” of providing healthcare and education to deported criminals.
\nHis assertion is at odds with an NBC investigation in December that found only one-quarter of the center’s detainees had a criminal conviction, and less than half were facing criminal charges.
\n“He’s defending this, but that doesn’t necessarily make it factually correct,” Jewett said. “Some of the studies have shown the majority of people held in Alligator Alcatraz were not criminals, and other studies that have looked more broadly at the economic cost of immigration have been mixed on whether immigrants, illegal immigrants in particular, cost money or help the American economy by working hard and paying tax, and paying into social security and Medicare that they’ll never collect.”
\nIn February, Arianne Betancourt joined the staff of the Workers Circle, a community advocacy group that organizes weekly vigils at the jail and supports families of those detained.
\nWhile she said she was optimistic her father would no longer be deported, he was still in the hospital on Thursday facing a long journey back to health. His ankle tag had been removed, she said, and doctors could finally evaluate neurological problems.
\n“My dad is only 54, and when he went in there he was sick but he was still sturdy, at least mentally,” she said. “And he came out like this. It’s just the reality of so many [people in the detention center].”
","atomsCSS":[],"shouldHideReaderRevenue":false,"discussionId":"/p/x54qzj","section":"US news","id":"us-news/2026/may/24/alligator-alcatraz-ron-desantis","displayImages":[{"urlTemplate":"https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c7e13e9b6216fe017ede0f4ca2a5e0082ac0642b/0_0_6000_4000/master/6000.jpg?w=#{width}&h=#{height}&q=#{quality}&fit=bounds&sig-ignores-params=true&s=d312e3984e8a3d122bcff88f5eb611f6","height":4000,"width":6000,"orientation":"landscape","caption":"Donald Trump, alongside Ron DeSantis, tours the facility on 1 July 2025. Photograph: Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images","credit":"Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images","altText":"The president surrounded by other people stands in a detention center","cleanCaption":"Donald Trump, alongside Ron DeSantis, tours the facility on 1 July 2025.","cleanCredit":"Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images"}],"shouldHideAdverts":false,"standFirst":"Florida’s hard-right governor is trying to distance himself from the notorious detention center as public opinion sours
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\nThe first reveal earlier this month of 162 files of previously secret or rarely seen accounts of UAP sightings received more than a billion hits on the government website set up to house them, according to a press release from the war department, the Trump administration’s preferred term for the Department of Defense.
\nFriday’s release, also stretching back decades, features a further 50 videos and documents, including first-hand testimony from civilians and military members.
\nIn one video from the Middle East in 2019, taken “likely from an infrared sensor aboard a US military platform operating within the US Central Command area of responsibility”, according to the Pentagon, three UAP are captured flying in formation over the Persian Gulf.
\nAnother formation of four unidentified objects is seen flying past vessels on the water off Iran in a video from 2022.
\nFootage taken over Syria in 2021 shows a mysterious object racing away at speed akin to instantaneous warp-speed acceleration from science fiction movies.
\nFew of the objects seem to resemble flying saucers, discs or other traditionally perceived forms for UAP, although one October 2022 clip taken at an undisclosed location shows a cigar-shaped entity racing over what appears to be a residential area.
\nNone of the videos are accompanied by explanations, and the Pentagon’s all-domain anomaly resolution office (AARO) has previously stated it has no evidence to suggest any of the thousands of objects seen on video, or described in written testimony, is of extraterrestrial origin.
\nIn its 8 May release, a statement from the defense department said the public “can ultimately make up their own minds about the information contained in these files”.
\nAdditionally, the information is collated from a diverse range of sources, including government agencies including several military branches, the FBI, the state department and Nasa. “Many of these materials lack a substantiated chain-of-custody,” the Pentagon notes.
\nEven so, Friday’s release is likely to provoke further debate about a subject that has fascinated humankind for generations, and prompted decades of conspiracy theories about government cover-ups and secrecy about what it knows.
\nIn February, Donald Trump directed the release of government files related to UAP and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, citing “tremendous interest” in the topic but adding he did not know personally if aliens were real or not.
\nPolling suggests most Americans believe aliens exist, and half think they have visited Earth.
\nThe Pentagon on Friday said it was working on a third release of UAP files, which it said would announce “in the near future”.
\nNew Nasa recordings are included in the second batch, including astronaut descriptions of mysterious objects and bright lights similar to those reported by the Apollo 11 crew member Buzz Aldrin in the first release this month.
\nIn one clip, Wally Schirra, the sole astronaut on Mercury-Atlas 8 that orbited the Earth six times in October 1962, told mission control he saw “little white objects that seem to come from the capsule itself and drift off”.
\nHe also spoke of a burst of light in the window, whose source he said he could not identify, although he noted it appeared just as the sun passed below the horizon.
\nAstrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, on his YouTube channel StarTalk, said it was “a little misleading” for Nasa files to be included in the Pentagon releases.
\n“Nasa spends time in space, and if an alien is going to come from anywhere, it’s probably going to be from space, I get that,” he said.
\n“But those Nasa documents were never classified, and what the astronauts were seeing would have a complete, full, rational explanation. The fact they are released juxtaposed with other files where people see unidentified anomalous phenomena, and don’t know what it is, then it’s almost guilt by association.”
\nTyson said aliens were “kind of low on my list” as an explanation for UAP.
\n“In the history of science, the correct explanation has never been magic, or aliens, ever,” he said.
\n“I’m just sitting back waiting for you to walk out the alien – that’s kind of what I need right now, and then we’re good.”
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