Category: US politics

CloseCrowds take to streets across Iran after call to defy regimeUS president Donald Trump has reportedly been briefed on possible military strike options, as Washington weighs how to respond to Iran's crackdown on mass anti-government protests.
This comes as Iran’s security establishment moved to tighten its grip on the unrest. Iranian authorities warned that protesters could face the death penalty, while the military accused foreign “enemies” of fuelling the unrest. It urged citizens to remain alert to what it described as “enemy plots”.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said its intelligence wing had arrested a foreign national suspected of spying for Israel, as officials blamed the US and Israel for inciting unrest. State media also said around 100 people described as “armed rioters” had been detained.
Trump has meanwhile stepped up his rhetoric, saying on social media that the US “stands ready to help” Iranians protesting against clerical rule, after earlier warning th..

Protests against immigration enforcement are planned for cities and towns across the country on Saturday after one federal officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis and another shot and wounded two people in Portland, Oregon.
The demonstrations come as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pushes forward in the Twin Cities with what it calls its biggest-ever immigration enforcement operation. President Donald Trump's administration has said both shootings were acts of self-defense against drivers who “weaponized” their vehicles to attack officers.
Indivisible, a social movement organization that formed to resist the Trump administration, said hundreds of protests were scheduled in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida and other states. Many were dubbed “ICE Out for Good” using the acronym for the agency Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Indivisible and its local chapters organized protests in all 50 states last year.
In Minneapolis, a coalition of migrant rights groups..

CloseCrowds take to streets across Iran after call to defy regimeIran’s near-total internet blackout continued on Saturday as the country’s supreme leader warned of a harsher crackdown on a growing wave of protests.
In his first public address since demonstrations began on 28 December, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would “not back down”, accusing protesters of acting on behalf of foreign powers and blaming US president Donald Trump for unrest driven by Iran’s economic crisis.
Trump warned Khamenei that the US will “start shooting” if demonstrators in Iran are targeted by government forces as nationwide protests demanding regime change continued into their 13th day.
At least 62 people have been killed since the protests began, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), which said the dead included 48 protesters and 14 security personnel.
Protesters have chanted “death to Khamenei” in cities across the country, including after calls by the son of the t..

As anger and outrage spilled out onto Minneapolis’ streets Thursday over the fatal shooting of a woman the day before by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, a new shooting by federal officers in Oregon left two people wounded and elicited more scrutiny of enforcement operations across the U.S.
Hundreds of people protesting the shooting of Renee Good marched in freezing rain at night down one of Minneapolis’ major thoroughfares, chanting “ICE out now” and holding signs saying, “killer ice off our streets.” Protesters earlier vented their outrage outside a federal facility that is serving as a hub for the administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major city.
The shooting in Portland, Oregon, took place outside a hospital in the afternoon. A man and woman were shot inside a vehicle, and their conditions were not immediately known. The FBI and the Oregon Department of Justice were investigating. Mayor Keith Wilson and the city council called on ICE to end all operation..

CloseZelensky warns Russia is 'betting on winter warfare' as new attack loomsAt least three people were killed after Russia launched a major offensive on Ukraine with drones and missiles overnight into Friday, Ukrainian officials said.
Russian forces struck critical infrastructure in the western city of Lviv using an unidentified ballistic missile, said mayor Andriy Sadoviy.
The Western Command of Ukraine's Air Force later said the missile traveled at a speed of 13,000km (more than 8,000 miles) per hour, and that the specific type of rocket was being investigated.
Just hours earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky alerted the nation about Russia's intention to launch a large-scale offensive and urged people to take shelter when asked.
Zelensky has accused Russian leader Vladimir Putin of being intent on using wintry weather as a weapon rather than working towards a diplomatic resolution of nearly four years of conflict.
Russian drone strikes knocked out powe..

ClosePutin sends navy escort as Trump ‘plans to seize’ banned Venezuelan oil tankerU.S. officials say the Trump administration plans to control Venezuela's oil indefinitely in order to force the country to act in America's interests.
Energy Secretary Wright said the U.S. would market stored Venezuelan oil first and then sell future production indefinitely, with revenues deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S.President Donald Trump has also announced that Venezuela will only purchase “American-made” products with the money made from its oil deal with America.
The U.S. seized two sanctioned Venezuela-linked oil tankers in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday in an operation that also involved the British armed forces. The Ministry of Defence said the U.S. asked Britain for assistance, and RAF surveillance aircraft and a Royal Navy support ship took part in the seizure.
The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. military special forces, bearing a judicial seizure warrant, apprehended the M..

At least two people have been killed and six others injured during a shooting Wednesday evening at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, according to authorities.
Of those injured, three are in critical condition, the Salt Lake City Police Department said. Police spokesperson Glen Mills told The Salt Lake Tribune the conditions of the other three people are unknown because they were transported to the hospital in private cars.
Authorities say a fight broke out in the parking lot of the church during a funeral, which erupted into gunfire, per ABC 7 Chicago. Police were called to the church at around 7:30 p.m. local time.
Police are currently searching for suspects in the shooting.
“The suspects are still outstanding, but our officers have obtained solid leads and are working to locate those involved,” Salt Lake City police wrote on X Wednesday night.
open image in galleryAt least two people have been killed and six others injured during a..

Vice President JD Vance has posted a bigoted meme mocking Congressional Democrats who were holding a candlelight vigil to remember the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In an X post, Vance’s post edited images of sombreros onto a freeze-frame of Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries with their colleagues on the Capitol steps Tuesday. Democrats were marking five years since the riot that saw police officers beaten and government property destroyed.
On that day, supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building as Congress held a joint session to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win. The failed attempt to overturn the results and keep Trump in office came after the president and his allies repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that the election was stolen from him.
Vance’s meme riffs off those Trump circulated last fall. At the time, Republicans were baselessly claiming Democrats were refusing to support a spendin..

On the first anniversary of the most destructive wildfires in the L.A. area, the scant home construction projects stand out among the still mostly flattened landscapes.
Fewer than a dozen homes have been rebuilt in Los Angeles County since Jan. 7, 2025, when the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted, killing 31 people and destroying about 13,000 homes and other residential properties.
For those who had insurance, it’s often not enough to cover the costs of construction. Relief organizations are stepping in to help, but progress is slow.
Among the exceptions is Ted Koerner, whose Altadena home was reduced to ash and two chimneys. With his insurance payout tied up, the 67-year-old liquidated about 80% of his retirement holdings, secured contractors quickly, and moved decisively through the rebuilding process.
Shortly before Thanksgiving, Koerner was among the first to finish a rebuild in the aftermath of the fires, which were fueled by drought and hurricane-force winds.
But most do not have..

CloseZelensky claims Russia lost 35,000 military personnel in DecemberDonald Trump’s senior negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Kyiv's European allies in Paris today in the latest push for a peace deal.
More than 27 leaders will converge on the French capital to finalise a proposal on security guarantees that can be taken to Russia.
The key issues to be discussed by the Coalition of the Willing-led talks include which countries are prepared to deploy peacekeeping troops and what the remit of any force overseeing a ceasefire might be. Russia has said it won't accept troops from Nato countries on Ukrainian soil.
Zelensky says the allies need to ensure that Russia doesn't repeat its invasion if a peace agreement is signed, and has signalled that Ukraine is ready to fight on if Moscow does not agree to a ceasefire.
Ahead of the talks, Zelensky carried out a top-level reshuffle of his administration and replaced the..