Free Republic

Stock markets have risen around the world after Donald Trump said his tariffs on China would come down “substantially” and he had “no intention” of firing the chair of the American central bank, Jay Powell. The president told reporters in Washington on Tuesday he plannned to be “very nice” to China in trade talks and that tariffs could drop in both countries if they could reach a deal, adding: “It will come down substantially, but it won’t be zero.” The comments sparked a fresh rally on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 blue chip index and the Nasdaq ending the...

Sarah Palin on Tuesday lost in the retrial of her defamation case against the New York Times – a second defeat in the efforts by the former Republican vice-presidential candidate. A federal jury in New York deliberated for two hours then found the newspaper not liable for allegedly defaming Palin in a 2017 editorial about gun control. Palin appeared dejected as she left the courthouse in Manhattan. The case garnered much attention not just because Palin and the Times are household names across the US but because it raised broader issues about free speech in the era of the return...

The UK’s largest teaching union has called Reform UK “far-right and racist” and its leader has dismissed Nigel Farage as “a poundshop Donald Trump,” as the union pledged funds to oppose the party’s candidates in elections. Delegates to the National Education Union’s annual conference backed a motion stating that “far-right and racist organisations, including Reform, seek to build on the despair, poverty and alienation in our society by scapegoating refugees, asylum seekers, Muslims, Jews and others who do not fit their beliefs”. The motion also committed the NEU to use its political fund for campaigns against Reform election candidates and...

Police officers on foot will patrol every busy neighbourhood at peak times as part of a set of community-focused measures to be unveiled by Keir Starmer. In an announcement billed as a return to an era of “bobbies on the beat”, the prime minister will also confirm that every neighbourhood in England and Wales will be given a named and contactable police officer. The plans are expected to be in place by July, and follow the government’s promises to restore confidence in community policing. Labour’s leadership is under pressure to offer new policies for party councillors in England to sell...

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are actively considering nationalising British Steel in an escalation of plans first revealed in the Guardian last year. The prime minister said all options were on the table to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant, which is owned by the Chinese firm Jingye and employs about 3,500 people. The possibility of nationalisation was first revealed in December but discussions have taken on fresh urgency with US tariffs and talks about a financial support package to move to less polluting technology having faltered. The government has now been forced to consider more drastic options, ranging...

I remain immensely proud to have lived in Edmonton during the Oilers’ glory years, when Wayne Gretzky was not merely that city’s darling, but also a fresh-faced, flag-waving ambassador for all of Canada. On ice, he dazzled with his scoring prowess and consistency; off ice, he charmed with his various charitable deeds and aw-shucks humility. Few could doubt his love for – and mentorship of – the late Joey Moss, the legendary locker-room attendant who was born with Down’s syndrome. So when it was suggested that the superstar centre and newly minted bridegroom had cried crocodile tears over being traded...

Keir Starmer should fight back strongly against Donald Trump if he imposes punitive tariffs on British exports, senior UK and EU diplomats said on Saturday night, amid heightened fears that the US president could trigger a global trade war with devastating effects on the UK economy. British government officials in London and Washington are working frantically this weekend to try to persuade Trump not to slap duties on more key UK industries on what he is calling “liberation day” on Wednesday. The US president has already announced plans for 25% levies on imports of cars, steel and aluminium to the...

Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, has said the inadvertent leak of classified military plans by senior US officials means that allied nations must increasingly “look out for ourselves” as trust frays with a once-close ally. Speaking a day after it was revealed that a journalist was accidentally included in a group chat discussing airstrikes against Yemeni rebels, Carney said the intelligence blunder was a “serious, serious issue and all lessons must be taken”. He said it would be critical to see “how people react to those mistakes and how they tighten them up”.

Teachers unions and Democratic politicians joined in denouncing Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating the US Department of Education, with the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) saying simply: “See you in court.” Trump’s move was long trailed, so much so that Randi Weingarten, the head of the AFT – which represents 1.8 million teachers – put out her statement the day before the order was signed. Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, which represents 200,000 members, teachers and other education workers mostly in New York City, said: “We will join our national union and public education...

Three members of the pioneering band were detained and returned to the UK after flying to Los Angeles for a gigMembers of the punk rock band UK Subs have said they were denied entry and detained in the US, according to accounts from the band themselves. Bassist Alvin Gibbs shared details of the incident in a Facebook post on Wednesday, which comes amid widespread reports of people being denied entry to the US, including a French scientist who said he was barred because of anti-Donald Trump comments he had made. Gibbs, along with bandmates Marc Carrey and Stefan Häublein, were...

The U.S. Department of Education will be "much smaller" but not eliminated by the executive order President Donald Trump is signing, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The department will continue to administer college student loans and Pell grants, enforce civil rights laws, and provide funding for low-income students and special education, Leavitt told reporters, The Guardian reported."The Department of Education will be much smaller than it is today," Leavitt commented, adding that "any critical functions" will remain after Trump signs the order at an event planned for 4 p.m. ET. "When it comes to student loans and...

A New York federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s bid to dismiss the legal challenge brought by Mahmoud Khalil, the recent Columbia graduate and Palestinian activist who was detained by immigration enforcement agents earlier this month, and has ordered the case transferred to New Jersey. Khalil, a permanent US resident with a green card who helped lead Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests last spring, was arrested in New York on 8 March by federal immigration authorities. He was transferred first to New Jersey and then to Louisiana, where he is currently detained. The Trump administration sought his deportation but two...

Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have shot up since Donald Trump returned to the White House and shocked Europe by withdrawing political and military support for Ukraine, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer. Starmer’s Labour government as a whole has also gained public support for its response to the global turbulence caused by Trump’s return – on security and economic issues. His personal ratings have risen by 10% – albeit from an alarmingly low point – compared with a month ago. Strikingly, Labour, rather than the Conservatives who are traditionally seen as stronger on defence, are now seen...

Ukraine’s opposition leaders have confirmed they have held discussions with members of Donald Trump’s entourage, but denied on Thursday they were part of a reported White House plot to remove Volodymyr Zelenskyy from power. The former president Petro Poroshenko said he had held talks with US representatives but added that he opposed Trump’s demands for wartime elections. Poroshenko, who lost to Zelenskyy in the 2019 presidential vote, said a poll should only be held once martial law ends. Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s former prime minister, said she also opposes elections while fighting continues. She said her team was “talking with all...

Health experts wary as US health secretary fails to endorse effective vaccines and instead calls them a ‘personal choice’Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, has caused alarm among pediatricians, vaccine experts and lawmakers with an opinion piece that focuses on vitamin A and nutrition as treatments for measles.In response to a measles outbreak in Texas, which resulted in the first American measles death in nearly a decade, Kennedy wrote for Fox News about the benefits of “good nutrition” and vitamin A – but did not explicitly recommend highly effective vaccines.“In fact, relying on vitamin A instead of the...

Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war with Russia, acknowledging it could put troops “in harm’s way” if Vladimir Putin launches another attack. It is understood to be the first time the prime minister has explicitly stated he is considering deploying British peacekeepers to Ukraine. The comments came just before emergency talks with European leaders in Paris on Monday. The leaders will aim to devise a strategy in response to Donald Trump’s push for a deal with the Russian president and to...

Pressure is growing on the Royal Society to expel Elon Musk from its fellowship after more than a thousand scientists signed an open letter expressing dismay at its lack of action on the matter. Musk, who owns the social media platform X, leads the US “department of government efficiency” (Doge). He was elected a fellow of the UK’s national academy of sciences in 2018 as a result of his work and impact in the space and electric vehicle industries. However, the Royal Society is under mounting pressure to revoke the honour. In August, the Guardian revealed a number of fellows...

Mexico’s president has accused the US of harboring drug cartels and American citizens of working with organized crime groups in Mexico, in a riposte to Donald Trump’s allegation of an “intolerable alliance” between traffickers and her government. “There is also organized crime in the United States and there are American people who come to Mexico with these illegal activities,” Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference on Thursday. “Otherwise who would distribute fentanyl in the cities of the United States?”

Donald Trump has indicated that Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) is operating without guardrails after it gained access to Americans’ private information “very easily” and as it prepares to assail the Pentagon. The US president was speaking at a White House press conference alongside Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister of Japan, but most of the questions focused on Musk’s sweeping mission to root out waste in the federal government, which has caused disarray in Washington. Trump suggested that he has given the tech billionaire free rein and appeared blase about the details. Asked why Doge needs access to...

The Danish king has shocked some historians by changing the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands – in what has also been seen as a rebuke to Donald Trump. Less than a year since succeeding his mother, Queen Margrethe, after she stood down on New Year’s Eve 2023, King Frederik has made a clear statement of intent to keep the autonomous Danish territory and former colony within the kingdom of Denmark. Donald Trump Jr in front of the statue of Hans Egede in Nuuk, Greenland, while on a private visit. Donald Trump Jr...