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May 18, 2026 - World

Democrats criticize fund to compensate for supposed persecution as ‘slush fund’ for president’s allies after Trump ends lawsuit against IRSTrump dismisses $10bn suit against IRS and creates $1.7bn ‘anti-weaponization’ fundSign up for the Breaking News US emailDemocratic reactions to the news about Trump moving to withdraw his lawsuit against the IRS are coming in. Ron Wyden, a top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said Trump deserved no credit for dropping the lawsuit, regardless of his reasons.“Even by his standards the move he’s trying to get away with now is a stunning act of corruption,” said Wyden in a statement. “What Trump wants is a $1.7bn slush fund for right-wing political violence and subversion, and if he follows through, it will be the most brazen theft and abuse of taxpayer dollars by any president in American history.” Continue reading...

May 18, 2026 - World

Police rushed to ‘neutralize’ the shooter and chairman of center confirmed security guard had been fatally shotAt least one person, a security guard, was killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego.Police rushed to the center on Monday and “neutralized” the shooter, according to authorities. Authorities had not yet confirmed any fatalities or injuries, but chairman of the mosque that was targeted confirmed to outlets that a guard had been killed. Continue reading...

May 18, 2026 - World

In post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said ‘serious negotiations’ are now underway with Iran and that Gulf leaders believe ‘a deal will be made’UAE blames Iran or its proxies for drone strike fire near nuclear plantFriedrich Merz has been embroiled in a row with Donald Trump over his war on Iran ever since the German chancellor suggested the Trump team was being outplayed in its negotiations with Tehran and said he would not advise his children to study or work in the US in the current climate.The Guardian’s Berlin correspondent, Deborah Cole, has looked at the declining relationship between the two leaders in this story. Here is an extract:Disputes over trade and military aid for Ukraine have fuelled tensions between the US and its European allies and tested the Nato alliance.Merz is struggling to revive an anaemic German economy and has said the impact of the US-Israeli military action in Iran and the ensuing closure of the strait of Hormuz has been severely damaging to European interests.We strongly condemn the renewed Iranian airstrikes against the United Arab Emirates and other partners. Attacks on nuclear facilities pose a threat to the safety of people throughout the entire region. There must be no further escalation of violence.Iran must enter into serious negotiations with the USA, stop threatening its neighbours, and open the strait of Hormuz without restrictions. Continue reading...

May 18, 2026 - World

Trump administration unveiled sweeping restrictions on press access at the Department of Defense last SeptemberSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe New York Times has filed a second lawsuit against the Pentagon, arguing that its recent policy requiring journalists to have official escorts when on Pentagon grounds is unconstitutional.The Trump administration unveiled sweeping restrictions on press access at the US Department of Defense, which it calls the Department of War, last September. Continue reading...

May 18, 2026 - World

A former lawmaker and critic of President Donald Trump slammed the president's Iran war decisions following his announcement on Monday to stop a planned military attack amid "serious negotiations" and telling the military to be ready "on a moment's notice."Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told CNN that Trump's Truth Social post announcement stating alleged negotiations underway and that an attack had been stopped by allies was putting the United States in a bad position."This is so damaging," Kinzinger said. "You know, regardless of let's just be, you know, agnostic on whether he should attack again or not for the moment when you make threats and then you're eager to back down from those threats, which he has been every single time. I mean, he's gone from 'we will destroy an entire civilization' to 'we have a deal,' which we never actually had, by the way, claiming the strait's open, claiming it's closed, claiming he was going to pull the trigger on May 19th."But Trump's decision-making was troubling, and he has not offered a clear strategy for the war, Kinzinger argued."One of the greatest things the United States had is our ability to say, we will do something," Kinzinger explained. "The enemy knows that, and then hopefully we won't have to do that. This has just been like threat, back off, threat, back off. And I haven't seen the Iranians move in any way here. And we find ourselves in the worst-case scenario, which is a closed strait, this nebulous future. And gas is now having to price in, and futures are pricing in the uncertainty." Kinzinger argued that the United States was lacking a strategy to exit the ongoing military conflict."That's what's crazy, is we did go in with overwhelming military power. And now in the White House, they are trying to figure out what Iran needs to be satiated to be pleased," Kinzinger said. "And I mean, this is why they should have thought this through.""If you're going to do something like attack Iran, you have to know what the contingencies are," Kinzinger added. "And honestly, those contingencies, you have to be willing to do them. Otherwise, you probably should not have gone to this fight in the first place. And so, what is the future here look like? You know, I don't know. Are they going to find something that Iran wants? Maybe are they going to actually denuclearize them or whatever? I don't know. Is there going to be an Iranian, you know, toll on every ship that passes?"Kinzinger warned about what could be next for future generations."But I know this much. I know that my kid, who's 4 1/2 years old, is going to probably be in a country that has a worse situation based on what's going on because of this war, than had we done nothing," Kinzinger said. "I think Donald Trump needs to figure out if we resume hostilities with Iran, you need to have a plan in place to reopen that strait and stick to the use of the military until it's done, or quit these threats, because this is just making it worse."