Tariffs ranging from 10%-12.5%, taking effect on Friday, are US president’s latest effort to circumvent Congress

Just before a temporary levy on global imports was set to expire, the Trump administration issued a fresh wave of tariffs on more than 80 countries late on Thursday, ranging from 10% to 12.5%. The new tariffs take effect Friday morning.

It’s Donald Trump’s latest effort to continue imposing global levies without congressional approval, despite the supreme court ruling in February that found the US president had illegally used his executive power to implement his global trade policies. Trump has long maintained that the US has been paying more than its fair share in tariffs, and that increased duties are necessary to boost American manufacturing and jobs.

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

The man, Brandon Booth, was also fired by the operator of the center, GEO Group, after a woman who was protesting outside was shot in the foot.

© Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Suspect allegedly yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ before attacking a 57-year-old Asian man and a 50-year-old Jewish man

New York City police are investigating a pair of stabbings near Central Park as a possible hate crime, police commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thursday.

The suspect, Raul Morales, allegedly stabbed a 57-year-old Asian man in the back with a knife, then stabbed a 50-year-old Jewish man in the torso with a screwdriver, according to a New York police department spokesperson. Morales allegedly yelled “Allahu Akbar” before the stabbings, police said. The attacks occurred about two blocks apart and in broad daylight in Manhattan’s affluent Upper West Side neighborhood.

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© Photograph: The NYC collection/Alamy

© Photograph: The NYC collection/Alamy

© Photograph: The NYC collection/Alamy

New York Times reports that list of those killed changed from 18 on Wednesday to 14 on Thursday

The Pentagon’s official online list of service members killed in the ongoing Iran war does not include the four soldiers who died during renewed fighting over the weekend, despite the fact that their names were included in a Pentagon press release on the formal transfer of their remains back to the United States on Wednesday.

A review of the current list on the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System website shows that, despite having been last updated on Wednesday, the number of US military personnel killed during Operation Epic Fury, the Pentagon’s name for the US-Israeli war on Iran that Donald Trump launched on 28 February, remains at 14.

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© Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

© Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

© Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

Jackie found an online audience through a webcam pointed at her nest in California. She was rescued last week after a fight with other eagles, officials said.

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton was killed in recent days, one of 18 U.S. soldiers who have lost their lives since the beginning of the war in Iran.

Australia’s trade minister, Don Farrell, says tariff regime is unjustified and inconsistent with free trade agreement with US

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Donald Trump has hit Australian exports with new trade tariffs, claiming the country is not doing enough to combat forced labour, but the Albanese government has demanded he remove them immediately.

The United States announced on Friday morning (AEST) that many Australian exports now attract a new 12.5% tariff as part of a broader regime affecting dozens of countries. However the Albanese government says Australia’s three largest export categories – including beef and gold – will avoid the tariff hit.

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© Photograph: Darren England/AAP

© Photograph: Darren England/AAP

© Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Los Angeles had an increase in homeless residents between early 2025 and early 2026. The rise could hurt Mayor Karen Bass, as she runs for re-election.

© Kyle Grillot for The New York Times

• Betts and Hernández opt against joining team for event

• Back-to-back World Series winners gift ring to Trump

• Many loyal fans had conflicted feelings over visit

Donald Trump hosted the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House on Thursday for the team’s second trip to the White House in two years.

The team gave the president a custom jersey and a World Series championship ring during a ceremony at the Rose Garden. Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, star first baseman Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto and manager Dave Roberts were among those in attendance, while several players – most notably star shortstop Mookie Betts and utility man Kike Hernández – opted not to attend.

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© Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

© Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

© Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Vote from advisory group – whose members include people linked to peptides industry – likely to embolden RFK Jr

A panel of federal health advisers on Thursday narrowly recommended easing access to several peptides popular with wellness influencers and celebrities, despite warnings from government scientists that the chemicals have not been shown to be safe or effective.

In a series of votes, outside experts to the Food and Drug Administration advised the agency to drop current restrictions barring pharmacies from producing injectable peptides with names like BPC-157, TB-500 and KPV.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

At an annual meeting of judges and lawyers, the liberal justice defended her conservative colleagues from criticism that they have rubber-stamped President Trump’s agenda.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

The House Democratic campaign arm has stepped up its interventions in high-profile contested primaries. But this week, it suffered its third primary defeat in two months.

© Cassidy Araiza for The New York Times

Defense attorneys question LAPD criminalist on third day of hearing to decide whether singer will stand trial

Blood stains on objects recovered from singer D4vd’s former Los Angeles residence probably came from Celeste Rivas Hernandez, the 14-year-old whose decomposed body was found in his Tesla last fall, according to testimony heard in court on Thursday.

Prosecutors say D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, fatally stabbed 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez last year to prevent her from exposing the sexual nature of their relationship amid his rising profile in the music world.

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© Photograph: Bill Robles/AP

© Photograph: Bill Robles/AP

© Photograph: Bill Robles/AP

Three military officials and a Pentagon spokesman gave conflicting explanations for why the number of Americans killed in the Iran war had changed.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Quinn Brown, a 19-year-old thrifter from Portland, Ore., bought a warm-up jacket worn by Wilt Chamberlain for $3.07. Six months later, Sotheby’s auctioned it off for $89,600.

© Sotheby’s, via Associated Press

A White House spokeswoman said President Trump’s patience was running thin. The top Senate Republican said she should try finding the votes.

© Alex Kent/The New York Times

Republican Blake Miguez is weighing what district to run in after state redrew map following supreme court decision

A congressional candidate from Louisiana who was the subject of a police report accusing him of rape – which he denies – says he is hoping to again “earn” Donald Trump’s endorsement as he considers precisely where to run amid redistricting.

The candidate, Blake Miguez, is weighing running in one of two districts, neither of which he lives in but in which he is allowed to run. He has been mulling that choice after the supreme court’s landmark decision in Callais v Louisiana prompted the state to swiftly redraw its US House districts – and after he had secured the president’s backing under the previous congressional map.

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© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

© Photograph: Gerald Herbert/AP

The animal’s plight alarmed onlookers and highlighted the drought conditions that are forcing wild bears closer to where people live in search of food.

Prosecutors said the captain’s view was blocked as the barge he was pushing struck a sailboat carrying young campers and a counselor on Biscayne Bay.

© United States Coast Guard

‘Ratepayer Protection Pledge’ president has touted is non-binding as people continue to struggle with rising bills

Donald Trump has announced that about 200 entities have signed on to his non-binding “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”, expanding a voluntary commitment which claims to ensure US consumers will not bear the cost of the AI datacenter build-out.

Trump delivered remarks on Thursday at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters, alongside Lee Zeldin, the agency’s administrator, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary. Other attenders included governors who signed on to the pledge, including Brian Kemp of Georgia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Spencer Cox of Utah and Jeff Landry of Louisiana.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

As savvy as he could be volatile, he advised Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein, ran for mayor of San Francisco and bought The San Francisco Examiner.

© Dan Krauss/Associated Press

Residents in Ladera Ranch in Orange county voice concerns after six children diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma

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Concerns are growing in southern California over a cluster of “exceptionally rare” cancer cases that has sickened multiple children in a suburban community.

Families living in the Orange county neighborhood of Ladera Ranch, home to about 26,000 people, have reported that six children in the community were diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, Katrina Foley, the vice-chair of the county board of supervisors, said in a statement.

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© Photograph: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images

© Photograph: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images

© Photograph: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images

Journalists had reported on security concerns about US president flying on $400m Air Force One plane from Qatar

Donald Trump’s justice department has abandoned, for now, efforts to subpoena New York Times reporters over their coverage of security risks involving the president’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One replacement.

Sean Buckley, a top-ranking official in the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, announced the decision on Thursday afternoon about an hour into a proceeding where he was repeatedly grilled on the appropriateness of the subpoenas. Buckley was in court because the New York Times filed paperwork to fight these subpoenas.

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© Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

© Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

© Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

The new complex near the Virginia border signals that even as ICE has retreated from its plan to buy warehouses, the agency remains determined to increase its detention capacity.

© Cornell Watson for The New York Times

President’s remarks follow Houthi strikes on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and oil prices rising past $100 a barrel again

Donald Trump has said he is close to deciding whether to launch “a massive attack” against Iran, on a scale larger than strikes already witnessed during the months-long conflict with Tehran.

Speaking to the Axios news site, the US president said: “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.”

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© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

After Andrew and Tristan Tate, prominent leaders of the so-called manosphere, were arrested in Miami, many of their onetime allies on the American right pulled back support.

© Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images

Agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing info in MS Now report about vice-president’s helicopter trip

A Secret Service agent assigned to JD Vance’s protective detail is “the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security”, according to the Secret Service chief of communications.

The agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing information that appeared in an MS Now report about the vice-president’s planned Marine Corps helicopter trip with his son to a golf lesson, a source told CNN.

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© Photograph: Vincent Alban/Getty Images

© Photograph: Vincent Alban/Getty Images

© Photograph: Vincent Alban/Getty Images

The move was a rare pullback for the administration, which has used inquiries as leverage. Few schools resisted as Penn did after it was pressed for antisemitism complaints and a list of campus groups involved with Judaism.

© Hannah Beier for The New York Times

Vance Boelter receives two life terms after admitting politically motivated killings and shootings

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The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to killing a top Democratic lawmaker and her husband was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison on Thursday, a little over a year after the political attacks.

Vance Boelter, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in June to the six counts related to the killings of the former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the shootings of state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette.

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© Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

© Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

© Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

The Pentagon head proposed a 44% increase – to second world war levels – while ‘woke’ programs are gutted

• US politics live – latest updates

When the ‘“department of government efficiency” was raging unchecked through the federal government in February 2025, the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, ordered his subordinates to find cuts of 8% a year for the next five years, theoretically trimming a total of $340m from the Pentagon budget.

The disclosure briefly sent Palantir and defense stocks tanking – though soon the plan evaporated, as if it never existed.

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© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

New tariffs will replace 10% global duty and come after US supreme court declared many of the earlier levies illegal

Donald Trump has imposed a fresh round of tariffs on more than 80 countries to replace a 10% global duty that was due to expire, provoking a wave of criticism and protests from US allies and major trading partners.

In the latest attempt to instate aggressive trade policies despite challenges from the US supreme court, the president has imposed tariffs of between 10% or 12.5% on dozens of countries, including the UK, Mexico, Canada, Australia, India, China and the 27 countries that make up the European Union. It in effect replaces the blanket 10% tariff that Trump imposed in February, right after the supreme court declared many of his earlier tariffs were illegal.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Secret Service said that a member of Vice President JD Vance’s team was accused of “compromising operational and information security.”

© Pool photo by Nathan Howard

No injuries or deaths were reported from early-morning temblor whose epicenter was 68 miles from Amarillo

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A 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Texas panhandle, the state’s northernmost region, on Thursday, marking the strongest quake to hit the area since 1900.

The earthquake struck at around 5.21am at a depth of 3.5 miles (5.7km), according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Its epicenter was about 27.8 miles south-east of the city of Spearman and approximately 68 miles from Amarillo.

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© Photograph: Austin Lamar Allison

© Photograph: Austin Lamar Allison

© Photograph: Austin Lamar Allison

Forecasters warn of US coastal flooding, heavy rain and dangerous surf as the storm tracks west

Tropical Storm Bertha made landfall in Louisiana on Wednesday afternoon, and is moving westward toward the Texas coast, where it is expected to reach later on Thursday, bringing rainfall, winds and rising water levels.

In a Thursday morning update, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Bertha was moving west and that the center of the tropical storm was expected to move near or along the Louisiana and upper Texas coasts over the next several hours before moving inland over Texas on Thursday evening.

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© Photograph: David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/AP

© Photograph: David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/AP

© Photograph: David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate/AP

A pair of decisions reshaped the structure of the federal government.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

In interview, billionaire says instead of running ‘Doge’ he should’ve ‘worked on my companies’ and shares extreme predictions

Elon Musk has admitted he became too consumed by politics during his volatile alliance with Donald Trump and his brief appointment as the president’s financial axman, running the so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge).

The world’s richest person, and briefly its first trillionaire after his SpaceX company floated on the New York stock exchange in June, made the confession in a wide-ranging interview with the Economist published on Thursday. He shared his positions on subjects from foreign wars to AI, and made a number of eye-opening predictions for the future.

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© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Israeli officials embraced the possibility of normalized ties, but analysts said the U.S.-Saudi nuclear deal nonetheless remained bad for Israel.

© Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times

Torrential rains in West Virginia have caused flash flooding that inundated homes and businesses. Authorities say the floods washed out bridges and led to numerous water rescues in portions of the state. Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia's governor, declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties on Tuesday night. No deaths were immediately reported. Morrisey sent 100 national guard members to the hardest-hit areas in the northern portion of the state with an additional 200 members expected to arrive by late Wednesday morning. The rains were part of wide-ranging storms that produced reports of tornadoes in several states

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© Photograph: Office of West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey/AP

© Photograph: Office of West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey/AP

© Photograph: Office of West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey/AP

For the second time, a few House Republicans joined Democrats to back a measure calling on the president to seek authorization for the war.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Resolution, which follows similar one in June, is largely symbolic, as Democrats have few levers to force compliance

• US politics live – latest updates

The US House of Representatives for the second time passed a war powers resolution directing Donald Trump to withdraw the US military from the conflict with Iran, amid renewed fighting that has driven oil prices to their highest levels in weeks and claimed four American lives.

The resolution proposed by Democrat Pramila Jayapal passed by a 214-208 vote, largely along party lines. The same four Republicans who had helped pass a nearly identical resolution in June – Tom Barrett of Michigan, Warren Davidson of Ohio, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania – joined with all Democrats in attendance to vote in favor.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

State’s governor had declared a state of emergency for all 55 counties, and deployed 500 national guard members

Patrick Morrisey, the West Virginia governor, said at least two people were unaccounted for in Upshur county, after torrential rain caused flash floods in parts of the state.

Speaking at a news conference, Morrisey said that during search-and-recovery operations state police found an overturned vehicle in Upshur county believed to be “connected to two individuals who were reported missing”.

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© Photograph: Evan Bacorn/AP

© Photograph: Evan Bacorn/AP

© Photograph: Evan Bacorn/AP

We are now a nation of homogenized open concepts and curb appeal. It’s an approach that leads to anxiety and isolation

Recently, Jonathan Swan – one of the authors of a new tell-all about Donald Trump’s second term – told the hosts of The View that if you had a pie chart of Trump’s mind, “a pretty substantial slice is devoted to interior decorating”. He also revealed that Trump is engaged in “design wars” with Melania and moved furniture she had selected into his spaces. The commander-in-chief apparently has even been caught supergluing gilded accents to the Oval Office mantel himself. Though Trump claims taxpayers won’t be on the hook for the costs of his renovations, the New York Times reported that the White House’s 18 major remodeling projects – from the botched Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool to the paved-over Rose Garden to the looming “Arc de Trump” – will probably come with a price tag of $1.2bn.

Of course, Trump’s renovation compulsion didn’t start this year. The president celebrated winning his first term, in 2017, by ripping out the Oval Office’s royal blue carpet with the presidential seal and replacing it with a Mar-a-Lago peach version, accented with – what else? – gold. But in his second term, he’s gotten bolder, both politically and aesthetically – and more addicted. By the autumn of his first year back in office, he went ahead and tore down the East Wing entirely.

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© Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Andrew Leyden/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Committee accused of trying to ‘weaponize’ justice system via ‘laughably weak and vindictive criminal referral’

Democrats have accused the US House of Representatives judiciary committee of a “baseless” and “vindictive” attack on former special prosecutor Jack Smith after it referred him for criminal prosecution for allegedly lying to Congress over his investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The committee chair, Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, wrote to the acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, on Wednesday night, asserting Smith “made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact” during testimony about obtaining phone records of a number of Republican lawmakers.

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© Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock

The president’s new condition could create a roadblock to the agreement his administration announced this week.

© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Concern over US effort to prosecute Sam Tunick, accused by authorities of wiping his phone using GrapheneOS

The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute an Atlanta resident in connection with the movement against the police training center known as Cop City because he had GrapheneOS on his phone, an open-source operating system that enables users to enter a passcode and wipe a phone clean.

The case, which had its first hearing on Monday, centers on a little-known US federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized.

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© Photograph: Cheney Orr/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Cheney Orr/AFP via Getty Images

© Photograph: Cheney Orr/AFP via Getty Images

The city’s police chief, acknowledging community tensions, pledged full cooperation with state investigators. At a vigil for the man, Corey Ruiz, a witness described the moments before the shooting.

© Kayla Wolf/Associated Press

Staley is latest high-profile figure to testify before House amid investigation into Epstein, convicted sex offender

Former Barclays boss Jes Staley appeared before by US lawmakers on Thursday in a closed-door interview about his past ties to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Staley, who spent more than three decades at JPMorgan Chase before joining Barclays in 2015, is the latest in a series of high-profile figures to appear in front of the House committee on oversight and reform as part of its investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial over child sex-trafficking charges.

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© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Conflict continues across the region as White House announces nuclear technology agreement. Plus, the artist who flattened a Tesla with a tank

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Good morning. The US has signed a landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium in the future. The deal will be submitted to Congress for review, where it could face opposition among lawmakers who fear a lack of monitoring safeguards.

In lengthy talks stretching over more than one administration, the US has feared that Riyadh would look elsewhere for nuclear technology if the US did not provide what it wanted. Saudi Arabia has long said that if it does not partner with the US, it could do so with China or Russia, which have different proliferation standards.

Why is a uranium deal with Saudi Arabia controversial? The full details of the deal have yet to be released, but it comes as the US’s war with Iran is being fought in part to prevent Tehran enriching uranium domestically and make it near impossible for Iran to build a nuclear weapon. Saudi Arabia has in the past said it would need a nuclear weapon if Iran acquired one. Kenneth Roth has analysed why Trump would agree it right now.

What are the latest developments in the war? The US military launched its 12th successive night of strikes, which have now widened to western and central Iran. In attacks lasting five hours, the US claims to have struck military targets including maritime capabilities, missile and ⁠drone storage facilities, coastal surveillance sites and air defense assets. Yemen’s ⁠Houthi militia also attacked two ​Saudi Arabian oil tankers, the Iran-aligned group said on Thursday, with a Saudi news agency later confirming one of the vessels was ablaze in the Red Sea.

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© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Woolsey died of a stroke at Washington home after facing ‘Havana syndrome’ reported by some government officials

R James Woolsey, a national security expert who led the CIA for two turbulent years after his appointment by Bill Clinton, has died. He was 84.

Woolsey, who became CIA director in early 1993, died on Tuesday at his home in Washington, according to several newspapers. Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, his wife, told the newspapers that he died from a stroke.

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© Photograph: Javier Rojas/Prensa Internacional/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Javier Rojas/Prensa Internacional/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Javier Rojas/Prensa Internacional/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

The justice’s opinions have offered the president workarounds to enact his agenda despite clashes with the court

Of the conservative justices on the supreme court, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have in the current session voted most consistently, at 89 and 88%, to support Donald Trump in his cases, according to the Wall Street Journal. Yet perhaps the most influential justice to advance key parts of Trump’s radical agenda has a slightly lower rating at 76%, and performed not so much by billowing lofty abstractions of originalism and textualism, but instead by contriving an assortment of glib schemes at justification.

Mayhem in the city streets, violence, even killings, renewed rounds of Trump’s threats and shakedowns around the world through damaging tariffs, and chaos within the Congress around birthright citizenship, all of which helped fracture the divided Republican leadership on the eve of the midterm elections, have followed the opinions issued by Brett Kavanaugh. By the end of this session, he has clearly emerged as the chief enabler to operationalize Trump’s most salient political issues.

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© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images