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Trump administration threatens to demolish Kennedy Center if $250m renovation not done

US president’s lawyers in court filing say Washington arts complex must undergo repairs or risk demolition

The John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts could be demolished if repairs are not carried out, the Trump administration warned in a court filing on Monday.

Lawyers for the US president said the national arts complex in Washington DC must undergo a $250m renovation or risk facing the wrecking ball.

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© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

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Trump faces backlash from Republicans over plan to lift tariffs on beef imports

Alarm as Republicans warn that ‘flooding’ stores with 300,000 metric tons of beef imports will hit US farmers

Donald Trump is facing growing criticism from within his own party over his decision to temporarily pause US tariffs on foreign beef in a bid to bring down grocery prices.

The president’s announcement that the US will import up to 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef without charging higher tariffs has alarmed some senior Republicans, who warn that “flooding” stores with imports will hit US ranchers. This comes as the US faces a 75-year low in cattle inventory.

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© Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images

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Trump-backed Ken Paxton unveils ‘Texas first’ datacenter plan aimed at ‘negative impact’

The Republican Senate candidate announced the plan with a graphic flagged as ‘Made with AI’

Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has unveiled plans to tackle the “negative impact” of datacenters amid a growing backlash across the political spectrum.

Paxton, endorsed by Donald Trump but facing a close contest against Democrat James Talarico, posted a “Texas first” datacenter plan on X with a graphic that the social media network flagged as “Made with AI”.

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© Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Bob Daemmrich/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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US supreme court rules Trump can proceed with crackdown on mail-in voting

Justices’ ruling comes after lower courts had blocked president’s election order ahead of November midterms

The US supreme court sided with Donald Trump on Monday in his effort to crack down on mail-in voting, though it remains unclear if his administration can take action ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Justices on the court voted 6-3 along ideological lines to lift an injunction from June that a judge in Massachusetts placed on an executive order issued by the president. But a second injunction remains in place and the ruling leaves room for legal challenges.

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© Composite: REX/Shutterstock/Getty Images

© Composite: REX/Shutterstock/Getty Images

© Composite: REX/Shutterstock/Getty Images

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US immigration officers reassigned to screen South African refugees and find ‘unlawful’ voters

Exclusive: internal correspondence reveals USCIS anti-fraud officers shifted on to two ‘high-priority’ initiatives

All US immigration officers working for a key anti-fraud unit have been reassigned by the Trump administration to focus on screening South African refugees and alleged “unlawful” voters.

Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) immigration officers have been shifted full-time on to two “high-priority” initiatives, according to internal correspondence seen by the Guardian, leaving US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unable to provide officers to train asylum officers in “the near future”.

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© Photograph: Kayla Wolf/AP

© Photograph: Kayla Wolf/AP

© Photograph: Kayla Wolf/AP

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Start your engines! Trump completes fast and furious takeover of Washington with IndyCar race

US president, pushing on with Freedom 250 festivities, makes over nation’s capital for Trump rally on wheels

He got the wrong end of the stick. Donald Trump couldn’t figure out how to hold the green flag until his wife, Melania Trump, and Command Sgt Maj Matt Williams set him right. Then the US president waved the flag fast and furious like an excited schoolboy. The race was under way – and his conquest of Washington DC was complete.

Since returning to Washington, Trump has deployed the national guard, wrecked the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, demolished the East Wing of the White House and run the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts into the ground. His face adorns the Department of Justice, and he still has grand plans for a triumphal arch worthy of a Roman emperor.

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© Photograph: Doug Mills/Reuters

© Photograph: Doug Mills/Reuters

© Photograph: Doug Mills/Reuters

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Persuasion, denial and bluster: Trump ‘stuck’ on Iran war ahead of elections

As the president tries to extract the US from his Iran war quagmire, leadership in Tehran is only too happy to crush his midterm dreams

In the aftermath of his devastating election defeat, the US president remained haunted by regrets over Iran.

Months before Jimmy Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Ronald Reagan, eight US servicemen died in a botched high-risk rescue mission that failed to secure the freedom of dozens of US hostages seized in Tehran.

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© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

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