Five exchange-traded funds have been launched by Trump Media, owner of the president’s social media platform Truth Social
The word “Truth” was plastered all around the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning. At 9.30am, when the market opened, a small crowd stood on the balcony above the trading floor to ring in the day.
The group was celebrating the launch of five exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that are tied to Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform that has spun into a menagerie of products over the last few years.
Finance minister says Netanyahu should back annexation and settlement, and attacks Turkey and Qatar’s role on Gaza ‘executive board’
Far-right members of Israel’s governing coalition on Sunday rejected a US-backed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, criticising their prime minster, Benjamin Netanyahu, for failing to annex the Palestinian territory and establish new Israeli settlements in the territory.
After the announcement of the White House’s pick of world leaders who will join the so-called Gaza “board of peace”, which includes Turkey and Qatar, both of which have been critical of Israel’s war in the Strip, Israeli far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, described ‘‘Netanyahu’s unwillingness to take responsibility for Gaza’’ as ‘‘the original sin’’.
Senior European diplomats are due to hold crisis talks after Donald Trump said he was targeting eight European nations with tariffs over their support for Greenland.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, said Trump’s tariffs were a mistake, and the Dutch foreign minister, David van Weel, described the US president’s threats to allies as “blackmail”, as reaction from European leaders continued to pile up.
Demonstrations against the Iraq war proved protest works. Now we must halt destruction before it more powerfully starts
In spring 2004, Gen Anthony Zinni uttered about Iraq the dreaded words in US politics: “I spent two years in Vietnam, and I’ve seen this movie before.” A year after George W Bush’s declaration of “mission accomplished” – when the war had hit its peak popularity at 74% – the invasion had descended into quagmire, marked by a raging insurgency, the Abu Ghraib torture scandal and US casualties nearing 1,000. For the first time, a majority of Americans judged the war a “mistake”. In this, they echoed what millions of Americans, predicting fiasco, had been saying since before its start.
By the summer of 2005, with Iraq exploding in civil war, public support further eroded. Vietnam comparisons abounded. Running against the war, Democrats had blowout wins in the 2006 midterms. The new Congress empaneled the bipartisan Iraq study group, which concluded that the war had to end. Its fate was sealed by the election of Barack Obama, who made good on his pledge to withdraw US troops (though US forces later returned to take on the Islamic State).
Jeremy Varon is the author of Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War: The Movement to Stop the War on Terror (University of Chicago Press, 2025)
Lila Dominguez was working on an article as agents came on to school grounds – their presence has jolted Minneapolis’s young people
When immigration enforcement agents came on to her Minneapolishigh school’s grounds on 7 January, Lila Dominguez was in the school’s basement working on an article about an ICE agent shooting Renee Good earlier that day.
The high school junior was glued to her phone watching videos from outside the school.
Multiple survivors claim Epstein dangled admission to top universities to ensnare them in his sexual abuse network
A New York City artist who said Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell shopped her around to men is among the survivors claiming that Epstein used the lure of a university education to ensnare her in their sexual abuse network.
Rina Oh was a 21-year-old art student when she was introduced to Epstein in 2000 by Lisa Phillips, a model and Epstein survivor who has since emerged as a powerful voice in the survivors’ network pressuring for full accountability in the long-running money, sex and power scandal.
As survivors face pressure to sell their land in Altadena, a historic Black community, experts say we’re witnessing ‘climate gentrification’
Ellen Williams’ left hand played with her long dark hair as her right hand guided the steering wheel, her phone resting face-down in her lap. Born and raised in Altadena, an unincorporated area in Los Angeles county, she didn’t need to look at a map as she drove to where her home of 22 years burned down.
We passed empty lots with gaping holes where foundations once stood. The banging of hammers rang through the neighborhood and wood frames rose from the dirt, the smell of fresh lumber in the air.Perched on street corners were signs declaring: “Altadena is not for sale.”
Mid-level and senior officials uncomfortable with award
Fifa says it still ‘strongly’ supports the peace prize
There is a growing sense of embarrassment among mid-level and senior officials within Fifa over the awarding of its peace prize to Donald Trump. The US president was handed the award at the World Cup draw in Washington DC in December with the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, telling Trump: “We want to see hope, we want to see unity, we want to see a future. This is what we want to see from a leader and you definitely deserve the first Fifa Peace Prize.”
Elissa Slotkin, under investigation over Pentagon video, says president using ‘well-worn playbook’ to silence debate
Donald Trump is borrowing a strategy from authoritarian regimes to intimidate potential critics and discourage them from speaking out, according to a senator under investigation by his administration.
Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, faces questioning after she organised and appeared in a video with other Democrats imploring military service members to refuse “illegal orders”. Fellow senator Mark Kelly and three Democrats from the House of Representatives are also being investigated.
Korey LaVergne, 37, jailed Friday evening on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to officials
Authorities in south-west Louisiana recently arrested a Roman Catholic priest on accusations of behaving indecently with a child, igniting a new scandal in the diocese where the US church’s reckoning with clergy abuse began – an institution that just disclosed it could lose up to $162m over pending litigation.
Korey LaVergne was jailed Friday evening on three counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to Acadia parish sheriff KP Gibson, whose agency arrested the priest. LaVergne had presided over mass at St Edward church in Richard – where the Lafayette diocese had assigned him as pastor – hours before he was booked into the Acadia lockup.
Vice-president has emerged as key defender of Maga flame – and is backed by big tech billions. Is this the heir apparent?
“We did not have a lot of money,” said JD Vance, placing hand on heart as he recalled his childhood in Middletown, Ohio in the 1990s. “I was raised by a woman who struggled often to put food on the table and clothes on her back.”
There was an earnest cry from the audience. “Mamaw!” shouted a man.
First journey around moon with astronauts in more than 50 years could blast off in February
Nasa’s giant new moon rocket has moved to the launchpad in preparation for astronauts’ first lunar fly-around in more than half a century. The trip could blast off in February.
The 98-metre (322ft) rocket began its 1mph (1.6km/h) creep from Kennedy Space Center’s vehicle assembly building at daybreak. The trek of 4 miles took until nightfall.
Independent media, civil society, the rule of law – these are the things that Iranians truly need. And there are ways for the west to help secure them
Soon after becoming president in 2017, Donald Trump ordered an attack on an Islamic State (IS) underground complex in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. The strike involved the first-ever use in combat of a GBU-43 massive ordnance air blast (Moab) “bunker buster” bomb – the US’s most powerful conventional weapon. The bombing killed about 90 insurgents but failed to crush IS. It also made zero long-term difference to the US’s losing battle with the Taliban.
Yet that was not the point. Inexperienced Trump, who had famously avoided military service, was keen to show he was in charge, a commander-in-chief unafraid to make tough calls and send troops into harm’s way. He craved a big bang – a spectacular demonstration of unmatched US power. Like a teenager who unexpectedly obtains the keys to the family gun cabinet, he could not resist the temptation to play with all those shiny new Pentagon weapons.
Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator
Donald Trump will lead the largest US delegation ever at the World Economic Forum, as others plan a fightback against his policies including his latest tariff threats
“A Spirit of Dialogue”: the theme for this year’s World Economic Forum, the gathering of the global elite in the sparkling Alpine air of Davos, seems a heroic stretch, when star guest Donald Trump has spent the past year smashing up the world order.
The president will touch down alongside the snowcapped Swiss mountains with the largest US delegation ever seen at the WEF, including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and the special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Many believed a US president would – for the first time – rescue them but now people can only despair after mass arrests and brutality
When Donald Trump, said he would “rescue” protesters if Iranian authorities started shooting, Siavash Shirzad believed the US president.
The 38-year-old father had seen protests rise up before, only to be brutally crushed by authorities.
But this was the first time in his life that the president of the United States had promised to help demonstrators. Reassured, Shirzad took to the streets, ignoring his family’s warnings and joining the growing crowds.
Prime minister and opposition politicians condemn threat to impose 10% tariff unless deal reached to buy the Arctic island
Keir Starmer has said Donald Trump’s decision to impose 10% tariffs on the UK and seven other European countries over Greenland was “completely wrong”.
The US president said on Saturday that the levies would apply from 1 February to Nato members – including the UK, France and Germany – who have deployed troops to the territory in response to growing uncertainty over its future.
Former US Olympic champions set to join delegation
US vice-president JD Vance will head the American presidential delegation to the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the White House confirmed Saturday.
Vance is scheduled to attend the ceremony on 6 February, when the Milan-Cortina Games officially get underway. He will be accompanied by second lady Usha Vance, secretary of state Marco Rubio and US ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta.
The two biggest voting blocs in the European parliament, the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Socialists & Democrats (S&Ds), said on Saturday night the deal with the EU cannot be approved in the present circumstances.
Heads of state across Europe respond in solidarity with Denmark and Greenland, and boycott of World Cup suggested
Donald Trump threatened a 25% tariff on a slew of European countries including Denmark, Germany, France and the UK – until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland, in an extraordinary escalation of the president’s bid to claim the autonomous Danish territory.
In a lengthy post on Saturday on Truth Social, Trump said he would impose a 10% tariff on Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland beginning 1 February, “on any and all goods sent to the United States of America”.
US health department’s new food pyramid places red meat and cheese high in saturated fats over plant-based proteins
The new food pyramid rolled out in US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) places animal-based proteins, including cheese and red meats high in saturated fats, above plant-based proteins, which has raised alarm bells among health and environmental experts.
This rejiggered food pyramid is in line with Kennedy’s previous signals that he will recommend increasing saturated fat in US diets as part of the “Make America healthy again” movement.
Congressional Republicans criticize ‘absurd’ idea as polls show most Americans oppose taking control of territory
Donald Trump’s renewed interest in taking control of Greenland has become a subject of pointed dissent among congressional Republicans, with several allies speaking out in recent days against the idea after the president reintensified his interest following the US raid that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Congressional Republicans are typically loath to disagree openly with the president, who has repeatedly called for his party’s dissenters to be voted out of office. But amid polling that shows an overwhelming majority of Americans oppose taking control of the island and warnings from Denmark that an invasion would spell the end of Nato, some congressional Republicans have issued forceful warnings against pursuing the issue.
Warner Bros is also being pursued by Paramount Skydance, helmed by David Ellison, son of president’s ally
Donald Trump bought at least $1m worth of bonds in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), according to a financial disclosure form, days after he said would “be involved” in a proposed merger between the two companies.
The White House released a financial disclosure report on Friday which showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two purchases from WBD, each amounting to at least $502,000.
Philadelphia sheriff Rochelle Bilal’s words have become a rallying cry against Trump’s immigration crackdown
“You don’t want this smoke,” Rochelle Bilal, Philadelphia’s sheriff, warned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an 8 January press conference. Her words have since become a rallying cry for resistance to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. At the conference with Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s district attorney, and city council members, Bilal spoke out against the 7 January fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. “We stand here today with all those who stand against the made-up, fake, what you can call ICE, professional law enforcement,” she said at the conference. “I don’t call them none of that. I call them made-up, fake, wannabe law enforcement. Because what they do is against not only legal law, but the moral law.”
Bilal is part of a growing body of elected officials who are speaking out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and ICE’s alleged misconduct and aggressive enforcement tactics. As the first Black female sheriff of Philadelphia elected in 2019, Bilal has faced perhaps the most vitriol from opponents who have targeted her for her race and gender. “Race played a big [role in the] response,” Bilal told the Guardian in a conference room on her Philadelphia office floor. “The negative, nasty messages that are being received is ridiculous.” Since the video of her speech went viral, Bilal told the Guardian that death threats that she’s received have required her to increase her security detail. In a Facebook post, ICE also said that she should resign.
Donald Trump has comprehensively failed to meet a key election promise to slash Americans’ energy bills in half within the first year of his presidency, with power prices instead surging across the US.
The average household electricity bill in the US was 6.7% more expensive in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to a Guardian analysis of data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Department of Energy’s statistical arm. The increases meant that, on average, US households paid nearly $116 more across 2025 than they did in 2024.
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