Trump Administration Sends Saudi Nuclear Deal to Congress for Review

© Alex Brandon/Associated Press


© Alex Brandon/Associated Press


© Vahid Salemi/Associated Press


© Alex Kent/The New York Times

US president has been obsessed with restricting the ability to vote by mail, despite using it himself. Plus, why we are still fascinated with Meg from the White Stripes
Good morning. The US supreme court has sided with Donald Trump in his effort to crack down on mail-in voting, though it is unclear whether or not his administration will be able to take action before the midterm elections in November. The court’s justices voted 6-3 along ideological lines to lift an injunction that a judge in Massachusetts had placed in June on an executive order issued by the president. But a second injunction remains in place, and the ruling leaves room for legal challenges.
Trump has repeatedly likened voting by mail to cheating, despite his own use of it and overwhelming evidence that the system is secure. In March he ordered the government to create a “state citizenship list” of eligible voters, requiring that mail-in ballots only be delivered to people on that list. He also directed the justice department to prioritise investigations and prosecutions of state and local election officials who issue ballots to people deemed ineligible to vote in federal elections.
What did the dissenting judges say? In a blistering dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the decision “needlessly injects chaos and uncertainty into the upcoming midterm elections”.
How have rights organisations reacted? The president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Derrick Johnson, said: “Let this ruling be a reminder that democracy is never, ever guaranteed. We have to fight for it, we have to fight to keep it and we have to protect the rights we do have within it … they are trying to do everything they possibly can to make it difficult for you to vote.”
How has Canada reacted? The country’s prime minister, Mark Carney, told reporters that Trump’s announcement was largely expected. “It’s not a surprise for us that the US would take some form of reprisal to our response to their unjustified tariff,” he said. Carney has vowed to match the American tariffs “dollar for dollar”, and said Canada could not accept any proposed trade deal that would weaken French language protections.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images


© Alana Paterson for The New York Times


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times


© Alana Paterson for The New York Times


Scott Bessent, ministre américain des finances, a déclaré que Washington avait l’intention de «couper toutes les ressources économiques» du régime iranien.
Les nouvelles sanctions américaines visent cinq secteurs:
Bessent a affirmé que tous les pays qui ne participeraient pas aux sanctions américaines seraient aussi isolés que l’Iran.
Le gouvernement américain menace d’expulser les pays récalcitrants du système financier lié au dollar américain.
[L'article Les États-Unis imposent de nouvelles sanctions à l’Iran a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]


© Doug Mills/The New York Times


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times


© Katherine Delgado, via Associated Press


© Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters


© Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

This live blog is now closed.
Donald Trump has threatened to increase tariffs on Canadian cars, trucks, auto parts and steel to 50% today, after trade negotiations between Washington and Ottowa broke down last week.
On Truth Social, the president blasted Canada, and said the new duties will go into effect on 1 January 2027.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images


© Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images


© Kenny Holston/The New York Times


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

Investors will hope Kevin Warsh offers ‘comfort blanket’ at annual meeting of central banks amid bond market anxiety
The new US Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, faces a critical test this week amid anxiety in government bond markets over inflation and Donald Trump’s tax and spending plans.
As the world’s most powerful central bank prepares for its annual Jackson Hole conference, analysts said bond traders would be looking for signals from Warsh over its commitment to fighting inflation.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters


© Mohammed Salem/Reuters

Abbas Araghchi says country is unbowed but president Masoud Pezeshkian admits its people face ‘many problems’
Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed the threat of a fresh round of US economic sanctions as a “desperate” ploy, even as its president acknowledged that the Iranian people are facing “many problems” amid Washington’s efforts to isolate and debilitate the country’s economy.
Last week, Donald Trump announced a new campaign to increase the pressure on the Iranian economy, calling it “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country”. The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, is expected to announce further punitive economic measures on Iran – which he has described as “the toughest sanctions in history” – on Monday.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

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.
Continue reading...
© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

President at rally in South Carolina makes comments on key strategic waterway and jokes about bombing Iran
Donald Trump called the strait of Hormuz “an American territory” on Friday, as the US continues its military blockade of Iran’s shipping and ports while Trump’s administration struggles to end its war with the country.
“We don’t even know if we won, because I view the strait of Hormuz as an American territory right now,” Trump said, addressing a crowd in South Carolina. He was campaigning for senator Darline Graham, who is running to permanently fill her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

© Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

© Photograph: Jacquelyn Martin/AP


© Go Nakamura/Reuters


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times


© Abdirahman Hussein/Reuters


© Kenny Holston/The New York Times

State sought to stop system off coast of Santa Barbara from resuming operations after Trump ordered its reopening
An oil pipeline can continue to operate off the California coast after a judge gave it the green light this week, despite the opposition of state regulators and environmental groups.
The system off the coast of Santa Barbara resumed operations earlier this year for the first time in more than a decade after Donald Trump ordered Sable Offshore Corporation to reopen it, citing US energy needs during the war in Iran.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

USS George Washington will replace warship families say suffers from shortages, plumbing problems and low morale
The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, where it is expected to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from its record deployment amid concerns about poor living conditions and morale.
US Central Command announced on Thursday that the Washington arrived in the area on Wednesday, and posted an image of sailors working on the flight deck as the ship transited the Arabian Sea. No date has yet been announced for the Lincoln to return to the US.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: US Navy/Reuters

© Photograph: US Navy/Reuters

© Photograph: US Navy/Reuters


© K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune, via Associated Press


© Joyce Zhou/Reuters

Despite previously comparing him to a ‘mobster’, Trump’s former personal lawyer showers him with praise. This blog is now closed.
An FBI team seized electronic devices from former US representative Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport on Saturday, then raided his home in Washington, DC, the next day, CNN reported Thursday.
The raid is part of a federal investigation into the sexual assault allegations which ultimately drove the Bay Area Democrat to resign from office in April, sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department subsequently opened criminal investigations on Swalwell.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

© Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

© Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

On one side, you face the domination of the Islamic Republic; on the other, the imperialist forces that republic claims to stand against
August marks the anniversary of the 1988 mass executions in Iran, a horror that echoes in the country’s current surge in death sentences. It also marks the 19 August anniversary of the UK- and US-orchestrated coup against the prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953. Amid the current, indiscriminate waves of US-Israeli military assaults against Iran, this letter of solidarity denounces the repression of the Iranian people and their political prisoners by forces both at home and abroad.
***
Continue reading...
© Illustration: Guardian Design/Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design/Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design/Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty Images


© Al Drago for The New York Times


© Raghed Waked/Reuters

Interest rates, now sitting at about 3.5-3.7%, expected to go up if inflation doesn’t come down to Fed’s 2% target
The US treasury is doubling its buyback of government debt in an effort to balance out the bond market as officials at the US Federal Reserve remain divided over how to deal with high inflation.
The yield rate on 10-year, 20-year and 30-year treasury notes all hit 20-year highs this week, with the 30-year treasury yield rising to its highest rate since 2007. The rapid rise was concerning news for borrowers as major loans, including mortgages, are backed by treasuries.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Daniel Heuer/Reuters

© Photograph: Daniel Heuer/Reuters

© Photograph: Daniel Heuer/Reuters


© Agence France-Presse — Getty Images


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times


© Doug Mills/The New York Times

Brent crude rises above $90 a barrel for the first time since 30 July after US president tells Tehran to surrender
Oil prices have risen again after the two-month window to negotiate a peace deal in the US-Israel war on Iran expired on Monday with no end to the conflict in sight.
Iran said on Monday that it would take a more aggressive stance if talks with the US failed, while Donald Trump demanded Tehran “put up the white flag of surrender” in an interview with Fox News.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

© Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

© Photograph: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images


© Erin Schaff/The New York Times

USS Benfold lost power after ‘engineering casualty’ leaving sailors without galley services, toilets and air conditioning
A US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July, furthering concerns about strain being placed on deployed military members.
The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer which had been sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to the US Naval Institute News, an independent military publication.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Seaman Apprentice Andrew Novak/US Navy

© Photograph: Seaman Apprentice Andrew Novak/US Navy

© Photograph: Seaman Apprentice Andrew Novak/US Navy

Energy prices have been high since the US-Israel war with Iran began and the strait of Hormuz was blocked
US gas prices this month are so far the highest ever recorded for August as peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled and Donald Trump launched fresh threats against Oman.
The national average price of gas was $4.06 per gallon on Monday, according to data from AAA, $0.05 higher than last week and $1 more expensive than a year ago. In California and Hawaii, averages hit about $5.50 a gallon.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images


© Al Drago for The New York Times

The president was forced to hide in a catering truck amid the Iran war, in an encapsulation of the conflict’s failures
For decades, Donald Trump cultivated a public image based on strength and dominance. He was a brash New York real estate mogul; a reality TV star who deployed his signature phrase: “You’re fired!” to eliminate contestants from The Apprentice; and eventually US president and undisputed leader of the Republican party.
In recent months, Trump has taken his boastfulness to an extreme, reportedly telling confidants that he’s “the most powerful person to ever live” and comparing himself with some of history’s most feared leaders, including Genghis Khan, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and Mao.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: Luis M Alvarez/AP

© Photograph: Luis M Alvarez/AP

© Photograph: Luis M Alvarez/AP


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times


© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times


© Zachary Pearson/U.S. Navy, via Getty Images

Senator Ruben Gallego calls carrier’s months-long deployment a ‘deep problem’ as wellbeing concerns mount
Democrats on Sunday intensified their demands for answers from the Trump administration over conditions onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as the aircraft carrier’s nearly nine-month deployment continued fueling concern over crew morale, mental health and living conditions.
Ruben Gallego, a Democratic senator from Arizona, said on Sunday that problems onboard the Lincoln had kept mounting – and he blamed the carrier’s prolonged deployment on the unresolved war that Donald Trump started in February with Iran as well as lackluster leadership in general from the Republican president’s administration.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: US Central Command Public Affairs/US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: US Central Command Public Affairs/US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: US Central Command Public Affairs/US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images

One US sailor’s mother asks: ‘My son signed up to serve his country. But why isn’t his country serving him?’
Naval families with loved ones deployed for months on US warships amid the Iran war have reacted with fury to Donald Trump and the defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s dismissal of their concerns about the extreme pressures and dire conditions they are enduring.
The Guardian has talked to three naval families who have been following the physical and mental stresses bearing down on their relatives with mounting alarm. The families, with loved ones on board the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Tripoli, all spoke anonymously for fear of retribution against their active duty relatives.
Continue reading...
© Photograph: US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: US NAVY/AFP/Getty Images