The Guardian · CaliforniaThere is little sign of clarity in the closing stretch of a campaign season for governor, Congress and LA mayor
Californians are frustrated and underwhelmed heading into Tuesday’s primary election, where voters will eliminate all but two candidates in the volatile race for governor, the messy battle for Los Angeles mayor and a series of congressional contests that could determine control of the US House in November.
With days left before the 2 June primary, there is little sign of the clarity that typically emerges in the closing stretch of a contested California campaign season. The race to succeed term-limited Democratic governor Gavin Newsom appears to have settled into a tight three-way contest among Democrats Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer and Republican Steve Hilton, while voters in Los Angeles remain divided over whether to stand by embattled mayor Karen Bass or entertain a challenger.
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Lauren Gambino in Los Angeles · Sat, May 30, 2026, 7:00 AM
The Guardian · CaliforniaAs long as you remain angry at the city, you can ignore the candidate’s lack of experience or inability to articulate actual policy
I vote by mail in every election these days, as is my right as a mostly lazy natural-born American citizen. Fill in a few bubbles with black ink, chuck the thing into the nearest dropbox, and consider myself a functioning member of society for a brief moment. Now that my son is old enough to ask me coherent questions about my daily life, he was highly interested in what the hell I was doing as I marked the form. “I’m voting,” I said tersely, lest I divert my attention fully from the bubble-filling. “Don’t vote for Spencer Pratt, daddy,” he responded. “I hear he’s a jerk.” The word seems to be spreading.
Every local TV station and streaming app is turgid and bloated with political ads these days. My son might be old enough to ask me who I’m voting for, but he’s not old enough to understand why. That doesn’t stop campaigns from serving him countless commercials pleading with him to consider (or reconsider) a certain candidate. He’s now nominally aware of allegations of sexual misconduct against LA city controller Kenneth Mejia (which Mejia has denied) and the Orange County congressman Ken Calvert’s run-in with a sex worker. What a joy it is to be a parent in 2026.
Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist
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Dave Schilling · Sat, May 30, 2026, 7:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsPlane landed in Wisconsin and ‘unruly passenger’ was taken into custody before flight continued to Minnesota
A United Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis from Chicago was reportedly diverted after an “unruly passenger” tried to breach the cockpit late on Friday.
The FBI and police responded to reports of a security concern with the passenger, who was detained by police at the Dane county regional airport in Madison, Wisconsin.
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Edward Helmore · Sat, May 30, 2026, 6:36 AM
The Guardian · US newsPresident in ‘excellent’ health, despite ‘lower leg swelling’ and hand bruising after fourth hospital visit in second term
Donald Trump has been grappling with “lower leg swelling” as well as “benign” hand bruising but remains in excellent health, the US president’s physician said in a memo released by the White House.
Citing the results of a recent examination, the memo from Dr Sean Barbabella said Trump “remains in excellent health, demonstrating strong cardiac, pulmonary, neurological and overall physical function”.
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Guardian staff and agenices · Sat, May 30, 2026, 6:23 AM
The Guardian · US newsWith three top stadiums, Inglewood is remaking itself as a host of world-class events – and while some locals love the transformation, others feel left behind
Melisa Arnold’s morning walks around the neighborhood are orchestrated by the staccato beat of jackhammers and the roar of airplanes pointed to and from Los Angeles international airport. This is Inglewood, she says, and its soundscape.
After retiring from her human resources and payroll job last year, Arnold, 66, walks for miles around the city she has called home since 1985. Her route takes her past the sports and entertainment hub, which includes the remodeled Kia Forum and the new Intuit Dome. She walks by SoFi Stadium, which will soon host World Cup games. Next year, the Super Bowl is scheduled to return. And in 2028, Olympic events will arrive.
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Lynda Lin Grigsby in Inglewood with photographs by Aleksey Kondratyev · Sat, May 30, 2026, 6:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsEndangered snow leopard had leg amputated and capybara died at Mario Tabraue’s controversial roadside facility
An endangered clouded leopard had a leg amputated and a capybara died following botched breeding attempts at a controversial Miami roadside zoo owned by a convicted drug trafficker featured in the Netflix documentary Tiger King.
Federal wildlife inspectors found multiple other violations during a March inspection at Zoological Wildlife Foundation (ZWF), including dilapidated, insecure or unsafe housing conditions for wild animals, filthy cages, and water and food contaminated with algae and dead insects.
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Richard Luscombe in Miami · Sat, May 30, 2026, 6:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsThe virtually indestructible Pfas waste puts largely low-income neighborhoods at risk, public health advocates say
The nation’s garbage incinerators are largely failing to eliminate Pfas “forever chemicals” air pollution, and are putting people in largely low-income neighborhoods at risk, public health advocates and independent experts warn.
The powerful waste management industry is increasingly pushing incinerators as a solution to virtually indestructible Pfas waste, and a new industry trade group report alleges Minnesota’s incinerators are reducing their forever chemical emissions by 99.6%. Other incinerator operators have made similar reduction claims.
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Tom Perkins · Sat, May 30, 2026, 5:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsGuardian investigation shows how US presidency blurs line between policy and enrichment of American ruling family and those around it
On a graffitied Sarajevo backstreet, a path leads past an overgrown patch of garden to a white door. Beyond is the registered office of a company that is on the brink of winning contracts worth more than $1bn.
AAFS Infrastructure and Energy is close to securing a concession to build and operate a pipeline across the Balkans to allow fossil gas shipped from the US to replace supplies that come from Russia. “This could be the most important infrastructure project ever in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” says one of the country’s top officials, who, like others, asks to remain anonymous to discuss sensitive negotiations.
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Tom Burgis in Sarajevo · Sat, May 30, 2026, 5:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsExclusive: Ana María was happy working in the US with an open asylum case. But after ICE detained her for months, she said she requested to go back to her native country
Ana María had been happy living in the US. She had an asylum case going through the US immigration system and was working, becoming part of the community, living with her boyfriend and was grateful for safe harbor.
But after she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), she had such a horrendous experience that, in desperation, she agreed to be deported back to her native country in South America, back to danger and thousands of miles away from the life she had been building.
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Alba Asenjo Domínguez in Washington · Sat, May 30, 2026, 5:00 AM
