The Guardian · US newsThis week, Donald Trump dropped a personal $10bn lawsuit he had against the Internal Revenue Service in exchange for a so-called anti-weaponisation fund. The $1.8bn fund will be used to compensate those who think they have been unfairly investigated by the government in the past. Jonathan Freedland speaks to the legal analyst Kristy Greenberg about why critics are calling this fund ‘corruption on steroids’
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Presented by Jonathan Freedland with Kristy Greenberg, produced by Danielle Stephens and Nada Smiljanic. Executive producer is Maz Ebtehaj · Fri, May 22, 2026, 12:00 AM
The Guardian · CaliforniaPresident says reality star a ‘big Maga person’ but backing may prove more hindrance than help in deep-blue bastion
US politics live – latest updates
Donald Trump’s endorsement is typically a boon for candidates seeking elected office – a show of support, or disapproval, from the president has proved significant in races across the US this year.
But Trump’s recent comments on the Los Angeles mayor’s race, just weeks before the primary, are sure to benefit Democrats. The president spoke favorably of Spencer Pratt, a former Republican and reality TV star who is polling second in the contest to lead America’s second-largest city.
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Dani Anguiano · Thu, May 21, 2026, 6:10 PM
The Guardian · US newsNascar says it is ‘heartbroken’ to share news of Busch’s death after he was hospitalized with a severe illness
Two-time Nascar Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has died at 41 after being hospitalized with a severe illness, Nascar said in a Thursday statement.
“We are saddened and heartbroken to share the news of the passing of Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion and one of our sport’s greatest and fiercest drivers. He was 41 years old,” the racing organization wrote on social media. “We extend our deepest condolences to the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and the entire motorsports community.”
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Guardian staff and agencies · Thu, May 21, 2026, 3:17 PM
The Guardian · CaliforniaExperts say hate-motivated extremists being radicalized online and adopting ideologies of shooters before them
The killing of three men at a San Diego mosque on Monday is the latest example of a disturbing trend in recent decades: hate-motivated shooters learning from – and copying – each other in acts of violence meant to push the nation toward a race war and, ultimately, societal collapse.
The two San Diego shooters, who were 17 and 18, killed 51-year-old Amin Abdullah, a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego, 78-year-old Mansour Kaziha, a mosque elder and founding member of the center, and Nadir Awad, 57, who lived across the street and whose wife worked as a teacher at the center’s school.
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Abené Clayton · Thu, May 21, 2026, 7:00 AM
The Guardian · CaliforniaTroubled Baywatch reboot production echoes film-making woes in a city best known for its movie and TV industry
The fight for the future of Los Angeles, America’s second-largest city, usually plays out in the grand art deco offices and committee rooms of city hall. But in an election year full of surprises, the most consequential battle may in fact have begun on a beach.
And not just any beach: we’re talking about the fantasy sandbox inhabited by buff gym rats and sun-kissed bikini babes on Baywatch and its multiple spin-offs. In February, Los Angeles welcomed the latest incarnation of the hit TV show back to southern California after a long hiatus, including detours to Hawaii and Georgia. City officials heralded its return as a sign of better times for local film and television production following years of decline and tens of thousands of job losses in the heart of Hollywood.
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Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles · Thu, May 21, 2026, 6:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsThe ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ is an extraordinary example of bald self-dealing
Donald Trump is stealing almost $2bn in taxpayer money and handing it out to his friends. That’s the upshot of the president’s recent agreement following a $10bn lawsuit he brought in his personal capacity against the IRS, an agency that he oversees. Trump brought the suit over leaks of some documents from his tax returns to the press. To resolve the suit, the justice department will create a fund of nearly $1.8bn – a wildly outsized figure compared with Trump’s somewhat flimsily alleged injuries – that can be doled out to Trump allies. The Guardian describes the fund as “loosely controlled and secretive”, but members of the Trump administration have not ruled out January 6 insurrectionists as possible awardees.
The so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will be administered by four commissioners appointed by Trump’s attorney general and one appointed “in consultation” with congressional leadership – Trump, who can fire the commissioners, will have ultimate control. It will have the authority to issue formal apologies for alleged mistreatment of conservative political actors by previous administrations – ie, those few who were prosecuted or sued during the Biden era. When Trump leaves office, any remaining money will not be available for his successor to use similarly, but will instead be distributed back to the federal government. But I doubt that there will be any remaining money. We may never know either way: there is no requirement that the fund’s work be made public, and required reports to the attorney general on its conduct are to be confidential. In addition to the creation of this massive slush fund, the agreement also requires that the IRS drop all audits of Trump and his family.
Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist
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Moira Donegan · Thu, May 21, 2026, 5:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsWhile Canada may be clinging to fossil fuels, much of the world is moving on
Casual international observers would be forgiven for assuming Canada is in the comforting hands of a climate champ. After all, while climate policy rollbacks reign supreme in Donald Trump’s America, Canada is now led by a man who, while serving as governor of the Bank of England, delivered a celebrated 2015 speech, “Breaking the tragedy of the horizon”, warning the global investment community of the financial risks of climate change; who went on to serve as UN special envoy for climate action and finance; and whose 2022 book Value(s) had much to say about the “existential threat” of climate change. A man who recently dazzled the world with his Davos speech on how middle powers can stand up to global bullies.
Look, we get it. Next to the US president, Carney seems so debonair, thoughtful and calm – a lifeline of stability in a volatile new world.
Seth Klein is a Canadian climate writer and activist, author of the book A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, and former team lead of the Climate Emergency Unit. His newsletter can be found here.
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Seth Klein · Thu, May 21, 2026, 3:00 AM
The Guardian · US newsActing US attorney general Todd Blanche announced the indictment of former Cuban president Raúl Castro on Wednesday, in what is seen as an escalation in Washington’s pressure campaign against the island's government. The indictment was related to Castro’s alleged role in the downing of two small planes operated by the exile group Brothers to the Rescue. Castro, now 94, was Cuba’s defence minister at the time.
US politics live
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The Guardian · US news · Wed, May 20, 2026, 2:05 PM
The Guardian · CaliforniaSecurity guard Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha and Nadir Awad were killed in shooting at Islamic Center of San Diego
A security guard who was killed during the shooting at a San Diego mosque on Monday is being hailed as a hero after police said that his actions “undoubtedly” saved lives.
On Monday, two teenagers opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, shooting and killing three men. The two attackers, aged 17 and 18, were found dead several blocks away, from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, officials said.
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Anna Betts and Dani Anguiano · Wed, May 20, 2026, 11:45 AM
The Guardian · US newsConflict and aid cuts are hampering the fight against an outbreak of the deadly virus centred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has faced the deadly threat of Ebola 16 times since the virus was discovered there in 1976, with a 2018-20 outbreak killing almost 2,300 people. On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the 17th outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern. So far, 139 suspected deaths and almost 600 suspected cases of the haemorrhagic fever virus have been identified, nearly all in the DRC’s north-eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, with two cases in Uganda of people who had travelled from the DRC.
There is also anxiety about neighbouring South Sudan. The WHO fears the disease has been spreading for a couple of months and, given the highly mobile population, warns that it could take months more to bring it under control. While it judges the risk of global spread to be low, it thinks the regional risk is high.
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Editorial · Wed, May 20, 2026, 10:51 AM
The Guardian · US newsWatchdog group glued trackers to 53 of the chain’s cups across nine states and found none ended up at a recycling facility
If you attach a GPS tracker to a “widely recyclable” plastic Starbucks cup and drop it in an in-store recycling bin, you might expect it to end up in a recycling plant, but the environmental watchdog organization Beyond Plastics says that’s not the case in a new report.
Starbucks announced that their plastic cups were now considered “widely recyclable” earlier this year, according to How2Recycle, a group affiliated with the consumer packaging industry that helps private companies label their packaging with recycling options. The coffee giant touted the achievement as a “big milestone, with huge impact”.
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Nora Neus · Wed, May 20, 2026, 10:04 AM
The Guardian · US newsPhiladelphia, Kansas City and Atlanta are among the hosts showing that price-gouging at this summer’s tournament is, ultimately, a choice
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Philadelphia has spotted an opportunity. A chance to burnish a budding reputation as one of the East Coast’s most pleasant and interesting big cities – in the view of this columnist, at least – and one of its most affordable, too.
The ample offering of public transportation to the six 2026 World Cup matches slated for Lincoln Financial Field (dubbed Philadelphia Stadium for the tournament, as per Fifa’s sponsor rules) will set fans back a mere $2.90. Tickets to see those matches are somehow getting cheaper on the secondary market – down about 16% from last month. Hotels are still reasonably priced. And fan fests will remain free for every day of the tournament. There will be no getting charged three times as much for shade, either, as you will in Los Angeles.
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Leander Schaerlaeckens · Wed, May 20, 2026, 7:46 AM
