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How Trump, Musk and Doge shattered the US government – podcast
In the end, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or Doge, sort of just … fizzled out. So did Musk save the taxpayer any money? What happened the people who lost their jobs in the mass bureaucratic culling? What services were affected? Will Americans ever trust their government again?Jonathan Freedland speaks to author Sasha Abramsky about his new book, American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE Butchered the US Government, and about what lasting legacy of Doge will beArchive: CBS News, ABC News, CNBC, Fox11 Los Angeles, Fox13 Seattle, Bloomberg, Fox News Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
‘We’re trapped’: developer’s unpaid debt leaves London flat owners unable to sell
Hackney leaseholders feel council made the problem worse by leaving £850,000 debt uncollected for eight yearsLeaseholders in east London have said they are “trapped in unsellable homes” because of an £850,000 debt owed by the building’s developer to Hackney council, who have let it go unpaid for eight years.The 17 leaseholders, who live in a block of flats in Upper Clapton, have appealed to the council for help but their pleas, including requests for a meeting, have been ignored. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
‘Kids would rather be down the park’: readers reflect on child-free pubs
With public houses increasingly restricting or banning children, we asked for your thoughts on adult-only pubsA growing number of pubs in the UK are restricting or banning children, citing safety concerns, changing atmospheres and lost trade. We asked people their thoughts on adult-only pubs.Many who contacted us supported child-free pubs, believing adult-only spaces were important, but a good proportion said they would change their mind if children were “properly supervised by parents”. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Next week’s disability cuts will make people destitute – and you might not understand how bad they are until it’s too late | Frances Ryan
If new claimants don’t meet strict criteria, they’ll lose half of the health element of universal credit. Don’t ignore that: in life’s lottery, that could easily be youLook at the front pages or open a news app in the coming days and you’ll supposedly see the big events facing Britain. But here’s one that is likely to slip quietly under the radar: from next week, almost three-quarters of a million of the most severely ill and disabled people in the country could end up having a lifeline benefit cut in half.Cast your mind back to last summer. As the nation sweated through a heatwave and Oasis reunited, ministers were trying to push through “welfare reform” – a nice euphemism for £5bn worth of cuts to disability benefits. A backbench rebellion meant that Keir Starmer was forced to halt his overhaul of personal independence payments (Pip), but MPs voted through a brutal universal credit cut. Ministers justified reducing support for people too disabled or ill to work by arguing it would remove the “perverse incentives” that discourage employment and trap people on long-term benefits, as if a twentysomething who is bedbound with ME just needs “incentivising” to get back to the building site.Frances Ryan is a Guardian columnist and the author of Who Wants Normal? Life Lessons from Disabled Women Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Drive slower, work from home and ditch the tie: the world responds to Iran war energy crisis
Oil crisis triggered by blockade of strait of Hormuz prompts emergency measures to protect supply and halt rising pricesShrinking fuel stocks and soaring prices are leading countries around the world to burn coal, ration fuel, shorten work weeks and tell citizens to stay at home.Fossil fuel supplies have reduced since the war against Iran led to the closure of the strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for oil and seaborne gas. The shortfall has prompted emergency measures as government’s attempt to halt rising costs that have thrown economies into chaos. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Chris Rokos: the camera-shy billionaire behind the biggest UK university donation in modern times
The 55-year-old is one of the most successful hedge fund managers of his generationWhen Chris Rokos decided to donate a record £190m to the University of Cambridge to set up a “school of government” this week, it became the latest mega project carried out in the hedge fund billionaire’s name.The publicity-shy tycoon has spent much of the last decade presiding over one of England’s most expensive home renovations ever, of the 200-room Tottenham House mansion near Marlborough in Wiltshire, adding a tennis pavilion and private cinema in the £175m revamp. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Labour’s mistakes: is it too late to turn things around? – podcast
In part one of a special two-part interview, Kiran Stacey talks to the political scientist Prof Robert Ford about Labour’s so-called ‘landslide win’, the long-lasting impact of Brexit on our politics, and the lessons that should have been learned from the 2024 election. Is it now too late for Starmer to turn things around?Buy Prof Robert Ford’s latest book, The British General Election of 2024, here Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Apple at 50 quiz: top sellers, turkeys and turtlenecks
How much do you know about the history of one of the most powerful computing companies on the planet?In the 50 years since it was founded, Apple has long been seen as one of the most significant technology companies globally. The design and manufacturing decisions taken in Cupertino, California have affected product design across the world, helping usher in an era of ubiquitous touchscreen computing while insisting on exacting user experience design principles. How much do you know about the history of one of the most powerful computing companies on the planet? Test yourself with these 12 questions.The Guardian’s Apple at 50 quiz Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Iran war may increase mortgage payments for extra 1.3m households, says Bank of England
Financial policy committee predicts ‘Trumpflation’ rises, as average two-year fixed rate hits 5.84%Business live – latest updatesThe US-Israel war on Iran could end up increasing monthly mortgage payments for more than one million more UK households, the Bank of England has predicted, adding that the conflict had dealt “a substantial negative supply shock” to the world economy.Financial market jitters over the conflict in the Middle East have resulted in banks pulling about 1,500 mortgage products, with many banks raising interest rates on their remaining 7,000 home loan products in recent weeks, the Bank’s financial policy committee (FPC) said. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Tourists flock to Paris, cheapest capital in Europe – archive, 1926
With restaurants and music halls at half London prices, holidaymakers are pouring into the city for EasterFrom our own correspondent 3 April 1926 Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Lunar prospectors: the businesses looking to mine the moon
Within the lunar dirt is a type of helium so rare on Earth that a palm-sized container is estimated to be worth millions‘This was the real thing’: Meet the woman who alerts the world when an asteroid could hit‘This feels fragile’: how a satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of controlIn the silent vacuum of space, five autonomous robots churn through the lunar surface, digging up a loose layer of rock and dust and leaving rows of uniform tracks in their wake.Stopping only to recharge at a central solar power station, the car-sized machines process the lunar dirt internally to extract a type of helium so rare on Earth that a palm-sized container is estimated to be worth millions. Once processed, the precious resource is loaded into a launcher and ejected back to Earth. Continue reading...
The Guardian
1 day ago
Cost of living: get ready for ‘awful April’ bill increases
From council tax to water, broadband to stamps, the annual round of price rises starts on 1 April … and that’s before any fallout from Iran warUK savers told to act now before Easter Sunday cash Isa deadlineBritons will typically see more than £200 added to their household bills this year as “awful April” price increases kick in.The annual rises are particularly unwelcome as the financial turmoil caused by the Middle East conflict has pushed up mortgage rates, fuel prices and energy bills for rural households. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
Revealed: the vast illegal casino network targeting UK gamblers
Calls for tougher laws as network stretching from Caribbean to Georgia generates riches for offshore tycoons by appearing to prey on the vulnerableImmaculately groomed and beaming from ear to ear, Andres Markou looks every inch the golden boy of the gambling sector. The youthful boss of MyStake, a fast-growing digital casino, has been pictured shaking hands with the Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho over a lucrative branding partnership.Elsewhere, he can be seen collecting industry awards, or offering “visionary” insights to interviewers. There is only one hurdle blocking Markou’s ascent to the very top of his trade: he does not exist. Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
From the archive: the butcher’s shop that lasted 300 years (give or take) – podcast
We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.This week, from 2020: Frank Fisher, now 90, was a traditional high street butcher his whole working life – as were three generations of his family before him. How does a man dedicated to serving his community decide when it’s time to hang up his white coat?By Tom Lamont. Read by Jonathan Andrew Hume Continue reading...
The Guardian
2 days ago
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