US justice department ‘forever’ bars IRS from auditing Trump’s past tax returns 19. May 2026 (21:25) Addendum quietly slipped into widely criticized agreement creating a $1.7bn fund to compensate president’s alliesThe justice department quietly added a provision barring the IRS from auditing Donald Trump’s tax returns on Tuesday, amending a widely criticized agreement that creates a secretive and loosely controlled $1.776bn fund to compensate allies of the president.The addendum, signed by Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, says the government is “forever barred” and “precluded” from examining the tax returns of Trump, his family, company and “related companies”. The agreement applies to anything filed before the agreement was reached. It was posted on the justice department website on Tuesday morning, a day after the department announced creation of the fund. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump turns to Middle East allies as deal to end Iran war proves elusive 19. May 2026 (20:45) President claims planned Tehran attack postponed to allow talks to continue – but no indication peace plan is imminentAs he seeks an exit from the Iran war, Donald Trump is increasingly outsourcing his policymaking to US allies in the Middle East, while the White House appears unable to find a simple way to end the fighting and reopen global shipping lanes held by Tehran.In Trump’s telling, the “dealmaker-in-chief” has maintained a consistent policy toward Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, leveling threats and incentives to reach a new deal that would also open the Strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Has anybody seen Nigel? Speculation swirls as Farage performs disappearing act 19. May 2026 (20:45) As campaigners take to the streets for what could be the most significant byelection for decades, the Reform leader’s absence remains a mysteryIt has been six days since Nigel Farage cancelled a scheduled appearance at a Reform UK rally in Sunderland, a key election target in Labour’s heartlands.The reasons given – chaos in government and what appeared to be an impending Labour leadership race – seemed logical. After all, as a quotation sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte goes: never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rubio criticizes WHO’s Ebola response as US continues sweeping public health cuts 19. May 2026 (20:44) US secretary of state says WHO was ‘a little late’ in identifying deadly Ebola outbreak in the DRC and UgandaUS secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) was “a little late” in identifying the deadly Ebola outbreak in the the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.On Tuesday, Rubio told reporters: “The lead is obviously going to be CDC (the Centers for Disease Control) and the World Health Organization, which was a little late to identify this thing unfortunately.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Todd Blanche says he would not recommend a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell 19. May 2026 (20:44) Acting US attorney general made comments about the Epstein associate at a Senate hearing over budget requestsUS politics live – latest updatesTodd Blanche, the acting US attorney general, told lawmakers on Tuesday that he would not recommend a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes.Blanche’s comments came during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, where he was testifying before the appropriations subcommittee over budget requests for the justice department. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cracked part had been flagged ahead of Kentucky plane crash that killed 15 people 19. May 2026 (20:31) New information surfaced at hearing into the UPS freight plane crash, which happened in November 2025Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed on Tuesday that it is reviewing reports of cracks in a wing mount before the left engine sheared off from a UPS freight airplane on takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky, in November, resulting in a crash that killed 15 people.That information surfaced at the beginning of a two-day hearing into the crash of the delivery service’s MD-11, which left all three crew members and 12 people on the ground dead. An additional 23 people on the ground were injured as an auto parts recycling plant ignited after the freighter crashed into it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Can Burnham turn ‘Manchesterism’ into a practical offer for government? 19. May 2026 (20:29) Roots of idea for ‘ending neoliberalism’ have been growing over many months – with many different influencesManchesterism is “the end of neoliberalism”. That was the claim made by Andy Burnham in his campaign launch video this week – a film which made an audacious offer not just to his byelection constituents in Makerfield, but how he intended to change national politics and the economy.But the 2026 doctrine of Manchesterism is very different to its 19th-century namesake, when it was a byword for free trade. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump threatens ‘a big hit’ if Tehran does not make deal soon 19. May 2026 (20:23) Renewed threat comes after US president said he was ‘an hour away’ from ordering a strike before pulling backMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has again threatened Iran, saying the US may launch new attacks if Tehran continues to refuse the significant concessions he wants before a deal can be struck to end the Middle East war.The US president said he had called off a fresh wave of strikes, which would have broken the ceasefire in place since early last month. “I was an hour away from making the decision to go today,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
John Healey says Labour infighting puts government’s credibility at risk 19. May 2026 (20:22) Defence secretary say party has turned in on itself in thinly veiled criticism of Andy Burnham and Wes StreetingJohn Healey has criticised Labour figures jockeying to become prime minister in a politicised speech in which he said the party’s “very credibility“ in government was at stake if the infighting deepened.The defence secretary, a Keir Starmer loyalist, said the party had turned in on itself since the May elections in what appeared to be direct criticism of Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and even the junior defence minister Al Carns. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump endorses attorney general Ken Paxton in Texas Senate primary 19. May 2026 (20:16) US president calls Paxton an ‘America First Patriot’ and ‘MAGA Warrior’ ahead of runoff against John CornynUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has endorsed the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, in the state’s Republican primary, bolstering his bid to unseat the incumbent US senator, John Cornyn.The US president praised Paxton, a hardliner who has pitched himself as a political warrior for Trump’s Make America Great Again movement, as an “America First Patriot” in a post on social media on Tuesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
