Venezuela’s Maduro urges Trump to avoid Afghanistan-style ‘forever war’ 14. November 2025 (13:35) Authoritarian leader calls for US to make peace amid military buildup and strikes against alleged drug smugglersExplainer: is US preparing to attack Venezuela?Venezuela’s authoritarian president, Nicolás Maduro, has urged Donald Trump not to lead the US into an Afghanistan-style “forever war”, as the American military buildup in the region intensified and Trump’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, vowed to purge the Americas of “narco-terrorists”.Speaking to CNN outside the Miraflores presidential palace in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, Maduro called on Trump to make peace, not war, after the world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, arrived in the region. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump puts intense pressure on Republicans to block release of Epstein files 14. November 2025 (13:17) Representatives Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace have been summoned to Situation Room or phoned by Trump himselfDonald Trump has cranked up his intense pressure campaign on congressional Republicans to oppose the full release of the justice department’s files related to Jeffrey Epstein, before a crucial and long-awaited House vote on the matter next week that scores of Republicans are slated to support.The belated swearing-in on Wednesday of the Democratic representative Adelita Grijalva – which the House speaker, Mike Johnson, had refused for almost two months during the government shutdown – brought the number of signatures on Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna’s discharge petition to the 218 needed to force a floor vote on legislation demanding the Department of Justice release all of its investigative files on Epstein within 30 days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Weather tracker: US hit by exceptional early winter cold spell 14. November 2025 (13:11) Midwest struck by extreme snowfall and 80 southern weather stations tied or broke low-temperature recordsThe eastern half of the US has been gripped by an exceptional early winter cold spell this week, breaking a multitude of low-temperature records. Eighty weather stations across the deep south either tied or broke their daily minimum record on 11 November. Jacksonville in northern Florida experienced temperatures as low as -3C early on Wednesday morning, 17C below the average minimum for the time of year.The cold outbreak also brought extreme snowfall to parts of Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Areas along the southern and western coasts of Lake Michigan experienced a phenomenon known as lake effect snow on Monday. This develops when cold air – which covered the US this week – moves over the relatively warm water of a lake or inland sea. This produces convection and heavy showers that move inland downwind of the lake, and can continue for hours or even days on end. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Texas professors arrested at campus protest sue university, alleging retaliation 14. November 2025 (13:00) Ben Wright and Rosemary Admiral say UTD severely restricted campus access after arrests at peaceful protest As the Trump administration and Texas governor Greg Abbott restrict free speech on college campuses, two professors at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) are suing the university for retaliation stemming from 2024 arrests at a peaceful campus protest.History professors Ben Wright and Rosemary Admiral argue they should not have been arrested in the first place at the 1 May 2024 demonstration, where they were standing between their students and heavily armed law enforcement. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Justice department allegedly investigating debunked 2020 Georgia election fraud claims 14. November 2025 (13:00) Claim, by election deniers, would signal latest step by DoJ in moving away from protecting Americans’ voting rightsMembers of Georgia’s election denial movement have claimed in recent weeks that the justice department is investigating debunked fraud claims in the state stemming from the 2020 election.The development would be just the latest in a series of moves by Trump acolytes at the DoJ who are transforming the voting section of the agency from an office focused on protecting Americans’ voting rights to one that is in lockstep with an election denial movement that incessantly demands investigations and drastic reductions in access to the polls based on Donald Trump’s lies about elections. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Union demands removal of Sir Robbie Gibb from BBC board 14. November 2025 (12:37) Bectu, which is the biggest union in the BBC, has warned Sir Robbie’s position is ‘a distraction and is untenable’ following the Tim Davie crisis.(London News)
