The Guardian view on Cuba: Trump says he can do ‘anything I want’ to the island. It doesn’t belong to him | Editorial

Buoyed by his removal of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, the US president is intensifying an economic stranglehold and military menace While the world watched the pomp of Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing, the US was turning up the pressure thousands of miles away. Its oil blockade has plunged Cuba into a humanitarian crisis, sparking nationwide blackouts … Read more

Senate parliamentarian rejects $1 billion in reconciliation bill for White House security, Trump ballroom

The Senate parliamentarian rejected the last item in the Republicans’ budget reconciliation bill — $1 billion in White House and Secret Service security funding tied in part to President Donald Trump’s planned ballroom Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, considered nonpartisan since taking the role in 2012 during former President Barack Obama’s administration, ruled the funding provision … Read more

A ‘tax-the-rich’ billionaire candidate? Democrats are intrigued

Tom Steyer has built his campaign for governor of California around affordability – he’s not the only Democrat testing the party’s appetite for a populist from the 1% Tom Steyer has built his campaign for governor of California around affordability – and taxing the uber-wealthy. It is perhaps an unusual message for a candidate with … Read more

A skateboarder’s lament: the dismantling of San Francisco’s iconic and divisive fountain

The Vaillancourt fountain, an enormous sculpture in place since the 1970s, has been equally reviled and revered It was a surreal, fitting end for one of San Francisco’s most divisive public artworks: the Vaillancourt fountain, an enormous concrete sculpture looming over Embarcadero Plaza since the 1970s, had burst into flames. The hulking fountain’s angled arms … Read more