Arming of some troops in US capital is latest escalation as president vows to target other cities led by Black Democrats

Some national guard units patrolling the US’s capital at the direction of Donald Trump have started carrying firearms, an escalation of the president’s military deployment that makes good on a directive issued late last week by his defense department.

A defense department official who was not authorized to speak publicly said some units on certain missions in Washington DC would be armed – some with handguns and others with rifles. The spokesperson said that all units with firearms had been trained and were operating under strict rules for use of force.

Donald Trump’s late announcement left operators with ‘extremely limited timeframe to get prepared’

Postal services across Europe have suspended most parcel shipments to the US, citing widespread uncertainty about the impact of new import tariffs announced by Donald Trump.

France’s La Poste on Monday joined other operators, including Germany’s Deutsche Post, Spain’s Correos, Poste Italiane and the Belgian, Swedish and Danish postal services, which all halted a majority of US-bound shipments over the weekend.

• Dorgu feels formation offers freedom and is not rigid

• Wing-back says United’s target is to win Premier League

Patrick Dorgu has defended Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation by pointing to how its fluidity allows Manchester United tactical flexibility.

Amorim has attracted scrutiny for his rigid adherence to the formation but Dorgu defended his manager’s stance, making the point that United’s shape does change in-game.

Leaders who value loyalty above all else have a symbiotic relationship with those unable to succeed on their own merits

Last week, Trump officials reportedly left behind documents describing confidential planning for the Trump-Putin meeting in a public area of an Alaskan hotel.

That’s nothing compared with the actions of Emil Bove, Trump’s new nominee for the US court of appeals for the third circuit, who reputedly told subordinates at the Department of Justice that they should “consider telling the courts ‘fuck you’” and ignoring any court order blocking a planned deportation flight.

Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty.

all the hundreds of ‘respectable’ guys who made careers out of boasting about their uncompromising integrity but have absolutely no loyalty …. What I liked most about Roy Cohn was that he would do just the opposite.

Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now