Dianne Feinstein: Longest-serving US female senator dies
California senator Dianne Feinstein – known for being a vocal advocate of gun control measures – has died aged 90.
The Democratic Party politician, who tried to find common ground with Republicans over three decades in the Senate, died despite planning to retire at the end of her term.
She was the oldest member of the chamber and had faced calls to resign over concerns about her health.
Feinstein was also the longest-serving female senator, elected in 1992.
She died last night at her home in Washington, D.C. according to a statement from her office issued on Friday.
“Senator Feinstein never backed away from a fight for what was just and right,” the statement said.
“There are few women who can be called senator, chairman, mayor, wife, mom and grandmother.
“Senator Feinstein was a force of nature who made an incredible impact on our country and her home state.
“She left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary.”
Pic: AP
President Joe Biden hailed Feinstein as a “pioneering American” and a “trailblazer” after learning of her death.
He described her as a “passionate defender of civil liberties” and a “strong voice for national security policies that keep us safe while honouring our values” when she announced her retirement.
“I’ve served with more U.S. Senators than just about anyone,” Mr Biden said.
“I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best.”
In March, Feinstein’s spokesperson said she was dealing with a “health matter” after she missed votes at the end of February.
She cast her final vote in the first of three votes at the Senate on Thursday, hours before her death.
The politician is recorded as not having taken part in the remaining two ballots.
Feinstein seen in the US Capitol on 12 September Pic: AP
Feinstein championed the assault weapons ban signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton in 1994.
She fought for restrictive laws after that ban expired a decade later.
Feinstein also served as chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, leading reviews of the CIA’s detention and interrogation program created after the 9/11 terror attacks.
This was key to the introduction of laws banning the use of methods of torture.
‘A person of unquestioned integrity’
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said she she was “deeply saddened” by her death.
The ex-First Lady posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: [Feinstein] blazed trails for women in politics and found a life’s calling in public service.
“I’ll miss her greatly as a friend and colleague and send my condolences to all who loved her.”
Missouri Senator, Josh Hawley, described his late California counterpart as “tough, incredibly smart and effective”.
He posted on X: “Always willing to work across the aisle to get things done, she was a person of unquestioned integrity.”
Virginia congressman, Don Beyer, wrote on X: “Senator Feinstein’s career spanned 50+ years of service to the Bay Area, California and the nation.
“She survived assassination attempts to become the longest-serving woman Senator, a pioneer for LGBT rights and civil liberties, and national leader on gun violence prevention. RIP.”
Pic: AP
Central Florida congressman, Maxwell Frost, praised her as a “champion for gun violence prevention that broke barriers at all levels of government”.
“We wouldn’t have had an assault weapons ban if it wasn’t for Senator Feinstein and due to her tireless work, we will win it back. May her memory be a blessing,” he said.
And California Governor, Gavin Newsom, described Feinstein as a “political giant” and “powerful, trailblazing US senator”, whose “tenacity was matched by her grace”.
San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein, pictured in 1984, ‘broke down barriers and glass ceilings’ Pic: AP
“She broke down barriers and glass ceilings but never lost her belief in the spirit of political cooperation,” Newsom wrote on X.
“There is simply nobody who possessed the strength, gravitas and fierceness of Dianne Feinstein.”
Fellow California Democrat, US representative Nancy Pelosi, said Feinstein’s “extraordinary” career would inspire “countless young women and girls to pursue public service for generations to come”.
Paving the way for women in politics
Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and became its first female president in 1978.
In the same year, Mayor George Moscone was gunned down at City Hall alongside Supervisor Harvey Milk – whose body was discovered by Feinstein.
Dianne Feinstein was elected San Francisco mayor after the death of George Moscone in 1978
She became the state’s first female mayor in the wake of the tragedy.
Feinstein was one of California’s first two female senators, the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first to serve as the Judiciary committee’s top Democrat.
“I recognise that women have had to fight for everything they have gotten, every right,” she said in 2005.
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Donald Trump has told members of his cabinet that Elon Musk will leave his government role in the coming months.
A senior White House official told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, that the US president had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month.
Mr Trump is said to have called Mr Musk a “patriot” at the end of the meeting on 24 March, and told the room that “he has never asked me for a thing”.
On Monday in the Oval Office, the president said Mr Musk would at some point be going back to his businesses.
The official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee.
That would be 30 May, but it is unclear if the billionaire businessman will indeed leave on that date.
The SpaceX and Tesla boss has headed the Department of Government Efficiency since 20 January. File pic: Reuters
Previously, the White House said that as a temporary organisation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would be terminated on 4 July next year – the 250th anniversary of the US.
It comes days after Mr Musk said some members of his DOGE team were getting death threats on a daily basis.
Mr Musk had drawn criticism over his efforts to downsize the US federal government.
In just weeks, entire agencies were dismantled, and tens of thousands of workers from the 2.3 million federal workforce have been fired or have agreed to leave their jobs.
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Val Kilmer, the actor who starred in Top Gun and played Batman and Jim Morrison, has died aged 65.
His daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press he died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles surrounded by family and friends.
Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered, she said.
The actor, who played Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky in Top Gun alongside Tom Cruise in 1986, previously admitted he didn’t want the role, which made him famous.
But he said he begged to be part of the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, even going as far as contacting the producers and creating “heartrending scenes with Iceman”. It would be his final acting role.
Kilmer had a colourful romantic past, having dated Hollywood stars including Cindy Crawford, Angelina Jolie, Carly Simon and Cher.
He starred in Willow in 1988 and married his British co-star Joanne Whalley. The couple had two children before they divorced in 1996.
Kilmer with his former wife British actress Joanne Whalley in 1989. Pic Shutterstock
Val Kilmer appeared alongside Nicole Kidman in Batman Forever. Pic: Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
Kilmer portrayed Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holiday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
Kilmer was one of the best-paid actors in the 1990s and in 1992 film critic Roger Ebert wrote, “if there is an award for the most unsung leading man of his generation, Kilmer should get it”.
In his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry, Kilmer discussed his throat cancer diagnosis and recovery.
Actor Josh Brolin wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.
“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
In an Instagram post actor Josh Gad called Kilmer “an icon”.
He said: “RIP Val Kilmer. Thank you for defining so many of the movies of my childhood. You truly were an icon.”
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
Kilmer made his Broadway debut in the 1983 production of Slab Boys with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon.
He also appeared in Shakespeare plays in New York – playing the title role in Hamlet and appearing in Henry IV: Part One and As You Like It.
In 2005, he starred on London’s West End in Andrew Rattenbury’s adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice at the Playhouse Theatre.
Kilmer also enjoyed painting, with his website describing him as a “talented and prolific artist in a variety of mediums”.
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“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.
It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.
It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.
It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.
Follow the events of Liberation Day live as they unfold
Three key figures are central to it all.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.
Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.
His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.
The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.
The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.
If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.
What are Donald Trump’s tariffs, what is ‘liberation day’ and how does it all affect the UK?
And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?
“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.
“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.
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‘Days of US being ripped off are over’
Dancing to the president’s tune
My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.
Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.
But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.
Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.
One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.
Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.
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Treasury minister: ‘We’ll do everything to secure a deal’
Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?
The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.
It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.
Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?
Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?
US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.
Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?
For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.
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