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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Shooter kills five adults at youth welfare facility in Stade, Germany
Two arrested after incident at town west of Hamburg, with motive unknown Five people have been shot and killed at a youth welfare facility in a northern German town, police have said. The motive for the incident in Stade, close to the port city of Hamburg, on Monday was not immediately clear, a police spokesperson said. Two people, including the suspected shooter, had been arrested, he added. Continue reading...
At the People’s History Museum, Burnham gives Labour hope they might just have a future
The home crowd swooned to Andy’s mood music, even if some of it could have been a Keir cover version UK politics live – latest updates There’s no pleasing some people. For most of last week, all the opposition parties were moaning that Andy Burnham had taken a vow of silence ever since the Makerfield by-election. That no one had a clue just what the prime minister designate had in mind. On Monday, Andy sought to answer some of those questions, but before he had opened his mouth, Kemi Badenoch accused him of trying to avoid the scrutiny of MPs. He should be doing this from the dispatch box, she said. Um … Except he’s not a minister. Maybe she plans to give him a guest slot from the opposition benches. There again, she was also saying that all his plans were bound to fail long before he had even told us what they were. Never change, Kemi. Just keep saying the first thing that comes into your head. Continue reading...
US supreme court rules Trump can fire leaders of independent agencies
Case focused on White House’s March 2025 firing of Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter US supreme court decisions – live updates Sign up for the Breaking News US email The US supreme court ruled that Donald Trump can fire leaders of independent agencies or commissions, ending 90 years of court precedent that curbs executive power. The vote in the case of Trump v Slaughter is 6-3, with dissents from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan. Continue reading...
US supreme court rules geofence warrants violate fourth amendment
Law enforcement’s use of warrants sweeping smartphone location data requires privacy protections, court rules US supreme court decisions – live updates The US supreme court has ruled that law enforcement’s use of sprawling warrants that sweep up smartphone location data requires privacy protections under the fourth amendment, in a boost to critics who view their use as an unconstitutional dragnet. Justice Elena Kagan wrote the majority opinion. Continue reading...
Stalker who used fake Tinder profile to lure men to ex’s home jailed for eight years
Asad Hussain, 36, from Cheadle in Greater Manchester, found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm or distress A man has been jailed for eight years after he set up a fake Tinder profile for his ex-partner and enticed multiple men to her house with the intention of raping her. Asad Hussain, 36, also known as Ash Hussain, from Cheadle in Greater Manchester, appeared at Chester crown court on Monday, where he was also handed a 15-year restraining order. He had previously been found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm or distress and assault by beating. Continue reading...
US supreme court rules Trump’s firing of Lisa Cook from Fed was unconstitutional
Justices find president does not have constitutional authority to fire Federal Reserve governor without cause US supreme court decisions – live updates Sign up for the Breaking News US email The US supreme court has ruled that Donald Trump’s firing of a Federal Reserve governor was unconstitutional, in a landmark ruling that limits a president’s authority over the central bank. In its opinion, the court said that Trump does not have the constitutional authority to fire a Fed governor without cause. Continue reading...
Man murdered two London women in predatory sexual attacks, court told
Trial begins of Simon Levy, who denies killing Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins and attacking third woman A man murdered two women and left a third for dead in a series of predatory sexual attacks over an eight-month period, a jury has been told. Simon Levy, 40, denies killing Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo, 53, on 17 March 2025 in south-east London and Sheryl Wilkins, 39, on 24 August 2025 in Tottenham, north London. He also denies attacking a third women, aged 35 at the time, on 21 January 2025, also in Tottenham. Continue reading...
US supreme court upholds law to count mail-in ballots arriving after election day
Court sides against Republicans after deciding earlier this term to let Louisiana effectively dismantle Voting Rights Act US supreme court decisions – live updates Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The US supreme court sided against national Republicans and Donald Trump’s administration to allow mail-in ballots that arrive after election day to be counted, upholding the law in more than a dozen states. The Republican National Committee (RNC) had challenged a Mississippi state law allowing mailed ballots to be counted if they arrive within five business days of election day, so long as they were postmarked by election day. Continue reading...
Tennessee woman dies while trying to save her son from high flood waters
Mary Evelyn Nicole Manning-Kellione’s death was among at least five reported amid floods in Tennessee and Kentucky A 39-year-old woman died in Tennessee while trying to save her son from high flood waters on Sunday morning, according to officials. The death of Mary Evelyn Nicole Manning-Kellione was among at least five reported during flooding in recent days in a region encompassing Tennessee and Kentucky. Continue reading...
Europe heatwave shows need to reject climate denial ‘lies’, says EU green chief
Teresa Ribera blames ‘ideologically driven’ falsehoods, driven by those with vested interests in fossil fuels, for attacks on green policy The heatwave wreaking chaos across Europe is a “dramatic warning” to reject climate naysayers, a European Commission vice-president says. Teresa Ribera, executive vice-president for a clean, just and competitive transition, lambasted those who listened to the “vested interests” of the fossil fuel industry rather than scientists and their own citizens. Continue reading...
US supreme court rejects Trump’s bid to appeal $5m E Jean Carroll verdict
Jury found Trump liable in 2023 for sexually abusing former magazine columnist and defaming her US supreme court decisions – live updates Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter The US supreme court declined on Monday to hear Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a $5m verdict in favor of E Jean Carroll in a case in which a jury found him liable for sexually abusing the former magazine columnist and then defaming her. The justices turned away the president’s appeal after a lower court upheld the 2023 jury verdict and rejected Trump’s arguments that the trial was unfair because the judge impermissibly let jurors hear evidence of his alleged past sexual misconduct. Continue reading...
Families of two football stars killed and injured in Venezuela earthquakes
Lucas Trejo of Argentina loses wife and two children while teammate’s partner dies saving their daughter ‘Critical hours’ in Venezuela earthquake rescue operation – latest updates Family members of two professional footballers are among those killed by the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela in a catastrophe that has claimed at least 1,450 lives . Among the reported victims are the wife and two children of Lucas Trejo, an Argentinian footballer signed to Club Sport Marítimo of La Guaira. He searched through rubble in the coastal city for his wife, Yanina, and their children, Aaron and Ainhoa, for three days before their bodies were recovered by rescue workers. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham vows to set up No 10 North as ‘nerve centre of rewired Britain’
UK’s likely next PM says Westminster system is ‘broken’ and he will oversee a devolution of power and resources UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham will set up No 10 North as the “nerve centre of a rewired Britain” to oversee a devolution of power and resources across the UK that he said would deliver the change the country desperately needed. The prime minister-in-waiting said the Westminster system was “broken” and that a “more of the same” approach would neither improve living standards or restore people’s faith in how politics worked for them. Continue reading...
Trafalgar Entertainment acquires Nicholas Hytner’s Bridge theatre
London Theatre Company founded in 2017 by Hytner and former National Theatre colleague Nick Starr has been sold to company that owns 20-plus venues in UK and abroad The Bridge theatre in London, opened in 2017 by the former National Theatre duo Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, has been acquired by Trafalgar Entertainment in a sale that also includes the Lightroom venue for immersive art shows. Trafalgar Entertainment now owns the duo’s London Theatre Company (LTC). “After nine years, it feels like the right time to be moving on,” said Hytner, who described establishing the Bridge theatre – which has a flexible 900-seat auditorium – as a “thrilling experience”. Hytner directed several of the Bridge’s hits, including its opening promenade-style production of Julius Caesar and a long-running Guys and Dolls which ended with the audience dancing alongside the actors. Away from the Bridge, Hytner recently directed Giant at the Royal Court – which transferred to the West End and Broadway – and is staging James Graham’s new play, The Standard of Living , in the West End in September. Continue reading...
Hit the bar! UK pubs serve 5.5m extra pints during World Cup so far
Thirsty England fans bought more than 8m pints on Saturday, with higher sales expected as the team progresses World Cup live – latest updates England’s group stage matches in the World Cup have been a boon for UK pubs, which have poured 5.5m more pints of draught beer and cider than usual. Saturday’s clash against Panama was the biggest trading occasion of the tournament so far, with more than 8m pints served. Continue reading...
‘Literally growing the future’: volunteers help save Scottish rainforest by collecting 11m seeds
Teams painstakingly combed endangered Atlantic habitat over several years, helping to grow 8m native trees A small band of volunteers has helped to grow nearly 8m native trees in Scotland, crucial to efforts to restore lost parts of the Atlantic rainforest, after collecting 11m seeds by hand. About 100 volunteers, including retired teachers and doctors, office workers and young families, have spent tens of thousands of hours venturing into often remote woods in the western Highlands and islands to search out seed-bearing trees. Continue reading...
Newborn baby found dead in portable bathroom at Michigan music festival
Organizers of the four-day Electric Forest festival are appealing for attendees to come forward with information A newborn baby was found dead in a portable bathroom at a Michigan dance music festival on Sunday, and organizers are now appealing for festivalgoers to come forward with information. “It causes us so much pain to have to share this difficult news with you,” Electric Forest festival organizers wrote online on Sunday night. Saying the organizers were “heartbroken”, the statement added: “Michigan state police continues to investigate this tragic event, if you can assist in any way.” Continue reading...
One person killed and one injured in shooting at California World Cup ‘fan zone’
San Jose police say Sunday incident in area that has been hosting watch parties ‘is being investigated as a homicide’ One person was killed and another seriously injured on Sunday night in a shooting at a popular entertainment spot in San Jose , California , that has been hosting a World Cup “fan zone” as well as screening matches, police said. There were no World Cup games being screened at the time of the shooting, with the only match of the day in the tournament finishing at about 2pm local time. Continue reading...
Weather tracker: north-west US hit by snow ahead of eastern heatwave
Western states experience unseasonally low temperatures but New York and Washington DC could reach 40C by the end of the week Unseasonal snow has fallen in some parts of the US, while other parts of the country brace for a heatwave this week. A strong cold front spread into the western US from the northern Pacific over the weekend, bringing an abrupt change in conditions to a region that had been experiencing high summer temperatures amid drought. Temperatures from the Canadian border to California have widely been 5-10C below the norm since Friday, and more than 10C below in some parts farther north. The pattern is expected to remain for much of the coming week. Continue reading...
Once, cyber-attacks required great skill. AI is changing that | Bruce Schneier
Modern AI systems are, in effect, a universal adviser to help people do harmful things. We’ll need to harness AI for defense, too Earlier this week, national security agencies from the Five Eyes – that’s the rich, English-language-speaking countries club – jointly released a statement warning of the increasing cyber risks of AI models: in particular, their ability to autonomously hack into systems and networks. The statement was more measured than some of the breathless headlines about it, and the advice they gave is pretty much the standard advice everyone gives – albeit with newfound urgency. Internet risks are nothing new, and cyber-attacks – both large and small – have been a significant issue since long before the current crop of generative AI models. Bruce Schneier is a security technologist who teaches at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University and University of Toronto’s Munk School Continue reading...
Trump administration targets California coastal agency in escalation of energy production fight
US commerce department accuses state of ‘environmental terrorism’ and plans to evaluate its coastal agency The Trump administration plans to evaluate the performance of the California Coastal Commission, in the latest escalation of a dispute between the state’s Democratic leaders and the federal government over energy production. Per federal law, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) is required to conduct reviews of federally approved coastal management programs, which take into consideration “the extent to which the State of California has implemented and enforced the program approved by the [commerce] Secretary”. Continue reading...
Tiny Antarctic sea creature could be key to treating melanoma, researchers say
Underwater expedition by Florida-based team supports possible therapeutic use of bacterial toxins from sea squirts Researchers at a Florida university say bacterial toxins produced by tiny marine organisms they have studied in Antarctica could become an effective treatment for melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. A team from the University of South Florida (USF) recently returned from a six-week expedition to one of the world’s remotest regions in which they collected samples of ascidians, invertebrates known as sea squirts that thrive in the icy waters. Continue reading...
EU introduces €3 customs charge on small parcels to curb cheap Chinese imports
Parcels of goods worth under €150 will no longer enjoy ‘de minimis’ exemption, exploited by platforms such as Temu and Shein Business live – latest updates The European Commission has said it hopes to prevent the “desertification” of Europe’s high streets, as it prepares to introduce a customs tax on small parcels in an attempt to curb cheap Chinese imports. Consumers have been able to buy up to €150 (£129) worth of goods, including fast fashion, cosmetics and toys, without any customs charges as part of a “de minimis” exemption, a tariff break meaning “too small to matter”. Continue reading...
First Thing: Mamdani says socialist allies offer ‘national message’ to US
New York City mayor says Democratic candidates he endorsed speak to people struggling to make ends meet. Plus the best pictures from weekend Pride events across the US Good morning. New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said on Sunday that he and a slew of Democratic socialist allies who prevailed in recent primary elections were carrying a “national message” to struggling working Americans hungry for a new kind of politics “coast to coast”. His endorsed candidates won Democratic nominations in three races for New York congressional seats, as well as for five state legislature positions in Albany. He said that collectively they were carrying a “New Deal understanding” of Democratic politics to Congress and on to the “national stage”. It spoke, he said, to Americans feeling exhaustion at struggling to make ends meet “every single day”. Mamdani remarked: “We don’t have to nationalize that message. That is a national message – it’s a national crisis.” How did other members of the Democratic party react? Fifteen self-labelled “moderate” Democrats in the US House signed an open letter that, though it did not mention Mamdani or his endorsed allies, was clearly targeted at them. “We are capitalist, not socialist,” they said. “We are mainstream, not extreme. We are proud, not ashamed, of America.” Who is affected by the supreme court decision? Thursday’s ruling is set to affect an estimated 350,000 Haitian and 6,000 Syrian immigrants who now face detention or deportation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as protections end. The US first provided temporary protected status (TPS) to Haitians after a devastating earthquake in 2010, and to Syrians after their country descended into civil war in 2012. Continue reading...