section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
4165 stories archived
Texas makes Bible passages required reading for millions of public school students
Critics say mandating Bible reading for over five million students breaches constitutional separation of church and state The Texas education board has approved a broad new statewide reading list that, for the first time, will make passages from the Bible required reading for more than 5 million public school students. Under the new initiative, Bible stories will become mandatory reading for millions of public school students in addition to a more standard collection of books, renewing debate over growing efforts in the US to increase the role of religion in classrooms. Continue reading...
Trump blames Iran for drone strike on cargo ship in strait of Hormuz
US president calls it ‘foolish violation’ of ceasefire agreement after drone damaged ship’s upper deck US politics live – latest updates Donald Trump on Friday blamed Iran for carrying out a drone strike on a cargo ship in the strait of Hormuz, calling it a “foolish violation” of the ceasefire agreement with the US. One drone damaged the upper deck of the ship but the ship was able to proceed, the US president said. The US shot down three other drones aimed at the ship, he said. Continue reading...
The week around the world in 20 pictures
The earthquake in Venezuela, a brutal heatwave in Europe, the resignation of Keir Starmer and the World Cup – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing Continue reading...
Trump administration asks supreme court to back immigration detention policy
Government asks justices to allow people who have lived in US for years to be held without chance to seek bond The Trump administration on Friday asked the US supreme court to let it detain people arrested in its immigration crackdown without a chance to seek bond, even if they have lived in the country for years. The administration made that request in a filing made public on Friday, asking the court to overturn a May decision by a federal appeals court, which had rejected its reinterpretation of a decades-old immigration law that now underlies its mass detention policy. Continue reading...
Mahmood outlines safe immigration routes plan to win over Labour left
Home secretary speeds up major part of bill governing asylum and refugees as new prime minister set to take over Shabana Mahmood will seek to shore up support for her controversial immigration bill on the progressive left of Labour, as she sets out plans to speed up the opening of new safe and legal routes that will permit thousands of refugees to come to the UK. The home secretary, who is the leading contender to stay in her job if Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, will next week introduce the legislation , which will also set new limits on immigration claims on human rights grounds and under modern slavery law. Removing modern slavery protections for any foreign national who has committed a crime and received a sentence, scrapping the previous 12-month threshold. Rejecting last-minute modern slavery claims where an objection could have been raised earlier or where there is evidence of false documentation. Allowing immigration claims to be brought under the right to a family life only if the family member is a parent, spouse or child under 18 except in exceptional circumstances. A new test to make clear that deporting foreign national offenders is in the public interest and should only be blocked in the most exceptional circumstances. Applications for family reunion under the right to a family life will in future have to be brought by a UK-based sponsor, not the overseas family member. Giving every trafficked and exploited child a dedicated independent guardian to support their safeguarding and recovery. Continue reading...
UN calls for ‘prompt investigations’ of deaths in US immigration custody
High commissioner for human rights calls for ‘those responsible for violations of the law’ to be held to account US politics live – latest updates The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, on Friday raised the alarm internationally about deaths in US government immigration custody and called for “prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations”. Türk’s call came as the Trump administration faced investigations by watchdogs at its own Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into deaths and use of force against people detained in its expanding immigration detention system across the country. Continue reading...
Parents of ex-NFL star Doug Martin allege excessive police force led to wrongful death
Two-time All-Pro running back for Bucs died at 36 Martin was experiencing mental health crisis, family say Lawsuit filed against Oakland police, ambulance unit A lawsuit filed by Doug Martin’s parents alleges delayed care after police used excessive force led to the former All-Pro running back’s death last October. Leslie and Doug Martin filed the wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against the city of Oakland, California, multiple police officers and an ambulance company. Continue reading...
US man who claims to have world’s smallest penis launches fundraiser for enlargement surgery
Michael Phillips, who says he has a 0.38in member, wrote that he needed procedure to improve his ability to urinate The North Carolina man who has made the apparently undisputed claim of having the world’s smallest penis is seeking the public’s support for enlargement surgery. Michael Phillips said online on Thursday that he needed the procedure to improve his ability to urinate, which is difficult for him given that he is reportedly 0.38in (0.97cm) long when fully erect. Otherwise, he said he must continue to wear diapers for adults with incontinence daily. Continue reading...
Now we know how much tax King Charles pays, and it is very little
The monarch’s declaration doesn’t tell us much, except that his bill is lower than for people with much smaller fortunes The veil of secrecy that surrounds the royal finances was nudged aside a little on Thursday to allow the release of a new piece of information. We learned for the first time how much the king’s annual tax bill comes to. This was not a full tax return. It was a two-sentence declaration, stating his tax payable amounted to £12.9m in 2024-25, and a slightly smaller sum the year before. His total tax payable since accession comes to £30m. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham says he will give 15% of his MP’s pay to local causes
New member for Makerfield and expected next prime minister joins other MPs who donate some or all of their pay Andy Burnham has said he will be donating 15% of his MP’s salary to local causes in his constituency of Makerfield. An MP’s salary currently stands at £98,599 and a number of MPs currently donate all of their salary or a part of it to charities and causes in the areas they represent. Continue reading...
Fourth toddler dies in France as Europe’s brutal heatwave forecast to shift east
Scientists say hot spell is worst ever, with nearly half of region’s 850 largest cities facing unprecedented heat stress The number of deaths in France linked to the heatwave has climbed to four toddlers and more than 55 drownings, as the brutally hot conditions sweeping Europe were forecast to shift east, choking 150 million people under 35C (95F) temperatures. Scientists said the heatwave was the most severe and widespread ever, leaving nearly half of the region’s 850 largest cities grappling with unprecedented heat stress. They said the extreme temperatures had been made possible by the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning. Continue reading...
Rochdale man sentenced for assault on police officers and customer at Manchester airport
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, found guilty of common assault and actual bodily harm last year after incident in 2024 A man has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail after being convicted of assaulting two female police officers and a member of the public at a Starbucks in Manchester airport. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, from Rochdale, was convicted of common assault and two counts of actual bodily harm, following a four-week trial at Liverpool crown court last year. Continue reading...
The king, his millions, and the first public royal tax bill – The Latest
King Charles has become the first monarch in modern times to reveal how much tax he pays on his private income: £24.6m over the last two years. The move comes after years of calls for the monarch to be more open with the public about the royal finances. Some are heralding this as a new era of transparency – but just how open has the revelation been? Lucy Hough speaks to our European financial affairs editor, Juliette Garside – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
Judge declares mistrial in arson case against man accused of sparking Palisades Fire
Jurors in California deliberated for over 13 hours, before announcing that they were deadlocked A federal judge declared a mistrial in the arson case against the 29-year-old man accused of sparking the deadly 2025 Palisades fire in Los Angeles, after the jury said it could not agree on a verdict. Jurors deliberated for over 13 hours on Thursday on whether to convict Jonathan Rinderknecht on three federal charges, before announcing that they were deadlocked. Continue reading...
Gavin Newsom urges a national 'billionaires' tax' while fighting one in California
California governor calls for national tax on super-wealthy and suggests the US should own a stake in AI companies US politics live – latest updates California’s governor, Gavin Newsom , called for a national “billionaires tax” on Friday as he fights a ballot measure targeting the ultra-wealthy in his home state. Newsom, who is expected to run for president in 2028, published his proposal the day after California officials certified a ballot proposal to levy a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1bn. The proposal, called the California Billionaire Tax Act, was brought by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) and would fund the state’s healthcare, education and food assistance programs. Continue reading...
Martin Rowson on the UK’s record-breaking June temperatures – cartoon
Continue reading...
Senior Trump official’s claims about UK free speech arrests rejected by No 10
Sarah B Rogers speech at conference in London included far-right memes and conspiracy theories about ‘Da Yookay’ Claims by a senior official in the Trump administration that British police were making thousands of “freedom of speech” arrests have been rejected by the UK government. Sarah B Rogers, who has become the public face of the US state department’s hostility to European liberal democracies, was accused by MPs of echoing far-right memes and conspiracy theories during a speech at an international rightwing conference in London. She also referenced the death of Henry Nowak and a recent incident in which a child was thrown into a zoo’s crocodile pit. Continue reading...
Climate sceptics cheering as they melt in record temperatures? This heatwave is where satire has come to die | Jonathan Freedland
Delegates at an ‘anti-woke’ conference disparaged Ed Miliband’s net zero policies. But even they could not ignore the sweat on their foreheads It was hardly a perfect film, but I keep thinking of Don’t Look Up . In its depiction of a world that stubbornly refuses to heed the warnings of an imminent planetary disaster, it was perhaps too on the nose. But these days, reality itself is too on the nose. This week served up ample evidence, on both sides of the Atlantic. In Britain, like much of Europe, the all-consuming concern has been intense, intolerable heat , with temperature records shattered and swathes of the country under the highest state of alert. For the first time, red warnings were issued in the UK for three consecutive days . Schools have closed; nights have become sleepless, with the mercury rising to meet the technical definition of “tropical”. There are wildfires in Derbyshire . All this in a temperate country in June. Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
Carney announces contest to revamp uninhabitable Canadian PM residence
Various issues – including a rodent infestation and mold – have left the historic, sprawling Ottawa estate empty 10 Downing Street has two things: mice and a chief mouser . For more than a decade, an officially recognized feline has kept the residence’s rodent infestation to a minimum. Over a similar period, the official residence of Canada’s prime minister has seen an unchecked explosion of rodents. Continue reading...
New York City will freeze rent for 1m apartments in big victory for Mamdani
City’s mayor has consistently argued that rising housing costs have made it increasingly unaffordable A New York City housing board has voted to freeze rent for approximately 1m apartments. In a major victory for Zohran Mamdani, the mayor who campaigned on a pledge to freeze rent, the Rent Guidelines Board voted 7-1 on Thursday to freeze increases on one- and two-year leases. The decision will provide relief to tenants in more than one million rent-stabilized apartments, representing over 40% of the city’s rental housing. Continue reading...
Survivors tell of ‘brutal and fast’ Venezuela quake as hunt for survivors goes on
Worst incident of its kind in country for more than 125 years leaves many searching for multiple family members – and pleading for international help Scenes of destruction after deadly earthquakes in Venezuela – visual guide Nearly all of Ligia Level’s family lived in a trio of apartment blocks along Hotel Avenue, a seafront sweep of palm-specked resorts and high-rise condos along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. When a powerful “doublet” of earthquakes jolted the region on Wednesday afternoon, those buildings and the lives within them came crashing down. Continue reading...
Former Trump adviser John Bolton pleads guilty to mishandling classified information
Ex-national security adviser turned Trump critic could face prison for sharing classified information with relatives US politics live – latest updates John Bolton , the former US national security adviser who became an arch-enemy of Donald Trump after serving under him and then being fired, pleaded guilty on Friday to a charge of mishandling classified information that could result in him going to prison. Bolton admitted the charge, as widely anticipated, in an appearance at a federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland , in a plea deal designed to produce a lesser sentence by reducing the seriousness of the accusations against him. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham’s long coup: the chaotic year-long project to return him to Westminster
Efforts of campaign groups, supporters and party figures coalesced after May elections as MPs’ views began to change The third coming of Andy Burnham began in earnest on the dancefloor of the Ministry of Sound. It was the annual conference of the centre-left pressure group Compass in May 2025, on an unusually hot spring weekend. Keir Starmer, a year into his premiership, was deep in the trenches of the welfare battle. And the keynote speakers were Andy Burnham and Louise Haigh. Continue reading...
Massive wins and the promise of change – but that’s where the Starmer-Albanese similarities end
While Anthony Albanese calls ousted British PM Keir Starmer his mate, the pair share very different political fortunes Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese channelled Paul Keating as he spoke to government MPs in Canberra this week, reflecting on the tough work of reform. Keating, Albanese said, considered Labor to be a bit like a bicycle. “It only stands up when you pedal,” the party grandee once warned, suggesting that without ideas, direction or momentum, the whole show falls over. Continue reading...