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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Trump forced to drain the reflecting pool swamp – podcast
The Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington DC will have to be drained again. Donald Trump has blamed vandalism for the failure to keep the water “American flag blue”. But what if this small body of water is proof that the president can’t outrun the truth? Jonathan Freedland speaks to Arwa Mahdawi about why this project, which has cost the taxpayer millions, is proving to be such an embarrassing failure for a man obsessed with image Archive: AP, Reuters Continue reading...
Brexit: An Oral History – podcast
This week marked 10 years since the UK chose to leave the EU. In a series of interviews with key players from both sides, Kiran Stacey looks back on the Brexit vote that changed the country forever Read the Guardian’s full article on Brexit here Continue reading...
Russia preparing possible ‘provocation’ in Baltic states or Poland, sources say
Kremlin may attempt to test Nato cohesion as Russia comes under growing pressure from Ukraine, according to sources from two countries Two countries on Nato’s eastern flank have warned that Russia is preparing a possible “provocation” in the Baltic states or Poland in an effort to test the cohesion of the western military alliance. Western sources also fear there could be danger on the horizon because the Kremlin is coming under pressure from Ukraine’s campaign of long-range attacks on targets near Moscow and St Petersburg. Continue reading...
European heatwave is worst ever and impossible without climate crisis, scientists say
Study also finds high humidity means people in hundreds of cities are enduring their worst ever heat stress The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever and is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists have said. Almost half of Europe’s 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, they found. Muggier conditions mean sweating is less effective at cooling the body, making heatwaves even more dangerous. Continue reading...
‘Kind of miracle solution’: How Paris is harnessing the Seine to replace air-con
City plans to triple system of underground pipes that distribute chilled river water, reducing need for individual cooling units As heatwaves intensify across Europe, most cities are reaching for a familiar fix of more air conditioning. But in 1990s Paris, planning began for a different kind of solution: one of the world’s largest district cooling networks. The system has 120kms (75-miles) of underground pipes distributing chilled water to museums, offices, hospitals, schools and other public buildings including the Louvre, the Grand Palais, and some luxury hotels and office districts. Instead of thousands of individual air-conditioning units, cooling is produced centrally and shared across the city like a utility. Continue reading...
H.R. 9495: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2027
Bill Text: This bill's text for status (June 26, 2026) is now available.
H.R. 2076: Lulu’s Law
Enacted — Signed by the President: All of this bill was incorporated into S. 1003: Lulu’s Law, which was enacted (🖊️ by president) on June 26, 2026.
S. 1003: Lulu’s Law
Enacted — Signed by the President: Last Action: Signed by President. Explanation: This bill was enacted after being signed by the President on June 26, 2026.
Woman arrested after her 84-year-old mother found dead in Sydney aged care home
Police allege the Rooty Hill care home resident was administered an unknown substance by her daughter An 84-year-old woman who was found dead in an aged care home was allegedly administered an unknown substance by her daughter. Emergency services were called to Our Lady of Consolation aged care home in Rooty Hill in Sydney’s far west around 11.35pm on Thursday. Continue reading...
Wayne Swan likens Hanson to Trump and says Labor must stop One Nation’s ‘dark, dystopic picture of the future’
Australian Labor party president says authoritarian trends must not be ‘normalised’ in Australia Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Labor must not allow increasingly authoritarian trends in Australian politics to become “normalised”, ALP president Wayne Swan has warned, likening Pauline Hanson’s attacks on multiculturalism and journalists to Donald Trump’s hostile takeover of American civic life. “A toxic seed blooms into a garden of noxious weeds when we stop gardening,” the former treasurer said on Friday. Continue reading...
A British woman was strangled in the UK – why did the US military try her case? – podcast
When the academic Sarah Steele was assaulted in England, she had no idea her case would end up in front of a US military court. Harry Davies explains why military judges and juries are ruling on crimes committed in the UK A little-known system in which US military personnel are tried through a court martial for alleged crimes committed in the UK is under growing scrutiny. One person who has been through that system is the academic Sarah Steele. Steele told the Guardian investigations correspondent Harry Davies that after she was strangled one night by Jacob Wulfson, a US fighter pilot who lived in a flat in Cambridge, her case was taken up by the US military justice system. The members of the jury at her trial were all men from the air force. “ It’s been really difficult having to literally sit in a room full of people in uniform, overwhelmingly older men, and have those individuals who haven’t any semblance of life experience similar to my own; they were culturally different,” she said. Continue reading...
Fifa confirms rainbow flags to be allowed at Egypt v Iran World Cup ‘Pride Match’
LGBTQ+ festivities organised around match in Seattle Iran coach says he and his team are focused on football Iran and Egypt attempted to sidestep questions about their reluctance to take part in the designated “Pride Match” celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle, as Fifa confirmed it will permit rainbow flags to be displayed inside the stadium. Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has been at pains to make clear planned festivities are being arranged by Seattle’s organising committee to coincide with the annual Pride weekend and that they have “nothing to do with the match itself”. Both Iran and Egypt lodged complaints to Fifa about the LGBTQ+ events staged around the game and requested for them to be cancelled. In Iran, LGBTQ+ relationships are illegal, and Egypt has a history of prosecuting queer and trans people. Iran’s pre-match press conference began with a statement from their federation requesting all questions were in relation to the team, tactics and the match. Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said he did not wish to speak about “anything that is banned in our league”. Continue reading...
Former Las Vegas youth pastor dies days after being charged in wife’s fatal fall
David Vander Meer was recently arrested for the death of his wife in national park 20 years ago after new information revealed A Las Vegas man and former youth pastor died dead days after he was arrested and charged with murdering his wife, who plummeted thousands of feet to her death while hiking in Utah ’s Zion national park in 2006. At a scheduled extradition hearing on Thursday, a Las Vegas judge announced that David Vander Meer was deceased, according to KSNV . Continue reading...
Xi Jinping has hosted more than a dozen leaders this year, as ‘middle powers’ look beyond the US
China’s leader wants to promote his alternative to the current world order, and his efforts are being assisted by a capricious US Xi Jinping meets Bangladesh’s new prime minister on Friday, the latest in a wave of world leaders to visit Beijing this year as the Chinese leader builds his influence and economic ties, and seeks to “shift the balance of power” away from the west. Xi’s meeting with Tarique Rahman comes less than two weeks after the Chinese leader welcomed Myanmar’s military chief-turned-president, Min Aung Hlaing, in Beijing. Continue reading...
Australian musicians sound warning note after Nick Cave, Kylie and many more slurped into AI training tool
‘It’s all just rendered useless’ Something For Kate’s Paul Dempsey says as AI scrapes millions of songs to learn how to make music Paul Dempsey and Bernard Fanning are among big-name Australian musicians upset that their original songs have been found in datasets used to train artificial intelligence. A dataset search tool recently created by US publication The Atlantic reveals millions of creative works have been scraped from the internet to train the disruptive technology. Continue reading...
Trump news at a glance: US asylum policy slated to change after supreme court ruling
Supreme court ruling will allow Trump administration to block asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border – key US politics stories from Thursday 25 June The US supreme court has given the Trump administration a green light to block asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border, in a decision that fundamentally reshapes the US asylum system. The decision allows the Trump administration to revive its so-called turn-back or “metering” policy, allowing federal agents at the US border to stop migrants from physically setting foot on US soil, where federal law guarantees them the right to claim asylum and protection from persecution. Continue reading...
California’s proposed billionaire tax: what you need to know
Plan to levy 5% tax on California billionaires championed by progressives – but state’s super rich are forcefully opposed Full story: California billionaire tax heads to ballot The proposed billionaire tax in California is officially heading to voters’ ballots in November. After getting more than double the necessary signatures to qualify, the secretary of state certified the ballot measure late on Thursday. The confirmation came after backroom dealing didn’t pan out between California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, who opposes the proposal, and the labor union backing it. Continue reading...
California billionaire tax will appear on ballot after deadline for deal passes
Proposal to introduce one-time tax of 5% will go to voters in November after backers decline to withdraw measure California’s billionaire tax, explained: what you need to know California voters will get to decide in November whether billionaires should pay a one-time 5% tax, after a deadline passed on Thursday for its backers to withdraw the measure. The so-called billionaire tax is among the highest-profile ballot efforts in the US this year taking aim at rising wealth disparities, and is set to be one of the state’s most contentious ballot initiatives. It has already spurred tech moguls to pour millions of dollars into attempts to stop the proposal. Continue reading...
JD Vance says Nixon’s Watergate scandal would be ‘12-hour news story’ today
Vice-president declares admiration for 37th president and claims Nixon and Trump targeted by ‘deep state’ forces JD Vance does not think the era-defining Watergate scandal would have lasted more than a single news cycle in today’s fragmented, hyper-partisan political environment – and certainly would not have led to a president’s downfall. Speaking at the Richard Nixon presidential library in Yorba Linda, California, on Thursday to promote his new book, Communion, Vance discussed his spiritual journey from atheist to Catholic convert before declaring his admiration for 37th president. Continue reading...
Experts say three recent powerful earthquakes are not related
5.6-magnitude California tremor, 7.2-magnitude temblor in Japan and two quakes in Venezuela all struck within hours A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck a rural part of northern California on Wednesday. Hours later, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the northern coast of Japan and two powerful earthquakes rocked Venezuela in a devastating mass casualty event. The tremors happened in the span of eight hours, prompting online speculation over whether they were related. Continue reading...
Apple raises iPad and MacBook prices, blaming cost of chips amid AI boom
Company says it cannot shield customers from memory and storage chip costs – and iPhone hikes could be next Apple raised iPad and MacBook prices on Thursday, saying it could no longer shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip costs driven by the AI industry’s datacenter buildout. The move does not affect Apple’s cash cow, the iPhone. But it would take starting price of the Neo, its lowest priced laptop, from $599 to $699 mere months after launch. Continue reading...
Paraguay v Australia: World Cup 2026 – live
⚽️ Kick-off time: 7pm local/12pm AEST/3am BST/10pm EDT ⚽️ Third-place table, who has qualified and who needs what? ⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Jonathan Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 60 of the 2026 World Cup between Paraguay and Australia. Kick-off at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium is 7pm local time (10pm EDT / 3am BST / 12pm AEST). It all comes down to this in Group D. Continue reading...
Major wildfire rips through moorland close to Greater Manchester
Blaze on Tintwistle Moor, Glossop, has burned more than 500 square metres, forcing road closures and smoke warning A major wildfire close to Greater Manchester has torn through large areas of moorland for more than 24 hours, forcing road closures and smoke warnings as fire crews battle to bring it under control. The blaze, on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, has burned an area of more than 500 square metres of moorland and woodland, with thick plumes of smoke directly affecting the villages of Tintwistle, Hollingworth and Woolley Bridge. Continue reading...
‘No offence detected’: Victoria police close investigation into Moira Deeming allegation of assault by Matthew Guy
Guy accuses Deeming of making ‘ridiculous and unsubstantiated’ claims as state Liberal party grapples with fallout Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Police have concluded their investigation into Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming’s allegation that her colleague Matthew Guy assaulted her, making the finding “no offence detected”. Deeming had reported to police on 16 June that Guy, the opposition’s public transport spokesperson, had assaulted her at a Macedonian community event in Sunshine on 23 May. Continue reading...