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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Two people killed and child injured in northern California library shooting
Suspect in incident at Chico branch of Butte county library arrested, police say, but no known motive Two people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern California library on Monday evening, authorities said. A suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department. Continue reading...
US AI stock sell-off shakes markets from Wall Street to Asia
Losses spread globally as investors questioned soaring valuations and spending on AI infrastructure A tech sell-off shook global markets on Tuesday as attention turned away from developments in the US war with Iran and toward the future of AI companies and chipmakers that have driven stock markets to record highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index opened 2% lower on Tuesday. The Dow and S&P 500 were also down at opening. Continue reading...
Body found in south Wales believed to be missing 14-year-old girl
Gwent police launch murder investigation as Blaenau Gwent councillor says people are ‘devastated’ by the news Police have launched a murder investigation after the discovery of a body believed to be a missing 14-year-old girl in south Wales. The body was found in Duffryn Park in the town of Blaina, Blaenau Gwent at approximately 10.10pm on Monday night, the police force said in a statement. Continue reading...
From yoghurt to luxury sails: how to shade your home from supercharged UK heatwaves
As hot weather becomes more common, companies and homeowners are coming up with innovative ways to keep properties cool When graphic designer Marc Alabaster had a new set of glass doors installed at his West Sussex home eight years ago, he soon realised how they magnified the heat of the afternoon sun. “The kitchen was 40-plus degrees,” he said. Then he went on holiday to Spain and saw an apartment building wrapped in louvre-like rows of angled fins or blades that shaded the external walls against the sun. Continue reading...
Major incident declared after bus crash in west Wales
Injuries reported as bus is said to have flipped on to its side after collision on roundabout on outskirts of Kidwelly Police have declared a major incident after a bus crash in west Wales. Dyfed-Powys police said on Tuesday afternoon there had been a collision involving a bus on a roundabout on the A484 on the outskirts of Kidwelly, in Carmarthenshire. Continue reading...
Forty drown across France in heatwave and parts of Spain above 30C at night
France has its hottest night on record, 15 Italian cities under red heat alert and UN chief says London is ‘cooking’ Europe heatwave live – latest updates Forty people have drowned while swimming in unsupervised areas across France in recent days, the prime minister has said, as people across the country sought respite from the record-breaking heatwave sweeping across much of Europe. “There is a tragic scourge of drownings,” Sébastien Lecornu said on Tuesday. “The latest figures we’ve received are 40 deaths since 18 June. Most of the victims are young people.” Continue reading...
Burnham adviser calls for billions of pounds in borrowing for infrastructure
Exclusive: Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, says government should spend more on major projects The man tapped by Andy Burnham to be his chief economic adviser has called for billions of pounds more borrowing to pay for investment in infrastructure, in a sign of how Burnham may seek to break from the policies pursued by Keir Starmer. Jim O’Neill, an economist and former minister, said he wanted the government to create an independent body for infrastructure spending along the lines of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which could be freed up to spend significantly more on major projects. Continue reading...
Hantavirus quarantine ends for Americans held for six weeks in Nebraska
The US health department said the enforced 42-day quarantine was necessary to protect the public Eight Americans quarantined for six weeks in Nebraska after they were exposed to a deadly hantavirus outbreak were released on Monday, including one who accused the government of holding her against her will . The US health and human services department (HHS) confirmed that it had ended the required isolation for the group, who were among dozens evacuated from the MV Hondius cruise ship in the Canary Islands early in May. Continue reading...
UK prioritised ties with UAE over averting mass atrocities in Sudan, MPs to be told
Foreign Office failed to act on warnings of genocide due to ‘pressure’ from emirates, Yale human rights investigator will tell a parliamentary select committee The British government had received intelligence that Ethiopia appeared to be supporting a genocidal militia in Sudan’s civil war as far back as 2024 but did not go public with the news for fear of upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a parliamentary committee will hear. In May 2024, officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told Nathaniel Raymond , an American human rights investigator at Yale University, that “significant private pressure” from the UAE meant the UK would not publicly divulge information linking Ethiopia and the emirates to their support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Continue reading...
Audit firm to Gupta metals empire fined and banned for ‘egregious’ failures
UK watchdog gives King & King severe reprimand for failing ‘to identify clear self-interest’ when conducting audits Business live – latest updates The UK’s accounting watchdog has fined and temporarily banned a tiny audit firm for “egregious” failures and “widespread deficiencies” linked to its work in signing off accounts of several companies in Sanjeev Gupta’s metals empire. King & King and its managing partner Milankumar Patel have been fined a total of £378,184, received a “severe reprimand”, and hit with serious restrictions on audit work after a four-year investigation by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). Continue reading...
Marco Rubio to meet Gulf allies amid division over US-Iran ceasefire deal
US secretary of state to reassure UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain that his country remains committed to their security Middle East crisis live – latest updates Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, is to meet Gulf allies on Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to reassure them that the US remains committed to their security and the 60-day ceasefire deal struck with Iran last week will not embolden Tehran. The Gulf is divided over the deal. While Qatar has played a central role in mediating the agreement, some countries – notably the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain – are fearful it hands Iran substantial sums that may be ploughed into its military. Continue reading...
Nationalist group leaders agree to stop hoisting St George’s flags in Oxfordshire
Representatives of Raise the Colours appeared in court after local council accused them of intimidating staff Leaders of the nationalist group Raise the Colours have agreed to stop hoisting England flags from lamp-posts in Oxfordshire after the local authority sought a high court injunction against the campaign . Ryan Bridge, Ben Cullen and Trudy Wells told the high court on Tuesday they would not raise St George’s flags from Oxfordshire county council property, encourage others to do so or impede council workers from taking them down. Continue reading...
New Trump book’s authors detail how they pried loose White House secrets: ‘We nearly killed ourselves’
Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, the reporters behind Regime Change, were up against an administration that is ‘very good at keeping secrets’ They cracked the White House situation room, unearthing secrets from the heart of a secretive administration. But the reporters behind Regime Change, a blockbuster new book on Donald Trump’s second term, ran up against a wall when reporting on one issue surrounding the 80-year-old US president: his fitness for office. “His health has always been a very specific lockbox for him, going back decades,” Maggie Haberman, co-author with Jonathan Swan, said in an interview. “Illness freaks him out; he perceives illness as weakness, usually, and he certainly perceives any sense that he is having an issue as a projection of weakness, and his advisers are very, very attuned to that. Continue reading...
Hosepipe ban introduced by South East Water as heatwave causes surge in demand
Company urges customers in Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire to use water only for essential purposes as temperatures soar Europe heatwave live – latest updates A hosepipe ban has been put in place by South East Water in Kent , Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire, after a surge in demand amid the ongoing heatwave . The company said it treated and supplied 644m litres of water on Sunday 21 June, 56m litres more than the average daily demand for June of 588m litres. Continue reading...
Montblanc pens to Le Creuset ramekins: police photos show Peter Murrell’s spending habit
Haul found is only a fraction of what the former SNP chief executive bought using embezzled party money The white police evidence tags on the unused Montblanc pens, picnic sets, Le Creuset ramekins and the chrome Alessi teapot tell a story of a compulsive, often secretive shopaholic. The £2,400 Smythson two-person tea set, complete in a beige picnic box, was found in a cupboard, unused, as were jewellery boxes and leather-bound writing folders. There were 11 Montblanc pens, with a white gold version worth £4,225, untouched in their gleaming presentation boxes. Continue reading...
Deadly collapse at Florida condo happened slowly over several weeks, report finds
Building had been vulnerable before it collapsed in the middle of the night, killing 98 people in 2021 The deadly destruction of a Florida beachfront condominium actually started weeks before it collapsed into a pile of rubble in the middle of the night, killing 98 people in 2021 – but the building had been vulnerable from the start, federal investigators found in a final report issued on Monday. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) said in the report that two connections between garage columns and the pool deck started to fail around early June. The combination of a structure design that did not meet building codes and alterations made to it over its 40 years meant that the other parts of the pool deck weren’t strong enough to withstand the extra load, leading to the type of slow-motion collapse. Continue reading...
Manfred defends MLB’s response to Bible verses on players’ Pride caps
San Francisco Giants pitchers wrote Bible verses on hats MLB had warned players over violation of league rules MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has defended the league’s policy over Pride celebrations in a letter to Republican senator Josh Hawley. Most of MLB’s 30 teams celebrate Pride month with a themed game to acknowledge the LGBTQ community and its baseball fans. During a 12 June game against the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco pitchers Landen Roupp, JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker wrote Bible verses on their hats , which featured the Giants’ logo in rainbow colors, while pitcher Sam Hentges chose not to wear the themed cap at all. Continue reading...
Ransom note about Nancy Guthrie's disappearance says she died, according to reports
Note reportedly said kidnappers her didn’t mean to kill mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, but she died shortly after her disappearance A ransom note related to the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie – the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie – said the 84-year-old had died, CNN and other news organizations are reporting, citing law enforcement sources. Some media outlets had previously reported receiving ransom notes tied to the case in the days after Guthrie’s disappearance in early February from her home in the foothills just outside Tucson, Arizona. Continue reading...
Europe’s media look on in bemusement at Downing Street’s post-Brexit ‘revolving door’
Front pages across the continent reflect on Britain’s political turmoil after Starmer becomes seventh prime minister to quit since 2016 Europe live – latest updates In Germany, Downing Street was likened to a transit station, given the regular comings and goings of different prime ministers and staff. Meanwhile, a bemused Spanish newspaper concluded No 10 seemed to have been fitted with a revolving door. As news outlets across Europe digested the implications of Keir Starmer’s precipitous fall from landslide election winner to ousted prime minister , many also focused on a wider reality – Britain’s once much vaunted political stability was a thing of the past. Continue reading...
A super El Niño threatens disaster. Trump is handling it recklessly | Terry Garcia
The administration interrupted data streams that are key to forecasting. These systems should not be vulnerable to political whims In 1877, North Americans experienced an unusually mild winter – it was known as the “year without a winter”. It coincided with one of the strongest El Niño events ever recorded. Scientists suspect the same El Niño was a major factor in one of the worst environmental disasters in history. As much of the world was enveloped in drought, harvests collapsed in India, China, parts of Africa, and Brazil. The drought, compounded by colonial and other socioeconomic policies, led to the “Great Famine”, which killed between 30 and 60 million people, about 3% of the world’s population at the time. What distinguishes us from the victims of 1877 is not luck but data. When I served as deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, I saw modern ocean monitoring and forecasting provide the advance warnings the Victorians lacked. This lead time saves thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year. Today, we can anticipate climate shocks before they arrive. Terry Garcia is a former deputy administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Continue reading...
Reader Q&A: ask Rafael Behr your questions now
It’s 10 years since Brexit – and it’s also another one of those weeks in British politics … Guardian columnist Rafael Behr will be here at 5pm to answer your questions about Burnham, Starmer, Brexit and more. Sign up here to join the discussion and post your questions Welcome to our latest Q&A with a Guardian journalist. Raf will be joining us at 5pm. We have originally asked him to take questions about Brexit as we mark 10 years since the UK’s vote to leave the EU. But … you may well have questions about the last 48 hours as Andy Burnham looks certain to become the next prime minister. In the meantime, though, Andrew Sparrow is covering another busy and dramatic day in Westminster on the politics live blog and here’s some more on the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership: Continue reading...
Kenyan minister orders halt to construction of US Ebola facility
Decision comes after Aden Duale was held in contempt for ignoring previous high court ruling to stop work Kenya’s health minister has told a court he has ordered a halt to preparations for a US-run Ebola quarantine facility, after being held in contempt for ignoring a previous stop-work order. Many Kenyans strongly oppose the plan and deadly protests have erupted since the facility was announced in May for US citizens evacuated from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is grappling with a large-scale Ebola outbreak. Continue reading...
Majority of datacenters are vulnerable to climate threats like floods and fires, study finds
Study warns AI datacenters are vulnerable to the climate hazards that their global greenhouse gas emissions bolster Amid rising concern that the artificial intelligence boom is fueling the climate crisis, a new report has found that nearly 80% of datacenters are also exposed to extreme climate hazards, including flooding, extreme winds and wildfires. Those impacts are leaving the infrastructure vulnerable to disrupted operations, increased time offline and inflated insurance and repair costs, the research from climate risk analytics firm First Street shows. Continue reading...
Look at Keir Starmer’s tenure as prime minister. This is no ‘decent man’ who got unlucky | Owen Jones
From Gaza to the Peter Mandelson row, his abandoned pledges to the ‘island of strangers’ claim, Starmer’s time at No 10 was truly dismal Good riddance, Keir Starmer. No sooner had the toppled prime minister wiped away his tears than the solemn guff began. The Labour leader is “principled” and “driven by a deep sense of public service and duty to this country”, said deputy prime minister David Lammy. He showed “the great dignity and integrity that is the mark of the man”, said energy secretary Ed Miliband. “A devoted and dedicated public servant” said home secretary Shabana Mahmood. No. This was not a decent man defeated by circumstance, a man of duty and integrity who was simply in the wrong job, a principled leader undone by events. This was an unprincipled politician who abandoned promises with as much enthusiasm as he trousered freebies from rich donors . Continue reading...