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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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New York Jets’ Qwan’tez Stiggers in hospital after collapsing during practice
Cornerback loses consciousness during joint practice Team indicate 24-year-old is recovering well New York Jets cornerback Qwan’tez Stiggers was taken to a hospital by ambulance after he briefly lost consciousness during a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday. Jets coach Aaron Glenn said the 24-year-old Stiggers was conscious and talking on the field before being put on a stretcher and taken for further examination. There was no immediate word on Stiggers’ condition, but Glenn indicated the cornerback was recovering well. Continue reading...
Trump 'secretly switched planes via catering truck' amid Iran threat | Deconstructed – video
In July, Donald Trump hid in a catering truck and reportedly secretly switched planes in a security ruse prompted by a credible Iranian assassination threat. The Guardian breaks down the footage from that day, showing how the president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jumbo jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies preflight. Trump’s actual location was concealed from journalists and some White House staff, who thought they were traveling with Trump on the older plane Trump reportedly hid in catering container to board secret flight in Turkey amid Iran threat Continue reading...
Richard Tice accused of ‘nasty tactics’ over legal threat to the Guardian
Reform deputy leader condemned for seeking disclosure of documents that could reveal reporter’s sources Richard Tice has been accused of using “nasty tactics” in an attempt to intimidate journalists and deflect attention from his own financial affairs after issuing a legal threat to the Guardian. In a letter sent from his lawyers, a Guardian correspondent was singled out for her reporting on a series of Tice’s financial transactions that were referred to the National Crime Agency. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on AI money in US politics: not the way to hold an urgent democratic debate | Editorial
Amid public concern over the impact of new technology, Silicon Valley’s use of its wealth to influence specific election races is an unwelcome development As the huge societal ramifications of artificial intelligence have become clear, some of the tech industry’s most senior figures have taken to writing thinkpieces on what comes next. The latest to do so is Mark Zuckerberg, who this week published 6,500 words making the case for a laissez-faire approach to AI development. Worrying too much about regulation, Meta’s CEO unsurprisingly opines, could lead to the United States falling behind in the race to own the future. Mr Zuckerberg’s plea for maximum autonomy is, of course, self-serving. Much of his essay – which airily envisions “invention superpowers” for every entrepreneur and “an abundance of jobs in the future” – reads like unadulterated tech-utopianism. But the lobbying at least has the merit of being out there in the open. As midterm elections loom in the US, darker arts are also being used to counter popular concern about what AI will mean for a host of topics, from the labour market to child safety, the environment and cybersecurity. Continue reading...
How viable are plans to free up prison space in England and Wales?
The PM is proposing three ways of increasing jail capacity – but none offer a quick or straightforward solution Andy Burnham said on Monday he was “increasingly confident” that PC Andrew Harper’s killers would not be freed in the new year. Determined to ensure that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were jailed for 13 years in 2020 for manslaughter, serve their full sentences, he has asked the justice secretary, Alex Norris, to examine three options for increasing prison capacity. Continue reading...
The Office actor Lucy Davis says she has incurable stage four breast cancer
Star, 53, says disease has metastasised to her bones and it is too late for chemotherapy Lucy Davis, the actor best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in The Office, has said she has incurable stage four breast cancer. The 53-year-old said she was diagnosed a year and a half ago and the disease had metastasised to her bones including her spine, right hip and ribs. She said it was too late for chemotherapy. Continue reading...
Florida paddleboarder rescues woman from alligator attack
Mike Heard used his paddle to strike gator that had latched on to swimmer in Silver River after hearing yells of ‘Gator!’ A Florida paddleboarder rescued a woman from an alligator attack in Marion county over the weekend. On Saturday, an alligator bit the woman on the arm while she was swimming in the Silver River, according to local reports citing Marion county authorities. Continue reading...
Will Andy Burnham’s everyday fixes be enough to get the public on his side?
The prime minister’s money-saving policies are popular but they are yet to convince voters he can take on the big things It was last year that Martin Lewis, the money-saving guru, advised the government to find “100 small things that piss people off” and set about sorting them out. That approach has been adopted almost immediately by Andy Burnham since entering office, as he began his programme of “everyday fixes” to tackle problems that can be dealt with through minor policy tweaks. Continue reading...
‘Abusive’ man found guilty of harassing Stella Creasy MP on tube train
Clifford Wilby, 63, started talking to Walthamstow MP about knife crime and her ‘failings as a member of parliament’ A 63-year-old man has been found guilty of harassing the Labour MP Stella Creasy after he was “abusive and aggressive” on a tube train. Clifford Wilby, of east London, saw the MP for Walthamstow in July 2025 on a Victoria Line train, Westminster magistrates’ court heard. Continue reading...
Probation staff vote to strike in blow to Burnham plans on early release
Napo members overwhelmingly back action after union had criticised prisons proposals as rushed Probation staff have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike, in a potentially serious complication to Andy Burnham’s plans to tweak an early release scheme for prisoners to try to exclude more serious offenders, among them the killers of PC Andrew Harper. While the vote by members of Napo was not directly connected to the early release plans, the probation officers’ union has previously criticised the proposals as rushed. The union said the 91% vote in favour of a strike would come as a blow to ministers as they put together the plan. Continue reading...
University of Michigan to switch to pass/fail grades for first-semester students
School said it is pivoting away from letter-grading system to ‘curb the mental health crisis’ among college students The University of Michigan will pivot to a pass-or-fail-style grading system, instead of letter grades, for first-semester students in an effort to “curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals”. The school said in a notice on Tuesday that its goal is “to help first-year students acclimate to the demands of college and allow intrinsic motivations to guide personally meaningful academic journeys” and foster “a culture of connection and collaboration – rather than competition”. Continue reading...
Apple TV eyes US broadcast rights to The Open as foray into sports broadcasting continues
NBC is current US broadcaster of tournament Streaming services making inroads into live sports Apple TV has joined the battle to win US rights to golf’s Open Championship in the streaming platform’s latest move into sport. The Guardian has learned that Apple has had preliminary discussions with the R&A about bidding for The Open, whose current US deal with NBC expires in 2028. Continue reading...
To all the betting shops littering our high streets: people power is coming and the odds are against you | Dawn Butler
Too many shops are blighting too many communities. With the rule change I fought for now on the horizon, ordinary people can fight back How much gambling do you want in your high street? Are you happy with all the betting shops, the problems they cause, the effect on your environment? It’s worth asking because for years, local councils have been expected to say yes to new gambling venues, even when communities made clear they did not want them. Now, under new rules announced on Monday , that’s about to change. And about time. Dawn Butler is the Labour MP for Brent Central 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...
Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from oil and gas assets since joining supreme court, analysis shows
Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms’ climate accountability case Supreme court justice Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from his fossil fuel interests between 2005 and 2024, a new review of financial disclosures shows. The analysis from the non-profit advocacy group and judicial watchdog Court Accountability , shared exclusively with the Guardian, found that even at the lowest range of estimates, Alito gained almost $400,000 from his oil and gas interests since being tapped for the high court by George W Bush in 2005. Continue reading...
Trump put a wrecking-ball through the East Wing – and through democratic norms | Francine Prose
Our children should be able to visit our nation’s capital without having to think about Donald Trump and about how much he did to deface it History has shown us how much dictators and aspiring dictators love building monuments to themselves. They enjoy reminding the world that they can do anything, no matter who is responsible for the physical labor or who will be paying the financial and human cost. They prefer outsized structures, heroic arches, towers and columns designed to prove that their signature and their esthetic will be with us forever, even after they’re dead, though dictators often seem to believe they are too powerful to die. Francine Prose is a former president of PEN American Center and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Continue reading...
Russia frees ex-US marine four years after sentence disputed by his family
Robert Gilman had been deteriorating rapidly in prison and was said to be in a catatonic state Russia has freed a former US marine who had been in jail since 2022, after Vladimir Putin granted the ailing American a pardon on humanitarian grounds. Robert Gilman, 32, an English teacher who briefly served in the US Marines, was travelling by train when he was arrested in the southern Russian city of Voronezh in January 2022 for allegedly kicking a police officer while drunk, according to Russian state media. He was later sentenced to four and a half years in prison, though his family has consistently denied the allegations against him. Continue reading...
‘Real struggle’ to tame New Forest blaze as UK set for hottest summer on record
Key tourist route closed and residents rallying round as battle against wildfire expected to go on for several days The battle to contain a large wildfire spreading across the New Forest will go on for several days, experts have said, as wind changes and a desiccated landscape fuel the flames. Smoke billowed above the deserted A31 road, the main tourist route into the New Forest national park where tens of thousands of families are on holiday, late on Tuesday while a helicopter flew above the blaze. Firefighters at the scene said they were trying to contain several hotspots across the more than 247 acres of dried heathland as winds swirled over the area. Continue reading...
Record-breaking El Capitan climber dies in Sierra Nevada fall
Jacob ‘Jake’ Whisenant died in Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness in ‘climbing-related incident’, authorities say A 30-year-old California climber known for breaking speed records died after falling in the Sierra Nevada wilderness last week, according to authorities. Jacob “Jake” Whisenant, from Mammoth Lakes, California, died in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness on 3 August, according to the Tulare County sheriff’s office coroner unit and the National Park Service (NPS). Continue reading...
US state department has canceled over 175,000 visas since Trump’s return to office
Revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke terms of their visas, says Department of State The US Department of State has canceled more than 175,000 visas since Donald Trump returned to office, quadrupling the pace of revocations under Joe Biden’s final year in the White House, according to a new tally released by the department this week. The announcement said the revocations targeted foreign nationals who allegedly broke the terms of their visas, committed crimes, called for violence against Americans, defrauded US citizens, abused the immigration system or endangered national security. Many followed run-ins with law enforcement, the department said, with assault, drunk driving, theft and drug offenses the leading causes, alongside reckless driving, sexual assault, child abuse and fraud. Continue reading...
Nicola Jennings on a partial solar eclipse on the eve of the Clacton byelection – cartoon
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University of Cambridge whistleblower who reported alleged bullying wins employment tribunal
Prof Wyn Evans, who raised concerns over treatment of female staff at Institute of Astronomy, was subject to ‘baseless’ investigation, judge rules A University of Cambridge whistleblower who alleged bullying of female staff inside the university’s Institute of Astronomy has won a tribunal against his employer. Prof Wyn Evans told a tribunal hearing in June that the Institute suffered from “a bad history of misogyny”. He claimed that one woman in the department had been “hounded out of a job”, another was “left a frightened woman”, and a third had faced “aggressive professors” at the institute. Continue reading...
The RBA likely believes it won’t need to hike rates again – but the worst thing it could do is say that out loud
When it comes to the Reserve Bank, there’s a whiff of a parent making a threat they have no intention of carrying out Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Every parent makes threats in an effort to get their kids to behave – and every parent hopes they won’t have to follow through. Some (most?) parents even make threats they have zero intention of carrying out. Continue reading...
Coalition to back One Nation policy barring overseas Australians with terrorist links from returning home
Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan will support Pauline Hanson’s migration bill despite vowing to fight her rightwing party Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Coalition will back a plan by Pauline Hanson to prevent Australian citizens with links to overseas terrorist groups from returning home, significantly elevating One Nation’s policy prescriptions on matters of national security. Despite pledging to fight Hanson’s insurgent rightwing movement amid collapsing support for their own parties, the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, and Nationals leader, Matt Canavan, both signalled support for One Nation ’s bill to bar the return of foreign fighters ahead of its introduction to the Senate on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Human rights groups sue Trump administration over ‘crippling’ ICC sanctions
Lawsuit challenges Trump’s executive order targeting the ICC for its investigation of Israeli crimes in Palestine Four prominent US human rights organizations have accused the Trump administration of using its “crippling” sanctions regime against the international criminal court (ICC) to undermine global efforts to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday, the groups – the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute – argued that the administration’s targeting of the ICC, as well as of groups and individuals affiliated with it or assisting its work, amounts to a “blatantly illegal attack on international justice”, the groups said. Continue reading...