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Politics
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Canadian airline cancels flight after child refuses to wear seatbelt
Flight from Victoria to Toronto forced to return to terminal after repeated attempts to secure child in seat failed A Canadian airline cancelled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to wear a seatbelt . The child was standing in their chair as the 6 August Porter Airlines flight taxied towards the runway, the airline said. Repeated attempts by an accompanying parent and crew to secure the child in their seat failed, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark as “the aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition”, it added. Continue reading...
Axe stamp duty? How Andy Burnham could change property tax
The new PM could bring in revenue for social care or defence with a land levy or by reforming council tax Residential property is the largest store of wealth in the UK, and has long been a target for those who believe homes should be taxed more. Real estate remains a juicy plum for Andy Burnham to pick as he searches for ways to pay for an overhaul of the social care system and higher defence spending, to name just two fiscal priorities. Yet how to tax property, or possibly the land it sits on, has vexed economists and politicians for centuries. Here we discuss the background to the debate and some of the tax options. Continue reading...
California’s Big Sur sees evacuation orders as Timber fire grows
Evacuations include famed tourist destinations as blaze grew to over 1,700 acres by Monday Evacuations have been ordered for areas along California’s famous Big Sur coast as a wildfire burns in the nearby steep, rugged mountains. The Timber fire in Monterey county started Sunday and grew to more than 1,700 acres by Monday, according to Cal Fire, the state’s fire agency. Continue reading...
Hard work, community, fair play: Britons have ‘shared set of values’ despite divisions
Poll finds consensus on what makes people proud to be British but deep divisions on issues such as immigration You may think it’s a commitment to buying a round, the ability to chat at length about the weather, or making a proper cup of tea. But when it comes down to what makes people proud to be British, there is a consensus across all ages, demographics and political groups – and tea, pints and the weather don’t get a look-in. Hard work, fair play and community are the values that voters – no matter which political party, age group, social class or region they come from – instinctively believe capture what it means to be British, according to a large-scale study of British values by Public First. Continue reading...
‘A lazy cop’: Maryland police officer allegedly faked traffic stops to avoid service calls
Baltimore officer Dequwan Houchins, 30, indicted for allegedly making false traffic stop reports for months A Baltimore, Maryland, police officer avoided service calls by claiming he was on traffic stops when he was in fact “sitting idle in his car”, according to an indictment filed by city prosecutors. Dequwan Houchins, 30, is accused of four counts of false entry in a public record and five counts of misconduct in office and could face 12 years in jail and a $4,000 fine for each of the false entry charges, if convicted. Continue reading...
Driver who broke the sound barrier to attempt another land speed record in Utah
British driver Andy Green will try to beat his own record, set 20 years ago, with a hydrogen-powered car The first – and only – person to break the sound barrier in a car hits the track in Utah this week with new wheels and his eye on another record. Twenty years ago, British driver Andy Green set the land speed record for a diesel-powered car, reaching 350.092 mph (563.4 km/h) at Utah’s famous Bonneville Salt Flats . Green will return to the lunarlike landscape Tuesday and try to beat that mark, this time with a hydrogen-powered car. Continue reading...
Colombia reels after major earthquake kills at least 130 | First Thing
Buildings collapse and more than 470 people hurt in 7.4-magnitude quake. Plus, in such a vast universe why is there no sign of aliens? Good morning. More than 130 people died after a powerful earthquake struck western Colombia , collapsing and severely damaging scores of buildings in main cities, including Cali and Pereira. The US and Colombian geological surveys reported that a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck at 7.34am local time on Monday, with its epicentre in the western department of Chocó. It was felt in neighbouring Venezuela, still reeling from a deadly double earthquake on 24 June. The quake killed at least 132 people and more than 570 were injured as of Monday afternoon, according to the Colombian Association of Capital Cities, which coordinates cities across the country. How has the government responded ? In a national address, Colombia’s president, Abelardo de la Espriella, said: “The national government has all of its capabilities deployed to protect lives, assist affected communities and deliver aid wherever it is needed. The first priority is rescuing the people trapped under the rubble. Colombia has a president whose heart aches for his people and who will do everything in his power to help them in the most difficult moments.” Continue reading...
Doctors at remote Devon hospital get ‘crash course’ after maternity unit shut
Staff at North Devon district hospital given training in difficult births in case mothers-to-be cannot get to Exeter Doctors at one of England’s remotest hospitals have been given a “crash course” in birth emergencies after its maternity unit was shut and as fears grow that the safety of women and babies may be put at risk. From Tuesday, the maternity service at North Devon district hospital (NDDH) in Barnstaple has been suspended indefinitely owing to staff shortages, leaving many pregnant women facing a journey of at least an hour and a half when they go into labour. Continue reading...
An HBCU has banned durags and bonnets. That reinforces anti-Blackness | AD Carson
Tuskegee University’s dress code is a marker of a harmful politics of respectability. In my academic career, it’s become all too familiar In anticipation of the coming school year, the president of Tuskegee University, Dr Mark A Brown, sent welcome letters to students and their parents last month. Part of the message focused on the university’s policy for student attire . A newly enforced dress code prohibits students from wearing “revealing clothing in class, to the cafeteria or in official settings like Convocation. They are also not able to wear bedroom shoes, bonnets, or durags to class or the cafeteria.” Dr Brown goes on to let the students know: “Faculty will be empowered to respond to students who are inappropriately dressed based on these guidelines.” The policy has produced polarized responses. Supporters believe that since the university is a private school, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have often been places where Black people learn discipline and earn entrance into the professional world, this dress code is simply reinforcing a tradition that calls for students to exhibit professionalism during their training. It harkens back to WEB DuBois’s idea of a “Talented Tenth”, which would consist of upwardly mobile Black leaders such as teachers and other professionals whose example of hard work and social standing would uplift the entire race. Continue reading...
HCA workers push for higher pay and more staffing amid billions in profits: ‘I’m struggling’
Largest for-profit hospital system and operator in the US reported $6.8bn in profits, while employees find it difficult to make ends meet Union workers with HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit hospital system and operator in the US, are holding picket protests across the country as they push for pay and staffing increases in a new contract. The hospital system has over 300,000 employees in the US and the UK, with 22,000 US workers represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who are in contract negotiations with HCA. Workers are asking for a pathway to a $25 an hour minimum wage, improved wage scales and raises that match the increased cost of living, along with benefits including paid vacation, sick time and bolstered work protections. Continue reading...
Drought, water rationing and dry rivers: our water crisis is here | Peter Gleick
It doesn’t have to be this way. We know what needs to be done Disturbing news about our water resources is now constant and unrelenting. In just the past few weeks, media have reported that Puerto Rico is suffering a deep water crisis as severe drought has cut water supplies to thousands. The Rhine and Po rivers in Europe are at record low levels . The seven states sharing the Colorado River in the US are fighting over unprecedented shortages , while its major reservoirs have shrunk to their lowest levels since they were built. Hungary’s only nuclear power plant is on the verge of shutting down because there isn’t enough water in the Danube River to cool it. Toxic chemicals have been found in all English water bodies . Continue reading...
Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon picks raise questions over Trump family business ties
Two advisers have links to a venture fund co-investing in US defense companies that benefit from federal spending Pete Hegseth ’s appointments to a key Pentagon advisory body include two men with ties to the venture capital fund where Donald Trump Jr is a partner, which has lucrative investments in military and space technology. Defense Policy Board appointee Marc Andreessen’s firm, Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firms and known by the name “a16z”, co-invests alongside the Trump partnership 1789 Capital in three defense contractors. Fellow DPB appointee Blake Masters also sits on the boards of three ventures tied to 1789 Capital. Continue reading...
Hotel prices in Europe jump before total solar eclipse
Rooms in Icelandic capital Reykjavík cost double usual rate and Spain also enjoying strong bookings Europe’s total solar eclipse: the best place to see it Hotel prices have surged in key European cities as hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to see the first total eclipse visible from the continent this century. Iceland’s capital, Reykjavík, has seen one of the biggest jumps in hotel room prices, being one of the few accessible locations to see the full eclipse before evening on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Democratic progressives and establishment set to clash in more primaries – US politics live
Tuesday’s competitions in Wisconsin and Minnesota follow similar battles for the direction of the party, including last week in Michigan where progressive Abdul El-Sayed triumphed Sign up to the US Breaking News email Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Democratic primaries for governor in Wisconsin and US senator in Minnesota will once again see left-wing candidates face off against more traditional ones. President Donald Trump departed on a secret military flight from Turkey last month when the White House said he was flying aboard Air Force One, an extraordinary move prompted by an Iranian assassination threat, the Washington Post reported on Monday. Trump signed an executive order that will involve splitting up the highly effective measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three single shots. The president also announced an overhaul to the childhood immunization schedule, scrapping recommendations for the hepatitis b, Covid-19 and influenza vaccines. He also suggested that the number of inoculations is linked to the rate of autism in the US, despite no proven link between the two. Medical experts have blasted the changes, calling it “problematic and deeply concerning.” Todd Blanche has been sworn as US attorney general, cementing Trump’s installation of his former personal attorney in charge of the Department of Justice. Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since April, was confirmed in his new position during a ceremony at the White House on Monday. Trump has named White House staff secretary Will Scharf to become White House counsel and assistant to the president , replacing David Warrington, who is taking a job in the private sector. In taking up that role, Scharf will become the White House’s top lawyer after overseeing the administrative work of the Oval Office in his current position. Lawyers for David Hearn, the Olympian who was arrested for alleged property destruction of the reflecting pool before his charges were dropped , said that the Trump administration is “continuing to attack an innocent man”. Continue reading...
Syrian court sentences Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia for war crimes
Verdict relates to atrocities committed during the country’s 14-year civil war in which about 500,000 people died A Syrian court has sentenced the country’s former president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher to death in absentia for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 14-year civil war, in which about half a million people died. The two men fled to Moscow after being ousted by a lightning rebel offensive in December 2024 which toppled the dictatorial regime in just 11 days. Continue reading...
Meta glasses banned from courts in England and Wales
Exclusive: Court service says anyone trying to enter buildings with glasses will have them confiscated and returned when they leave Courts in England and Wales have joined a number of restaurants, theatres and pubs in banning Meta glasses, amid a mounting backlash against what has been described as “spyware”. Last month courts in New York announced a ban on the controversial glasses, which can record video footage while being worn. Continue reading...
Minnesota primaries could mark change of path for Democrats and Republicans
From progressive and moderate to election deniers, state sees wide spectrum of candidates in test of direction for both parties Minnesota voters on both sides of the aisle are weighing the direction of their parties – and their chances of winning over the general electorate – in marquee statewide races on Tuesday. On the left, Peggy Flanagan, the state lieutenant governor and a progressive, faces off against Angie Craig, a US representative, for the Democratic bid for US senate in a race punctuated by the role of immigration enforcement in the state that saw two residents killed by immigration agents in a winter surge. Continue reading...
‘Fiercely independent’ South Carolina votes on Lindsey Graham’s Senate successor
Republicans, including Graham’s sister Darline, expedite campaigns to replace late senator in special primary race In the race to replace the late US senator Lindsey Graham, 10 candidates have been barnstorming South Carolina diners, church halls and recreation centers, compressing a normal year of campaigning into about a fortnight. The Republican party is staging a special primary election in the state on Tuesday to choose Graham’s replacement. His sister, Darline, who has been serving as interim senator following his sudden death last month, is on the ballot. Continue reading...
Wisconsin considers democratic socialist for governor amid US wave of progressive wins
Francesca Hong is Democratic frontrunner in four-way primary race to lead the swing state, a test of anti-establishment sentiment Wisconsin voters will decide on Tuesday whether to nominate a democratic socialist for the state’s highest office in the latest test of an anti-establishment wave among Democratic primary voters. Francesca Hong , a democratic socialist state lawmaker, emerged as the frontrunner in a four-way race to succeed Tony Evers, the Democratic governor who is not seeking another term. Continue reading...
Trump’s vaccine order is about feelings, not facts | Robert B Shpiner
There’s no evidence that vaccines cause autism, or that we should separate MMR shots. This order is dangerous “This is based on what I feel.” That was the president last September, explaining why he wanted the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine broken into three separate shots. On Monday, he signed an executive order instructing exactly that. Four decades in intensive care have taught me what a feeling costs once it becomes national policy. Children will be hospitalized who did not need to be. Some of them will die. No one can name those the vaccine has saved, because prevented harm is invisible by definition, and that invisibility is what makes preventive medicine easy to dismantle and hard to defend. Continue reading...
Experts are warning: our AI arms race is putting humanity at risk | Stuart Russell
A recent letter signed by 1,367 researchers and engineers at frontier AI labs – mainly OpenAI, Anthropic and Google Deepmind – points to a dangerous moment It is fashionable in certain circles to dismiss the catastrophic risks of AI. One often hears that “the real experts” who work on the technology every day are really not concerned at all; that only “doomers” and “Luddites” espouse a “fringe” view from a “position of ignorance”; that all talk of potential catastrophe is just “science fiction”. Fortunately, an open letter has been published that lets us hear from the real experts who work on the technology every day, in their own words. And are they worried? Very. Continue reading...
The return of the caspian tiger: how a species feared extinct has come back to Kazakhstan
The wild capture and release of a female big cat into a nature reserve is the first step towards reintroducing a population that hasn’t been seen for 70 years On 31 July, “Umit” – which means hope in Kazakh – was released into a nature reserve on the edge of Lake Balkhash after more than a decade of careful planning to return the caspian tiger to the region. With this release, Kazakhstan became the first country to restore its tiger range after they had been thought extinct, with the last reliable sighting in the country recorded more than 70 years ago. Umit – a wild-caught female tiger transported from the Russian far east – will be joined by more big cats in the coming years, with plans to establish a self-sustaining population of about 50. A wild-caught male flown from Russia is still being monitored by authorities and will be released when he is judged fit to survive alone. Two wild tiger cubs are also being reared on the reserve in special enclosures, with as little human contact as possible, and are likely to be released into the marshlands next year, to feast on boar, deer and kulans, a type of wild donkey. Continue reading...
Luigi Mangione due to appear in New York court over healthcare CEO’s killing
Prosecutors allege 28-year-old gunned down Brian Thompson outside Manhattan hotel in 2024 Luigi Mangione, who is accused of the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson , is due to appear on Tuesday morning at Manhattan state court. Mangione’s appearance comes less than a month before the start of his highly anticipated 8 September trial. Prosecutors allege that Mangione gunned down Thompson outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel on 4 December 2024. Continue reading...
Burnham rough-sleeper pledge at risk from failures in housing ex-prisoners, charity warns
Analysis finds nearly one in six people leaving jail last year in England and Wales were released into homelessness Andy Burnham’s pledge to end rough sleeping is under threat from a failure to find accommodation for a growing number of newly released prisoners, a charity has warned. An analysis by the social justice charity Nacro has found that nearly one in six people leaving jail in England and Wales last year were released into homelessness, reaching the highest rate for five years. Continue reading...