section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
5445 stories archived
Nazi shipwrecks emerge from the depths as Europe’s Danube dries ups
Unexploded ordnance and a military motorcycle also recovered owing to record heat and drought conditions Record-low water levels in the Danube have exposed remnants of Europe’s Nazi past, with dozens of second world war warships emerging from the riverbed during an intense drought. In the middle of the river on the Serbian and Romanian border, a broken-up hull was visible on a sandbank that is normally underwater. Other vessels were partly submerged, some still believed to be laden with weapons. Continue reading...
Blanche ‘honored’ after Senate confirms him as US attorney general in narrow vote – US politics live
Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer confirmed by 50 votes to 49 early on Saturday morning, with senators deferring action on president’s voting bill until after recess Todd Blanche faced heavy criticism for the department’s sloppy rollout of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which redacted information that should not have been redacted and left unredacted the names of victims that should have been kept private. During his confirmation hearing, Blanche refused to personally meet with Epstein victims, then agreed to do so. The survivors said they received few answers from Blanche during the meeting. Mr Blanche is not perfect, and he will tell you this, but the choice is not between perfection and Mr Blanche. It is between Mr Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr Blanche. Continue reading...
High divers take the plunge in Paris for a new test of reclaimed Seine’s water
European Aquatics Championships taking place in city Threat to water quality tested two years after Games Paris is staging its first high-diving competition in the Seine, with athletes launching themselves from a 20-metre platform in front of the Eiffel Tower – a spectacular new test of the city’s effort to reclaim its river for sport. The event on the Pont de Bir-Hakeim has also exposed the fragility of that ambition. Organisers suspended training on Thursday when traces of hydrocarbons were detected upstream. By Friday, the French Swimming Federation said the affected area had been treated, allowing athletes to return to the water and the event to proceed as planned. High diving concludes on Saturday with the final two rounds and medal events, while the broader European Aquatics Championships run through to 16 August. Continue reading...
Bluster and backdown have turned Iran war into Trump’s own Groundhog Day
The US president’s profound ignorance of his enemy has led to an impotent cycle of empty threats, analysts say Being the subject of mockery may be the most intense of all Donald Trump’s known aversions. Yet more than five months after embarking on a war of choice against Iran, the US president risks attracting ridicule as he struggles to secure a military victory – while repeatedly threatening devastating bombardment against the Tehran regime, only to back down on the pretext of renewed negotiations. Continue reading...
Scratch of the day: local football season postponed due to ‘rock hard’ pitches
Drought and record heat have forced the Norfolk and Suffolk league to move kick-off to the end of August as the ground is deemed too dangerous to play on This summer’s record drought has forced a football league to delay the start of its season because “rock hard” pitches are a danger to its players. The 2026/27 season in the Anglian Combination League of 85 amateur teams in Norfolk and Suffolk was due to start next weekend. Continue reading...
Trump loyalist Todd Blanche confirmed by Senate as US attorney general
Major win for president as former personal lawyer wins approval despite outcry over $1.8bn slush fund The US senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general in a major win for Donald Trump, who will now have his one-time personal attorney sitting atop the nation’s law enforcement apparatus. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana cast the deciding vote in Blanche’s favor after two other Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – voted against him. Every Democrat rejected Blanche’s nomination. Continue reading...
Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to S. 5271
Vote: Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Rejected 52/46 Sen. Duckworth [D-IL]: Nay Sen. Durbin [D-IL]: Nay
On the Nomination PN1078: Todd Blanche, of Florida, to be Attorney General
Vote: Nomination Confirmed 50/49 Sen. Duckworth [D-IL]: Nay Sen. Durbin [D-IL]: Nay
Sadiq Khan calls on Andy Burnham to commit to climate action as pressure grows over North Sea oil
London mayor points to ‘terrifying scenes’ this summer amid speculation Burnham may back Jackdaw and Rosebank projects Sadiq Khan: This burning summer is the proof: the voices of climate denial aren’t just delusional, they’re deadly Sadiq Khan has called on the government to commit to revamped climate action and to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas, as the UK endures a summer of drought, wildfires and heatwaves. Writing in the Guardian , the mayor of London said that Andy Burnham’s administration must reaffirm its commitment to net zero and make clear it will continue to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas “to get Britain back on track.” Continue reading...
Planting the seeds? Teenagers from across global divide talk peace in Devon
UK hosts decades-old event for first time where many participants are from opposite sides of global disputes from Israel and Palestine, to India and Pakistan On the surface it looks like a normal summer school in the Devon countryside, with teenagers playing volleyball in the sun, doing arts and crafts in the hall, and preparing for the night’s talent show. But behind the scenes, intensive discussions are taking place. Many of these teenagers come from opposite sides of historical national conflicts – from Israel and Palestine, India and Pakistan. Continue reading...
Motion to Invoke Cloture: Todd Blanche to be Attorney General: Todd Blanche, of Florida, to be Attorney General
Vote: Cloture Motion Agreed to 50/49 Sen. Duckworth [D-IL]: Nay Sen. Durbin [D-IL]: Nay
H.R. 6500: AGOA Extension Act
Vote: Bill Passed 90/6 Sen. Duckworth [D-IL]: Yea Sen. Durbin [D-IL]: Yea
US accused of meddling in British politics with $500,000 grant scheme promoting ‘shared values’
Documents published on US embassy’s website prompt claims of attempt to export Maga propaganda to UK The US embassy in London is offering grants of up to half a million dollars for new “public education” programmes in what has been criticised as interference in British domestic politics. Using language that the pro-Trump Maga movement has sought to appropriate, a funding notice identifies a goal of fostering a “national conversation” about “shared civilizational values” underpinning US-UK ties. Priority will go to applicants aiming to celebrate “freedom of speech” and “limited government”. Continue reading...
Spanish mountain village braces for astrotourists lured by total solar eclipse
Somosierra will be prime spot to view celestial alignment on 12 August, an event that poses logistical challenges Little stirs in the mountains above Somosierra beyond the wind that lashes the flat peaks, the cows that graze on parched grass and the sun that beats down on the abandoned aerodrome where generations of glider pilots learned to ride air currents alongside squadrons of vultures and red kites. But all this stillness will disappear, albeit temporarily, on the evening of 12 August, when swathes of northern and eastern Spain and the Balearic islands experience a total solar eclipse , the likes of which has not been seen here for more than 120 years. Continue reading...
Rising number of UK children report seeing explicit deepfakes of themselves
Exclusive: anonymous flagging service says cases have surged, as watchdog says AI is making sexualised or ‘nudified’ content easier to produce Children in the UK have reported a surge in explicit deepfake images featuring their likenesses, as a safety watchdog warned AI is making such content easier to produce. The Report Remove service, which blocks intimate images from appearing online, said there had been a rapid increase in imagery that had been digitally manipulated or “faked” in some way, including with AI and nudification tools. Continue reading...
On the Motion to Table S.Amdt. 6747 to S.Amdt. 6732 to H.R. 6500 (No short title on file)
Vote: Motion to Table Agreed to 61/32 Sen. Duckworth [D-IL]: Yea Sen. Durbin [D-IL]: Nay
The night Belfast burned: how the Northern Ireland race riots unfolded
A horrific knife attack on a street in June sparked another summer’s night of racial violence, stoked by loyalist groups. How did the unrest erupt – and why do many fear it will happen again? Shortly after 10.30pm on Monday 8 June, as a summer twilight lingered over Belfast, a horrific scene unfolded on Kinnaird Avenue: a man straddled and repeatedly stabbed a figure lying on the ground in a bloody assault that ended only after onlookers intervened. Others captured the drama on cameraphones and uploaded the footage to social media. Once seen, the grainy images were hard to forget, and by dawn on Tuesday 9 June they were ricocheting around X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and other platforms. Continue reading...
Union calls for robust review of OBR over fears it holds back economic growth
TUC will urge John Healey to order ‘root and branch’ assessment of watchdog amid claims its forecasts downplay investment benefits The TUC is urging the new chancellor, John Healey, to order a “root and branch” review of the Office for Budget Responsibility, claiming the forecaster’s approach holds back investment. With Andy Burnham promising “good growth in every postcode” , the union umbrella body is calling on Healey to use his first budget on 28 October to re-examine the assessments of the watchdog. Continue reading...
‘I couldn’t breathe’: the deadly health burden of wildfire smoke
Scientists race to untangle complex links between exposure and mortality as fire weather grows more prevalent A thousand kilometres from the infernos gorging on northern Ontario’s boreal forests, Erin O’Connor watched the sky above Canada’s biggest city turn an “almost post-apocalyptic” orange as it filled with light-scattering particles of soot and ash. Stepping outside the halls of Toronto General hospital, where air filters were keeping patients safe from the worst of the fumes, she was struck by a smell so strong it felt like standing by a campfire. “It really hit you in the face as soon as you walked outside,” said O’Connor, who runs University Health Network’s emergency department and saw a rise in patients presenting with allergies and shortness of breath. “As the days progressed, it was like that everywhere. It seemed even inside you could smell that burning.” Continue reading...
US promises $1bn in security aid to Colombia as new rightwing president pledges drugs crackdown
Trump ally Abelardo De La Espriella vows to start ‘profound transformation’ of country’s destiny as he is sworn in The Trump administration plans to provide $1bn in security assistance to the government of Colombia’s new rightwing president, the US state department announced, soon after Abelardo De La Espriella was sworn in and used his inaugural speech to pledge a vigorous fight against drug trafficking, as well as austerity measures to restore confidence in the economy. De La Espriella, 48, won June’s runoff election with promises to crack down on armed groups, shrink the state by as much as 40% and revive the oil and gas sector. Continue reading...
Germans hogging the sunloungers? Poll finds Italians and French are worse
British and Germans themselves share stereotype but other nationalities are likelier to put out towels – or umbrellas Germans are sunlounger hoggers, or so the longstanding stereotype goes. But not only is that cultural trope mostly confined to British – and, even more so, German – perceptions, surprising new data reveals that in fact Italian and French holidaymakers are the ones most likely to use their towel to stake their claim to a sunlounger. A poll by YouGov of Europeans holidaymakers found that while many Germans (51%) and Britons (46%) associate Germans with the ritual of waking up at the crack of dawn to mark their spot, the perception barely exists elsewhere in Europe, with just 5-17% of those surveyed in other countries sharing the stereotype. Continue reading...
S.Res. 848: A resolution celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the premier public health institute of the United States.
Bill Text: This resolution's text is now available.
S. 5271: A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require voters to provide photo identification.
Failed Cloture: Last Action: Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 52 - 46. Record Vote Number: 231. Explanation: This bill is provisionally dead due to a failed vote for cloture on August 8, 2026. Cloture is required to move past a Senate filibuster or the threat of a filibuster and takes a 3/5ths vote. In practice, most bills must pass cloture to move forward in the Senate.
H.R. 6500: Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027
Passed Senate with Changes (back to House): Last Action: Passed Senate with an amendment and an amendment to the Title by Yea-Nay Vote. 90 - 6. Record Vote Number: 228. Explanation: This bill has been passed in the House and the Senate, but the Senate made changes and sent it back to the House on August 8, 2026.