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Politics
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Trump faces calls for windfall tax on big oil’s profits from Iran war
US president’s complaint industry ‘making too much money’ comes after his policies boosted corporations Donald Trump’s statement that oil companies have made “too much money” from the Iran war has angered environmentalists, who say that his policies were designed to benefit those very corporations. If he really believes his own claims, he should impose a windfall profits tax, advocates say. “Trump’s declaration that big oil is ‘making too much money’ belies his accommodation and giveaways to the industry that have enabled its price-gouging – not to mention his disaster of a war of choice against Iran,” said Tyson Slocum, energy program director at consumer advocacy nonprofit Public Citizen. “But like a broken clock that’s correct twice a day, the president is right that oil companies are ‘making too much money’, which means Trump should endorse a windfall profits tax.” ExxonMobil and Chevron on Friday both reported windfall profits for the second quarter of the year. Chevron said its earnings soared nearly 400% to $12bn, while Exxon’s profits more than doubled to $14.5bn. On Monday evening, Trump took aim at those gains, saying the companies “ought to give some of that back to the public”. Continue reading...
Buried for not being Brueghel: overlooked masterpiece by still-life pioneer discovered in storage area
The curator of Norway’s national museum in Oslo stumbled upon is bringing the work by the Flemish baroque artist Clara Peeters out of obscurity in a major exhibition of female artists Anonymous was often a woman: so said Virginia Woolf. And so thought Cynthia Osiecki one day in 2022, when she chanced on an unattributed still life in the storage area of the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. Osiecki had been studying the work of a renowned 17th-century Flemish artist, Clara Peeters, one of the earliest practitioners of still life painting. Works by Peeters hang in the Prado in Madrid, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Continue reading...
Tory plan to ban foreign nationals from social housing condemned as ‘divisive’
Housing charity says move would drive up homelessness, while Labour dismisses proposal as ‘unworkable’ Plans to ban foreign nationals from social housing under a Conservative government have been condemned as “divisive”. Under proposals revealed on Friday, the party said about 230,000 homes would become available if foreign nationals were prevented from accessing social housing. Continue reading...
Thailand school shooting: seven killed including suspected attacker, police say
At least 15 other people injured after student opened fire at Debsirin Nonthaburi school, north of Bangkok Thailand school shooting – latest updates A Thai teenager killed at least six people and himself at a school outside Bangkok, after fatally shooting his grandparents, in the country’s worst mass shooting since 2022. Seven people were killed in the attack and 15 were wounded, Thai police said on Friday. Continue reading...
Rail passengers face second day of chaos across north-west England
Disruption after power failure at regional signalling centre likely to continue until noon with many crews and trains in wrong locations Business live – latest updates Rail passengers are facing a second day of travel disruption across parts of north-west England, after a power failure hit the signalling centre controlling the railway in the region. The power failure, which occurred shortly before 2pm on Thursday, triggered widespread cancellations and delays to services including CrossCountry and London Northwestern Railway. Continue reading...
Colombia on the brink: ELN guerrilla group prepares for return to war
As Abelardo de la Espriella takes office as president vowing a new military offensive, the country’s last leftwing rebels are getting ready to fight back As the boat approached the riverbank, camouflaged figures watched from the tree line. Behind them, in the dim understory of the jungle, a commander of the National Liberation Army (ELN) sat with his rifle on his lap, amid the buzz and whine of insects and the thwacks of machetes on bamboo as his troops set up camp, hidden from enemy drones. Continue reading...
Primary schools to be told to identify children at risk of future unemployment
Exclusive: Neet crisis review to call for teachers to be asked to spot those at risk of leaving education jobless at 16 What can Dublin teach us? Milburn goes on quest to learn Primary schools in England should be required to identify children at risk of leaving education at 16 without finding a job, a government review is to recommend. Alan Milburn, who is leading a review into Britain’s crisis in youth worklessness , said he would call for sweeping changes in education policy alongside a shake-up of the benefits system to address the problem. Continue reading...
What can Dublin teach us? Milburn goes on a quest to solve youth jobs crisis
The former UK minister discovers how apprenticeships and support networks helped slash Ireland’s Neet rate English primary schools to be told to identify children at risk of future unemployment Alan Milburn is guiding a metal loop along the serpentine wire of an electrical buzzer game as he explains the challenge of Britain’s youth jobs crisis. “We have got more than a million young people not in education, employment or training (Neet). Crisis is an over-used word – but this is a crisis.” On a fact-finding trip to Dublin, the former UK cabinet minister is being shown around an Irish Rail training facility. He tells the apprentices who rigged up the game that, while things are bad in Britain, Ireland is on the right track. Continue reading...
Meet the offenders cleaning canals in the West Midlands as an alternative to prison
With the debate over prison overcrowding and what to do about it raging, one initiative offers an alternative solution As the prison overcrowding crisis shows no sign of abating and the debate rages over early releases , an initiative in the West Midlands offers an alternative to custodial sentences. The Guardian was offered rare access to the project, under which, instead of being sent to prison, convicted offenders work on the improvement of waterways and green spaces around Smethwick. It is a small part of the community payback scheme, which in total clocked up an estimated 5m hours across England and Wales in the last year. Continue reading...
Alan Jones trial: complainant wants to ‘humiliate’ broadcaster by revealing intimate details of alleged assaults, defence tells court
Barrister alleges ‘account of penis wiggling is an attempt to humiliate’ broadcaster who has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Alan Jones’s defence barrister has told a Sydney court one of the broadcaster’s alleged victims invented details of alleged indecent assaults at a Fitzroy Falls farm to “humiliate” and “smear” the former media titan. Complainant J told the court during evidence-in-chief earlier this week that during one alleged incident in the property’s bedroom, Jones’s penis was not fully erect and “not very big”. Continue reading...
As a Tory, I say things are looking up. Farage is fading, and the looming threat to No 10 is called Kemi | Simon Hart
My party has seen difficult times – but with a few canny moves the leader is finally cutting through, and there are clear signs of recovery Something is afoot. The bookies can feel it. “Badenoch overtakes Farage as favourite to be next prime minister,” was the word from betting website William Hill this week. Let me tell you what is happening. This is a challenging political time. Even today, there is controversy for Kemi Badenoch to deal with. But as a Conservative it seems to me that in the past few tumultuous weeks, she has shown many of the qualities necessary in a party leader: to appear easy-going and humorous; to craft a style that teases her opponents rather than being snide or unkind; and to do this all confidently enough to leave sceptics thinking that she really could be the next prime minister. Simon Hart was Conservative government chief whip from 2022 to 2024, and is the author of Ungovernable , the political diaries of a chief whip Continue reading...
Extreme heat breaks temperature records in central and eastern Europe
Slovakia reaches new high of 42C as authorities in Poland forced to shut down Kozienice and Połaniec power plants Temperature records have been broken in several countries across central and eastern Europe as the extreme weather that has caused wildfires and droughts across the continent continues. Countries including Slovakia, Austria and Hungary registered record temperatures. On Thursday, the Slovakian hydrometeorological agency said a new high of 42C (108F) had been reached in Dolné Plachtince. Continue reading...
July’s heatwaves kept UK shoppers away from high street
Visits down 3.8% after 6.2% fall in June, with many choosing to buy online instead, research for retail body finds Shoppers stayed away from UK high streets during last month’s heatwave temperatures , with many choosing to buy online instead as the mercury in some areas rose into the mid-30Cs. Trips to high streets were down by 3.8% year on year in July after a 6.2% fall in June, according to research from the monitoring firm Sensormatic for the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Continue reading...
Trump unbound: the making of an imperial presidency – podcast
Donald Trump’s second term is unlike his first. The politicians who challenged him are gone. The lawyers who once pushed back now choose their battles. What remains is an imperial president with almost no internal checks, using executive power to reshape everything from the economy, immigration and even the presidency itself. Few journalists have covered Trump as closely as the New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan. Jonathan Freedland speaks to him about how the president has consolidated such power – and what it could mean for the US and the world Watch Jonathan Freedland on our new Politics Weekly YouTube channel You can find Jonathan Swan and Maggie Habermans’ book Regime Change here Send your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com Continue reading...
S. 5375: ARCH Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
S. 5381: ADVERSARIES Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
S. 5376: FITNESS Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
H.R. 2069: Stop Secret Spending Act of 2025
Passed House & Senate (President next): Last Action: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. Explanation: This bill was passed by Congress on August 7, 2026 and goes to the President next.
H.R. 5334: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
Bill Text: This bill's text for status (Aug. 7, 2026) is now available.
S.Res. 815: A resolution commending the Chicago Cubs baseball teams as it celebrates its 150th anniversary on August 29, 2026.
Bill Text: This resolution's text for status (Aug. 7, 2026) is now available. Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] is the sponsor of this resolution.
S.Res. 815: A resolution commending the Chicago Cubs baseball teams as it celebrates its 150th anniversary on August 29, 2026.
Agreed To (Simple Resolution): Last Action: Resolution agreed to in Senate without amendment and an amended preamble by Unanimous Consent. Explanation: This simple resolution was agreed to on August 7, 2026. That is the end of the legislative process for a simple resolution.
S. 5369: Restoring Electoral Fairness and Opposition Rights through Mandates for Accountability Act of 2026
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
S. 5380: A bill to provide for a ten-year statute of limitations for export control violations under the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.
S. 5382: China AI Power Report Act
Bill Text: This bill's text is now available.