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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Week-long heatwave due in England with 34C peak in south-east
Heat health alerts in place in most regions of England from Sunday to Saturday with mercury also rising in Wales Another heatwave is on the way across parts of the UK with peak temperatures of 34C forecast. Temperatures in the south of England could reach 28C on Saturday, according to the Met Office. Continue reading...
Trump pardons 11 people on eve of country’s Fourth of July celebrations
Pardons issued to nine people charged with violating Clean Air Act as extreme heat smothers much of US Donald Trump on Friday issued pardons to 11 people – two convicted fraudsters and nine charged with having violated the federal Clean Air Act by disabling or otherwise modifying trucks’ emissions controls. Those executive pardons – coming amid US semiquincentennial celebrations blanketed in extreme heat exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions – were among a broader wave of acts of clemency from Trump during his second presidency, chiefly for those he considers to be aligned with him. Continue reading...
What impact will Andy Burnham have on Zack Polanski and the Greens?
Voters disillusioned with Starmer’s Labour were tempted by the Greens – but Polanski’s party fears the affable, left-leaning Burnham could win them back The shift was notable. A week after Keir Starmer said he would resign, YouGov polling showed Labour up two points and the Greens down by the same amount. Might an Andy Burnham premiership mean a rethink for Zack Polanski’s party? The short answer is it is too early to know, particularly in an era of unprecedented political volatility and the seesawing poll numbers that come with it. This year alone, a five-point Labour lead over the Greens has become a similar margin in favour of the Greens, and then a seven-point advantage for Labour. Continue reading...
Burnham will change No 10 ‘boys club’ briefing culture, says Lucy Powell
Deputy Labour leader says No 10 needs to become more meritocratic and has asked Burnham to commit to 50/50 gender split for ministers and staff Andy Burnham will change a “boys club” culture of factional briefings at No 10 which silenced critics, according to the deputy leader of the Labour party. Lucy Powell said she had experienced “unpleasant” briefings in Downing Street, which left people afraid to speak out or challenge Downing Street’s position. Continue reading...
Washington DC’s Fourth of July parade canceled due to soaring temperature
National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning as high temperatures have paralyzed the east coast Organizers of Saturday’s Independence Day parade in Washington DC abruptly canceled the event late on the eve of the event, with sweltering temperatures in the nation’s capital and on the east coast wreaking havoc on celebrations of America’s semiquincentennial . The event, hosted by the National Park Service (NPS), was scheduled to begin at 10.30am on Saturday. But organizers said they canceled the procession due to an extreme heart warning issued by the National Weather Service (NWS). Continue reading...
‘This is a hellhole’: Aramco makes its presence hurt in the shadow of the World Cup
The oil giant’s sponsorship deal with Fifa has featured prominently at matches in Houston. But 100 miles away in another Texas city, residents say the firm’s refinery is exposing them to poisonous gases and long-term health problems The street is wide, its grass verges thick and scruffy after a week of rainstorms. Jamal Johnson will walk home straight down the middle carrying his plastic shopping bag, a jot of motion through the stillness. He lives in one of the modest wood-panelled houses spaced out on each side, most lovingly kept and passed through at least two generations. There is nobody else in sight, but a freight train breaks the silence, grinding left to right along the line flanking the north-facing gardens. The west side of Port Arthur, Texas, could be any lower-income neighbourhood in the southern states if it were not for the looming menace on the other side of the track. This is a sad, unsettling place. “I’ve got a load of friends and family who’ve had weird diseases,” says Johnson, his face contorting at the thought. He lists a grandfather and aunt who died of cancer, the latter at a young age after relocating here to care for other relatives. An uncle died with complications from ALS (motor neurone disease). “You know what I’m saying? Man, they’ve let off all these poisonous gases; it’s like that all the time. It’s fucked up.” Continue reading...
Three-year-old injured in UK crocodile enclosure faces ‘long rehabilitation’
Boy who was allegedly thrown into the area at a Cambridgeshire zoo has undergone five surgeries A three-year-old boy left seriously injured after being allegedly thrown into a crocodile enclosure has undergone five surgeries and faces a long “rehabilitation journey”. His family, who provided the update, also thanked donors who had raised more than £25,000. His parents said they had been “living at the hospital” since the incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst farm and zoo, in Cambridgeshire, on 18 June. Continue reading...
German riot police clash with protesters hoping to block far-right AfD conference
Thousands of police deployed to Erfurt in central Germany as AfD holds conference on key Nazi date Riot police have clashed with opponents of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party on the streets of Erfurt in Germany, where thousands met to block roads and prevent AfD delegates from attending the party’s biennial national conference to elect its leadership. Police reported 20,000 protesters were demonstrating in the eastern city, where Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to be re-elected as the party’s co-leaders in the run-up to crucial regional elections in which AfD could win power at state-level for the first time. Continue reading...
Tom Kean got months of paid sick leave – after voting against it for others | Arwa Mahdawi
The congressman spent four months mysteriously away from work, but he doesn’t seem to think his constituents should get mandated sick days The mystery of the missing congressman has finally been solved. Almost four months ago Tom Kean Jr, a Republican, vanished from public view . He missed more than 100 votes , all while continuing to collect his full taxpayer-funded salary of $174,000 along with excellent benefits. The only explanation given for his absence was a cryptic statement from his office in late April saying he was dealing with a “personal health matter”. Kean’s father, former New Jersey governor Tom Kean Sr, further told CNN in May that his son was battling a temporary illness and would be back to work soon. This week, Kean finally resurfaced and explained that he’d been absent due to inpatient treatment for depression. Why hadn’t he said anything about this earlier? Kean said he was “private person by nature”. Which is great, but maybe don’t choose a job in public service in that case. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Mayfair casino facing legal action after former waiter says he did not get fair share of tips
Former worker at Metropolitan on Park Lane in London says he had to share tips with managers and other staff A Mayfair casino is facing legal action from a former waiter who says he was not given a fair share of tips. The former worker at the Metropolitan Mayfair – part of the Metropolitan Casinos group owned by the US investment firm Silver Point Capital, which operates seven casinos in the UK and four in Egypt – has filed a complaint with the employment tribunal in London over his share of cash tips given directly to him, which he says he was forced to share with managers and other staff. Continue reading...
‘All men are created equal’: America has lost its values. It’s time to go back to the founding text | Ted Widmer
As the US celebrates 250 years, the Declaration of Independence has been curiously absent. Yet its language on the consent of the governed is more relevant than ever It’s America’s birthday. Ear-splitting pyrotechnics will be heard across the land tonight, as they were a few weeks ago, after the cage fight at the White House. On 24 June, the administration launched the Great American State Fair, with “spectacular flyovers” from fighter jets and stealth bombers. Six 18-wheel “Freedom Trucks” are barreling down the highways, bringing history-lite pop-up displays, mainly to red states. Later this summer, we will hear drivers revving their engines, deafeningly, as they leave skid marks around the National Mall during the Indy car race scheduled for 22 August. It’s gonna get loud. But one guest is apparently not invited to the party. The Declaration of Independence, the reason we are convening, has been curiously absent from the lead-up. That feels strange for a document that essentially rewrote world history. Continue reading...
Third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave primary school without being able to read properly
Exclusive: Analysis finds lower reading fluency than children from other ethnic backgrounds and richer peers A third of disadvantaged white pupils in England leave their primary school unable to read well enough to access the secondary curriculum, leading to disengagement and school absence, according to new research. The findings were published days after an independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes concluded the current education system was “not set up to serve white working-class children and families”. Continue reading...
OpenAI’s apparent failure to visit key site raises questions over Stargate UK project
Exclusive: £20bn of ‘potential’ £30bn AI investment touted by UK ministers appears to have been hypothetical It was to be the biggest undertaking in Britain for OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Stargate UK – a multibillion-pound UK datacentre project – would represent “a major step forward in the US-UK technology partnership”. But the plans were paused in April , with an OpenAI spokesperson citing concerns over regulation and high energy costs . Continue reading...
How the 1986 Mexico World Cup was almost cancelled after a devastating earthquake
Guardian reports after the disaster told of 5,000 deaths, much of the capital being razed, and doubts about Mexico hosting the finals Mexico last hosted the World Cup in 1986 , but the competition was almost cancelled several months before the start when an earthquake struck the capital, Mexico City, leaving at least 5,000 people dead, 30,000 homeless and much of the city flattened, in one of the worst earthquakes to hit the country. To this day, the death toll remains disputed, with some estimates putting it as high as 40,000 . Continue reading...
‘The situation is terrible’: aid workers on life in Sudanese city pummelled by drone strikes
El Obeid becomes key battleground in war between Sudan’s armed forces and their paramilitary enemies, the RSF Fatima is losing count of the number of drone attacks on the besieged city of El Obeid in Sudan, but says the attacks this past weekend were the most violent so far. The drones hit schools and fuel stations, killing more than 20 people, including students, she says. “Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm. You can literally count them,” said the aid volunteer, whose name has been changed for fear of retribution. Continue reading...
Birdsong data from Merlin ID app to help global biodiversity project
Cornell Lab for Ornithology plans data linkup between app and population monitoring on eBird platform The Merlin bird ID app will allow users to feed real-time bird identifications into one of the world’s biggest citizen-science biodiversity projects in an update it is hoped will aid conservation of at-risk birds. Since 2021, the free Merlin app, created by the Cornell Lab for Ornithology, has used machine learning to provide an almost instantaneous sound-identification service for birdsong, along with an image for each bird identified. In future, the detections of bird species recorded by people will be automatically collected on the global online database eBird, which contains more than 2bn bird observation records. Continue reading...
America’s 250th birthday celebrations are a mess. Here’s how we should mark the day | Dave Schilling
Instead of a UFC event and poorly attended state fair, how about ditching the electoral college and a new season of Game of Thrones? I hate birthdays, especially my own, which is ominously arriving next month. I used to love them, back in those days when I had something tangible to look forward to: getting my first car, graduating high school, my first legal alcoholic drink, a new Star Wars film that’s actually good. That time is long gone. I can do all those things I listed, plus I haven’t seen a good Star Wars movie in more than 20 years. What am I even celebrating at 42? A slightly paunchier waistline? A larger bald spot? If the present you’re getting me isn’t a free Turkish hair transplant, I don’t want it. I don’t relish being 42, but imagine if I were 250? America (the country, not the band ) turns 250 this weekend, and we’re all meant to celebrate that fact on the Fourth of July. Millions of dollars have been poured into marking the occasion, though few of the events hold much appeal for me. I didn’t watch the UFC event; I have no desire to watch a bunch of cars driving around in circles , and the PragerU Freedom Truck hasn’t even come to my town. I couldn’t even get to finally see Vanilla Ice live in concert . Like every birthday, a lot of money has poured into a day where no one has any fun. Continue reading...
As auto costs rise, will the US miss the golden age of electric vehicles?
Shifting demands and political ideology have left the industry vulnerable to global competition from cheap Chinese cars Earlier this month, an intriguing new Detroit-based electric vehicle startup hit the market – Slate Auto , a Jeff Bezos-backed venture offering something US buyers rarely see these days – a pick up truck billed as “affordable”. Its base price is $24,950, making it one of the lowest-cost autos in the US market and close to half the price of the average new vehicle. But as the US contends with sharply rising auto costs, even Slate may be getting left behind in the global electric vehicle (EV) transition. The global EV industry is entering a golden age powered by cheap Chinese cars that can be bought for as little as $10,000. Continue reading...
‘Emotional connection’: Wonderwall becomes England’s World Cup anthem
Oasis tune has been sung from Texas to Massachusetts and soon in Mexico City – and the players have joined in too It has become England’s World Cup anthem more three decades after it was first released, being belted out by fans from Texas to Massachusetts. Wonderwall by Oasis will soon be heard in Mexico City too, where the Three Lions will face the tournament co-hosts Mexico on Sunday evening – or at 1am on Monday for fans singing along back home. Continue reading...
Boris Johnson wasted my levelling up idea. Here’s how Burnham and his ‘good growth’ plan can do better | Justine Greening
The need to devolve power and share prosperity is as strong as ever. Whatever the project is called, whoever is in No 10, the priority now is actual delivery Andy Burnham has set out his vision for “ good growth in every postcode ”. It may seem like levelling up 2.0 – and if so, that’s very good news for the country. Because, unlike his Labour and Conservative predecessors, Burnham may well have a far better sense of how to deliver it. Boris Johnson lifted the levelling up language from the Department for Education (DfE), deployed during my time there , but then downgraded what should have been a defining purpose for his government to little more than a towns fund. Keir Starmer rightly identified “breaking down barriers to opportunity” as a government mission, but in office he hiked up employers’ national insurance – literally taxing opportunity – in a way that was always going to hit early career, younger workers the most. Justine Greening was the Conservative MP for Putney from 2005 to 2019 Continue reading...
Born on the Fourth of July: mixed feelings for people who share a birthday with the US’s 250th anniversary
Guardian readers on celebrating on Independence Day every year – and especially this year This Fourth of July, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain, a milestone that the Donald Trump administration is commemorating with a series of events and celebrations across the National Mall. The anniversary arrives against a backdrop of civil rights rollbacks , immigration crackdowns and strained international relations . For some Americans, however, the date carries an added layer of significance: it is also their birthday. Continue reading...
UK woman, 21, arrested in Thailand after allegedly stabbing boyfriend to death
Officers found the body of a 34-year-old man in a luxury rental home in the Pattaya area, local media says A 21-year-old British woman has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend, according to local media reports. The Bangkok Post reported that on Thursday morning local time, officers found the body of a 34-year-old man, who operated a cannabis farm, in a luxury rental home in the Pattaya area, a beachside region two hours outside of Bangkok known for its large expat population and nightlife. Continue reading...
Labour should win next election under Burnham after work already done, Starmer says
Prime minister holds no ‘personal animosity’ toward Burnham and emphasises success at improving NHS waiting lists and ‘stabilising economy’ Labour “should go on to win the next election” under his likely successor, Andy Burnham, Keir Starmer has said, based on what he has achieved while in power. In his first interview since he announced he will quit as prime minister, Starmer also said he held no “personal animosity” toward Burnham, who is expected to succeed him. Continue reading...
America is destroying itself. It’s no surprise | Stephen Marche
Scholars will somedy wonder how the richest country in history chose to throw it all away. But the crisis has been there since the beginning The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence has arrived at a moment of some embarrassment for the Republic. The United States of America, established to overthrow a mad king, has elected, 250 years later, a mad king of its very own. America is setting itself on fire at its birthday party. It always had a dramatic streak. In 30 or 40 years, scholars of history, if they exist, will want to know how the richest country in history, with the world’s most powerful alliance network, and a scientific and research capacity fuelled by the talent of the world, chose to throw it all away. Continue reading...