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Politics
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US Olympian indicted after Trump alleged ‘vandalism’ at DC reflecting pool
Canoeist David Hearn was arrested in June after touching a peeling piece of liner in the pool from renovation project David Hearn, a three-time US Olympian and canoeist, has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington DC after Donald Trump blamed vandals for damaging Washington’s reflecting pool after a $14.7m renovation project. The indictment accuses Hearn of “maliciously” breaking or destroying lining material on the bottom of the reflecting pool on 19 June. Lawyers for Hearn denied the allegations following his arrest, accusing the Trump administration of treating ordinary conduct as criminal. Continue reading...
Infrastructure cuts to pay for defence will cost UK 10,000 jobs, analysis shows
Exclusive: Findings cast doubt on Starmer claims that reallocation of funds to MoD will boost British jobs Keir Starmer’s decision to cut billions of pounds of infrastructure spending to pay for more defence equipment will end up costing the UK 10,000 jobs, according to an analysis of the government’s own figures. The prime minister announced this week he was putting an extra £15bn into defence investment to revamp the country’s armed forces and boost British manufacturing. Continue reading...
Conflicts of interest? Trump only has one interest: himself | Robert Reich
The president made $2.2bn last year, with plenty of help from his own political decisions. This is called corruption, folks People in the US: share your views on Trump’s earnings in his second term In financial disclosures released on Tuesday, Trump reported earning more than $1bn last year from his several cryptocurrency ventures. All told – including other parts of his vast holdings, such as his real estate assets – Trump made at least $2.2bn last year, as opposed to the roughly $622m his businesses raked in in 2024, before he returned to the presidency. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on lessons from Southport: people fixated on violence must not slip through the system | Editorial
Having ordered a public inquiry, it is right that ministers are taking its ideas about managing risks seriously It is two years this month since Axel Rudakubana burst into a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, and injured 10 other people. The government’s pledge to implement all 67 recommendations from the public inquiry signals its determination to protect the public in future. Its chair, Sir Adrian Fulford, said his most important finding was the failure by any organisation to “take ownership of the risk” posed by Rudakubana. He revealed his interest in violence multiple times, including when he was found on a bus with a knife in 2022. Rather than make an arrest, police sent him home. Sir Adrian and the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, want to ensure that in future, police confronted by a young man with a knife, and with a similar track record, would behave differently. A key part of the problem is what they, and other officials who encountered Rudakubana, did and didn’t know. The plan is to close the gaps between the public services that he repeatedly slipped through . Continue reading...
Burnham ‘coronation’ will anger some Labour members, party bosses warned
NEC told it must take steps to address fears – including not hiring Everton stadium to announce new leader before nominations even open Labour chiefs have been warned they must placate disgruntled Labour members who are angry at the lack of party democracy because Andy Burnham is not expected to face a challenge to become Labour leader. MPs have told the party there are growing complaints from members about the lack of involvement from members if Burnham does not face a leadership contest from any other MP. Continue reading...
Sitting for more than 30 minutes at a time linked to higher risk of cancer death
Study suggests even light activity such as ironing could reduce health risks linked to prolonged sedentary behaviour Sitting for longer than half an hour at a time each day raises the risk of dying from cancer, a study suggests. Researchers who tracked more than 90,000 people over a decade found that sitting or lying down while awake for more than 30 minutes in one period each day was associated with an increased risk of cancer death. The risk increases for every additional hour of continuous inactivity, the findings suggest. Continue reading...
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce donate $26m to charities ahead of reported wedding
Couple pledges millions to children’s hospitals, food banks and educational programs in advance of their big day Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are donating $26m to charities in advance of their rumored wedding at New York’s Madison Square Garden this weekend, a representative for the couple has confirmed to the Guardian. The 20 named charities include organizations in meaningful locations to the couple such as Nashville (where Swift got her start in music), Kansas City (the home of Kelce’s Chiefs NFL team) and New York City, where Swift and Kelce’s wedding is reported to take place. Continue reading...
‘Hugely significant’: those affected by forced adoptions welcome apology but demand more remedy
Victims say hearing Keir Starmer’s acknowledgment of their suffering was emotional but want more mental support This summer’s World Cup fever vividly takes Ann Keen back to 1966 and the day England won the tournament – she was 17 years old and it was the day she told her father she was pregnant. “It was the worst thing that could ever have been said to him. I was told I’d put shame on the family and I must be sent away,” the former Labour MP said. “I was in an unmarried mother’s home where I had to scrub the steps from morning until night. It was all about punishment. Even in the delivery room I was told I couldn’t have anything for the pain, because I was a bad girl. And when NHS staff are telling you that, you start to believe it.” Continue reading...
Lisa Nandy announces plan to quit X over fear it pushes ‘abuse and misinformation’
Culture secretary says her department will stop using platform, citing concern over its far right content that fuels violence and division The UK’s culture and media department will stop using X because the site “now favours abuse and misinformation over meaningful debate”, Lisa Nandy has announced. The culture secretary’s department is the UK’s second to quit the Elon Musk-owned platform over increasing concerns about the way it highlights and prioritises often inaccurate far-right and racist content and is used to incite violence and division. Continue reading...
Defra breached law when it let farmers use bee-killing pesticide, watchdog says
Office for Environmental Protection finds failures by department when it granted emergency authorisation in 2023 and 2024 The UK government breached environmental law on several occasions when granting farmers permission to use a bee-killing pesticide, a watchdog has found. In 2023 and 2024, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the then Conservative government granted emergency authorisation to allow farmers to use a banned neonicotinoid pesticide on sugar beet crops. Continue reading...
Married at First Sight UK cast member arrested on suspicion of rape
Anonymous individual arrested after claims of sexual misconduct on reality TV show and police calls for contact A cast member from Married at First Sight UK has been arrested on suspicion of rape, after claims of sexual misconduct on the reality TV show. The individual and the alleged victim are not being named. Alleged victims of rape have the legal protection of anonymity. Continue reading...
Man accused of ordering Daphne Caruana Galizia murder paid hitmen’s legal fees, court hears
Yorgen Fenech said to have spent €400,000 on fees for men convicted of car bombing that killed investigative journalist A businessman accused of commissioning the murder of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia spent more than €400,000 (£343,000) on legal fees for the hitmen convicted of her killing, prosecutors claim. Yorgen Fenech, the 44-year-old heir to one of Malta’s largest fortunes, arrived in court for the second day of his trial on Thursday in an unmarked armoured police vehicle. He is on house arrest having pledged a record bail estimated at €50m. Continue reading...
‘Truly international’ network of drug-facilitated rape uncovered by UK crime agency
NCA says offenders arrange to sexually assault and film victims via online networks with crimes often taking place in trusting relationships Criminal investigators in the UK say they have uncovered a “truly international network” of organised drug-facilitated sexual assault in which victims are sedated before being raped and sexually assaulted. The National Crime Agency [NCA] has said online networks “many as yet unidentified by law enforcement” were allowing offenders to arrange to rape and abuse victims or arrange for sexual assaults to be filmed. Continue reading...
Outrage over ‘cruel’ Florida move to ban undocumented students from college
Critics condemn decision by education board aligned with hard-right Ron DeSantis to block access to college system Immigration advocates in Florida have decried a “cruel and harmful” new rule by education officials aligned to hard-right Republican governor Ron DeSantis to ban undocumented students from state colleges and universities. The Florida board of education voted on Tuesday to bar access to its 28 state-funded institutions to anybody not a US citizen or “lawfully present” in the country. It follows Florida’s move last year to strip discounted in-state tuition rates for certain immigrant students. Continue reading...
229,000 excess deaths: the cost of US-UK trade deal? - The Latest
The NHS will divert billions of pounds from essential services to pay for new medicines, under the terms of the US-UK trade deal agreed in December, which could lead to more than 200,000 excess deaths, analysis has found. Ministers have defended the deal as a way of helping British drug exports avoid US tariffs and giving patients access to vital medication, but critics accuse the Labour party of caving into pressure from Donald Trump. Lucy Hough speaks to columnist Aditya Chakrabortty Continue reading...
‘Why is your cat blue?’: Wilbur, the pet who changed colour, puzzles owners
Family search for answers on social media after their furry friend returned home with an unusual makeover Wilbur the cat is usually a rather elegant grey, black and white creature so his human family were, to say the least, a little taken aback when she arrived back home bright blue. Concern that Wilbur might have been the target of an unkind paint attack turned to relief when it turned out that she had gatecrashed a neighbour’s gender reveal party and rolled around in blue dye. Continue reading...
Canadian boy dies of rabies after waking to find bat on his face
Eleven-year-old developed symptoms 19 days after encounter in Ontario in ‘exceedingly rare’ case Doctors in Canada say a child who awoke to find a bat resting on his nose and mouth while visiting an Ontario cottage later died of rabies, in an “exceedingly rare case” that highlights the need for better public awareness. In a report published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, infectious disease physicians confirmed that the 11-year-old boy died from rabies, a fatality they said probably could have been prevented with greater awareness of how the virus is transmitted. Continue reading...
How Labour diverted billions from NHS services to appease Trump – The Latest
The NHS will divert billions of pounds from essential services to pay for new medicines, under the terms of the US-UK trade deal agreed in December, which could lead to more than 200,000 excess deaths, analysis has found. Ministers have defended the deal as a way of helping British drug exports avoid US tariffs and giving patients access to vital medication, but critics accuse the Labour party of caving into pressure from Donald Trump. Lucy Hough speaks to columnist Aditya Chakrabortty – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
Nigel Farage reported to standards watchdog over ‘crypto lobbying’
Commissioner asked to investigate Reform UK leader after private meeting with Bank of England governor The standards watchdog has been urged to investigate whether Nigel Farage lobbied the Bank of England to drop a cryptocurrency plan that could be costly for the billionaire bankrolling his party, potentially in breach of parliamentary rules. The Reform UK leader has said his party’s major donor, Christopher Harborne, wanted nothing in exchange for the £15m he donated to the party and the undeclared £5m gift to Farage the Guardian revealed in April . Continue reading...
Venezuelan man saved from collapsed mall eight days after earthquakes
Security guard Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, 43, initially told rescuers not to tell his wife in case he did not survive A 43-year-old security guard who survived last week’s devastating earthquakes in Venezuela thanks to a pocket of air in his workstation cabin has been pulled from the collapsed basement of a shopping centre amid huge cheers from international rescue teams. Hernán Alberto Gil Flores had been trapped for eight days under the rubble of the Galerías Playa Grande in the hard-hit coastal port city of La Guaira since the back-to-back quakes struck. Continue reading...
Women from minority backgrounds in UK less likely to receive epidurals, research finds
Exclusive: Guardian analysis exposes evidence of racial inequalities in pain relief offered across healthcare ‘The epidural failed and no one believed me’ How the ethnicity pain gap follows people from birth to death Women from Black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed. The findings, based on data collected from more than 2.7 million births in the UK, prompted experts to raise the alarm about an “ethnicity pain gap” that means people of colour are more likely to be deprived of adequate pain relief within medical settings. Continue reading...
Starmer considers letting pubs stay open for England v Mexico match after backlash
Government seeks workaround after licensing rules threaten to force pubs to shut before World Cup tie finishes World Cup live – latest updates UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer is exploring ways to keep pubs open into the early hours of Monday after facing backlash over strict licensing rules that would force many venues to close during England’s next World Cup game. The team’s win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday night booked a last-16 tie against Mexico that is due to run until at least 3am UK time. Continue reading...
Novice climber rescued after surviving 1,500ft fall down California mountain
The woman, 31, suffered some injuries but was found alert and in good spirits on Mount Shasta, officials said A novice climber was rescued after surviving a 1,500ft fall down California’s Mount Shasta on Sunday, officials said. The woman, 31, was attempting to ascend the mountain along the Left of Heart variation of the popular Avalanche Gulch route alongside two other novice climbers at an elevation of about 13,000ft when she fell. Continue reading...
AOC endorses progressive Democrat in closely watched Michigan race for US Senate seat
El-Sayed, backed by Bernie Sanders, leads polls ahead of Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow in primary US politics live – latest updates Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has thrown her support behind Abdul El-Sayed, the doctor and progressive Democrat seeking the party’s nomination in Michigan’s closely watched US Senate race. In an interview with the New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez – an influential congresswoman on the left of the Democratic party – endorsed El-Sayed, a former public health director. “Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential,” she said. Continue reading...