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GAO report shows how use paid administrative leave rose by 435% from 2023 to 2025 and incurred a sixfold costThe US government paid federal workers $9.5bn not to work in 2025 as part of the Trump administration's attempts to shrink the federal workforce.As part of efforts by the department of government efficiency" (Doge), spearheaded by Elon Musk, federal agencies' use of paid administrative leave rose 435% from 2023 to 2025 - costing six times what the government spent in 2023 - according to a new report released on Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent watchdog. Continue reading...

President's criticism comes after Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh announced quarter-percent increase - the first since July 2023

Galeano, who has had asylum application pending for about seven years, was pulled over by agents while driving for LyftVeteran journalist Luis Galeano, one of at least 94 Nicaraguans whom the Ortega Murillo regime has stripped of citizenship in recent years for opposing the government, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).Galeano, who has continued critically reporting on the Sandinista government online through his platform, Cafe con voz, since shortly after arriving in the US in 2018, has had an asylum application pending for about seven years, according to his wife, Daykel Santamaria. He also has a work permit and a social security number, she said. Continue reading...

Rapper, who was dropped from tour after his speech in support of Palestine, challenges Robert Kraft to do the sameMacklemore has announced that he will donate the $1m salary he was paid as an opening act for Ed Sheeran's Loop tour to organizations working with Palestinian people and relief in Gaza, after being dropped from the tour following backlash to his onstage comments in support of Palestine.The rapper also challenged Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and prominent donor to Israel who refused to let Macklemore play at his Gillette Stadium outside Boston, to match his donation. Continue reading...

Gen Dan Caine comments at Washington summit come after US revealed it has deployed weapons in spaceAmerican troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth's orbit but around the moon, Donald Trump's top military adviser said on Wednesday, looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the US revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.Gen Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told service members and industry figures at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the US military should adapt now so it is prepared to fight, endure and win ... from the seabed to cislunar space". Continue reading...

Pro-Israel Gregory Meeks raises concerns over threat to civilian lives from package of 40,000 one-ton bombs

String of reckless decisions' by Utah Valley University officials left him exposed to sniper, attorneys sayCharlie Kirk's family blamed Utah officials for failing to prevent the conservative political activist's fatal shooting at a state university, according to a wrongful death notice announced on Wednesday that presages a possible lawsuit.Attorneys for the family said Kirk's death resulted from a string of reckless decisions" by officials at Utah Valley University (UVU) that left him exposed to a rooftop sniper, who fired a fatal shot from more than 400 feet (122 meters) away on 10 September 2025. UVU has faced harsh criticism for a lack of key safety measures on the day of the shooting. Continue reading...

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NBC4 colleagues Eliana Moreno and George Marciniw were working to report on a collision between a bus and an SUVMore details are emerging after a local news helicopter crashed in a Los Angeles neighborhood on Tuesday evening, killing two people onboard and one person on the ground.Eliana Moreno, an aerial photojournalist, and pilot George Marciniw have been identified as the two victims on the helicopter. A third individual, Edy Gutierrez Mejia, a pedestrian near the crash site, was also killed. Continue reading...

Government sources say legislation aimed at China poses a risk to British businesses and must be addressedThe UK government's EU reset summit will be delayed again unless the bloc agrees to discuss legislation that could lock British business out of parts of EU industry, government sources have said.The Made in Europe" legislation - formally known as the Industrial Accelerator Act - is designed to curb China's increasing presence in European industry, but was not on the reset plan agreed by the former prime minister Keir Starmer and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, in London in May 2025. Continue reading...

Health committee chair Bill Cassidy said fatal outbreak of disease is a terrible legacy' for Trump administration

Ursula von der Leyen has opened door for Canada to become associate member to deepen links in openly hostile world'Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has been advocating closer alignment with middle powers" since January in the face of recklessness in Washington.But what should worry another middle power, the UK, is that it was Brussels that came up with Wednesday's big reveal in Strasbourg. Continue reading...

Ivan Jennings, 46, sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to encouraging terrorism on social mediaA rightwing extremist who discussed poisoning Jews and Muslims and called for the killing of migrants and minority communities has been jailed.Ivan Jennings, 46, called for the murder of hundreds of people he labelled subhumans", saying it was justified and actually needed", in extreme far-right groups over a period of three months in 2024. Continue reading...

Mark Rutte asked UK and Europe to provide the hard power Nato needs' in face of geopolitical uncertaintyNato needs more UK and more Europe in the alliance" to deal with the most dangerous security environment faced by the west in a generation, the secretary general of the 32-country military alliance said this afternoon on a visit to the UK.Mark Rutte praised Britain for promising to increase defence spending in line with US demands after a meeting with prime minister Andy Burnham - but argued that the military and financial effort must continue into the future. Continue reading...

MSPs bring in strict environmental impact assessments and will delay decisions until national strategy is developedHolyrood has voted to pause planning applications for all new AI datacentres for up to a year until the Scottish government has developed a national strategy.On Wednesday, MSPs backed a Scottish Labour motion to halt new schemes for up to 12 months while rules on hyperscale datacentres are developed in what could be a blow to the British government's AI strategy. Continue reading...

Who are the Democrats running in the midterms, and where do they stand? Our US political reporters are live now to discuss the state of the Democrats, the party's moderate and leftwing candidates and key races to watch

Family of Jaysley Beck, 19, voice concern after two officers acquitted over handling of sexual assault before she killed herselfThe family of a teenage soldier who killed herself after she was sexually assaulted fear the collapse of the trial of two officers accused of failing to investigate her case properly could discourage other young members of the armed forces from reporting attacks.Relatives of Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, said it felt like the end of a long and sad" journey and expressed concern that during the trial a military witness described the assault as not being out of the ordinary. Continue reading...

Three more GOP members voted for war powers resolution to force withdrawal from the conflict as election looms

Body found in pond in Suffolk village of Brantham, where Noah was last seen on Tuesday afternoonPolice searching for a three-year-old boy who went missing from a playground on the Suffolk-Essex border have found a body.Noah Woods was last seen at 3pm on Tuesday in Merriam Close, Brantham, near Manningtree, before becoming separated from a relative. Continue reading...

National Education Union welcomes news that schools will not have to partly fund increase from their own budgetsThe UK's biggest education union is claiming a significant victory after the government bowed to pressure and agreed to fully fund a forthcoming pay increase for teachers in England in a sudden U-turn.Members of the National Education Union (NEU) were due to vote in a ballot for strike action next month over the government's recent pay offer which provided for a 3.5% increase from this month, with an additional 3% from next September. Continue reading...

PM responds to criticism from former Bank of England chief economistWes Streeting, the defence secretary, has posted this on social media ahead of Andy Burnham's meeting with the Nato secretary general Mark Rutte later.Today I am reminded of the words of my Labour predecessor Denis Healey:Once we cut defence expenditure to the extent where our security is imperilled, we have no houses, we have no hospitals, we have no schools. We have a heap of cinders."[Britain] is leading, along with Nato allies, the push back against Russia's dangerous and reckless campaign against us.Collectively we will continue to strengthen our ability to deter and defend all allies, against any threat. Nato will not be intimidated by Russia's campaign of hostile actions. Russia wants to stop us helping Ukraine - but their actions will only lead us to do more for Ukraine. Russia's actions are a sign of weakness, and a symptom of Putin's failure in Ukraine.To stay transatlantic, Nato is becoming more European. A Nato with Europe, and Canada, spending more, producing more, and doing more for their security. This is the idea of Nato 3.0.Building for the future. A stronger Europe, in a stronger Nato. Continue reading...

PM rejects claim he leads a tax-and-spend' government, as Bank of England prepares for interest rates decisionAndy Burnham has said difficult decisions" will need to be taken in next month's budget after a rise in energy prices triggered by the Iran war drove UK inflation above 3%.In a fresh blow for living standards amid the worsening damage to the global economy from the Middle East conflict, official figures showed soaring fuel prices pushed inflation from 2.9% in July to 3.1% in August. Continue reading...

Thaci held criminally responsible for war crimes during the violent break from Serbia in the 1990sVon der Leyen says kickstarting Europe's economy is our number one priority," as Europe needs to tap into its huge market, world class industries and services.She says its single market remains too fragmented and needs to reform further, with the aim of completing it by the end of next year.Do we want to rally around our European idea that together we can decide our own destiny? Or do we let our democracies be undermined by the proxies and puppets of authoritarians?Whether it is the ultra nationalist or the anti-European, whether it's Russian interference or disinformation, the names may be different, but their goal is the same. Continue reading...

String of female murder victims found near Johannesburg's international airport, including five in the past weekThe discovery of the bodies of eight women around Johannesburg's international airport, including five in the past week, has prompted an outpouring of fear, grief and anger over a lack of progress in tackling femicide.When Elizabeth Tsontso" Moselakgomo did not return after going for a run on 9 September, her eight-year-old daughter alerted relatives, who contacted police. The 38-year-old's body was found on Saturday and identified by relatives on Monday. The news of her disappearance had gone viral. Continue reading...

Ministers given emergency briefing about changes to algorithm decisions just three days before tool rollout

Commission president says EU must urgently reimagine our partnerships' as she makes unprecedented offer

Centre for a Better Britain will urge abolishing inheritance tax and phasing out capital gains tax, report saysA thinktank linked to Nigel Farage's Reform UK is preparing an influential policy plan that is reportedly going to call for substantial tax cuts for the rich.The Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB) is due to publish the 200-page document next week, giving insight into the economic and financial policies that are likely to form part of Reform UK's platform before the next election. Continue reading...

Hashim Thaci, 58, was convicted by The Hague for crimes committed while he was senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army

Hundreds of volunteers join hunt for three-year-old who went missing on Tuesday afternoonA massive search operation is under way in and around a Suffolk village for a missing three-year-old boy with autism, supported by hundreds of volunteers.Suffolk police have said the hunt for Noah Woods remains a missing persons investigation with no indication anything sinister has happened. Continue reading...

Claims that dismantling pollution rules will lower energy bills and have little climate impact are far from convincingIn allowing US power plants to emit any amount of planet-heating pollution they wish to, the Trump administration made two striking claims - that this will cut Americans' electricity bills and that the pollution itself doesn't really matter anyway. Both claims struggle to stand up to even basic scrutiny.On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would erase any limits on emissions from coal and gas plants that are dangerously heating up our planet. This move, which follows a similar dismantling of pollution limits from cars ands trucks, is part of a broader push to eliminate the longstanding legal authority of this, or any future, US administration to deal with the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Plastic surfaces form hotspots with an increase of antibiotic-resistant genes, study findsMicroplastics act like a Trojan horse" delivering pollutants, pesticides and bacteria through the soil, a five-year multinational research project has found.The EU-funded project, which has so far resulted in 22 peer-reviewed studies, found microplastics in the soil of all 227 agricultural fields it tested across 11 European countries. The researchers said this poses a global threat, with healthy soils essential for life on Earth. Continue reading...

Archdiocese knew of allegations against Gerard Joseph Jerry' Howell for 40 years but continued to support himA New Orleans Catholic priest whose prolific sexual abuse of children in the local deaf community was known for at least four decades by the city's archdiocese without meaningful consequence has died after evidently falling in his Texas apartment.Gerard Joseph Jerry" Howell, 87, was found dead at about 5pm on 8 September by Austin police department officers who were responding to a welfare check on the block listed for the senior living community where he had been residing, the agency said in a statement. The statement - which didn't name Howell but was provided when police were asked about his death specifically - said first responders had gone to the block to investigate a report that an 87-year-old individual had fallen. Continue reading...

Entain, which also owns Coral and BetMGM, starts consultation process over customer care rolesThe Ladbrokes owner, Entain, has said it is preparing to cut 400 jobs, only weeks after the FTSE 100 business reported better than expected profit in its first half of the year.The gambling group, which also owns Coral and BetMGM, has started a consultation process that could remove one in five of its 2,000 customer care jobs. Continue reading...

Rotherham has 46 online vacancies for every 1,000 young people but there are 288 in Cotswold district council areaYoung people in Rotherham face a local jobs market with the fewest suitable opportunities in Britain, according to a report that warns stark regional divisions are fuelling a crisis in youth work.As ministers push to combat rising youth unemployment, the analysis from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) showed young people faced a tougher challenge in some parts of the country to find work than in others. Continue reading...

Prosecutors sought jail term for chief executive of Evett after insects not approved for consumption were on menuA South Korean court has fined the operator of one of Seoul's most celebrated restaurants and its chief executive for serving a dessert topped with ants, an insect not approved for consumption under local food safety law.The operator of Evett, a two-Michelin-star restaurant in the affluent Gangnam district, was fined 10m won (5,400) and its chief executive 15m won, Newsis reported. Continue reading...

Leaked documents and testimony reveal extent of regime's crackdown in 2022 and how it paved the way for more brutal killings of protesters this yearIranian security forces coordinated" the killing, torture and sexual abuse of hundreds of people who took part in the women-led nationwide protests in September 2022, according to leaked state documents and interviews.Tens of thousands of people, including children, took to the streets of towns and cities across Iran after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, after her arrest by the morality" police for allegedly not complying with the country's hijab regulations. Continue reading...

Study finds more than half of US adults have experienced physical violence and nearly half sexual violenceIn their lifetime, more than half of US adults have experienced physical violence - and nearly half have experienced sexual violence, according to a startling new national study.The study, led by researchers from Tulane University's Newcomb Institute and the University of California, San Diego, examined experiences of physical, sexual and intimate partner violence, along with how they intersect with behavioral health, economic hardship, neighborhood safety and substance use, among other factors. Continue reading...

Move would mean some input on companies' spending and holding bosses to account over bills and sewage dischargesMayors and other local politicians could be given powers to oversee water companies under plans being considered by the UK government to bring utilities under greater public control.Local leaders would have the power to direct some parts of water companies' spending and hold bosses to account over bills and sewage discharges as part of the proposals. Continue reading...

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Model comes as part of 500m UK investment by firm's new Abu Dhabi owner that will also fund new factoryMcLaren is gearing up to build an SUV for the first time in its 63-year history, betting that the glamour of its all-conquering Formula One team can sell cars to wealthy fans who do not own its supercars.The model, which does not yet have a name, comes as part of a 500m investment by McLaren's new Abu Dhabi owner that will also create 1,000 jobs, adding to the existing workforce of 2,500 people. Continue reading...

Villagers in Piddington, Oxfordshire, hold symbolic referendum over plans to house more than 1,000 asylum seekers nearby

Home affairs minister Tony Burke will detail long-awaited changes as support for One Nation surges amid immigration debate

Premier Ben Carroll adopts Coalition's stance on Jack's Law, which gives police and PSOs power to randomly search people for knives with metal detectors

Twenty-five years after 9/11, figures compiled by conflict monitor underline how Sahel region has become centre of Islamist terrorIslamist extremist violence in Africa's Sahel region is set to reach historic highs after a series of sweeping offensives by groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State, according to new figures compiled by the conflict monitor Acled.As the US marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks launched by al-Qaida against targets in Washington and New York, the statistics underline the continued expansion of the veteran organisation in parts of Africa - in stark contrast with its relative weakness elsewhere. Continue reading...

Omar Yassine was arrested and charged with stalking and intimidation after allegedly hurling insults at year 8 student wearing a hijab

Dozens of Bank of England directors and founding subscribers invested in trafficking of enslaved AfricansThe Bank of England and the British financial system were for centuries deeply involved in the enslavement and transatlantic trafficking of millions of African people, according to new research on Britain's slavery history.Research by historians compiling the Register of British Slave Traders has found that the scale of the financial system's involvement in enslavement is greater than previously known or acknowledged. The Bank of England, the central bank owned by the government since nationalisation by Clement Attlee's Labour administration in 1946, had dozens of financiers involved in its foundation who were also significant investors in the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans. Continue reading...

Register of British Slave Traders shows clergymen financed company that trafficked enslaved Africans on hundreds of voyagesNearly 250 years after the abolitionist Ottobah Cugoano made the Christian case for reparative justice, the archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, visited the Ghanaian shore where he was enslaved as a boy.After witnessing the dungeons beneath the chapel at Cape Coast Castle, once run by the Royal African Company (RAC), Mullally recommitted the Church of England to its journey of repentance" for its role in slavery. Continue reading...

Defenders of forests and rivers killed at rate of one every three days in 2025, with 85% of deaths in Latin AmericaNature and land defenders were murdered at the rate of one every three days last year, prompting many communities to set up self-defence units, according to the latest annual death toll by the independent watchdog Global Witness.Organised crime groups or professional killers were implicated in more than a third of the 124 killings of defenders in 2025 as narco-trafficking activities overlapped with intrusions into indigenous territories and environmental crime, such as illegal logging and wildcat gold mining. Continue reading...