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Trump intelligence chief accuses ex-president and others of treasonous conspiracy' for alleging Russian interference

Lawmakers note cancellation follows Colbert's criticism of parent company Paramount for settling Trump suitDemocrats are condemning CBS for its recent decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, noting the news comes just a few days after its host criticized the network's parent company, Paramount, for settling a $16m lawsuit with Donald Trump.Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who appeared as a guest on Colbert's show on Thursday night, later wrote on social media: If Paramount and CBS ended the Late Show for political reasons, the public deserves to know. And deserves better." Continue reading...

Writers Guild of America requests New York attorney general investigate potential wrongdoing' after shock cancellationThe Writers Guild of America has called on New York state officials to launch an investigation into Paramount following its sudden decision to cancel The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.In a strongly worded statement issued on Friday, the Writers Guild of America East and the Writers Guild of America West asked New York state attorney general Letitia James to investigate Paramount over potential wrongdoing" after the company announced the cancellation of the Late Show' on Thursday. Continue reading...

UN calls for end to bloodshed' that has claimed at least 638 lives, according to Syrian Observatory for Human RightsArmed tribes supported by Syria's Islamist-led government clashed with Druze fighters in the community's Sweida heartland on Friday, a day after the army withdrew under Israeli bombardment and diplomatic pressure.The UN called for an end to the bloodshed" and demanded an independent" investigation of the violence, which has claimed at least 638 lives since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Continue reading...

Three deputies who were killed were members of department's arson explosives detail, according to sheriffAn explosion at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles has killed three people with the county sheriff's department in the largest loss of life for the agency since 1857, the sheriff said on Friday morning.The three deputies who were killed were members of the department's arson explosives detail said Robert Luna, the sheriff, at a press conference. Authorities were still working to notify relatives of the deceased, he said, and details on the circumstances around the explosion were limited. Continue reading...

Deborah Mason, 65, who had moniker Queen Bee', and seven members of her network sentenced to total of 106.5 yearsA family-run organised crime group, orchestrated by a 65-year-old described by police as a gangster granny", has been sentenced for dealing drugs with a street value of 80m across the UK.Deborah Mason, who had the moniker Queen Bee", and seven other members of the gang, were sentenced at Woolwich crown court in London on Friday for their involvement in supplying nearly a tonne of cocaine over seven months. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Deputy PM defends action against party rebels and says Send system is priority, in Guardian interview

Managers described as reckless' over supervision of Melissa Mathieson's killer, who had history of sexual violenceA catalogue of failures" resulted in the murder of a vulnerable young woman who was strangled to death in a care home by a fellow resident with a history of sexual violence, a coroner has concluded.Senior managers at the care home in Bristol where Melissa Mathieson, 18, died were described as reckless" by the coroner for not effectively supervising her killer, Jason Conroy. Continue reading...

Twenty-one passengers were taken to hospital after coach overturned on way back from trip to zooFlowers have been left outside a school attended by a 10-year-old boy who died in a coach crash in Somerset on the way home from a trip to the zoo.Twenty-one passengers were taken to hospital, some with serious injuries, when the coach flipped on to its roof and plunged 20ft down an embankment in Exmoor on Thursday afternoon on its way back to Minehead middle school. Continue reading...

Claims involve former finance minister Cristobal Montoro and dealings with gas and other energy companiesJust when Spain's opposition People's party thought it had the socialist government of Pedro Sanchez on the ropes over a series of corruption scandals, it has been hit by a controversy of its own over alleged trafficking of influences by Cristobal Montoro, the former finance minister.It is alleged that Montoro established the economic team", a lawyer's office linked to the finance ministry, which took kickbacks from gas and other energy companies in return for favourable government policy. It is claimed that between 2008 and 2015 Montoro and 27 other accused, among them senior treasury officials, were paid at least 11m (9.5m) by big energy companies. Continue reading...

Ben Stiller, Rachel Zegler and Judd Apatow and others disappointment at decision to axe long-running show

Police say eight officers were assaulted when crowds surrounded a small counter-demonstrationTwo people have been arrested after a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers during which eight officers were assaulted, Essex police said.Riot police wore helmets and took up position while crowds of men, some masked, surrounded a small counter-demonstration by anti-racism activists on Thursday evening. Continue reading...

Israel grants access after stray' tank round kills three people and wounds Catholic priestIsrael has granted two senior Christian leaders rare access to Gaza after an Israeli strike on the Palestinian territory's only Roman Catholic church killed three people.Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Theophilos III, led a delegation on Friday to the Holy Family Church, whose shelling the day before triggered international condemnation. Continue reading...

Belfast rap group say one element of the political policing intimidation attempt is over' after investigation droppedThe band Kneecap will face no further action following an investigation into their performance at Glastonbury festival, police have said.Inquiries were continuing into separate comments made on stage during a performance by the duo Bob Vylan, which came before Kneecap's on the West Holts stage on 28 June, Avon and Somerset police said. Continue reading...

Company to sell business for undisclosed sum to LS Power as part of plan to offload $20bn in assetsBP has agreed a deal to sell off its onshore wind business in the US as the oil multinational turns its back on renewable energy after a failed attempt to go green.The company said it would sell its share of 10 windfarms, which generate enough clean energy to power more than 500,000 US homes, to the New York-headquartered LS Power. Continue reading...

Kamala Harris running mate strikes regretful tone after calling for Democrats to bully the shit out of' US presidentDonald Trump brings out the worst in people, and he brings out the worst in me", Tim Walz has said in a new interview in which Minnesota's governor struck an apologetic tone over a recent plea for his fellow Democrats to bully the shit out of" the Republican president.Walz, who was Kamala Harris's running mate as she unsuccessfully ran for the White House against Trump in November, made those comments in a conversation with the Minnesota news station KMSP that was published Thursday. Continue reading...

Charity Commission criticised for endorsing transfer of about 5.7m to a high school in illegal village of SusyaTwo UK charities have transferred millions of pounds to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank with the endorsement of the charities regulator, the Guardian can reveal.Documents show that the Kasner Charitable Trust (KCT), via a conduit charity, UK Toremet, has donated approximately 5.7m to the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva high school in Susya, in the Israeli-occupied territory. Continue reading...

PBS chief says cuts package goes against the will of the American people' as smaller outlets could face total closurePublic broadcast station leaders are condemning Donald Trump's latest victory after the Senate approved a bill on Wednesday that will cancel all federal funding for public broadcasting programs including PBS and NPR.Following the Senate's decision to pass $9bn in spending cuts to public broadcasting as well as foreign aid, PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger saying that the Senate's approval of the package goes against the will of the American people". Continue reading...

Ince was also fined 5,000 and ordered to pay 2,000 statutory surcharge and 85 costs over incident in JuneThe former England footballer Paul Ince has been banned from driving and ordered to pay 7,085 for drink-driving.The 57-year-old appeared at Chester magistrates court on Friday where he admitted driving his Range Rover while over the limit on 28 June in Neston, Cheshire. Continue reading...

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Shapps, defence secretary when the superinjunction was imposed, said its use was entirely justified' to save lives

The blockbuster adaptation of Homer's epic has not finished filming and has no official runtime. But super fans - and scalpers - already have seatsThe first tickets to Christopher Nolan's take on Homer's Odyssey have gone on sale - before he's even finished filming it and a year before the film is even out, in what is likely the longest pre-sale in cinematic history.The Odyssey, which stars Matt Damon as the cunning Odysseus as he fights his way home after the end of the Trojan war, will be released on 17 July 2026. But on Thursday, Imax released tickets to the first screenings at the 26 Imax cinemas around the world that have the staff and equipment required to project in 1570 format. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Liberal MP urges people to make submissions to inquiry as Labor insists it will look into harmful and coercive groups, not target trans communities

In today's newsletter: In failing to leverage its economic influence, the bloc is showing its threats are empty - and is breaking its own rulesGood morning. Before we get into the news of the day, a bit of housekeeping.I've been away from the newsletter for a few months, but this isn't the grand return I'm sure you've all been eagerly awaiting. Instead, this will be my last First Edition (cue sad music). After three and a half years, I'm moving teams to join the Guardian's international desk. So, farewell readers! It's been real and a proper privilege to be the first port of call for many of you each morning. Apologies for the countless times I'm sure you've opened your inbox, bleary eyed, to be greeted by some alarming event. You'll be in excellent hands with my brilliant colleagues Aamna Mohdin and Phoebe Weston over the summer.UK news | The voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK by the next general election in a major change of the democratic system. The government said the reform would bring in more fairness as 16- and 17-year-olds already work and are able to serve in the military.US news | Donald Trump said on Thursday he had directed his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the release of grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking case as he sought to tamp down controversy over a story published by the Wall Street Journal alleging he contributed a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein's 50th birthday album.Israel-Gaza | An Israeli strike has hit the only Catholic church in Gaza, killing two people and injuring several others, including the parish priest, who used to receive daily calls from the late Pope Francis.Labour | Diane Abbott has been suspended from the Labour party for a second time after saying she did not regret her past remarks on racism. In a statement to Newsnight on Thursday evening, Abbott said: It is obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. My comments in the interview ... were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept."Sudan | Children in Sudan, caught up in what aid organisations have called the world's largest humanitarian crisis and threatened by rising levels of violence, are increasingly vulnerable to deadly infectious diseases as vaccinations in the country plummet. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Customers are told the carmaker is allowing more time for testing and for demand to pick upBritain's largest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, has delayed the planned launches of its new electric Range Rover and electric Jaguar models to give it time for more testing and for demand to pick up, the Guardian can reveal.JLR has written to customers waiting for the Range Rover Electric to inform them that deliveries of the new version of the model will not start until next year, after initially aiming for late 2025. Continue reading...

Sectarian divisions prompted the worst unrest in Syria since March as the Druze population of Sweida province suffered massacres and executionsBahaa* had no choice but to keep on working as patient after patient came through the doors of the Sweida National hospital in southern Syria. Almost all bore similar injuries: gunshot wounds and bodies shredded by shrapnel from nearby exploding artillery.There were hundreds of wounded, no less than 200 bodies in the hospital. Many of them shot in the head, as if executed," said Bahaa, a surgeon speaking of the events of this week in Sweida under a pseudonym for fear of retribution. Continue reading...

23-year-old man, who previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter, admits he killed his former girlfriend in Ballarat in April 2024

Dan Sabbagh on the data leak that may have cost hundreds of millions of pounds - and put Afghan lives at riskThis week an email was sent to people in Afghanistan. It told the recipients, who had all worked for British forces in Afghanistan, that some of their personal data may have been compromised". All had applied for asylum in the UK, fearful because their work for Britain made them a target for the Taliban. Now they were told their asylum applications had been leaked into the public domain.They were advised not to take phone calls or respond to messages or emails from unknown contacts, to limit access to their social media, to consider closing their accounts, and to only go online via a private connection. Understandably, they were terrified. Continue reading...

Editors, reporters, and lawyers for Nine newspapers were among eight named in pro-Israel group application dismissed by federal court

City watchdog publishes details of its plans to regulate the BNPL market, which has now grown to 13bnLenders may have to carry out affordability checks on even the smallest buy now, pay later loans under new rules drawn up by the City watchdog.The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)on Friday published details of its plan to regulate the 13bn buy now, pay later (BNPL) market. Continue reading...

Conflict restarts in southern province as Druze groups reportedly target Bedouin villages in revenge' attacksThe Israeli military has carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of Sweida city as clashes between tribal fighters and Bedouin fighters intensified on Thursday night.The clashes started a wave of tit-for-tat retaliatory violence earlier on in the day after Syrian government forces withdrew from Sweida. Continue reading...

Oscar-winning writer-director, known for Jojo Rabbit and Thor sequels, attached to new take on comic book characterOscar-winner Taika Waititi is set to take on a new Judge Dredd movie.According to the Hollywood Reporter, the writer-director will take the reins of the latest attempt to bring the comic book character to the screen with Drew Pearce set to take on the script. Continue reading...

Twenty-one people taken to hospital after collision on A396 and firefighters had to free some passengersA child was killed when a coach carrying pupils returning from an end of term day trip to a zoo flipped on to its roof and plunged down an embankment in Somerset.Twenty-one passengers were taken to hospital by vehicles and a helicopter, some with serious injuries. Others were treated at the scene. Continue reading...

Riot police deployed to anti-immigration flashpoint in Epping as far right seeks to exploit local tensionsFar-right supporters have attacked police as violence erupted following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex.Hundreds of people had earlier staged a fresh demonstration outside the hotel in Epping that has become a flashpoint of anti-immigration protest, days after two security guards were seriously assaulted during a previous gathering. Continue reading...

Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap say group will support those subject to aggressive, vexatious campaigns' by pro-Israel advocatesMassive Attack, Brian Eno, Fontaines DC and Kneecap have announced the formation of a syndicate for artists speaking out about Israel's military assault on Gaza, who they say have been subjected to aggressive, vexatious campaigns" by pro-Israel advocates.Posting on Instagram, the musicians said their aim was to protect other artists, particularly those at early stages of their careers, from being threatened into silence or career cancellation" by organisations such as UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI). Continue reading...

Analysis of $20m spent on Alligator Alcatraz' shows some contracts went to governor's donors or alliesOfficials in Florida diverted crucial disaster preparedness and response resources to support the hasty construction of the so-called Alligator Alcatraz migrant detention jail by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, a newly published report has claimed.Some of the $20m in contracts analyzed by Talking Points Memo (TPM) before they inexplicably disappeared from the Florida department of financial services website went to donors or political allies of DeSantis, the report said. Continue reading...

US president has suggested the central bank mismanaged funds for renovations at the Federal Reserve headquartersThe White House is pushing for an inspection of the US Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington after Donald Trump suggested the central bank had mismanaged funds for building renovations.The scrutiny comes as Trump has unsuccessfully tried to pressure the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, to quit and demanded he and other officials lower interest rates. Powell has said that lowering rates prematurely could lead to higher inflation, and that Trump's tariffs had contributed to price increases. Continue reading...

Hopes 225m Isambard-AI in Bristol will unleash new era of technological, medical and social breakthroughsBritain's new 225m national artificial intelligence supercomputer will be used to spot sick dairy cows in Somerset, improve the detection of skin cancer on brown skin and help create wearable AI assistants that could help riot police anticipate danger.Scientists hope Isambard-AI - named after the 19th-century engineer of groundbreaking bridges and railways, Isambard Kingdom Brunel - will unleash a wave of AI-powered technological, medical and social breakthroughs by allowing academics and public bodies access to the kind of vast computing power previously the preserve of private tech companies. Continue reading...

Contractor BAM ends Danny Sullivan Group's involvement following investigation into compliance issues'An HS2 subcontractor has been terminated from its role supplying labour to build a 100m bat tunnel" following an investigation into allegations of overinflating rates for staff.BAM Nuttall (BAM), part of a consortium that is the main works contractor for the much-delayed 80bn-plus high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham, said it had ended the involvement of Danny Sullivan Group (DSG) on projects where compliance issues have been identified". Continue reading...

If individuals are convicted and sentenced, council may go to court to seek repossession of their home, letters saidCardiff council has written to several council tenants warning they could be evicted if a member of the household is convicted for offences related to the riots sparked by the death of two teenage boys in Ely in 2023, the Guardian has learned.The notices, which were sent to 17 homes on 9 July, said south Wales police had informed the council that at least one member of the household had been charged in relation to the disorder, which it called a serious incident which caused severe alarm and distress throughout the community". Continue reading...

Deputy PM says Abbott's defence of comments that led to her suspension is real challenge' for Labour party

Shareholders sued Zuckerberg and others in hopes of holding them liable for fines and legal costs that Meta paidMark Zuckerberg and current and former directors and officers of Meta Platforms agreed on Thursday to settle claims seeking $8bn for the damage they allegedly caused the company by allowing repeated violations of Facebook users' privacy, a lawyer for the shareholders told a Delaware judge on Thursday.The parties did not disclose details of the settlement and defense lawyers did not address the judge, Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware court of chancery. McCormick adjourned the trial just as it was to enter its second day and she congratulated the parties. Continue reading...

Donald Trump really wants people to stop talking about Jeffrey Epstein, but his Maga base, including some prominent commentators such as Laura Loomer, want his administration to release the files'. Jonathan Freedland speaks to Ali Breland of the Atlantic about the tricky situation the US president finds himself inArchive: ABC News, CBS News, PBS, NBC News, KVUE, Theo Von podcast, Benny Johnson podcast, CBC The National, After Party podcast Continue reading...

Exclusive: Thousands of small business owners face charges of 9.99 a month from October despite previous written guaranteeSantander customers have accused the bank of misrepresentation after it announced it would start charging for business accounts it had promised were free for ever".Thousands of small business owners have been informed they face charges of 9.99 a month from October despite a written guarantee that they would never incur fees. The free accounts were withdrawn for new customers in 2011. Continue reading...

Possibility of direct services is most eyecatching part of a commitment to collaborate on transport links and mobilityPlans for possible direct trains from London to Berlin will be drawn up by a joint UK-German taskforce, reigniting hopes for better rail connections across Europe.The partnership, announced as part of the bilateral treaty to be signed by Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz, could eventually lead to direct rail services between the two countries after previous plans for London-Frankfurt trains hit the buffers. Continue reading...

Court overturns 1970s convictions of Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, and Ronald De Souza, one of the Stockwell SixThe court of appeal has quashed the convictions of two men who were framed by a corrupt and racist detective in the 1970s.Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, and Ronald De Souza are the 12th and 13th people to have their convictions quashed because they were based on evidence from the disgraced British Transport Police (BTP) officer DS Derek Ridgewell. Continue reading...

Chris Minns and his opposition counterpart are the only ones who can drive broader change and improve workplace culture

Food Standards Agency warns that the drinks can cause decreased consciousness and low blood sugarChildren under seven should not drink slushies containing glycerol because of the serious health risks they can cause, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said.Glycerol is a naturally occurring alcohol and sugar substitute that helps slushies maintain their texture by preventing liquid from freezing solid. Continue reading...

Rachael Maskell, one of four Labour MPs to lose whip, stands by actions and says party needs to be broad church that listens to each other'

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