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Opponents warn president's speech is smokescreen for him to meddle in upcoming congressional midtermsDonald Trump accused China of interfering with the 2020 election in a primetime televised address that laid bare his continuing obsession with his defeat to Joe Biden but which opponents warned was a smokescreen for him to meddle in the forthcoming congressional midterms.In a 25-minute speech on Thursday that had been hyped by Trump himself, the US president cast extraordinary doubts on the integrity of the US electoral process, saying it was catastrophically" short of standards of fairness and trust, while vulnerable to trespassing by foreign powers. Continue reading...

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NBC and CNN stayed away from White House speech, while Fox News, MS Now, CBS and some ABC affiliates aired itThe US's largest television stations split on whether to air Donald Trump's White House address live on Thursday night, which was heavy on unproven accusations about the integrity of the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.While CNN, ABC and NBC chose not to air the speech live, CBS, Fox News and MS Now (formerly MSNBC) aired at least large portions of the speech live. ABC did not air the speech as a must-run broadcast, but some station affiliates - including the Washington DC station owned by right-leaning broadcaster Sinclair - chose to air the speech. Continue reading...

Businesses and traffic in West Hollywood doused after century-old pipe bursts belowgroundA century-old water pipe buried below a bustling boulevard in a Los Angeles county city burst early Thursday, sending a shock of water spewing into the streets and snarling traffic as several major roads shut down.The 36in riveted steel pipe's rupture left a protruding sinkhole and cracked pavement in West Hollywood. Images of the aftermath showed local metro buses partially submerged in murky brown water. Continue reading...

Appearing on a podcast with the far-right UK activist who goes by the name Tommy Robinson, Hanson makes evidence-free claims about migrants

Telco outlines reasons for network failure that hit mobiles, trains and retailers ahead of appearance at Senate inquiry

Australian government says it is deeply frustrated' and will continue to press for real charges with teeth' over deaths of Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles

Taylor Farms reportedly linked to outbreak thought to be in Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky

Move would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to potentially profit from seeing president's posts firstDonald Trump's media company is planning to charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly his own, affecting national security and financial markets.The move announced Thursday would allow Wall Street trading firms and other institutions to get news from top Truth Social contributors in milliseconds so they could profit off subsequent moves in stocks, bonds and interest rates. Continue reading...

Most Australian capital cities have at least 80% chance of unusually warm and dry spring as climatologists watch developing system with increasing alarm

We're now closing this blog. Please join us on our new live blog covering Donald Trump's speech to the nation tonight.

William Upham, a 35-year-old former marine, faces federal charges and up to five years in prison, officials sayA former marine and Republican write-in candidate for the US House in Florida has been arrested and charged in federal court with threatening to kill Donald Trump, according to the US attorney's office.William Upham, 35, was taken into custody on Thursday after appearing in federal court in Jacksonville, Florida. If convicted, he faces up to five years in federal prison. According to public records, Upham is a write-in candidate, running in the Republican primary for Florida's fifth congressional district. Continue reading...

Millions of Americans face air quality alerts from Minnesota to New York as authorities urge people to stay indoors

A crew in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Oakland spotted a pigeon in distress' after a vehicle fireHeartwarming footage of California firefighters treating perhaps their smallest patient on record has captivated the internet.A crew in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Oakland spotted a pigeon in distress" earlier this week after a vehicle fire, and jumped into action to assist. Continue reading...

Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller took aim at only leftwing activism at meeting of 66 nations against political violenceTop Trump officials on Thursday hosted a gathering of 66 nations to discuss the supposed threat of leftwing violence, and launched a series of diatribes, harsh even by the standards of the Trump administration, against leftism.The conference, convened by Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and attended by Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, and Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, was billed as a ministerial on the resurgence of political violence", but the focus was solely on crushing leftist violence. It came as Donald Trump ramps up his efforts to label his political opponents, and a rising number of politicians identified with the Democratic Socialists of America as communists". Continue reading...

Burnham, who is set to take the job on Friday, will promise to give back control to communities and spread growthAndy Burnham will pledge he has the courage to fix the big things that politics has neglected" in his first speech as Labour leader.Burnham, who is set to be announced in the job at a special conference on Friday, will promise to give back control to communities and spread growth across the country. Continue reading...

Karoline Leavitt calls apparent bets on Kalshi prediction platform deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace'Donald Trump's longtime teleprompter operator has been placed on administrative leave, the White House said on Thursday, after reports that he used his position to win $100,000 by placing bets on the president's speeches using the online prediction market Kalshi.The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said the president had been informed about the situation, which she described as deeply unfortunate and frankly a disgrace". Continue reading...

After Thelma Gaston disappeared, her companion was convicted of second-degree murderAuthorities in southern California announced this week that, after more than 40 years, they had identified the remains of a Los Angeles millionaire missing since 1981.The Riverside county sheriff confirmed in a statement that investigators, using genetic genealogy and dental records, had determined the remains found in a rugged area near Sugarloaf Mountain were those of Thelma Gaston. Continue reading...

Lipfendra can be taken in conjunction with or an alternative to statins, the most prescribed medication in the US

About 100,000 children across the country drink the high-caffeine beverages dailyHigh-caffeine energy drinks have no place in children's hands" and will be banned from sale to under-16s in England from April next year under new laws designed to improve health outcomes in young people.About 100,000 children across the country currently drink high-caffeine energy drinks daily, with those in more deprived areas and households more likely to consume them, according to the government. Continue reading...

Beira's Place in Edinburgh, founded by the author, says claim was deeply offensive' as it considers legal actionAmnesty International UK has referred itself to the charity regulator over a report it published that described a sexual violence support centre founded by JK Rowling as anti-rights".The UK branch of the global human rights charity listed Beira's Place in Edinburgh among more than 100 organisations it said were part of an anti-rights movement. Continue reading...

Appointment by the outgoing prime minister potentially opens door for London mayor to join Burnham cabinet

The film-maker behind Selma and 13th will focus on the 14th amendment for a new film out later this year as Donald Trump targets those protected by itAva DuVernay announced on Thursday that she has made a documentary for Netflix on the 14th amendment, which gave liberty and rights to formerly enslaved people following the civil war, and has come under legal attack from Donald Trump.Netflix said on Thursday that it will release 14th later this year. The film will mark a return to nonfiction for DuVernay, the film-maker of Selma and Origin, and a follow-up to DuVernay's 2016 film 13th, her examination of the legacy of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery. Continue reading...

Flash flood emergencies were issued on Thursday for parts of Kerr and Uvalde counties and Texas Hill Country

This live blog has been pausedThe Lebanese foreign minister, Youssef Raggi, said Lebanon has made a decision to end Hezbollah's military presence" and that decisions on war and foreign policy are the exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state".The Lebanese government is pushing to disarm Hezbollah, one of the most heavily armed militias in the Middle East, and it has become a central component of the US-brokered talks between Lebanon and Israel.Lebanon has made its choice: there will be no return to dual authority, and there is no longer any place for weapons outside the authority of the state or for decisions taken outside its constitutional institutions.The decision to end Hezbollah's military presence is a sovereign Lebanese decision. It preceded the Framework Agreement and paved the way for it, affirming that decisions on war and peace, as well as foreign policy, are now the exclusive prerogative of the Lebanese state." Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereCouples could legally marry in forests, on beaches, at sea or in their gardens under new proposals, the Press Association reports. PA says a government consultation announced today, covering rules in England and Wales, could help cut the costs of weddings and mean two ceremonies are no longer required to cover different faiths. PA says:The average wedding in England is estimated to cost more than 20,000, with venue hire alone typically accounting for around 6,000 without catering.The system as it stands means some couples have two ceremonies - one where they feel their beliefs are best reflected and another making their marriage legal. Continue reading...

Landmark high court ruling calls for fresh inquiry into Jools Sweeney's death to allow for previously omitted social media evidenceThe inquest into the death of a 14-year-old boy, whose mother believes he died after a TikTok challenge gone wrong, is to be reopened in a landmark ruling by the high court.Jools Sweeney, a schoolboy from Gloucestershire, died in April 2022. His parents, Ellen Roome and Matt Sweeney, believed social media played a role in his death, pointing to the popularity of the blackout challenge" online at the time. Continue reading...

Wives and children offered new identities to try to stop gangsters recruiting down the generationsChildren and young adults raised in mafia families will be given a chance to break away from organised crime under new legislation in Italy that aims to stop the intergenerational recruitment of gangsters.In an unprecedented effort to sever the family chain, the Italian state will offer children aged under 25 and other close relatives of mafia bosses a chance to start over: a new home in another city, a new school and, if necessary, a new identity. Continue reading...

Critics say Foreign Office figures send global message about the role the country wants to play on international stage'Labour's foreign aid cuts mean reductions of as much as 90% in the bilateral support the UK will give to some African countries, Foreign Office figures show.The department's annual report includes a long-awaited breakdown of how the reduction in the aid budget will affect individual countries for the next three years. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Green party launches pushback against idea that next PM will have more left-leaning agenda than StarmerAndy Burnham is too in hock to vested interests" to offer real change, Zack Polanski has said as the Greens launched a pushback against the incoming prime minister, portraying him as cautious and weak on such areas as wealth taxes, Gaza and rent controls.Under Polanski's leadership the Green party in England and Wales has more than tripled its membership, and is closely tracking Labour in opinion polls, with much of the new support coming from former Labour voters disenchanted with Keir Starmer's approach. Continue reading...

Protests in Lviv and Kyiv as Zelenskyy faces anger after removing the popular Mykhailo Fedorovin MadridMeanwhile, the EU's top court has ruled that a controversial Spanish law that offered an amnesty to those who planned and participated in the failed and illegal push for Catalan independence does not violate the bloc's rules. Continue reading...

Heatwaves, high energy prices, calls for reindustrialisation and North Sea drilling are all high on the to-do list

Revised plan aims to keep something going' amid fears Netanyahu may gamble on new all-out offensive before Israeli elections

The actor, who also appeared in The Waltons and Private Benjamin, died at his home in CaliforniaHal Williams, the actor best known for TV roles in Sanford & Son and 227, has died at the age of 91.His representative confirmed that Williams died on 15 July at his home in California. Continue reading...

Diesel tops $5 a gallon as regular gas reaches almost $4, nearly a dollar and a quarter more than a year ago

Agreement combines Uber Eats with food delivery brands in 99 countries and expands taxi service reach

Timmy: Hope Dies Last elevates stranded humpback into Jesus-like figure, igniting hope and griefWhen people in Germany organised a daring rescue mission for a humpback whale stranded on the Baltic coast in April, it briefly looked like a country stricken with political division and economic anxiety was rallying around a common cause.A new satirical play inspired by the episode, however, suggests the spectators, social media influencers, politicians and millionaires who flocked to the seaside in support never just wanted to rescue the cetacean that came to be nicknamed Timmy, but for Timmy to rescue them. Continue reading...

Friedrich Merz responds to US project offering grants of up to $3m in Europe to address sovereignty, migration and censorship'Friedrich Merz has warned Donald Trump's administration against interfering in German elections after the US state department announced a scheme to fund Maga-aligned causes in Europe.The German chancellor was responding to a US initiative offering grants of up to $3m (2.2m) for European charities, thinktanks and individuals. Continue reading...

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Rise in GDP follows a 0.1% decline in April, figures from the Office for National Statistics showThe UK economy returned to growth in May, despite the impact of the Iran war on energy costs, official figures show.The Office for National Statistics said GDP rose 0.1% in May, in line with economists' forecasts, after a 0.1% decline in April. Continue reading...

Scunthorpe factory is expropriated from China's Jingye and ministers will ask a valuer to assess compensationBritish Steel has formally been taken into public ownership 15 months after the government stepped in to prevent the closure of its steelworks in Scunthorpe and the loss of 4,000 jobs.Keir Starmer on Thursday said that it was in the national interest for the government to take over the factory from its Chinese owner, Jingye, in one of the last significant actions overseen by him as prime minister after the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Act received Royal Assent on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Woman in her 60s was riding on popular cycling trail in northern NSW when she ran over the two-metre-long eastern brown snake, one of the world's most venomousA woman in her 60s is recovering after being bitten by a two-metre-long eastern brown snake that had become entangled in her bike chain in regional Australia.She was riding on the northern rivers rail trail near Burringbar, in the Tweed shire in northern New South Wales, when she ran over the snake. Continue reading...

The dual national, who missed six weeks of school, is latest of several children affected by recent Home Office policyA British girl was prevented from returning to her school in the UK for six weeks after a trip to see her grandmother in Italy because of the Home Office's new rule requiring dual British nationals to have a British passport to get back into the country.The 15-year-old, who was stranded in Rome in April, is just the latest of a number of children and young adults hit by a new Labour government rule that came into force in February. Continue reading...

AFP release images of children's clothes found on electronic devices seized as part of investigation into Hamish Tait

Malicious actor' obtains sensitive data including Medicare numbers, treatment details and pathology results in cyber-attack on Partnered Health

Vessels believed to have departed from Myanmar in late June, with mostly Muslim Rohingya minority onboardThe United Nations has said more than 500 people are feared dead after reports of two large shipwrecks off Myanmar since late June.The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) and its refugee agency UNHCR voiced alarm in a joint statement at reports that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days". Continue reading...

Mykhailo Fedorov, credited with transforming the ministry, ousted in reshuffle after six months in postVolodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Ukraine's popular defence minister, despite pleas from foreign partners and civil society for him to keep his job, as part of wide-ranging government reshuffle.In a post on Telegram Mykhailo Fedorov announced that he was leaving his position, saying it had been a great honour" to serve the Ukrainian people. He was widely credited with transforming the defence ministry and reducing corruption. Continue reading...