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Spokesperson says work continues to secure sufficient support' for Trump pick amid concern over IRS settlement

Republican John Cornyn says he will not back nomination without written confirmation $1.8bn slush fund is deadTodd Blanche's hopes of becoming US attorney general seemed to be in jeopardy on Wednesday after the Department of Justice did not provide written assurances to a key Republican senator that a $1.8bn slush fund was dead.The US Senate judiciary committee postponed a vote scheduled for Thursday on whether to advance Blanche's nomination. Continue reading...

Police link shooting to gang violence but have not said who might have fired bullets that killed bystanders on SundayBullets that fatally struck two bystanders during a shootout at a Seattle food festival last weekend do not appear to have come from the gun that a 15-year-old arrested at the scene was firing, police said in court documents filed on Wednesday.The teen sprayed an untraceable ghost gun" into a crowd, authorities say. Preliminary ballistics testing did not match the bullets recovered from the deceased bystanders to that weapon. Continue reading...

Longtime Epstein associate serving 20-year sentence for sex-trafficking crimes has exhausted series of appealsThe US Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a resolution declaring its opposition to any presidential pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes.Introduced by Senator Jacky Rosen, a Democrat of Nevada, the resolution states that Maxwell should not be granted a Presidential pardon or any form of clemency for her crimes with Jeffrey Epstein relating to the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors". Continue reading...

Rates remain unchanged for fifth time since December as tenuous Iran peace deal pushes energy prices up againThe US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday in a divided vote, indicating growing pressure on the central bank to address heightened inflation.The Fed's federal open market committee voted 9-3 to maintain rates, with three dissenting members indicating a preference to raise the rate by a quarter-percentage point. It was the first time in a decade that three board members shared dissent over a policy decision. Continue reading...

Planned overhaul forms part of president's broader pattern of directing changes in Washington after arch and ballroomDonald Trump announced on Wednesday a $22bn plan to rebuild Washington's Dulles international airport on Wednesday after the US president personally weighed in on the design of the capital's main international gateway.In the end, you can end up with - I think - maybe the best airport, and one of the biggest airports, anywhere in the world, and it's going to be a great thing for Washington DC," the president said during an announcement at the Oval Office on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Six years on from Covid crisis, Republicans still politicizing science - and Fauci remains a political punching bagA US Senate committee hearing featuring Dr Anthony Fauci revealed at least one certainty: six years after the pandemic, politicizing science remains a vital political tactic.The high-profile hearing was pitched by its Republican chair, Rand Paul of Kentucky, as an investigation into the origins of the Covid pandemic. It quickly became a forum for recrimination of a once-leading US government scientist by Republican senators. Continue reading...

Report on Interlochen Center for the Arts details sexual allegations against 47 faculty and staff members since 1950sTwo people who attended a prestigious Michigan fine arts school reported conduct of a sexual nature by Jeffrey Epstein, a major donor, according to an investigation that also uncovered dozens of allegations spanning decades against nearly 50 other people.Interlochen Center for the Arts operates a summer camp and performing arts school that draws students from around the world. It hired a law firm in 2024 to investigate reports of sexual abuse by faculty and staff. Subsequently, it expanded the work to include information about Epstein, the 66-year-old financier who killed himself in jail in 2019. Continue reading...

Adviser to Trump and Biden for pandemic says Republican senator has unhinged obsession' with him

Fifa's president hopes to sell stakes in the planet's most watched sporting event. In the wider interests of football, he must be resistedLike a sporting Dr Pangloss, Fifa's president, GianniInfantino, would like to persuade football followers that they are living in the best of all possible worlds. Maddeningly for him, many disagree. On Monday, Mr Infantino published a 15-page Instagram rant in which he bemoaned the hate and false rumours" in circulation during the recent men's World Cup. White House interference over a crucial refereeing decision, prohibitive ticket prices, unnecessary but lucrative hydration breaks; it was all, as his best friend in politics, Donald Trump, would say, fake news".But where the president of world football's governing body sees haters, others see lovers of the game rightly concerned over where he is taking it. On Tuesday, Fifa confirmed that it hopes to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors who may include Joshua Kushner, the brother of MrTrump's son-in-law Jared. The investors would buy into a new $20bn company, Fifa Forward Enterprise, which would sell all of Fifa's commercial rights, including ticketing, and take charge of operational delivery" of World Cups.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Massachusetts mother say she was in throes of postpartum psychosis amid January 2023 tragedyMore than three years after a Massachusetts mother strangled her three young children, her former husband described returning home to the aftermath and a jury listened on Wednesday to his frantic 911 call, as her lawyers seek to prove she was in the grip of post-pregnancy psychosis.Lindsay Clancy, 35, admits she killed her children in January 2023 while her then husband was on an errand away from their home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. Her attorney says she was driven by postpartum mental illness and a jury cannot find she intentionally murdered the children. Continue reading...

James Comey's lawyers say Secret Service illegally tracked him to develop case around his 8647' seashell postLawyers for former FBI director James Comey alleged on Tuesday that US Secret Service agents illegally surveilled Comey, Donald Trump requested regular updates into the investigation, and law enforcement turned to ChatGPT and a known mafia killer as they scrambled to find justification for criminally charging Comey for posting a picture of seashells that spelled out 8647".The claims were laid out in a motion to dismiss a criminal case the US Department of Justice filed against Comey in April, in which it said the post by Comey - whom Trump fired in his first term - was a threat on the US president's life. Continue reading...

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has announced plans to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors in a new commercial entity worth $20bn. One of the leading would-be investors is Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared.The plans have prompted an immediate backlash - with Uefa accusing Fifa of trying to sell football's soul'. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian reporter Paul MacInnes - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Nelly Korda may be a safer bet, but home fans would be thrilled to see Hull triumphNelly Korda is the likeliest winner of the Women's Open, but there is no question who would be the most popular. Charley Hull's brushes with major glory - she has five runner-up finishes - have only intensified a widespread desire for the 30-year-old to break through the tape. Royal Lytham & St Annes provides the latest opportunity for the flamboyant Englishwoman .Korda arrived in Lancashire with half her four major triumphs having come in 2026. Perhaps the Floridian can afford to be generous and she has endorsed Hull's prospects. She's such a great personality," she said. It would be great for her to do it on home soil, too. She's an amazing player. I enjoy playing with her. It would be great for thegame." Continue reading...

HBCUs offer more than higher education - they provide a safe haven for Black students and an investment in their wellbeingI know exactly the soaring anticipation that Howard University's roughly 2,500 incoming first-year students have been feeling since the first notice of their acceptance letters. There were high school graduation parties decorated in the school's indigo, red and white colors. Parents beaming to their neighbors about upcoming send-offs to the country's most recognizable historically Black college or university (HBCU). Located in Washington DC, Howard is nicknamed The Mecca" by its devoted alumni because it boasts a who's-who of graduates who pioneered every era of Black history since the school's 1867 founding.I know the inextinguishable excitement these recently admitted students are feeling because when I arrived wide-eyed at Spelman College in the heart of Atlanta's HBCU epicenter, I was enveloped in instant amity, greeted with overdue affirmation and welcomed into an institution designed to nurture the promise of the young, gifted and Black. Inside the verdant urban oasis of my little Black college, I felt airlifted from countless racist indignities I endured prior. An immediate awareness dawned on me that this was how white people must feel about America, in that they never have to question if all of this was made for them. Continue reading...

Lightning kills a New Jersey man as rescues, power outages and travel disruption hit regionBands of deadly, extreme weather including torrential rain and high winds sparked flash flooding and tornado warnings in several north-eastern US states on Tuesday night and into Wednesday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people and playing havoc with travel.A 32-year-old man was killed on Tuesday afternoon in a lightning strike in Monroe township, New Jersey, authorities said. Continue reading...

US employers and Haitian immigrants live in constant uncertainty as status of work permits remains in limboFor more than a month, Bobby Kuchinsky arrived at his Florida restaurant each morning worried about whether he still had enough staff or if this might be the last shift for some of his Haitian workers, who have spent more than a decade as cooks, busboys and oyster shuckers.On Tuesday, he suspended six of them after they lost authorization to work in the US. Continue reading...

Francesca Hong, a candidate for Wisconsin governor, is part of a wave of democratic socialists finding traction with an old ideaIn a matter of weeks, Francesca Hong, an unlikely candidate for governor in one of the country's most heated battleground states, will test a message that is at once radical and, to many, incredibly practical: the government should help pay for childcare.When we talk about free childcare, you can connect to folks whether it's on an economic argument or just purely that it's the right thing to do for our kids," said Hong, a democratic socialist running in Wisconsin's Democratic primary on 11 August. I always like to remind folks: if we don't take care of our kids, who's going to take care of us?" Continue reading...

A delicacy for centuries and a key part of Native tradition, the lake whitefish has seen its population crash. Researchers know why ... but stopping it is another matterFrom the basement of the Sandusky library, page 29 of the book Sandusky of To-Day proclaims the town to be the largest fresh water fish market in the world". Two pages later, an image of the lake whitefish, referred to as Sandusky's pride", takes up the entire page.But the book was published in 1888. Continue reading...

The White House fails to understand that Mark Carney and Canada's regional leaders can't cave in to the US president: it's too toxic to voters Matt Gurney is a journalist based in TorontoThough many hate to admit it, Canadians have long wished for more attention from the US. Well, we're getting it now. And it turns out that President Trump and some of his top supporters in the Maga movement don't much like us.The first big hint was when he started talking about annexing us, saying we couldn't survive without American support. But the most recent example of Trump's dislike for Canada can be seen in his latest tariff policies. Canada was largely spared the impact of his Liberation Day" tariffs in April 2025 by its pre-existing free trade deal with the US (and Mexico), but earlier this month, as expected, the US declined to extend that deal for another 16-year term. It's now subject to annual renegotiations. Then, last week, the White House announced tariffs as high as 50% on a selection of Canadian products including, for the first time, items previously protected by the trade agreement. The US called it retaliation for Canadian trade practices.Matt Gurney is a journalist based in Toronto, and co-editor of The Line, an online magazine Continue reading...

J Street's liberal Zionist politics are landing with the Democratic establishment but the electorate may have moved onWhen Daniel Biss addressed his supporters after clinching the Democratic nomination in Illinois's ninth congressional district this past March, he did something politicians rarely do: he paid homage to a lobby group.This victory belongs to J Street," Biss declared. Continue reading...

Districts are reducing routes and exploring new ways to get students to class as transportation costs climbEducation officials across the United States are increasingly facing a fundamental challenge: how do they ensure that school students can actually get to their classrooms?The bright yellow school bus might be a visual icon of US education famous around the world, but in reality it is becoming harder for districts to steer. Continue reading...

US military says it intercepted all Iranian missiles, as fighting threatens to resume. Plus, how Armenians seek to breathe more easily by heading underground

Ryder Williams, 16, saved a boy from drowning in Santa Cruz, California - the first rescue of his careerA rookie, teenage California lifeguard who saved a young boy from drowning amid massive waves - while a bystander recorded dramatic video - has spent his whole life preparing for such a moment, according to his father.Ryder Williams, 16, said he refused to let go of the child because he knew the boy would almost certainly die if he did, the lifeguard's father, Shane, recounted on Tuesday, three days after the pulse-pounding rescue. Continue reading...

The task now is to stop mourning the old order and build the foundations of the new multipolar worldAmerica is in decline. And so is Pax America: the American-led world order. While there are many genuine dangers of American decline, there has never been a better chance to say clearly how much the unipolar order always left to be desired, and to imagine a multipolar world that might secure peace better than the old order ever did.Idealizing the American peace since 1945 and its rules-based international order" - a phrase that came into common use only decades later, but never mind - is a misguided response to our current situation. Continue reading...

Is it normal for a sitting senator to have to routinely submit proofs of life to a public who suspect he might be braindead? Just asking for 340 million friendsIs it normal for a sitting senator to have to routinely submit proofs of life to a public who suspect he might be braindead? Just asking for 340 million friends in the US. Mitch McConnell was hospitalized for a medical event on 14 June and we are now in week six of What on Earth is Going On With Mitch? a mystery that has riveted the nation.According to McConnell's team there isn't actually a mystery at all. The 84-year-old is doing great, they want us to know. So great that they have now released two photos to prove it. Continue reading...

Despite resounding 86-to-12 vote, Democratic aide warns bill gives president unchecked discretion to waive sanctions and impose tariffs. This blog is now closed.

US president makes positive posts as Ukraine seeks more firepower and Israeli PM seeks to repair relationshipDonald Trump hosted back-to-back White House meetings with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, as Ukraine seeks more firepower for its air defenses and the Israeli prime minister tries to repair his strained relationship with the US president.Trump described both meetings in positive terms on social media Tuesday evening, remaining vague about what was discussed. Continue reading...

Agents accused in lawsuit of using anti-immigrant slurs and denigrating undocumented MexicansICE agents deployed last summer to the Los Angeles area referred to the subjects of their immigration operations with racial slurs, according to newly released court documents.On 4 July 2025, an unidentified agent wrote in a text chain, btw tonks everywhere selling food for the 4th festivities in long beach right now", invoking an anti-immigrant slur, which the US border patrol has previously warned against. Continue reading...

Official declines to say whether Gabriel Perez, who allegedly bet on prediction market Kalshi, resigned or was firedA White House teleprompter operator who reportedly used inside knowledge to make bets about Donald Trump's speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi is no longer in his post, according to a White House official.The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the personnel matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that Gabriel Perez no longer works in the federal government". Continue reading...

At confirmation hearing, Clayton sidestepped questions about 2020 election and declined to say Trump lost

State kills Dominick Occhicone, 80, and James Duckett, 68, as Ron DeSantis pushes executions before term endsFlorida on Tuesday became the first state in nearly a decade to carry out two executions in a single day, putting to death an 80-year-old man who was the second-oldest inmate known to receive a lethal injection in modern US history.Hours earlier, the state executed a former police officer convicted of the killing of a young girl. Continue reading...

Some private' chats and docs are showing up on search engines. Here's how to protect yoursUsers of Anthropic's Claude chatbot were surprised over the weekend to learn that some of their conversations may be discoverable on search engines like Google and Bing. The revelation is raising questions about how much control people actually have over what they share online.Anthropic allows Claude users to create public links to their chat threads, which gives anyone with the link the ability to view their conversations - similar to sharing options on apps like Google Docs. But what users may not have realized was that means their Claude conversations, however sensitive or personal, could show up in public search results. Continue reading...

No deaths reported after twister leveled homes and topples trees and power lines in north-east of stateFirst responders searched homes and buildings on Tuesday for possible victims of a powerful tornado that ravaged several north-eastern Wisconsin communities.The Fox Cities region, which is home to more than 100,000 people in the cities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday's twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped and power lines and trees toppled. Continue reading...

France had also intervened after Trump administration had opposed the reappointment of UN human rights chiefUS diplomats walked out of a United Nations meeting after France criticized the country's human rights record under Donald Trump.The staged walkout, which occurred on Monday during a UN security council meeting on the Ukraine-Russia war, came days after the Trump administration cited forced labor" allegations as it imposed sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries. Continue reading...

Three people died, including one of the suspects, and at least five more were wounded, including two-year-old boySeattle police recovered a modified machine gun and an untraceable ghost gun" from the scene of a mass shooting at a food festival this weekend that left three people dead - including one of the suspects - and at least five more wounded, the police chief, Shon Barnes, said on Tuesday.Sunday's shooting appeared to involve at least three suspects, Barnes said at a televised news conference. One of those three, 19-year-old Junior Cee Niko Semo, died at the scene. A second, 15-year-old suspect was disarmed and arrested at the scene. At least one more suspect remains at large, Barnes said. Continue reading...

Ruby Rippey writes in Vanity Fair of relationship with then San Francisco mayor and appears to contradict his accountA former aide to Gavin Newsom has publicly shared for the first time her full account of their affair, which took place more than two decades ago when Newsom was mayor of San Francisco.In a new essay published in Vanity Fair on Tuesday, Ruby Rippey writes about her struggles with alcoholism, substance abuse and her relationship with Newsom while she worked as his appointments secretary and was married to his deputy chief of staff and later the manager of the mayor's re-election campaign. Continue reading...

Historically Black institution withdrew more than 500 first-year students for missed tuition paymentsNew York residents who were unenrolled from Washington DC's Howard University have been offered a reprieve after the historically Black institution withdrew more than 500 first-year students for missed tuition payments in late July. On 27 July, Kathy Hochul, New York's governor, announced that affected New Yorkers can seek admission at the City University of New York (Cuny) and the State University of New York (Suny) for the fall 2026 semester.Students will be offered expedited late admissions review at the Suny campuses at Buffalo, Albany, Buffalo State University, Binghamton, Oneonta, Stony Brook and New Paltz, with other schools assessing capacity. Continue reading...

Cole Gray pleaded guilty to 55 counts, including murder, for shooting at Apalachee high school in 2024

Dramatic video recorded on 25 July shows a 16-year-old lifeguard rescuing a 10-year-old boy from massive waves at a beach in Santa Cruz, California. The boy was safely brought back to the shore with no injuries, according to the Associated Press Continue reading...

He died doing the work he was born to do,' Trump says as political leaders honor Republican US senator

Lenita Moreno, 25, arrested over fire - which allegedly caused $108,000 in damage - at Mormon church in KaysvilleA Utah woman set fire to the church where she was scheduled to get married a day before the wedding, allege authorities investigating what may have been an extreme case of cold feet.Lenita Moreno, 25, was arrested on a count of aggravated arson in connection with the 10 July blaze, which investigators say caused $108,000 in damage and was started using a tampon and other flammable items. Continue reading...

Ukrainian and Israeli leaders converge on Washington with criss-crossing fortunes, but knowing they can count on little from US counterpartThe converging visits of Benjamin Netanyahu and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington offer an unusually eloquent snapshot of a world in turmoil, unmoored from decades-old certainties.Some things remain the same. The US is still an almighty military and economic power and for both foreign visitors, a White House encounter with Donald Trump is critical to their governments and the wars they are fighting. Continue reading...

In recordings made in 2016 and 2017 former president also appears to describe possessing classified informationFormer US president Joe Biden appeared to discuss sensitive information and describe possessing classified documents in audio recordings released on Monday by the Oversight Project, a conservative activist group.The heavily redacted transcripts and recordings were made in 2016 and 2017, while Biden was working with a ghostwriter on his 2017 memoir, Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose. No classified material was ever alleged to have appeared in the book. Continue reading...

Court-appointed investigator finds California City facility failed to comply with judge's order to provide adequate healthcareCalifornia's largest immigration detention center has failed to comply with a judge's orders to provide adequate healthcare, according to a court-appointed monitor who found the facility was struggling to meet a wide range of medical standards.The California City detention center, located north-east of Los Angeles, was found to have major flaws in the care it provides residents, including significant gaps in emergency care, failures to provide medications in a timely manner, inadequate screenings for health conditions and a lack of accommodations for people with disabilities. Continue reading...

Three men were arrested for repeated beatings with canes and paddles' causing near-fatal injuries to two pledgesA US Secret Service agent and two others have been arrested after Florida state investigators uncovered evidence of alleged hazing incidents involving prolonged and repeated beatings with canes and paddles" in Miami.Investigators arrested Marquez Christopher Pinder, 29, on Sunday. Two other men - Jared Lamar James, 26, and Elijah Delano Dyous, 29 - were also arrested for allegedly helping to orchestrate the beatings, purportedly as part of a fraternity hazing ritual in April that left two people hospitalized with severe injuries. Continue reading...