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Conservative justice and liberal colleague Elena Kagan testify about increased security budget amid rise in threats against judges

US government says it wants to systematically disable' The Hague-based international criminal courtA spokesperson for the EU has pushed back against the Trump administration's assertion that the international criminal court poses a threat to US sovereignty, a day after the US government said it would work to systematically disable" a global tribunal that seeks to prosecute some of the world's gravest crimes.We stand firm in our support for the international criminal court (ICC)," an EU spokesperson, Anouar El Anouni, said on Tuesday. Attacks or threats against the court-elected officials, personnel or those cooperating with the court are simply not acceptable." Continue reading...

Latest news before first of the semi-finals in Dallas

The reported infections are the latest in a series of health concerns at the federal immigration jail in AuroraAt least 12 people detained at a federal immigration jail in Colorado have contracted tuberculosis in recent days, according to testimony from inside the facility where dozens of others have reportedly been placed in quarantine.Those affected by the outbreak are also being made to endure their isolation without air conditioning, one detainee who has been at the facility in Aurora since December told the Guardian, through his partner, in a telephone call on Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

Skeleton judged to be one of the largest and most complete ever unearthed was excavated on a ranch in South DakotaA vast, fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed Gus sold at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday for $50.1m with fees (37.4m) to a phone bidder - making it the most valuable dinosaur fossil sold at auction.It also sold well above a pre-sale estimate of $20m to $30m (15m to 22.4m). Continue reading...

Rapper paid JM Burkman & Associates $600,000 to push for president's pardon but firm says no partial refund promisedLouisiana rapper Boosie Badazz is reportedly looking to claw back $300,000 from a firm of Washington DC lobbyists after they failed to secure a Donald Trump pardon that he hired them to pursue over his conviction on charges of possessing a loaded weapon at music video shooting in 2023.Boosie - whose legal name is Torence Hatch and who hails from his home state's capital of Baton Rouge - paid JM Burkman & Associates $600,000 in 2025 to advance his push for a pardon from the US president, according to a report on Monday from Notus, which covers the federal government. Continue reading...

Funds released from escrow account after Trump's efforts to block sexual abuse and defamation award failA Manhattan federal court has released more than $5.6m that Donald Trump owes E Jean Carroll in her successful 2023 sexual abuse and defamation trial against him, records reveal.

Money from rail selloff could help solve Ohio city's most pressing problems but political mistrust dictates how profits can be usedCincinnati, Ohio's City of Seven Hills, has been drawing residents in from its suburbs - and, increasingly, other large cities - for years now. The only flat thing in sight is the housing supply.Our city's growing," Aftab Pureval, Cincinnati's mayor, said in an interview. For the first time in a generation, our population is growing." Continue reading...

Biden sued ex-CEO of Overstock.com Patrick Byrne over claim that Biden sought bribe from Iran government in 2021Hunter Biden says he is grateful that the rule of law prevailed" in a defamation lawsuit that recently netted him a judgment of $1.7m in punitive damages from the former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne.Biden made that comment in a social media post that served as his first comments about the judgment, which a federal judge in California handed down on Friday. Continue reading...

Witnesses and officials have offered differing accounts of the shooting as questions remainThe man killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Maine on Monday has been identified as Joan Sebastian Guerrero, according to local news outlets.An immigration agent shot and killed the 26-year-old Colombian man on Monday morning in Biddeford, Maine. Continue reading...

Recent strikes have sent oil prices climbing again, with average gas price per gallon up by 70 cents on last yearInflation cooled to an annual rate of 3.5% in June as the brief US-Iran ceasefire, which has since ended, brought energy prices down, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.The consumer price index (CPI), which measures a basket of goods and services, has been elevated since the start of the war, largely because of higher energy prices. After mostly staying under 3% since mid-2024, CPI reached a three-year high of 4.2% in May - up from 2.4% in February. Month-over-month, CPI fell 0.8% in June, the largest one-month decrease since April 2020. Continue reading...

Bid to end clock-changing has bipartisan support, including the backing of Trump and some Democratic co-sponsorsA bill to end the practice of changing clocks twice a year and make daylight saving time permanent passed a key committee in the US House of Representatives, setting it up for a potential full vote of the chamber.The bid to end clock-changing, dubbed the Sunshine Protection Act, has bipartisan support, including the backing of Donald Trump and some Democratic co-sponsors. Continue reading...

Aid worker flown to Berlin as Trump administration bars Americans from traveling to US on commercial flightsA US national who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has arrived in Germany for treatment, the health ministry in Berlin said on Monday, weeks after another American infected with Ebola in the DRC was treated in Berlin.Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Monday said it was blocking American citizens in the DRC from traveling to the US on commercial flights, Reuters reported, citing a White House official. Continue reading...

Mourn him if you wish, but let's be honest about what he promoted. The longer this thinking lives on, the more peril we will all faceThe sudden death over the weekend of the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is predictably inspiring a slew of tributes to the four-term Republican senator. Donald Trump has already ordered flags be flown at half-staff until Saturday, and Republican politicians across the country are fondly recalling Graham. But so too are the Democrats. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois honored Graham, calling him a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next". Senator Adam Schiff of California lauded Graham's sense of humor and how he deployed it to move his policy positions forward".Through this thick, bipartisan forest of remembrances, however, lies Graham's concrete legacy. Death has a way of extinguishing uncomfortable truths, but it's important that we don't forget who Graham was, what he exactly stood for, and what damage he has done over his political career. Continue reading...

Konstantin Sokolov, who gave undisclosed sum and has not held government job before, to chair Tripp+ trade projectKonstantin Sokolov, a Russian-born private equity investor in Chicago, will serve as chairman of a new state department enterprise fund overseeing more than $200m designated for a central Asia trade corridor, including investments in transportation, energy infrastructure and critical minerals, the Guardian has learned. The state department confirmed his appointment on Friday.Sokolov was one of 36 donors, including 21 corporations and 15 individuals and family foundations, who Trump said contributed over $350m to Donald Trump's ballroom project. Continue reading...

US preventive services taskforce's members have not issued binding recommendations since March 2025The health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's overhaul of an influential federal advisory group has stalled an update that would have highlighted encouraging" new evidence on helping children quit tobacco, according to a recently departed member of the group.The Trump administration has postponed or canceled all meetings of the US preventive services taskforce since March 2025, effectively preventing taskforce members from issuing binding recommendations for more than a year. As a result, 14 topics under consideration have been stalled - including on cervical cancer screening, perinatal depression and autism screening. Continue reading...

Stock markets fall as analysts price in two quarter-point UK rate rises by the end of the year

Change of US position on free navigation comes as two tankers hit by Iranian cruise missiles. Plus, the international outpouring of love for the late actor Sam NeillGood morning. The US has launched its third consecutive night of strikes on Iran, hours after Donald Trump said Washington would reinstate a maritime blockade on the country and charge ships for safe passage. The UAE said two national tankers were targeted by two Iranian cruise missiles in the southern lane of the strait of Hormuz in Omani territorial waters, killing one Indian crew member and wounding eight others, including four seriously.Iran and the US are in theory nearly halfway through the 60-day period of an interim deal that was supposed to set up talks for a permanent end to the war, which began in February with the assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. In reality, that deal has devolved into a series of attacks over the strait of Hormuz, resulting in the near-total collapse of an interim ceasefire and worrying world leaders that the conflict could fully resume.How has Trump changed his position on tolls? On Monday, Trump said the US would demand a 20% tariff on all cargoes shipped through the strait of Hormuz. Until now, the US had said the strait should remain open to all without tolls - as it was before Washington and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February. Any attempt by the US or Iran - which has also proposed tolls - to charge fees would violate global norms on freedom of navigation and would be likely to cause further economic disruption far beyond the region.What did Nordone say about her appointment? In brief remarks, Nordone, 64, said: Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him. I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States. I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way. I miss you more than I can even put into words, but I'm going to do this. I got it." Continue reading...

Federal agents showed up at reporters' homes, targeting journalists for doing exactly what the first amendment protectsTo non-journalists, receiving a government subpoena is a serious thing but probably not a violation of basic rights.To journalists, it's quite a different matter - an attack on a foundational right to gather information in the public interest and to provide confidentiality to sources. Continue reading...

Memoir details upbringing of late senator - who denied existence of systemic racism - in segregated southA little-known autobiography from Lindsey Graham published in 2015 sheds light on his complicated record of acknowledging and addressing racism in South Carolina.Graham, born in 1955, came of age in a small textile town in the segregated south, located in Pickens county, the site of the last documented lynching in South Carolina in 1947. My Story, which came across as political spin to anyone who knew the background of Graham's unlikely rise to political prominence, is a window into the conservative white man's view of the south's enduring racial tensions. Continue reading...

As the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game take over Philadelphia, we take a spin around the majors with an awards watch, an Ohtani update and lots in betweenWith more than half of the MLB season in the books, the baseball world has convened in Philadelphia for the annual All-Star festivities. What better time for owners and players to engage in Brotherly Love and figure out how to avoid the widely predicted 2027 labor strife that could cancel next season? Considering the storm clouds gathering, a near-term resolution seems unlikely, so we'd better soak in the season we're having. How's that going? Glad you asked. Continue reading...

Trump's former personal attorney has a vast slate of conflicts of interest. Will lawmakers do their job in his confirmation hearings?Todd Blanche is the most conflicted nominee for attorney general the US Congress has yet to encounter. As the former private attorney for Donald Trump, Blanche has been an unflappable ally for the president since 2023, when he left his private firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, to represent Trump in the hush-money prosecution brought against him by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. He went on to represent Trump in two other criminal prosecutions - the Mar-a-Lago classified documents prosecution, and the January 6 prosecution, both brought against Trump by the special counsel Jack Smith.As both deputy attorney general and as acting head of the justice department since April, when attorney general Pam Bondi was fired by Donald Trump, Blanche has unabashedly continued his advocacy work for his former client through other means. He has signed off on a settlement between the IRS and Donald Trump regarding the latter's taxes, that would ban the IRS from pursuing litigation against Trump, his family or his businesses forever. That settlement has now been ruled by a federal judge to be self-dealing; she referred the case to the Florida Bar Association. The New York Bar has issued a letter saying that Blanche is unfit for office.Claire Finkelstein is the Algernon Biddle professor of law and professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and the faculty director of its Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law Continue reading...

Government has been forced to pay back duties to companies that imported goods into the US that were hit by Trump's tariffs

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Trump's secretary of state claims the global tribunal is interfering with US military and law enforcement operationsMarco Rubio, the US secretary of state, launched a campaign to dismantle the international criminal court (ICC) on Monday, claiming the global tribunal was interfering with US military and law enforcement operations at the risk of American sovereignty.Rubio invoked images of US border patrol agents and elected leaders being dragged before an international court" and tried by judges from around the world in a lengthy op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal Monday. Continue reading...

Nordone was 13 when brother became her legal guardian - and was a key presence as he rose in the Republican ranksWhen Lindsey Graham was in college, his parents died, just over a year apart. But he worried most about his sister, who, at 13, was suddenly an orphan. Graham became her legal guardian - and later adopted her so she could receive his benefits through his service as an air force lawyer.On Tuesday, following Graham's sudden death, that sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was set to be sworn in to serve the remainder of her late brother's Senate term. Continue reading...

Authorities said inquiry into cyclosporiasis outbreak was continuing but early results pointed to salad greens and lettuce

Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah will lose close to a million and a half acres each' and open land to developers and oil industryDonald Trump has approved a sharp reduction in the size of two national monuments in Utah held sacred by many Native Americans, in the latest move to open US public land to corporate developers and the oil and gas industry.The two monuments, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, will see a reduction of close to a million and a half acres each", Trump said during an executive order signing event on Monday, undoing protections established by former presidents. Continue reading...

Good, an unarmed US citizen and mother, was killed by immigration officer and Pretti was shot by CBP officialsPreviously withheld evidence regarding the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti is now in the hands of Minnesota prosecutors, helping the state gain clarity on the deaths that occurred earlier this year during protests against a federal immigration crackdown.Through the cooperation of our federal partners, we have obtained hard drives of previously withheld evidence in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and the shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis," the Hennepin county attorney, Mary Moriarty, said in a video statement posted on social media. Continue reading...

Idaho to have ballot measure for reproductive freedom law that would reverse ban on abortions at all pregnancy stagesOne of the strictest abortion bans in the country will be on the ballot this November after Idaho's secretary of state certified a ballot measure on Monday that would reverse the state's abortion ban that prohibits the procedure at all stages of pregnancy.The ballot initiative was headed by a volunteer-run group called Idahoans United for Women & Families, which ran a petition drive to get the measure in front of voters this fall. They gathered more than 100,000 signatures, surpassing the required 70,725 to get on the ballot. Continue reading...

Killing of man - identified by rights groups as 26-year-old Colombian - comes days after man killed by ICE in Texas

American president says ships will be charged for safe passage through strait in apparent policy reversal

South Carolina governor asks Darline Graham Nordone to replace senator who died on Saturday, after Trump recommendation

Thanks to pollution, overpopulation and the climate crisis, Earth is facing a terrifying new crisis: an irreversible 'water bankruptcy'. Now, fights over water have ramped up across the world, including in the US west. Host Carter Sherman speaks with Guardian extreme weather correspondent Gabrielle Canon about the battle over the future of the Colorado River Basin, whose water sustains some 40 million people across seven states - but is now drying up. Gabrielle recently rafted down the basin's last 'wild' river, the Yampa. Damming or diverting the Yampa could bring the west some much-needed hydration. It may also devastate the vast natural ecosystem that relies on the river's free-flowing waters. Also: Carter and Kai Wright react to the death of South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham

Carl McDaniel was respectful distance' from animal when it charged and has severe injuries, including broken bonesA tourist who was tossed 8ft in the air by a bison at Wyoming's Yellowstone national park - an encounter viewed by more than a million social media users thanks to a viral video online - has been identified as a community-minded" grandfather from Washington state.Carl McDaniel had severe injuries including broken bones after Friday's campsite encounter with the bison, which was posted to YouTube by the Wyoming news outlet Cowboy State Daily. A photographer named Mike MacLeod rushed to help the victim on the ground after making the recording. Continue reading...

Lawmakers face obstacles, including demands from Trump, Mitch McConnell's absence and senator's sudden deathRepublican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week facing a lengthy to-do list and Donald Trump's demands for new voting restrictions, as Democrats jockey for an advantage ahead of the November midterm elections.Lawmakers from both parties are eager to highlight before voters legislative victories ahead of the midterms, when control of Congress is at stake. But for Senate Republicans, who are already navigating an array of demands from Trump, their agenda grew further complicated over the weekend with the death of Lindsey Graham, the budget committee chair who was a key player in negotiating a party-line bill to fund additional defense spending and other priorities outlined by the president. Continue reading...

Kathleen Williams sanctions president's lawyers and says $10bn suit against IRS was brought for improper purpose'A federal judge on Monday nullified an agreement the government reached with Donald Trump and his sons over the leak of his tax returns. The judge lambasted the government and president's lawyers for using the judicial process to try to concoct a beneficial arrangement for the president.The ruling from US district judge Kathleen Williams in the southern district of Florida blocks a widely criticized arrangement the government and the president's attorneys reached earlier this year to resolve a $10bn lawsuit by Trump and his sons over the leak of the president's tax returns. The government never responded to the lawsuit and then announced it was settling the suit by creating a $1.8bn slush fund to compensate victims of government weaponization" and giving the president, his family, and related entities immunity from tax audits. Continue reading...

US defense secretary says taskforce will combat dangers' of leaks in latest escalation of White House press crackdownThe US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced on Monday that the Pentagon and the US Department of Justice have created a joint taskforce to identify and prosecute" what he called the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive" information to the press, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration's effort to crackdown on leaks.In a video posted on X, Hegseth said that to combat the dangers that leaks pose, effectively immediately, I have delegated tasking authority to the war department's office of general counsel, empowering OGC to request and receive all information, records and support across the department concerning media leak investigations". Continue reading...

Shawn Fain calls allegations bogus' and says attorney holds a grudge' against him over union's anti-war stance' on GazaThe US Department of Justice is investigating allegations against the United Auto Workers (UAW) president, Shawn Fain, that he put pressure on another high-ranking union official to provide benefits to his fiancee and sister and then retaliated against the official who refused to approve it.On Sunday, Fain, who is running for his second term as union president, said the accusations are false and a part of election interference against him. Continue reading...

Brent crude rises 5% after US president says 20% toll will be imposed on key trade route to cover safety and security'

Higher temperatures can cause radio, TV and microwave signals to travel hundreds of miles farther, upsetting communicationsIt was 3am in north-east Indiana's Huntington county when the outdoor emergency alarm went off on 1 July.The only issue? There wasn't a storm, tornado or any other emergency weather event forecast or present anywhere for hundreds of miles. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Warren asked Jamie Dimon if he took advice from child sex offender while lobbying against UK tax on bankers' bonusesA leading Democratic senator has written to the JP Morgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon to request clarification on the bank's contact with the child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the senate banking committee, wrote to the Wall Street grandee last week to ask if he took advice from Epstein while lobbying against a UK tax on banker bonuses, in a letter published by the US senate's banking, housing and urban affairs committee. Continue reading...

Suspects, aged 15 and 16, taken into custody but not formally charged in targeted mass shooting' in East St LouisTwo teenagers were arrested on Sunday in connection with a targeted mass shooting" that killed five members of the same family and wounded two others in East St Louis, Illinois, according to state police.The 15- and 16-year-old suspects were taken into custody at Holten state park, a recreation area east of the city, the Illinois state police director, Brendan Kelly, said at a Sunday news conference - but they had not immediately been formally charged with a crime. Continue reading...

Shortages triggered by pipeline rupture drive up costs and deepen frustrations, as pressure grows on water utilityJonathan Collazo owns two restaurants in a bustling section of San Juan, which has been plagued by water outages, severely disrupting the daily lives of residents and businesses alike.The water scarcity is part of an escalating frustration felt by thousands of customers of Puerto Rico's water utility over the past several months, prompting the governor to activate the national guard to distribute drinking water across the US territory. The shortages extend beyond San Juan, with sectors in municipalities including Loiza, Guaynabo, Bayamon and others experiencing interrupted service. Continue reading...

Body of pilot involved in tackling Gold Mountain fire recovered by divers from Silver Jack reservoirA pilot who was helping to fight a wildfire in Colorado has died after the aviator's aircraft crashed into a reservoir, local authorities said.The Gunnison county sheriff's office said in a statement that it was notified of the deadly crash at about 5.17pm local time on Sunday. Gunnison's regional communications center received a call reporting that the aircraft involved in the crash went down in the Silver Jack reservoir located in the county's south-western portion. Continue reading...