Billionaire has refused to comply with subpoenas from House oversight committee as part of Epstein inquiryThe House of Representatives voted Wednesday to hold billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress over his refusal to comply with subpoenas issued to him by the House oversight committee as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.The action came a day after the committee voted unanimously to recommend that the House hold Black in contempt. Wednesday's House vote passed under unanimous consent, meaning there was not a formal roll call, but no member objected to the contempt resolution. Continue reading...
Tierra Walker, 37, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia at 20 weeks, and family says denial of abortion led to deathA wrongful death lawsuit filed on Tuesday accuses Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, doctors and state health officials of contributing to the death of a pregnant San Antonio woman whose family says she was denied an abortion that could have saved her life.Tierra Walker, 37, died in December 2024 while 20 weeks pregnant after being diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy-related high blood pressure condition that can be fatal. Continue reading...
The administration has used a list of 235 keywords - such as gender' and racist' - to prevent topics from being fundedResearchers filed a class action lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday, arguing the Trump administration is blocking and cancelling scientific grants to censor topics with which it disagrees.The administration has used a list of 235 keywords - such as gender" and racist" - to prevent topics from health equity to climate change from being funded. The NIH is the world's largest public funder of biomedical research. Continue reading...
Los Angeles NBC anchor Colleen Williams confirmed on air that the station's helicopter had crashed on 16 September. The crash occurred while the team was covering a traffic collision. Aerial photojournalist Eliana Moreno, pilot George Marciniw and one person on the ground died in the crash. Continue reading...
The extraordinary success of the rebels, and Saudi counterstrikes, threaten economic havoc. But the country's civilians are paying the highest priceEven in a region beset by turmoil and learning to expect the unexpected, the lightning advance of Yemen's Houthis along the Red Sea coast has shocked observers. More than 100,000 people have been forced to flee in a country where immiseration and displacement have become routine and half the population depend on humanitarian aid. But outsiders are paying close attention, because by claiming thousands of kilometres in a matter of days, and seizing strategically important islands, the Iran-backed rebels now control the Babal-Mandab strait - the other major regional energychokepoint after the Hormuz strait.The Iran war has forced Saudi Arabia to rely on moving oil via its east-west pipeline to Red Sea ports. Now drone strikes - blamed on an Iran-backed militia in Iraq - have shut the pipeline: on one estimate, a month-long closure could cut global crude supply by 120m barrels. The halt to shipping through the Bab al-Mandab strait could be much more protracted. Taking the oil north is a far slower and more expensive route to Asian markets, and does not preclude attacks by the Houthis, who are also targeting oil facilities.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...
David Streever was issued a warning notice' after sending an email critical of ICE to the agency's director in JanuaryThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may no longer issue a warning notice" - threatening prosecution against a US citizen - for criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal judge in Washington DC ruled on Tuesday.Judge Rudolph Contreras sided with David Streever, a New York man who accused DHS officials of violating his first amendment rights when they showed up first at his home in June with a warning notice", claiming he made a threat against former ICE director Todd Lyons, and then to a hotel where Streever and his young daughter were staying. Continue reading...
Sunny, who joined the Obama family at the White House in 2013, was the second Obama dog after Bo, who died in 2021Sunny Obama, the Obama family's second beloved Portuguese Water Dog, died on Tuesday, Barack Obama announced on Wednesday morning.Yesterday, we lost a cherished member of our family," the former president wrote on social media, attaching a photo of the 14-year-old dog whom he called a force of nature". Continue reading...
Cuts hit all 50 states and DC, with environment, health, nutrition and disaster relief making up the largest shareThe Trump administration has cut or frozen up to $177bn in federal grants since the president took office for his second term, according to a tracking tool released Wednesday by a pro-democracy non-profit and a group of researchers and scientists.The cuts affected all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with health, nutrition, the environment and disaster relief making up the largest share of cuts, the States United Democracy Center and Grant Witness organization found. Continue reading...
Black has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he did not know of Epstein's criminal activitiesMore than a dozen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse praised the House oversight committee for unanimously voting to recommend that billionaire investor Leon Black be held in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas by the panel seeking his testimony and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) as part of its investigation into Epstein.We commend Chairman Comer for showing real resolve in pursuing accountability in the Epstein investigation," the survivors said in a statement. They said that the 41-0 vote sends a clear message that wealth and influence do not put anyone beyond the reach of congressional oversight". Continue reading...
Kardashian received the compensation she requested, lawyers said, after eight people were found guilty last year for their role in the robberyA Paris court has awarded 1 to Kim Kardashian for having been the victim of an armed robbery in the French capital in 2016, the amount of compensation she had asked for, according to a lawyer involved in the case.The court last year found eight people guilty for their roles in what Kardashian described as the most terrifying experience of my life". She and the stylist Simone Harouche, who was present during the robbery, expressed gratitude to the French justice system in a joint statement. Continue reading...
John Hanson, 84, took advantage of fine amnesty at library to return copy that could've amounted to $12,055 in late feesA current affairs magazine that was checked out from a New Hampshire library at the end of the 19th century has finally been returned as a piece of history - more than 130 years overdue.Staff at Concord Public Library were surprised when an 84-year-old man walked into the branch earlier this month with what NBC News said was a relatively well-cared-for edition" of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine from September 1894. Continue reading...
Kansas are taking on Arizona State in the Union Jack Classic, with 60,000 and noisy fans expected at WembleyBy No Helmets RequiredFollow No Helmets Required on Facebook Continue reading...
Announcement of visa restrictions follows Trump's false claims of white genocide' taking place in South AfricaThe US has announced visa restrictions on some South Africans as Donald Trump's administration continues to claim that South Africa's government racially discriminates against white minority Afrikaners.The announcement did not specify individuals who were barred from the US. Trump has spent his second term falsely claiming there is a white genocide" in South Africa and railing against its affirmative action policies. Continue reading...
Texas execution would be the fifth in the state in 2026, while Georgia has yet to put anyone to death this yearA man convicted in the shooting deaths of three people is set to be executed Wednesday in Texas. Meanwhile, another execution that was scheduled for the same time in Georgia has been halted by a judge.This would be the fifth execution in Texas, while Georgia has yet to put anyone to death this year. The nation's busiest death chamber is in Florida, which accounted for more than half the 25 executions already carried out in the US this year. Continue reading...
Pictures of Georgia Democrat looking into middle distance proliferate - and social media skills have boosted his profileDelivering a speech in Atlanta last month, Jon Ossoff accused Donald Trump of corruption, incompetence and fecklessness, and peppered his remarks with substantive observations of dates and times and places. But the comment that ricocheted across the internet - a clip of just a few seconds - was an almost-throwaway reference about how the US president wants to travel with Natalie" onboard Air Force One.The crowd cheered the US senator, who is running for re-election in battleground Georgia and is increasingly seen as a potential Democratic candidate for president in 2028. But his target audience that day - and this year - spanned far beyond the concert hall. Continue reading...
Gun violence-prevention programs are another casualty of Trump's immigration enforcement crackdownLast June, hundreds of federal agents descended on Los Angeles in the first major immigration enforcement operation of the second Trump administration. Immigrants were swept up at Home Depots and car washes, in front of food stands and at garment factories.In some Latino and immigrant communities, residents were afraid to go to work; kids stayed home from school and petrified families had friends and neighbors make their grocery runs, too scared to go outside themselves. Continue reading...
The DOI placed QR codes in national parks, inviting visitors to report content deemed negative about either past or living Americans'. Instead, it became a mode of resistanceOver the past year and a half, Donald Trump and his administration have launched a campaign to censor American history at US national parks and federal lands.As part of Executive Order 14253, Restoring truth and sanity to American history", the Department of Interior (DOI) ordered park rangers to review all signs, brochures, books and films for content that inappropriately disparages" Americans by suggesting that the United States was inherently racist, sexist or oppressive". It's resulted in dozens of sign removals across the US, most of them related to slavery, Indigenous history and the climate crisis. Continue reading...
A growing cohort of performers clown' as a means to innovate traditional protest and create social changeOn a humid morning on 15 July, Tillie the Clown, a Brooklyn-based drag performer whose real name is Taylor Horne, was waiting to be let inside a New York City council meeting. Horne had started getting into character at 5am, for a makeup and clown-costuming process that would take two hours. It would be another 10 hours before Horne was allowed to address the city council about the passing of Romanch's Law, which would phase out and ultimately ban New York's horse carriage industry.From the moment Horne walked into the meeting room, carriage horse proponents ridiculed them, pointing and laughing. Dressed in a black top hat and gloves with their face painted white and red, Horne began their three-minute speech: We pride ourselves on being a world-class destination ... yet we are clinging to the exploitation of horse-drawn carriages. A giant prey animal is not built to thrive in New York's overstimulating concrete environment." Horne later learned that those carriage horse supporters went on social media to poke fun at their display. They fell right into my trap," Horne said. They decided to critique the messenger and not the message." Continue reading...
The 16-year-old Union star isn't the first wunderkind to be feted by the American soccersphereThe trouble with trying not to hype up Cavan Sullivan is that he keeps on doing cool stuff. Like this past weekend, when he scampers along on a Philadelphia Union breakaway, loses his man by stopping so suddenly it's as if he's pulled a ripcord, back-heels the cutback behind his standing leg, watches it slowly kiss off the far post and in, and celebrated the goal by bowing and doffing an imaginary top hat to the crowd.Like when he doubles the score by setting up an attack and finishing it himself with a left-footed lash through the goalkeeper's legs form an acute angle. Like when he fashions yet another goal by holding up the play and then suddenly springs a teammate up the right flank. Continue reading...
Not only would the plan do vast economic damage - it assumes that Americans are easily bamboozledWhenever Donald Trump gives a speech, it's filled with so many lies and self-serving exaggerations that when he does utter something true, I see that as a sort of marvel. That's what happened nearly an hour into Trump's marathon speech last Wednesday at the Republican midterm convention, when he declared: Only I can make this promise to you." Trump said that just before he made a promise that was so shameless and irresponsible that what he said was indeed true: only Donald Trump could make such a preposterous promise.Feeling very generous with other people's money, Trump promised to give $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in November. It certainly looked and smelled like a bribe.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...
The president's assistant travelled with him to Ireland - which really shouldn't be much of a story. But his comms team seems determined to make it onePassport, money, emotional support human: Donald Trump had all the travel essentials on his recent trip to Ireland. The president flew into Dublin on Saturday morning to play golf, meet the country's leaders and make provocative comments about unification. Melania didn't accompany her husband on the trip (Uh, she sends her regards," Trump said), but his devoted aide Natalie Harp was obviously at his side.You'll know Harp: the 35-year-old assistant was headline news last month after Democratic senator Jon Ossoff quipped that Trump didn't want to do his job; he just wanted to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie". That comment would have been quickly forgotten were it not for the Trump administration's unhinged response (sample: Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics"), which sparked a media frenzy. There was suddenly a spotlight on Harp, who is nicknamed the human printer" because she trails the president with a portable printer, ready to hand him hard copies of flattering coverage. She appears to be disturbingly obsessed with her boss and he seems to appreciate the attention: it was recently revealed that Trump gave her (and two other female aides) a cash gift of $45,000 (33,000) for a nice holiday. Continue reading...
Ten seasons ago, Minnesota entered the playoffs with a chip on their shoulders and won a championship. Can they channel the same energy this year?Williams Arena (now known as The Barn) in Minneapolis was packed to capacity on 4 October 2017, when Cheryl Reeve sent Sylvia Fowles into Game 5 of the WNBA finals and watched her take off. Reeve, chasing her fourth championship after losing out in 2016, had learned her lesson the previous year, when she put Fowles back into a finals game too late.Fowles answered the call. She racked up 17 points and broke her own WNBA rebounds record with 20. Her effort was matched by that of Maya Moore, with 18 points and 10 rebounds; Lindsay Whalen, who had 17 points and eight assists; and Seimone Augustus, who added another 14 points, six assists and six rebounds. The Lynx showed out, clinching the franchise's fourth title, with Fowles named finals MVP. Continue reading...
US grapples with federal firefighter shortage as crews say they're spread thin and lack resources during unrelenting year of fireFirefighters battling enormous wildfires in the United States say the federal government is failing them at a time when supercharged blazes have made their jobs exponentially more dangerous.While the US continues to grapple with a critical shortage of federal firefighters - with especially large gaps in essential management positions - the Trump administration has increased pressure on firefighting forces to rapidly and aggressively contain the flames. Continue reading...
The stark reality is this: we don't know how to maintain control of these systems. But there are actions we can takeWith Jacob Coxon's resignation from Anthropic, we have reached the AI risk tipping point. Millions of people are finally coming to understand what experts have known for years: AI companies have been gambling with all of our lives, and the odds are not good.In response, the Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, has introduced a proposal for pacing the frontier", endorsed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Can we breathe a sigh of relief? Are we about to step back from the edge of extinction?
An NBC helicopter crashed in Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, near the site of a bus crash that occurred hours earlier on Wednesday. The helicopter crashed near a one-storey building as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according to the Los Angeles fire department
Accident occurred as news crews in Los Angeles were covering a bus crash that had killed at least two people hours earlierA news helicopter crash in a Los Angeles neighborhood has killed at least three people, after it came to the ground and burst into flames near the site of a bus crash that occurred hours earlier.The helicopter crashed near a one-storey commercial building in the neighborhood of Chatsworth in the San Fernando Valley, as news crews were covering the bus crash that left at least two people dead and six others injured, according the Los Angeles Fire Department. Continue reading...
Hiker Timothy Smith, 53, missing after late-August floods but officials decline to identify remainsHuman remains have been discovered near Arizona's Crystal Rapids, over two weeks after a flash flood tore through the Grand Canyon, leaving two people dead and one person missing.National Park Service personnel recovered the remains, before transferring them to the Coconino county medical examiner's office, the agency confirmed over email. Continue reading...
Intelligence services allegedly attempted to pay people to surveil and kill people perceived to be aligned with UkraineRussia's intelligence services are plotting to carry out targeted killings in the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine, federal authorities said Tuesday as they announced charges against five people who remain at large.An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said a network of the intelligence services had paid and attempted to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries to surveil targets to be killed with plans to then kill them. Continue reading...
Powerful bombs prompted such concern about mass deaths in Gaza that Biden officials paused delivery two years agoThe Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000lb bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.The $2.8bn package includes 40,000 bombs, made up of 20,000 MK-84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two US officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke on Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final. Continue reading...
Bears came through bedroom window and swiped tent at campground, causing scratch marks and puncture woundA black bear burst through a Colorado teenage girl's window and scratched her, days after a bear also bit a camper in the state, according to wildlife officials.On Friday, a woman at a campground in south-west Colorado heard a growl and felt something hit her outdoors tent, according to a news release. Continue reading...
Financier refused to comply with subpoenas seeking his testimony for the investigation into the late sex offenderThe House oversight committee voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend that the House of Representatives hold Leon Black, the billionaire financier, in contempt of Congress, after he refused to comply with subpoenas seeking his testimony and nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) sought by the panel as part of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. Black contends the subpoenas are invalid" and he is suing to block them.Subpoenas are not suggestions; they carry the force of law and require full compliance" the representative James Comer, who chairs the committee, said in the chamber on Tuesday afternoon before the voting began. Mr Black's testimony is crucial to our investigation because he maintained a close personal relationship with Epstein for years during the time when Epstein was engaged in sex trafficking." Continue reading...
by Joseph Gedeon and Andrew Roth in Washington on (#78DQ5)
Damaging budget report estimates cost would grow $3bn per month and stockpile could take five years to rebuildThe war in Iran has cost the US at least $38bn and left its stockpile of defensive missiles so depleted it could take five years to rebuild, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has found, in a damaging report less than two months before midterm elections where the war and the cost of living crisis will likely hurt Republicans at the polls.The economic report comes a day after the Pentagon's inspector general finally released its own first review of the war, saying that the US spent $22.3bn on munitions alone through 30 June, put total spending at $33.4bn, and found the fighting had resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply". Continue reading...
Three-month-old Jabal was returned to Park Slope bodega after community rallied to rescue purloined kittyThe owner of a New York City bodega on Tuesday was reunited with the store's cat after a couple passing by the establishment five days earlier appeared to abduct the feline in plain view of a surveillance camera and ignited an intense grassroots search effort.The plight of three-month-old Jabal began on Thursday morning in Brooklyn, when he went just outside the Eighth Street Mini Market where he lives as it opened for the day. A man walking alongside a woman passed the Park Slope market then picked up Jabal, and the pair took off as the kitten visibly squirmed, according to store surveillance video which the bodega's owner, Imad Jimmy" Innab, reviewed after he noticed the cat had gone missing.This article was updated on 15 September 2026 to reflect Jabal's return to the bodega. Continue reading...
During a Senate committee hearing, FBI director answered questions from Republican senator John Kennedy about the bureau's new policy allowing the hiring of people who have engaged in bestiality Continue reading...
Congressman says defense secretary repeatedly violated constitution through his handling of Iran warRepublican congressman Thomas Massie on Tuesday proposed impeaching Pete Hegseth, saying the defense secretary had repeatedly violated the constitution through his handling of war with Iran and the deaths of civilians in conflicts worldwide.The proposal by Massie, an iconoclastic lawmaker who lost his primary earlier this year after Donald Trump and Hegseth urged voters to oppose him, may put House Republicans in a bind just weeks before the 3 November midterm elections, where they are defending their control of Congress. Continue reading...
On Tuesday, the 10-year treasury rate yield reached a 19-year high at 5.041%, even as investors wary Iran war falloutScott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, claimed the government's massive buyback of US bonds was a success.The claim came as the 10-year treasury yield reached a 19-year high on Tuesday, increasing pressure on interest rates as the Federal Reserve weighs another hike to see off rising inflation. Continue reading...
During his 16 August campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff mentioned White House aide Natalie Harp when condemning the Trump administration's handling of the Iran war and USS Lincoln sailors Continue reading...
All deaths occurred in Pennsylvania, in worst year since 1992 for one of the most contagious diseasesPennsylvania health officials said a fourth person had died of measles-associated illness in the worst year for the disease since 1992. All four US deaths have occurred in the state.Due to the Trump administration changing how it reports measles deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not count any of the deaths in its national tally. Three people died in 2025. Continue reading...
US president insists that fears expressed by top experts are a hoax - and that humanity can sleep easy while he's at the wheelWe can all sleep easy. In a post on his Truth Social account, Donald Trump has declared that fears over artificial intelligence were all a hoax dreamed up by conspiracy theorists. Obviously that includes the top bods at Anthropic and its competitors, who all called for a coordinated global slowdown while the industry works out how to mitigate the risks. Still, good to know the tech bros are just fantasists and space cadets at heart.All that was needed to keep humanity safe and well, The Donald insisted, was a president with a very high IQ. Someone very like him. The only man alive who could out-think the combined power of the world's supercomputers. He could tell them where to draw the line and they would reprogram themselves to back off. Inside every AI network is a default off switch that kneels before the US president. Trump can rewire the world with the power of his mind. Continue reading...
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