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Rightwing justices ordered Louisiana in 6-3 vote to redraw congressional maps in blow to the Voting Rights ActThe US supreme court issued a landmark ruling on Wednesday, Louisiana v Callais, relating to how states draft congressional maps under the key civil rights statute, the Voting Rights Act.By a margin of 6-3, the rightwing justices who control America's top court ordered Louisiana to redraw congressional maps that gave African Americans the chance to elect their candidates of choice proportionate to their population size. The majority dismissed this as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander". Continue reading...

Decision follows pressure from lawmakers and families as investigations continue into response to deadly disasterCamp Mystic, the Christian summer camp in Texas where 27 campers and counselors died in a catastrophic flood last year, has halted plans to reopen this summer, after months of intensifying pressure and outrage by state leaders and victims' families.In a statement on Thursday, the camp said: No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July's tragedy." Continue reading...

Democratic senator for Rhode Island, Jack Reed, opened the Senate armed services committee on Thursday by accusing Pete Hegseth of 'dangerously exaggerating' his statements about a US victory in Iran. Later during the hearing, Democratic senator for New York Kirsten Gillibrand called the war 'unauthorised' and confronted the defence secretary over the unpopularity of the war among Americans

DoJ announces changes including loophole' that allows people to buy guns at shows without background checkThe US justice department has rolled back several significant restrictions on guns, including reinstating the so-called gun show loophole", which allowed people at such events to buy firearms without a background check.The changes, announced by the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, amount to a shift in firearm policy advocated by supporters of the second amendment, who are prominent in Donald Trump's supporter base. Continue reading...

Brendan Carr claims agency's renewal order is strictly related to investigation into network's DEI initiativesBrendan Carr, the Trump-picked chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), denied speculation that the agency is forcing ABC to apply early to renew licenses for its eight owned and operated local television stations as punishment for an ill-timed joke made last Thursday by the late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.The decision drew backlash from the industry group National Association of Broadcasters, whose chief executive called it nearly unprecedented"; from the Republican senator Ted Cruz, who said the agency should not operate as the speech police"; and from press freedom organizations that have derided it as an example of a disfavored network being punished for editorial purposes. Continue reading...

More governors call for special sessions following supreme court's decision severely weakening Voting Rights ActLouisiana moved to postpone its May primaries on Thursday in a move that came as other southern states are also scrambling to redraw congressional districts in response to the supreme court's Wednesday ruling that severely weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act.Before the supreme court's decision eliminating a key protection against racial discrimination in drawing voting maps, some states had already begun initiating processes to redraw districts and gut Black voting power. More states have now followed, with governors calling for special sessions to redraw congressional districts, potentially before the midterm elections in November. Continue reading...

Middle school students managed to stop their school bus after the driver passed out from an asthma attack while on a four-lane highway in Mississippi. The bus had just left Hancock middle school, in Hancock county, on Wednesday with about 40 children onboard when Leah Taylor, 46, had an asthma attack. Taylor was treated by emergency services, while the children were honoured at a pep rally and will be treated to a field trip lunch at a restaurant of their choice Continue reading...

Move comes after mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke of return of the Koh-i-noor diamond after UK royals' visit to New YorkHundreds of antiquities valued at $14m have been returned to India by New York authorities, including some connected to the alleged art smuggler Subhash Kapoor, in a move that is likely to raise the pressure on others to make similar gestures.The return of 657 antiquities was announced by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg Jr, on Tuesday, and came as New York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, waded into the historically contentious ownership of the 105.6 carat Koh-i-noor diamond. Continue reading...

Lee Zeldin claims before Senate that Trump administration plan will make Environmental Protection Agency more efficient'Senate Democrats accused the Trump administration of abandoning the Environmental Protection Agency's mission to protect human health and the environment at a congressional hearing Wednesday, slamming agency leadership over a proposal to cut its budget in half.Lee Zeldin's appearance before the Senate environment committee was the EPA administrator's last of three budget hearings this week where he argued for sharply reduced funding for the agency, which already has seen its staffing reduced to its lowest level in decades under his leadership. During much of the week, the former Republican congressman from New York took an aggressive approach, responding to Democrats in the House and Senate with his own questions and at times accusing them of being unprepared or failing to care about the EPA's record. Continue reading...

The US was not a true democracy before the Voting Rights Act. Wednesday's decision has essentially destroyed the lawIs America a democracy? The term implies an equality of rights and dignity among citizens, a collective and uniform right of individuals to participate in self-government and to shape the laws that rule them. In that sense, the answer is no: though it has been a republic since its founding, America has only rarely been a true democracy, one where all citizens have the full right to vote and to have that vote counted.Political scientists such as the University of Notre Dame's Christine Wolbrecht have argued that America wasn't really a democracy, not in the meaningful sense of the term, until the passage of the Voting Rights Act, the law that formed the signature achievement of the civil rights movement and sought to end racial barriers to voting across the south when it was passed in 1965. If you accept that premise, you could say that the era of American democracy officially ended on Wednesday, when the supreme court finished its project of dismantling the VRA in its 6-3 decision in Louisiana v Callais. Whatever this country has become now, democracy" does not describe it.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Pair apologise in court after being accused of defrauding buyers including some of New York's most prominent fine art auction housesA father and daughter in New Jersey have pleaded guilty to running a years-long counterfeiting scheme to trick art galleries and auction houses into buying forged paintings of works by prominent artists such as Andy Warhol, Banksy and Pablo Picasso.Federal prosecutors said Erwin Bankowski, 50, and Karolina Bankowska, 26, commissioned an artist in Poland to create at least 200 of the fakes and ultimately defrauded buyers of at least $2m. Continue reading...

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Claudio Neves Valente, who killed himself after deadly attack, began planning for violence in 2022, authorities sayThe gunman behind a deadly shooting at Brown University in December appeared to have been aggrieved by personal failures and sought retribution against those he deemed responsible, federal authorities said on Wednesday.More than four months after Claudio Manuel Neves Valente opened fire on the Ivy League campus, killing two students and injuring nine others, officials with the FBI's Boston division announced they had concluded a significant portion of their investigation into the shooter. Continue reading...

Court's 6-3 decision is a major upheaval in US civil rights law and gives lawmakers permission to draw districting plans that weaken the influence of Black and other minority voters- key US politics stories from Wednesday 29 April at a glanceThe US supreme court has ruled that Louisiana will have to redraw its congressional map, in a landmark decision that effectively guts a major section of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark 1965 civil rights law that prevents racial discrimination in voting.The court's 6-3 decision is a major upheaval in US civil rights law and gives lawmakers permission to draw districting plans that weaken the influence of Black and other minority voters. Some states may even rush ahead to try to redraw districts before this year's midterm elections. Continue reading...

US senator holds panel with leading Chinese scientists and warns of risks to society unless new technology is regulatedThe US senator Bernie Sanders espoused the importance of international cooperation in regulating AI at a Wednesday panel on Capitol Hill alongside two leading Chinese scientists.As startups and tech giants, most prominently in Silicon Valley and Beijing, race to advance and scale their artificial intelligence, Sanders has been among the AI skeptics advocating for safeguards. Continue reading...

USS Gerald R Ford to sail home after 10-month spell including role in Maduro capture and Middle East warThe world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, will be heading home following a record-setting deployment of more than 300 days that included participating in the war against Iran and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, two US officials said Wednesday.The Ford will be leaving the Middle East in the coming days and returning to its home port in Virginia in mid-May, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements. The Washington Post reported the development earlier. Continue reading...

Vote comes on same day the US supreme court rolls back a key provision of the Voting Rights ActThe Florida legislature approved a new congressional map intended to maximize Republicans' advantage in the state as part of the national redistricting battle that Donald Trump launched before this year's midterms.The vote came just two days after the governor, Ron DeSantis, unveiled his proposal and the same day the US supreme court rolled back a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. The decision could make it harder for Democrats to challenge Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts in ways that limit the influence of voters of color. Continue reading...

New court document made public in case of singer charged with murder and sexual abuse of Celeste Rivas HernandezProsecutors described in a new court document how D4vd, who has been charged with the murder and sexual abuse of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, allegedly fatally stabbed her to prevent the teen from speaking out about the abuse.The singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke, killed Celeste to protect his music career, prosecutors said in a brief. He met Celeste when she was 11 and began a sexual relationship" with her when she was 13 and he was 18, according to the document. Continue reading...

Susan Hutson accused of malfeasance and other crimes that enabled 2025 mass escape from Louisiana jailThe sheriff of New Orleans was hit on Wednesday with a sweeping 30-count indictment alleging malfeasance and payroll fraud amid an outside investigation into her office that was prompted by a massive jailbreak nearly a year earlier.The indictment against sheriff Susan Hutson, whose duties include operating the New Orleans jail, was brought by Louisiana state attorney general Liz Murrill. It came days before Hutson was set to leave office, bringing a sudden and sharp conclusion to a tenure that began in 2022 with promises of sweeping reform. Continue reading...

Democrats had filed civil contempt resolution against former attorney general for not appearing for deposition

A Senate committee advances Trump's pick as doubts linger over the Fed's independence and Powell's future

Article 42.7 had languished in obscurity for decades - until Donald Trump began casting doubt on US commitment to Nato Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMost people have heard of Nato's article 5. The one for all, all for one" clause states an armed attack on one member country should be considered an attack on all, requiring member states to come to the victim's aid - including with the use of armed force".Not so many, till this week, had heard of the EU's own mutual defence clause, article 42.7 (pdf), which says that if a member state comes under armed attack, the others shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power". That's perhaps because there hadn't, until recently, been much need for Europeans to consult article 42.7. More than 40 US military bases and 85,000 troops across the EU (and UK) were testament to Washington's defence commitment to the old continent. Continue reading...

Colette Delawalla launched Stand Up for Science to push back against the Trump's cuts to medical and scientific researchNineteen days into the second administration of Donald Trump, Colette Delawalla reached her limit.The 30-year-old budding clinical psychologist and mother of a toddler had been eager to finish her dissertation and launch a scientific career dedicated to teaching and research on addiction. Now that plan seemed seriously at odds with where the country was headed. The Trump administration had just announced $4bn in cuts to medical and scientific research. Government scientists had been ordered not to speak at conferences or in public for the time being. The National Institutes of Health was purging grants that conflicted with presidential orders on gender ideology" and diversity". Continue reading...

A few days of joviality will hardly change American foreign policy or guarantee Trump's ever-erratic affections for long Continue reading...

Ahead of the US's 250th birthday, the president has launched six mobile museums that celebrate a white, Christian rewriting of the nation's storyGeorge Washington greets you as you enter the truck. The great man, dressed elegantly in a black velvet coat and white cravat, stares out from the 1796 Lansdowne portrait, the lifesize image of America's first president painted during his final year in office.As you step towards the painting, something strange happens. Washington's outstretched arm begins to move. His lips part. And lo and behold, the legend is talking to you! Continue reading...

Ed Davey attacks Reform calling it Maga franchise' and says Elon Musk funnels far-right ideas into UK via X

American soccer will have truly progressed when cases like the teenagers are common enough to be unremarkableThere's something about a 16-year-old making his debut among fully grown senior professionals that makes him look like a fawn. A scrawny, wobbly baby deer, the function of his arms and legs not yet figured out, jogging on to the pitch in a kit and shin guards that always seem a few sizes too big, like a boy wearing his dad's suit.So, too, appeared Mathis Albert when coming on in the 88th minute of Borussia Dortmund's 4-0 romp over Freiburg on Sunday, which secured the team a place in next year's Champions League. Continue reading...

Republican Chris Carr accused of trying to revive bid for governor with indictment - the last gasp of a dying man'Georgia's top law enforcement official has drawn accusations of using the weight of his office to lift his own political fortunes by bringing a new indictment against protesters of the Atlanta police training center known as Cop City.Amid bluster about holding the line against antifa", Georgia attorney general Chris Carr announced charges against three activists late last week even as his bid to become Georgia's Republican nominee for governor limps along, with less than double-digit support in polling ahead of a 19 May primary. Continue reading...

Republicans hold a 217-212 majority in the House, but they could lock in more seats if reapportionments go their wayRepublicans and Democrats have been engaged in a political tug of war in legislatures, courts and the ballot box to narrow the battlefield of 2026 before a single vote is cast.Normally, redistricting only occurs after the US census counts residents in each state every 10 years. A demand from Donald Trump to lock in more Republican-leaning districts in Congress, together with a changing legal landscape around partisan gerrymandering, set off a chain of mid-decade reapportionments.

Family Connects New Orleans provides crucial postpartum support to mothers through home-based nurse visitsAbout three months ago, Amber Leduff, gave birth to her daughter, Autumn, at New Orleans' Touro hospital. The room was hectic after the delivery, with nurses and doctors bustling in and out. In the chaos, Leduff, who is 30, only half registered the representatives from Family Connects New Orleans, taking paperworks from them and moving on.But when her doctor encouraged her to enroll in the program, which provides up to three in-home visits to parents of newborns up to 12 weeks old, Leduff took it seriously. Continue reading...

Pace of sea-level rise has turned Outer Banks coastal area into a canary in the coalmine' for other east coast communitiesMoving house has a more literal meaning on Hatteras Island, the slender hook of land that juts off the coast of North Carolina. After a slew of houses toppled spectacularly into the Atlantic Ocean recently, entire buildings are now being lifted on to wheels to flee the rapidly eroding coastline.Since September, 19 homes have been lost to waves that tore them from their pilings, sending them crashing into other structures like bumper cars before breaking up in the ocean. Spooked homeowners have turned to the unusual services of Barry Crum, a lifelong Hatteras resident who has become the island's main house mover. Continue reading...

Comey, one of Donald Trump's political enemies, charged with two felonies. Plus, Disneyland introduces facial recognitionGood morning.The justice department filed new criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director, on Tuesday.What has he been charged with? Two felonies: making a threat against the president, and transmitting that threat, via social media, across state lines.What does the indictment say? That the seashell numbers were something a reasonable person would interpret as a serious expression of an intent to do harm to the President of the United States".And how about Comey? He published a video of himself saying: Well, they're back. This time, about a picture of seashells on a North Carolina beach a year ago. And this won't be the end of it, but nothing has changed with me. I am still innocent. I am still not afraid. And I still believe in the independent federal judiciary. So, let's go." He continued: It's really important that all of us remember - this is not who we are as a country, this is not how the Department of Justice is supposed to be, and the good news is we get closer every day to restoring those values. Keep the faith." Continue reading...

On Friday, the presidential personnel office sent termination notices to members of the National Science Board. This will undermine our public health effortsIn June 1981, I was a young pulmonary fellow at one of the three Los Angeles hospitals where the first five cases of an unusual pneumonia in previously healthy young men were being identified. I read about them, as my colleagues did, in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) - the small, dense bulletin the Centers for Disease Control had been publishing every week since 1952.None of us yet knew what we were seeing. What MMWR gave us was a signal early enough to act on, and a system trustworthy enough that we did. What became Aids would, over the next decade, reshape every assumption I held about clinical medicine. I have spent the 40 years since then practicing critical care at UCLA, and the federal scientific architecture that produced that signal in 1981 has been the bedrock of my work. Continue reading...

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Walt Disney Company says technology at California theme park will prevent fraud and streamline re-entryDisneyland, the beloved California adventure park, has outfitted some entrance lanes with facial recognition technology, a move its parent company says will prevent fraud and streamline re-entry.At certain entrance lanes, a camera will capture images of visitors, which can be converted via biometric technology into unique numerical values, according to the Walt Disney Company's website. Continue reading...

Justice department's lawsuit dismissed in latest setback for government's effort to amass information before midterms

New indictment marks latest instance in which Trump's justice department has used its power to target president's political enemies - key US politics stories from 28 April 2026 at a glanceThe justice department filed new criminal charges against James Comey, the former FBI director, on Tuesday.Comey was charged in federal court in the eastern district of North Carolina over a picture he posted on Instagram while on vacation last year in which sea shells were arranged to say 86 47". The post was taken as a threat to Donald Trump. The number 86 can be used as shorthand for getting rid of something, and Trump is the 47th president. Comey subsequently deleted the post and apologized, saying he didn't realize the numbers were associated with violence. Continue reading...

US representatives Jared Huffman and Jamie Raskin earlier this month called agreements outrageous and unlawful

James Lawhead was arrested after forensic DNA analysis lead in decades-old killing of Cindy Wanner

Charles quoted Wilde and Dickens in measured masterclass - and no tirade as yet from mad monarch in White HouseA flick of Oscar Wilde here, a nod to Henry Kissinger there, a sprinkling of Charles Dickens here, a dollop of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt there. Job done!The British monarch mobilised an elite squad of dead white men, leavened with humour and subliminal politicking, on Tuesday in a charm offensive aimed over Donald Trump's head and squarely at the US Congress. Judging by the cheers and minute-long applause he received at the end, the soft power flex worked a treat and the special relationship lives to fight another day. Continue reading...

The British monarch addressed US Congress on Tuesday as part of his four-day visit to the US marking the 250th anniversary of the country's independence. He called on the UK and the US to 'build' on the countries' 'indispensable partnership' in a time of uncertainty, adding that the era was 'in many ways more volatile and more dangerous' than the time his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, addressed Congress in 1991

The former FBI director is accused of calling for Trump's death with seashell picture. We explain what it stands for

Comey oversaw inquiries that directly intersected with Trump's political goals while the president, in turn, has continued to attack him publiclyThe relationship between Donald Trump and James Comey has spanned a turbulent decade, beginning during the 2016 presidential campaign and continuing into Trump's second presidency with repeated investigations and criminal charges.Comey oversaw inquiries that directly intersected with Trump's political goals, first into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, and later into possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. Trump alternately criticized and praised Comey's actions during the 2016 race, but once in office their exchanges grew increasingly tense, leading up to Comey's dismissal in May 2017. Continue reading...

Limited-edition versions will place US president's portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifs

A cottage industry of women are selling courses aligned with a conservative movement that claims feminism is the source of women's discontentA thirtysomething woman with the easy smile of your favorite neighbor sits in her earth-tone living room, natural light washing over a gray couch so long it could easily fit four children. The woman speaks of a friend, a married mother, who was frustrated that she had to constantly remind her germophile husband to wash his hands. Hearing this, the woman cautioned her friend: I think it would be better for your entire family to get the black plague and die ... than for you to continue treating your husband like a toddler by reminding him to wash his hands."Welcome to Wife School, a video masterclass led by Tilly Dillehay, a 38-year-old Baptist writer, podcaster and pastor's wife who teaches women how to become the kind of woman who inspires a godly leader". That means molding them into the wives she says that husbands want: smiling, attentive and submissive, women who know not to nag - even if it means risking the bubonic plague. Continue reading...

Hinckley says bad things keep happening' at Washington Hilton and it was not a secure place to hold big events'