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Former UK political operative endorsed by Trump will face off against Democrat Xavier Becerra in November electionRepublican Steve Hilton, the former UK political operative turned Fox News personality, has advanced to the November general election in the race to become California's next governor, facing off against Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former congressman, state attorney general and US health secretary.Hilton's success, a remarkable achievement for a recent immigrant, came after he was endorsed by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Lieutenant governor and attorney general advance but result signals decisive defeat for controversial Nancy MaceDonald Trump-backed Pamela Evette, South Carolina's lieutenant governor, and Alan Wilson, the state's attorney general, have advanced to a runoff in a competitive race to represent the Republican party in South Carolina's gubernatorial election.The winner of the Republican primary is favored to win the closely watched general election, given South Carolina's conservative tilt, although Democrats are hoping to ride a wave of progressive enthusiasm to make political gains across the ticket. Continue reading...

Hilton has worn many hats since he arrived in the US 14 years ago, and now faces steep odds of defeating Democratic Xavier Becerra in NovemberAfter years of working in the background of Conservative party politics in Britain, Steve Hilton has passed the first major test as his own front man: clinching a spot in the November run-off to become California's next governor.The outcome was far from a given under California's open primary system, which rewards the top two vote winners regardless of party, and the particular challenge of running as a Republican in one of the most solidly blue states in the country. Continue reading...

Platner, whose campaign was hit by series of negative headlines, to face Susan Collins in key midterm contestGraham Platner, a Marine veteran, oyster farmer and progressive activist, has scaled a mountain of personal controversies to win the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Maine.Victory on Tuesday caps a remarkable rise for a candidate who has never held elected office and whose campaign was shadowed by negative headlines that might have ended a more conventional political career. Continue reading...

Texas trial, which lasted a week, drew national attention due to race, as Anthony is Black and Austin Metcalf was whiteFollowing a trial that lasted just one week from jury selection to verdict, a Collin county, Texas, jury found Karmelo Anthony, now 19, guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf last year.The closely watched trial drew national attention, with viral social media posts that highlighted the racial composition of the case: Anthony is Black; Austin was white. Attorneys selected 12 jurors and six alternates for the trial; none of the jurors was Black. Continue reading...

Crowds gather at sites across Belfast after Sudanese man charged with attempted murder

Inspector of custodial services says inmates are sleeping on the floor and denied basic entitlements due to a systemic failure across multiple prisons'

Home city of Amazon and Microsoft passes moratorium as backlash against energy-guzzling AI infrastructure growsSeattle has passed a year-long moratorium on the construction of new datacenters. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the temporary ban on Tuesday.A major tech hub whose metro area is home to Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country. Continue reading...

Emily C Marks finds method proposed to kill Jeffery Lee violates ban on cruel and unusual punishmentA federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing a man with nitrogen gas after declaring the method violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Alabama became the first state in the nation to use the execution method in January 2024, but has faced repeated legal challenges to its use.Emily C Marks, a US district judge, permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas. Lee was scheduled to be executed Thursday at an Alabama prison. Continue reading...

President backs Pulte for acting DNI chief despite backlash that puts reauthorization of key surveillance law at riskDonald Trump met with the House speaker, Mike Johnson, at the White House on Tuesday as pressure mounts on the president to nominate a permanent director of national intelligence, the step some Republicans now believe is the only way to save a controversial and powerful surveillance law before it expires by the end of the week.At stake is section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a post-9/11 authority that allows US intelligence agencies to collect the communications of foreign targets overseas without a court warrant. While the program is intended to target non-Americans abroad, it can also sweep up communications involving Americans. This powerful and contentious spy tool is set to expire at midnight on Thursday. Continue reading...

US president blames Tehran for loss of Apache gunship, whose crew were rescued by a drone near strait of Hormuz

AI company restricted access to Fable 5, its most powerful Mythos model, for months over cybersecurity concernsAnthropic, the maker of the Claude artificial intelligence (AI) models, made a new version of its technology available to the general public on Tuesday while restricting its use in sensitive areas.Dubbed Fable 5, the model is the first to be made widely available from the company's new Mythos class - its most advanced lineup of AI technology, unveiled in April but restricted to a small set of partner institutions for months over cybersecurity concerns. Continue reading...

Crowds, including people in masks and hoods, burned vehicles and properties after calls for demonstrations from far-right figures

Vice-president says deal could absolutely' come before midterms, as US strikes Iran after downing of helicopter

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Secure America Act passes largely along party lines in 214-212 vote, ending months-long standoff with DemocratsHouse Republicans on Tuesday approved a $70bn bill funding through the duration of his term the agencies leading Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants, ending a months-long standoff with Democrats that at one point forced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to shutter.The Secure America Act passed in a 214-212 vote that was largely along party lines, with Kevin Kiley, an independent who aligns with the Republicans, joining all Democrats in voting no. The Senate approved the measure last week, which allocates $38bn to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $26bn to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and $5bn more to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through September 2029. The legislation now awaits Trump's signature. Continue reading...

Low wages and fears of ICE crackdowns have set workers on edge of strike as thousands set to arrive during World CupHospitality and food service workers in several US cities hosting World Cup games are warning of looming labor disputes and possible strikes as the largest single sport tournament in the world gets ready to kick off on 11 June.In Los Angeles, California, cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants at the SoFi stadium reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday afternoon, but the union noted it had a contractual right to walk off the job if it determines that federal immigration enforcement is threatening worker safety during the World Cup. The US's opening match, against Paraguay, is scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium - rebranded as the Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament - on 12 June. Continue reading...

Leon O'Leary threw a smoke grenade and Connor Bishop a traffic cone at officers during disturbance in SouthamptonTwo men who threw a smoke grenade and traffic cone at police during the violence in Southampton that followed the sentencing of Henry Nowak's killer have been jailed.Leon O'Leary, 41, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, was sentenced to three years and one month after throwing a smoke grenade at officers. Continue reading...

Fears grow over anti-immigration protests after asylum seeker charged with attempted murder in Northern IrelandThe Sudanese barber shop owner was at his cash register and smiling at the question, Did he feel safe in Belfast?", when two men strolling down the street paused at his open doorway and unleashed a sudden, shrieking howl.It ended as abruptly as it began and without saying a word the two men, white, in their 20s, wearing grey tracksuits, resumed their stroll. Continue reading...

David Stroud grabbed a woman's hair and asked if he could kiss her two days after legislation took effectA train passenger has become the first person to be sentenced under a new harassment law after a prosecution brought by the British Transport Police (BTP).David Stroud, 44, grabbed a woman's hair and asked her can I kiss you?" on a rail journey to London on 3 April, two days after the new legislation came into force banning harassment motivated by a person's sex. Continue reading...

Attack was filmed and shared online prompting Elon Musk and others to call for anti-immigration protestsPoliticians from across the spectrum have called for calm after a knife attack in Belfast prompted widespread shock and condemnation.There are fears there could be disorder after figures on social media, including Elon Musk, called for people to fill the streets in protest against immigration. The alleged perpetrator of the attack, which was filmed and shared widely online, was revealed today as an asylum seeker from Sudan. Continue reading...

Political row emerges over state's failure to tackle sexual violence against children as people protest across FranceA lawyer for the family of an 11-year-old girl whose disappearance and murder sparked protests across France has called for more funding for the struggling justice system, amid a political row over the French state's failure to tackle sexual violence against children.Frankly, if the justice system had more resources, this tragedy and all the others wouldn't have happened," said the family's lawyer, Francois Roujou de Boubee, on Tuesday. The victim's family and I trust in the justice system. So enough is enough." Continue reading...

Oysterman and marine veteran favored to win Democratic primary amid a string of controversiesVoters are headed to the polls on Tuesday for primary elections that include a crucial Senate race involving the scandal-haunted Graham Platner.In Maine, Platner is favored to win the Democratic primary after his main opponent, former governor Janet Mills suspended her campaign. Incumbent senator Susan Collins remains safely at the top of the Republican ticket - just slightly behind newcomer Platner's lead in polling. Continue reading...

Maitiu Mag Tighearnan said he was there by chance and managed to protect a young lad'A man who used a hurling stick to fight off a knifeman in north Belfast has been named as Maitiu Mag Tighearnan.Tighearnan, from Northern Ireland, was filmed hitting the assailant five times on the head with the wooden hurley as other people kicked and punched him on Kinnaird Avenue on Monday night. Continue reading...

Police dispersed demonstrators in Nanyuki, 120 miles from Nairobi, amid rising anger at US plansKenyan police have shot dead a man during a protest against a proposed Ebola quarantine facility for US citizens.Patrick Wahome, who has organised protests in Nanyuki against the centre, told Reuters on Tuesday the man died from a gunshot wound to the head. Reporters from the agency saw the body lying motionless in a police van with a large head wound. Continue reading...

Daniel Crago says he feels extremely lucky' after encounter with bear at Glacier national park last monthAs the large roaring grizzly bear charged down at him from across a snow field in Montana and mauled him, hiker Daniel Crago had just enough time to put his arm up and think: This is it."But two weeks after that perilous, exceedingly rare encounter in Glacier national park, Crago, 32, is still alive, recovering after three surgeries and feeling extremely lucky", he said on Monday in an interview with ABC News. Continue reading...

Geoffrey Wall is alleged to have flown over 900 flights domestically and internationally between 2009 and 2025A former Air Canada pilot has been charged after flying for years without a proper license, Canadian police have said.Geoffrey Wall, of Barrie, Ontario, is alleged to have operated as an airline captain between 2009 and 2025 without a license to fly large commercial passenger planes, according to Peel regional police. Continue reading...

Labour backbenchers disappointed as new trade guidance over illegal settlements stops short of outright banThe UK in alliance with a group of other western powers including France and Norway has announced it is imposing sanctions on six firms and one individual involved in enabling and financing the recent upsurge in settler violence in the West Bank.However, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, disappointed many of her own backbenchers by stopping short of banning trade, saying instead the government was only issuing updated advice to British firms not to become involved in any economic activity with the illegal settlements. Continue reading...

When politicians talk common sense' it's time to worry; when the Tory leader does, it's time to be doubly vigilantYou know how it is. You're a middle class, straight white man in his 60s in A&E. Possibly the most disadvantaged person in the entire country. You complain of chest pains. In the adjoining triage queue there is a black woman with what looks like a broken toe. You know what happens next. The black woman is seen within minutes. You have a cardiac arrest on the waiting room floor.Said no one ever. There may be times when there simply aren't enough staff in the A&E department. There may also be times when a doctor under pressure fails to make the right diagnosis. But no one for a minute believes they are being deliberately kept waiting any longer than necessary. The founding principle of the NHS is predicated on patients being treated according to the severity of their condition. Continue reading...

People flee historic district of ancient city after airstrikes hit residential areas and damage archaeological sites

Pontiff appeals in Catalan for harmony on Barcelona leg of Spain tour after making football foes in cityTo the delight of many, Pope Leo XIV kicked off the Barcelona leg of his week-long visit to Spain with a few words in Catalan, calling on the faithful who had gathered in the city's cathedral on Tuesday to build harmony and communion beyond all polarisation".The pontiff's familiar and commendable plea for people to set aside their differences may, however, have come a little late. Three days earlier, while chatting to journalists on the flight to Spain, Leo had made an awkward confession. Continue reading...

Bosses of M&S, Sainsbury's and Tesco among those writing to Starmer calling for action on youth unemployment crisis

Audience members said baby's cooing and gurgling ruined Branagh's return to the RSC after 30 years, with some seeking refundsBoatswain! The opening scene of Shakespeare's seminal play The Tempest, in which Prospero conjures up a violent storm to shipwreck his treacherous brother, is enough to wake up anyone - let alone a baby.Audience members at a matinee performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production, starring Kenneth Branagh as Prospero, complained after a baby gurgled and cooed its way throughout the entire first half. Continue reading...

Father and mother of Annabel Rook praised her dedication to helping others and want to focus on her legacyA retired Old Bailey judge has paid tribute to his daughter after her killer was jailed for life.Today at Snaresbrook crown court, Clifton George, 45, was sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty of the murder of Annabel Rook, 46, whom he stabbed in the living room of her own home in Stoke Newington, north London. Continue reading...

Tory leader takes aim at police guidance and says more black boys searched means more black lives saved

Gabriel Raimondo, who put his studies on hold to run in Channel Islands, is one of world's youngest politiciansMost politicians who win an election in Jersey are probably satisfied with a pat on the back from their supporters and a mention in the local newspapers.But after becoming one of the youngest politicians in the world, Gabriel Raimondo received a message of congratulations from Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Co-op academy in Blackley to close for day after students were locked down in classrooms during attackA schoolgirl has been arrested after two students and a staff member were stabbed at a school in Manchester.Students were put into lockdown and told not to leave their classrooms after emergency services were called to the Co-op academy in Blackley on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Ofcom move follows concerns about misinformation and online claims over police response to Henry Nowak stabbingSocial media companies have been ordered to have emergency measures in place to stop illegal content going viral, as regulators battle to stop the type of misinformation spiral that circulated after the 2024 summer riots.Sites such as X, formerly Twitter, and TikTok will have to have a crisis protocol" in place to intervene when the sharing of dangerous content begins to rise. Continue reading...

Tech company received infrastructure relief as its five biggest UK divisions generate 32bn in revenuesAmazon's main division in the UK was handed a 7.6m tax credit last year by HM Revenue and Customs, despite profits at the retail-to-streaming company surging by more than a quarter to 355m.Amazon UK Services - which employs 66,000 staff, the vast majority of the company's 75,000 employees in Britain - said it owed 9.1m in current tax" last year. Continue reading...

Fears about the Middle East conflict, cost of living and EU border checks are leading people to delay their decisions

In an exclusive interview, Ukraine's president says he believes the war will be won when Russian society feels its impact. Plus, why California's election count is taking so long (hint: it's not fraud)

TUC, GMB and Unison leaders reject invitation to affiliate to Reform amid rising support for party among their members

Former pornographer, who owns 38.8% of club, has been accused of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviourThe football regulator could force David Sullivan to sell his stake in West Ham United after the former pornography billionaire was accused of sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour against women over several decades.The 77-year-old announced his resignation as a director and co-chair of the football club on Saturday, ahead of a joint investigation by the BBC and the Times reporting on seven women accusing him of sexual misconduct. Continue reading...

Updated Pentagon list includes swathe of China's top technology firms in move that could inflame tensions between the countriesThe US added Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, internet search provider Baidu and carmaker BYD to a list of companies it believes are aiding Beijing's military, in a move that could inflame tensions between the countries.The long-awaited update released on Monday supersedes a list from early 2025, and comes less than a month after Donald Trump met China's Xi Jinping on a visit to Beijing, where the two leaders maintained a delicate trade war truce. Continue reading...

Darren Sharper, who pleaded guilty or no contest to raping women in four states, is projected to be released in 2028Admitted serial rapist and former National Football League champion Darren Sharper has been transferred from federal prison to a halfway house program with his projected 2028 release date nearing.In a statement to the Guardian on Monday, a US Bureau of Prisons (BoP) spokesperson said Sharper, 50, was transferred on 27 May from a federal correctional institution near Elkton, Ohio, to community confinement" overseen by the agency's residential re-entry management office in Baltimore. Continue reading...

Trump administration says restrictions could impose disproportionate' burden on US tech companies

Musician who spliced jazz, funk and blues, including in a spell on a major label in the early 1980s, was celebrated as fearless' by his familyJames Blood Ulmer, the US guitarist celebrated for his avant garde splicing of jazz, blues and funk, has died aged 86.A statement on social media said he died on 3 June. His music was fearless, and so was his spirit," his family added in another statement. Continue reading...

Athlete Hannah Babalola says she was told to use the toilet without an aisle chair or leave Cape Town to Amsterdam flightThe Dutch airline KLM has offered sincere apologies" to a Paralympic athlete who was denied access to an onboard wheelchair during a long-haul flight so she could go to the toilet.The cabin crew on the flight later called the police after the request from Hannah Babalola, 37, who is paraplegic and competes in track events, for the wheelchair, known as an aisle chair as it is narrow enough to be used inside a plane. They first handed her a written notice, headed: Unacceptable conduct and final warning on behalf of the captain of this plane." Continue reading...

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