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Attorney general says president should communicate his concerns with the supreme court' after Trump said justices really let our country down'

Who are the Democrats running in the midterms, and where do they stand? Our political reporters will be hosting a series of conversations on the critical issues ahead of November. First up: the state of the Democrats, the party's moderate and leftwing candidates and key races to watch. Drop your questions and join us live at 12pm (EDT) on 16 September

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...

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 one 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 openers and live band for Sheeran's tour depart after removal of Macklemore over free Palestine' commentsAll four supporting acts for upcoming dates of Ed Sheeran's Loop tour have withdrawn in solidarity with fellow opening act Macklemore, as backlash grows to his removal from the tour over onstage comments in support of Palestine.Finneas, the singer who was scheduled to open for Sheeran on six South American dates in November, withdrew from the tour on Tuesday afternoon, hours after Sheeran posted his own lengthy statement to Instagram explaining pressure from venue owners to remove Macklemore for pro-Palestine comments made during two shows at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium. 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. Continue reading...

Analysis of 29 studies highlights potentially heightened danger from small particulate matter and nitrogen dioxideAir pollution is associated with an increased risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts, according to research.Environmental pollution is known to be associated with poorer mental health but its role in suicide risk is less well understood. Scientists at Queen's University Belfast examined whether air, noise, light, and water pollution could influence the risk of death by suicide and suicidal behaviours. Continue reading...

English singer outlines his position after US stadium owners refuse to let rapper perform after political speech

Under new workers' rights, employers will have to properly consider' proposed shift changes and explain decisionsCompany bosses will have to sit down with workers who request flexible working and justify their reasons for any refusals under new rights announced by Louise Haigh on Tuesday.The first secretary of state told the TUC conference that employers would have to properly consider" requests for flexibility and offer a face-to-face meeting under new rights for workers. Continue reading...

Nathaniel James McGuire faces maximum sentence of life in prison after guilty plea over September 2024 bombingA California man has pleaded guilty to charges that he detonated a bomb at a Santa Maria courthouse in 2024 in retaliation for law enforcement officers seizing his firearms earlier that year.In September 2024, Nathaniel James McGuire, 22, of Santa Barbara county threw a backpack containing an explosive device into the courthouse before exiting the building to retrieve two long guns and 10 molotov cocktails from his car. Continue reading...

Scandal explodes as country's election campaign peaks, with polls suggesting dead heat between candidatesBrazil's supreme court has been thrust into what experts consider the greatest crisis since the return of democracy in the 1980s, as two rival judges lock horns on the eve of the presidential election with unpredictable consequences for Latin America's largest democracy.The politically charged dispute exploded into public view on Tuesday as judges traded insults and accusations during a heated supreme court hearing that was livestreamed into millions of Brazilian homes. Continue reading...

Prime minister speaks of strengthening Canada's economic and political ties to Europe at Canada Investment SummitMark Carney said Canada will pursue a unique security and economic alliance" with Europe as he positions his country as a base to build in the new global economic order".Speaking to investors, company executives and government ministers at the inaugural Canada Investment Summit on Tuesday, the prime minister pitched Canada as a safe harbour" and lucrative home for foreign capital as his government looks to reduce its reliance on trade with the United States. Continue reading...

Decision not to pause proceedings means 18m report does not engage with concerns over former nurse's convictionJust two months before Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall opened her inquiry into events at the Countess of Chester hospital and the crimes of Lucy Letby, a report by Chris Henley KC was published into the atrocious" wrongful conviction of Andrew Malkinson for rape.Henley prefaced that report with a plea for the legal establishment to recognise that the criminal courts produce miscarriages of justice. Right up to top judges in the court of appeal, Henley wrote, the system has a deep-seated ... cultural reluctance" to accept it will on occasion make mistakes" and that entirely innocent defendants will sometimes be convicted". Continue reading...

Home secretary defends cost, saying it is about the same or cheaper than putting someone up in a hotel for a yearThe government's one in, one out" deal is costing about 56,000 for every person sent back to France, Shabana Mahmood has told MPs.The home secretary disclosed the figure as she was questioned by the home affairs select committee over whether the scheme was delivering value for taxpayers. Continue reading...

Karl Rove, a respected GOP consultant, further said he would vote for bigot' Bo French's Democratic opponent after postA senior Republican has called a party colleague running for office in Texas a bigot" over a racist social media post attacking college football fans - and said he is so outraged by the comments that he will vote for the candidate's Democratic rival.Karl Rove, who was former president George W Bush's longtime political adviser and is a respected Republican consultant in Texas, told a private event in Austin on Sunday that he could not support Bo French's candidacy for a seat on the state's railroad commission, the Texas Tribune reported. Continue reading...

Dan Thomas, elected in May, says he does not wish to be a distraction' on same day Reform MS defects to Plaid CymruThe leader of Reform UK in Wales is standing down after he was arrested and bailed on suspicion of assault and controlling or coercive behaviour.Dan Thomas, a former Tory councillor, had only been announced as Reform UK's Welsh leader by Nigel Farage in February. Continue reading...

Jayden Williams of Stockbridge alleged to have made inappropriate texts to teen and using city funds improperly

Robert Garcia expresses concern over any possible foreign entanglement' between White House and Umar KremlevRobert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, is investigating potential ties between the White House and a Russian oligarch who paid for a portion of Donald Trump Jr's wedding.In a letter sent to Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, on Monday, Garcia expressed concern about any possible foreign entanglement" between the president's son and the oligarch, Umar Kremlev. Garcia asked Wiles to provide documents, records and communications between the White House and Trump Jr about Kremlev, among other requests. Continue reading...

Court hears that two officers did not deal properly with allegation Jaysley Beck made against a superiorTwo army officers let down" a teenage soldier who went on to kill herself when they did not deal properly with a sexual assault allegation she made against a superior, a court martial has heard.Jaysley Beck, 19, told Col Samantha Shepherd that she had been touched on the leg by a warrant officer during a social event at an adventure training exercise, the court was told. Continue reading...

Reiner is accused of fatally stabbing his parents, Rob and Michele Singer Reiner in their home in December 2025Nick Reiner will not face the death penalty if convicted of the killings of his parents Rob and Michele Singer Reiner, the Los Angeles county district attorney's office announced.Nathan Hochman, the Los Angeles DA, said on Tuesday that his office will not pursue the death penalty in the case. He told reporters gathered outside a Los Angeles courthouse ahead of a pre-trial hearing that the prosecutors had considered the wishes of Reiner family members and mitigating factors in making their decision. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen says incidents part of a broader pattern of Russian aggression and provocation against Europe'A Russian warship fired two emergency flares at a Danish helicopter in the Baltic Sea and an Italian Nato fighter jet shot down a drone carrying an explosive device over Lithuania in what the EU described as reckless and dangerous" Russian behaviour.Poland also scrambled fighter jets due to the activity of Russian jet-powered unmanned aerial vehicles conducting strikes on Ukrainian territory", the day after Polish security forces retrieved a suspected Russian drone adrift in its waters. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper says this must be a turning point for the NHS' and tells the Commons she is profoundly sorry' for mistakes highlighted in Thirlwall report

Exclusive: Lee Hanson also appears to be regularly campaigning for party during work hours, social media shows

Exclusive: Correspondence requests state MP Melissa Horne to lobby on NextDC's behalf - but contains alleged AI-created errors

The European Commission's president warned that recent actions in Denmark and Lithuania are not isolated incidents'

Ex-England footballer also admits to failing to provide a specimen as he appears at Basingstoke magistrates courtThe former England footballer Raheem Sterling has admitted dangerously driving a Lamborghini on the motorway.Sterling pleaded guilty at Basingstoke magistrates court on Tuesday to driving a Lamborghini Urus dangerously on the M25, the M3, the A327 before he crashed on 28 May. Continue reading...

Disbanding of department in Trinidad comes after arrest of a resident for posting about issues with local water supplyA police department in Texas that arrested a local resident for complaining on social media about their city's contaminated water supply has been ordered closed after failing to prove it provided any benefit to the community.State officials stepped in to investigate after Jennifer Combs spent a night in jail in May after a post appeared on her Facebook page suggesting people were hospitalized by bacteria in the water pipes of Trinidad, a municipality in Henderson county about 75 miles south-east of Dallas. Continue reading...

Analysts warn of an acceleration in high-risk arms race with Russia and China in Earth's orbitThe US has deployed weapons in space, the US military has confirmed, in an extraordinary public announcement that analysts warn will accelerate a high-risk arms race with Russia and China in Earth's orbit.US secretary of the air force, Troy Meink, announced that Washington had active on-orbit" weapons, meaning they had been deployed and were currently circling the globe. Continue reading...

More than 130 counsels and KCs sign letter to PM saying international law requires further measures to stop illegal settlementsMore than 130 legal experts, including 18 king's counsel (KCs), have written to Andy Burnham saying that sanctions on Israeli settlements fall far short" of Britain's obligations under the international court of justice's (ICJ's) finding that the occupation is unlawful.The foreign secretary, Ed Miliband last week announced an import ban on goods from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine and other measures. Signatories to the letter to the prime minister, including the leading lawyers Michael Mansfield KC and Imran Khan KC, and the former lord justice of appeal Alan Moses, say it is not enough. Continue reading...

Councillors say locals have been raising concerns about people secretly filming in change rooms, swimming pools and around schools

More than 1,200 people including Ben Fogle sign letter saying buying British will help preserve manufacturing firms

Today's blog is closed

Nassif declares I'm not corrupt', threatens to pull out of evidence and waves handwritten notes at counsel assisting Peggy Dwyer

Carmaker builds on relationship with British armed forces by seeking to cash in on Europe's rearmament drive

Economists urge John Healey to press Bank to change policy that is costing the exchequer billions of poundsEconomists have urged the chancellor, John Healey, to press the Bank of England to slow down its bond-selling programme that has already cost the exchequer billions of pounds.The Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) meets this week to not only decide the level of interest rates but also whether they should freeze or slow the sale of government bonds, known as gilts, bought as part of the rescue operation after the 2008 banking crash. Continue reading...

Figure likely to dictate rise in state pension triple lock, as workers face inflation squeeze fuelled by oil price rises

After a five-storey building collapsed in Delhi, focus is on how urban areas can adapt to growing populations. Plus, Ahmedabad's ace newspaper delivery driver goes viralRecently, I may have saved a woman's life on the road. Somehow, this was something I had expected to happen.On that day, I saw a truck leave a construction site with a tangled wire trailing behind. I frantically looked to see what the wire was attached to and spotted the scaffolding a few meters ahead. I shrieked and grabbed the hand of the woman walking in front of me just as the metal pipes came crashing down. We hugged for a brief second, and then walked our separate ways. Continue reading...

Witness tells court he sent Jones friendly messages after two alleged assaults because he had been generous to him

Exclusive: George Osborne's programme to reduce costs for first-time buyers delivered 25bn in social value in UK last yearGeorge Osborne's scheme to reduce costs for first-time buyers represented very high value for money", according to a government review, bolstering the case of senior government figures who have been arguing to resurrect the idea.An official audit of the help-to-buy programme has calculated it provided 25bn of social value to the UK in the last financial year, despite criticisms it was overly expensive and only served to inflate house prices. Continue reading...

Health service faces exodus as almost four-fifths of BAME managers surveyed reported racism, exclusion and barriers to career progressionThe NHS in England is facing an exodus of minority ethnic managers who have suffered racism, exclusion and discrimination during their working lives, a report has found.Almost four-fifths of managers from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds have experienced racism, exclusion and obstacles to progressing in their careers, according to a survey carried out by the NHS Alliance. Continue reading...

Some arguments used to challenge convictions are inconsistent with available evidence, science and established physiology', say two scientistsTwo leading experts have withdrawn from Lucy Letby's defence team over concerns about the scientific credibility" of some of its evidence.Separately a public inquiry into the murders will publish its findings on Tuesday. The review, led by Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall, is expected to highlight a number of missed opportunities for bosses to intervene after doctors raised the alarm about a spate of unexplained deaths on the neonatal unit in 2015 and 2016. A criminal investigation is ongoing into potential corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter at the Countess of Chester hospital. Continue reading...

NT police say the person unlawfully gained access' to the base in the suburb of Winnellie

The militant group in Yemen captured the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, near the chokepoint of the Bab al-Mandab straitYemen's Houthi rebels have seized two strategic islands in the Red Sea, reinforcing the Iran-backed group's ability to control a key shipping route, as concerns mount that the world is facing a new oil supply crisis.The seizure of the islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish is the latest in the militant group's swift advance across Yemen's Red Sea coast, after the capture of the port of Mokha and Perim island in the Bab al-Mandab strait. Continue reading...

Widow's Bay dominated this year's ceremony, with The Pitt, Hacks and Pluribus landing other major categories

Drive to save thousands of Afrikaners from false claims of white genocide' appears to show signs of slowingWhen Donald Trump announced in February 2025 that the US would accept Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees, many white South Africans who believed that they were victims of racism in their country thought that their prayers had been answered.However, in the past few months, dozens of applicants to the refugee programme have been rejected, with many left dismayed and confused as to why they would be left to face what Trump has falsely claimed is a white genocide" in South Africa. Continue reading...

Almost 3,500 people have died in outbreak and experts say more must be done to ensure Bundibugyo is under controlAuthorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have announced that the Ebola outbreak ravaging parts of the country has reached its peak.For the first time since the epidemic was declared in May, the numbers of people becoming infected is slowing down, according to officials. Continue reading...

Latest daily reductions will further choke one of the world's most important shipping lanesThe Panama canal plans to again cut maritime traffic due to worsening drought caused by the El Nino climate phenomenon, further choking up one of the world's most important shipping lanes.The canal handles 5% of global maritime trade and about 40% of US container traffic; it is favoured by shippers because it usually reduces cost and transit times, especially for companies trading between China, Asia and the US. Continue reading...

Committee to reconsider Harry and Meghan's publicly funded police protection now they are full-time residentsThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have a review of their publicly funded security following their return to the UK.The royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec), which oversees tax-funded security for royalty and public figures, is to reconsider Harry and Meghan's level of police protection. Continue reading...

Plans to strengthen legislation already going through parliament might mean donors having to meet stricter UK residence requirementsAndy Burnham's government could thwart Reform's unprecedented 72m donations with retrospective restrictions on political donors that will include tough new residency requirements, ministers have announced.In a move that is likely to set off furious complaints from Nigel Farage's party, the government will table amendments to legislation going through the House of Lords within weeks that puts the legality of Reform's latest donations in doubt. Continue reading...