Minimalist News

Waste Of The Day: Town Manager's Snacking Spree Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClearInvestigations , Topline: Michael Boaz, the former town manager of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, made hundreds of unauthorized purchases on his city credit card from 2022 to 2024, including bullets and a hotel for his family vacation, according to a state audit released in May. Boaz was fired in 2024 when the allegations first came to light. Now that a state audit confirmed the questionable purchases, he has been indicted for felony embezzlement. Key facts: Boaz' questionable purchases totaled $18,426, much of which was spent on food.

Removing AI Spyware From Your Google Account Authored by Thomas Neuburger via Naked Capitalism , Yves here. News you can use! And advice that helps readers limit their exposure to two longstanding abuses. One is the unending efforts of the surveillance state to extend its reach. Two is the way AI companies steal original work without consent or compensation to feed into training sets. By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at God's Spies The glorifyingly named Googleplex headquarters in Mountain View, California. As most have noticed, AI is entering our lives in a very big way . Doctor's offices are using

Gulf Oil Is Available Again, But Asian Refiners Balk At Soaring Tanker Rates Iran and the US have a peace deal? check ( for 60 days, allegedly ). Strait of Hormuz open? check ( for 60 days, allegedly ). Ships transiting freely? check ( not really ) Massive build up of Gulf oil desperate to reach Asian refiners? check . All great news, which means that oil should now flow freely and in huge amounts, right? Wrong: two of Asia's largest refiners, PetroChina and Indian Oil, failed to secure very large crude carriers to lift Iraqi Basrah crude in late

Bullish Or Bearish Into Year-End? BTIG & Fundstrat To Face Off LIVE NOW: https://t.co/jxITOFkt3p — zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 18, 2026 **************************** S&P 500 and Nasdaq remain near record highs despite yesterday’s post-Fed freakout . Risk-on is still in fashion as investors remain hopeful of a lasting U.S.-Iran peace. Though the question remains: Is the rally sustainable or are markets poised for a painful reversal before year-end? Tonight at 7pm ET, Adam Taggart of Thoughtful Money hosts a debate between two of Wall Street's closely followed technical strategists: Jonathan Krinsky, Chief Market Technician at BTIG , and Mark Newton, Head of

Pentagon Taps Argonne Spinout To Connect Military Supercomputers With Major Clouds Authored by Neetika Walter via Interesting Engineering , The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Parallel Works, an Illinois-based software company spun out of Argonne National Laboratory, a contract to provide a unified platform that connects military supercomputing centers with secure commercial cloud infrastructure. Representative stock image of a supercomputer. iStock Photos The contract , granted under the department's High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP), will allow scientists, engineers, and acquisition professionals across the DoD to access both on-premises and cloud-based computing resources through a single interface .

Illegal Alien Alleged To Be Ringleader In Terror Plot To Kill "Capitalist Elites" At UFC White House Event Federal prosecutors allege that Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a Mexican national who overstayed a B2 visitor visa and was living in Omaha, Nebraska, used the online alias "Shepherd" and was the ringleader of a failed terror attack targeting "billionaires" and " capitalist elites " at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. The Department of Homeland Security released a statement on Thursday morning regarding the criminal complaint, filed in the District of Nebraska, charging Alvarez with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to

The Judicial Resistance Fails Again Authored by Mike McDaniel via AmericanThinker.com, Do you recall Hannah Dugan? She’s a former Milwaukee County Judge. “Former” because she, with the help of her staff, distracted ICE agents who were present to arrest and deport a violent illegal alien in her court on unrelated charges. They snuck the illegal out of the courthouse. The agents didn’t disrupt her court. They were waiting until she was done with the illegal, who had been previously deported but reentered the country. They politely informed her of their authority and intentions and were waiting for her disposition of

Multiple Polls Show Warning Signs For Democrats In Upcoming Midterms Democrats have spent months telling anyone who will listen that the midterms are theirs to lose. With President Donald Trump's approval rating in the basement and conditions supposedly ripe for a blue wave, the party is feeling confident it can win both the House and the Senate in November. Polls do seem to suggest they have momentum, but a closer look at the numbers tells a very different story , and the wave that Democrats are banking on may not be coming after all. The latest NBC News poll does

LA City Council Advances Measure To Allow Non-Citizens To Vote In Local Elections Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness, The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-5 to advance a controversial proposal that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, including mayoral, city council and school board races. The New York Post reports that the proposal is part of a sweeping charter reform package headed for the November ballot. 🚨 LA City Council Advances Proposal on Noncitizen Voting for November Ballot Los Angeles City Council has moved forward on a measure from Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez (AI video) that would

Supreme Court Rules Feds Can't Disarm You Just For Being A Regular Stoner The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the government's prosecution of a Texas man under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(3) - the provision barring "unlawful user[s] of" or those "addicted to" any controlled substance from possessing firearms - violated the Second Amendment. The case, United States v. Hemani , stemmed from an August 2022 FBI search of the family home of Ali Danial Hemani, a dual U.S.-Pakistan citizen who was born in Texas and had a stable job as a project manager at a Dallas-area insurance company . The

US Company Gets Approval To Build The World's First Fusion Power Plant In Washington Authored by Ameya Paleja via Interesting Engineering , US-based fusion energy company Helion has received the regulatory clearances to build the world's first fusion energy power plant. The company has received a Radioactive Materials License (RML) and a Radioactive Air Emissions License (RAEL) from the Washington Department of Health (DOH), clearing the way to begin construction of the generator building at the power plant site. Helion's Orion reactor is set to be the world's first fusion power plant. Helion Energy As the world looks for newer

Fed Moves To Close Stablecoin Loopholes With New Customer ID Rules Authored by Micah Zimmermann via BitcoinMagazine.com, The Federal Reserve proposed Thursday that payment stablecoin issuers maintain written customer identification programs, a move that signals Washington’s determination to bring digital asset markets under the same anti-money laundering discipline long applied to traditional banks — even as regulators race to finalize rules before a statutory deadline this coming January. The proposal would require so-called permitted payment stablecoin issuers, or PPSIs, to collect from each new customer a legal name, date of birth or formation, physical address, and a government-issued identification number

It Wasn't Fireworks... Social Isolation, Escalating Anger Drove Palisades Arsonist's Desire For Revenge, Jury Told Explosives and arson experts from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms this week told a jury in the federal arson case against Jonathan Rinderknecht that fireworks could not have been the culprit. The 29-year-old Rinderknecht is accused of starting a blaze in the Santa Monica Mountains, which investigators say led to the deadly Palisades Fire of 2025. “Anyone who was in this area—if there was a firework launched, burning, or landing here—would have seen it. They’re bright, there’s a lot of color, a

Asian Refiners Swamped, Brace For Over 60 Million Barrels Of Oil Ready To Exit Hormuz By Tsvetana Parskova of OilPrice.com Crude cargo arrivals in Asia from the Middle East could accelerate in the coming weeks as more than 60 million barrels of oil stuck in the Persian Gulf prepare to exit the Strait of Hormuz and head to Asian markets once the chokepoint reopens to traffic. About 62 million barrels of crude oil on nearly three dozen supertankers are expected to make their way to Asia within weeks after the Strait reopens, according to Signal Group data carried by Bloomberg

Just Days After Record IPO, SpaceX To Sell $20 Billion In Bonds Earlier this week, we showed the unprecedented pace of hyperscaler Investment Grade debt accumulation, which according to Morgan Stanley calculations had doubled in just two quarters, rising from 0.9x leverage in Q3 '25 to 1.8x currently, a pace that has already surpassed the entire energy sector's gross leverage of 1.6%. Source We predicted that this staggering growth rate would continue increasing at a pace of over 0.3x per quarter, and moments ago we got another confirmation of the insatiable demand for AI debt when Bloomberg reported that just

CENTCOM Says Hormuz Naval Blockade Ends As Gulf Energy Flows Reboot Summary: U.S. CENTCOM says U.S. Naval Blockade on Hormuz has been "Lifted" Kuwait Petroleum CEO says Energy Production to Ramp in a Week Iran Media says Southern Ports Traffic Begins Normalizing Hormuz Normalization Begins As Saudi Supertankers Exit And A Flood Of Persian Gulf Oil Heads For Asia The roughly two-month U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has officially ended, according to U.S. Central Command on X. This marks a major de-escalation in the Gulf region, as early signs point to the beginning of normalization of energy

Take-Two Shares Jump As 'Grand Theft Auto VI' Pre-Orders Open Next Week Take-Two Interactive Software shares jumped early in the cash session after the company announced on X that pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI will open next Thursday. The move is easing investor concerns that the highly anticipated game could face another delay, reinforcing expectations that Rockstar Games remains on track for its Nov. 19 launch date. " Pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI will officially begin on June 25 on digital storefronts and at other select retailers ," Rockstar Games wrote on X. The gaming studio is a

RFK Jr. Announces More Than $700 Million To Target Mental Illness, Homelessness Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times , The Trump administration is going to spent more than $700 million on programs aimed at reducing drug addiction, homelessness, and mental illness, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on June 17. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Washington on May 18, 2026. Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images The largest portion of the new funding, nearly $239 million, is going to a lifeline that people who are suicidal can call. Some $223 million is going to community behavioral

Amazon In Talks To Sell Its Trainium AI Chips To Other Firms, In Challenge To Nvidia Dominance Amazon is in talks to sell its custom-made Trainium AI chips for use in other companies’ data centers, Bloomberg reports, noting this "represents a key expansion of its efforts to cut into Nvidia's dominance", although a less optimistic read is that the company does not have enough demand or capacity to use the chips for its own uses. Peter DeSantis, Amazon’s AI chief, said the world’s largest cloud computing company has begun discussions but declined to name potential customers. Presumably, it will try

Forward Guidance Is Gone By Philip Marey, senior US strategist at Rabobank Summary As widely expected, the FOMC kept the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged and dropped its easing bias. However, this unanimous decision was announced in an unusually short statement. What’s more, at his first press conference as Fed Chair Kevin Warsh terminated forward guidance. However, the Summary of Economic Projections had already revealed that half of the FOMC participants (who submitted a forecast) expected to hike before the end of the year. Warsh did not submit his forecasts. Other interesting features of the statement were

Review reveals rise in users and rates of psychosis in countries where cannabis is sold commercially Decriminalising the possession of cannabis or strictly regulating access to the drug do not appear to drive up usage, but when the drug is sold commercially the number of users increases and more mental health problems are seen, a review has found. An international team analysed the dramatic shift in policies on cannabis between 2000 and 2025, including how the numbers of people taking the drug, its potency, and rates of psychosis changed after new rules came in. Continue reading...

Canadian officials find structural defects in material used for hull and say firm failed to fully test ‘novel’ design Canadian safety officials have issued a damning report on the catastrophic final voyage of the Titan submersible, finding that the US company behind the expedition was overcome by “groupthink” and “confirmation bias” and failed to understand the profound risks confronting their largely untested craft. The 6.7-metre (22ft) carbon fibre submersible dipped below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean in June 2023 en route to the wreckage of the Titanic ocean liner. But nearly two hours after it departed with five passengers,

Focus on business dealings with mining company Guadalajara rally to highlight fate of ‘disappeared’ Hyundai will be targeted by protesters at a rally before the Group A game between Mexico and South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday, due to the World Cup sponsor’s business dealings with the South American mining company Ternium. A 2025 report from the environmental group Mighty Earth criticised Hyundai’s involvement in what they described as a “dirty steel supply chain”, as the South Korean motor company is a major buyer of iron ore from Ternium for use in steel production. Ternium has faced repeated criticisms for

Brazil supreme court finds that Eduardo Bolsonaro – who resides in the US - tried to get sanctions put on judges trying ex-president over coup plot Brazil’s supreme court has sentenced Eduardo Bolsonaro to four years and two months in prison after finding him guilty of courting US ⁠interference in his father’s coup plot trial last year. The office of Brazil’s ‌prosecutor general had ‌charged Eduardo Bolsonaro – who lives in the US - courting interference from the Trump administration to help Jair Bolsonaro’s case, by imposing sanctions on the court’s justices and tariffs on Brazilian goods. Continue reading...

Young adults and teens are being recruited through apps like Telegram and paid to carry out attacks, officials say Police investigators in Toronto have said that dozens of shootings – including one at the US consulate in March – are linked to a “multilayered” gun-for-hire network that is also responsible for attacks on synagogues around Canada’s largest city. Toronto’s police chief, Myron Demkiw, told reporters on Tuesday that young adults and teenagers are being recruited through encrypted messaging apps such as Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp by “bad actors” and paid by the networks to carry out the attacks. Shooters are

Online uproar follows Canadian brand’s use of taiko drum at sponsored festival held to celebrate Chinese culture The activewear brand Lululemon has apologised after a promotional event held on the Great Wall of China appeared to mistakenly feature a Japanese drum, prompting an uproar. The Canadian-headquartered company, known for its upmarket leggings, has been growing rapidly in China and arranged for a yoga festival to take place in late May on a section of the wall near Beijing. Continue reading...

Major operation launched after spate of pet thefts in Ho Chi Minh City, according to local media Police in Vietnam have rescued more than 400 cats in a bust of a cat meat crime ring in Ho Chi Minh City, according to animal welfare groups and local media reports. More than 40 cats were reunited with their owners after the multiday operation last week, but several dozen of those rescued have died due to the harsh conditions in which they were found, the groups said. Continue reading...

Fashion house pays tribute to Chinese style with its 75th anniversary catwalk show in Shanghai “New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn’t even sit down.” For the British designer Ian Griffiths, who encountered this line in the New Yorker, it summed up why China’s biggest city was the right place to celebrate Max Mara’s 75th anniversary. “Max Mara is a product for metropolitan women, and it would be patronising to assume that a metropolitan wardrobe should be western-centric,” Griffiths said. Continue reading...

Japanese technology company at centre of Post Office IT scandal is negotiating settlement with UK government over faulty software Business live – latest updates The chair of Fujitsu, the Japanese technology firm at the centre of the Post Office IT scandal, has resigned after its board became aware of his “woman-related inappropriate conduct”. The company said on Tuesday that Hidenori Furuta had stepped down after two years in the role. Continue reading...

Country acts amid Iran war inflation pressures, but US Fed and Bank of England expected to hold rates Business live – latest updates The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has raised interest rates to a 31-year high as it tries to dampen inflationary pressures created by the Iran war. Policymakers in Tokyo raised the BoJ’s short-term policy rate by a quarter of one percentage point, to 1% from 0.75% , and warned that companies were passing on rising oil costs to each other at a “relatively fast pace”. Continue reading...

Follow today’s news live • Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast There were two small earthquakes in New South Wales this morning, according to Geoscience Australia. A 3.4 magnitude quake hit near Orange around 5.45am this morning, with at least 108 people reporting they felt the shakes. And a 3.2 magnitude temblor hit near Wilcannia two hours earlier. Just two people reported feeling that quake. If we’re given the choice between taking the easier path politically or doing the more difficult thing, but the right thing in the interests of particularly first home buyers,

David Farley was told One Nation’s policy was to fly only the Australian flag, party leader tells conference Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast One Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, says she “had to have a conversation” with the new Farrer MP, David Farley, after he appeared to defy her policies on immigration and flying Indigenous flags. Shortly before winning Farrer in May’s byelection – the first federal lower house seat One Nation has won outright – Farley said Labor’s current immigration intake of 306,000 was

Do the concessions undermine the original objective of helping young Australians buy their own home? No Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The noise, negative headlines and internet memes that have surrounded Labor’s capital gains tax changes since their budget night unveiling made a backdown feel like an inevitability. It wasn’t a question of if concessions would be offered but rather when and, most importantly, how much they might undermine the original purpose. Continue reading...

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show migration growth is above pre-pandemic levels but tracking steadily down Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Net overseas migration added 301,000 people to Australia’s population last year, the lowest increase since mid-2022 but still above the pre-pandemic pace. The new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics come amid an increasingly fraught political debate around immigration, after Pauline Hanson’s declaration that Australian society should be “monocultural” . Continue reading...

Boseley won for her high-profile, multiplatform political explainer series, Parliamen-Tea: explaining the chaos of Australian politics Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Guardian Australia’s Matilda Boseley ’s political explainer series Parliament-Tea was recognised at the 2026 Walkley mid-year media prizes, winning the young journalist award for innovative storytelling. The high-profile, multiplatform political explainer series, in which Boseley explained machinations in Australian parliament over a cup of tea, engaged a younger generation in national policy debate. The category recognises journalism that breaks standard structural moulds to

US defence secretary addresses allies in latest attempt to get Europe to raise military budgets Pete Hegseth has announced a review of the US military presence across Europe, in a combative address to Nato allies where he threatened to cut force numbers in countries spending the least on defence. The US defence secretary, speaking at a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels, accused some countries of “free riding” and others of being shameful for not allowing their airbases to be used by US jets bombing Iran in the spring. Continue reading...

Former negotiator believes in an unstable world, it is ‘perfectly possible’ the UK can rejoin the EU with old opt-outs UK could keep special pre-Brexit terms if it rejoined EU, Michel Barnier says A couple of years ago, Michel Barnier spent a weekend with Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley. It was not some ghoulish Brexit spin-off of The Traitors, but the result of the former EU negotiator’s wife, Isabelle, being a close friend of Johnson’s French cousin, Anne du Boucheron, the owner of Château de la Baronnière, a 19th-century estate in Mauges-sur-Loire, in western France. “We spent a weekend together in

Exclusive: Former chief Brexit negotiator says staying out of euro and Schengen area would be ‘perfectly possible’ ‘Cynical to get power’: Michel Barnier on Boris Johnson, Brexit and the EU’s future Michel Barnier has said Britain could regain its special terms if it rejoined the EU and claimed it was becoming clearer every day to the British people that they would be stronger in Europe. In an interview before the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum next week, the EU’s former chief Brexit negotiator said he could not see any obstacle to the UK keeping the pound and remaining outside

Ukraine’s president ramps up rhetoric after overnight drone strikes on Russian capital Hegseth makes it clear that the review will not be just a box-ticking exercise. “ It’s a review that some countries will fail and others will pass with flying colours. In the end, the review is intended to both improve US force posture and basing and strengthen Nato 3.0.” “It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading , stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe.” “ Where other allies do not spend with urgency, our dues,

Other lawmakers respond with ‘shame on you’ in heated confrontation over passing of plan to increase deportations Rightwing MEPs have come under fire after they celebrated a vote aimed at increasing deportations across the EU with chants of “send them back”, leading other lawmakers to respond with cries of “shame on you”. The heated confrontation in the European parliament came on Wednesday after lawmakers voted 418 to 218 to approve controversial measures aimed at increasing deportations of undocumented people. Continue reading...

In a sharp rebuke to critics of Trump’s deal with Iran, the vice-president referenced the billions in defence aid Israel recieves from the US News: Iran announces plans to bring in maritime fees for strait of Hormuz Analysis: Iran peace deal makes clear how far US has been forced to retreat since 2025 US vice-president JD Vance has lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal, saying Donald Trump is Israel’s only ally left in the world, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in defence aid ⁠the country receives from America. Vance was defending the deal ⁠

As US lifts its blockade, Tehran says fees to cover cost of managing waterway will come into effect at end of 60-day negotiation period Iran has announced plans to introduce a system of maritime fees in the strait of Hormuz in two months, after the 60-day period of negotiation that has been triggered by the signing of the memorandum of understanding. Tehran, claiming a historic victory over the US, said the strait was under its control and a European plan for a naval mission to escort ships though the strait would not be welcome. The US on Thursday lifted its

Musicians and production team understood to be facing same punishment after livestream of patriotic song The Iranian singer Parastoo Ahmadi and eight members of a production team, including musicians, have been reportedly sentenced to 74 lashes for performing in a concert livestreamed on Ahmadi’s YouTube channel in 2024. According to court documents, the criminal court of Qom province sentenced the artists to flogging, a two-year ban on leaving the country and a two-year ban on engaging in artistic activities on charges that include offending public decency through the production and publication of “vulgar and immoral content” online. Continue reading...

US president says he encourages Middle East countries to ‘maintain commitment to allowing our negotiations to beautifully unfold’ Reaction: Donald Trump’s Iran deal met with anger, relief and incredulity Analysis: Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable war Donald Trump had urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “stop blowing up buildings” during a phone call about Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper cited sources who overheard the phone conversation between the two leaders, whose relationship has grown increasingly hostile as the war raged on. Continue

Drivers feel some relief but prices still a dollar more per gallon overall since before US-Israel attack on Iran Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The average price of US gasoline fell to just under $4 a gallon on Thursday for the first time since March , following the announcement of a preliminary agreement between the US and Iran to end the war and reopen the strait of Hormuz. The development has provided some relief to drivers who have seen soaring costs amid Washington’s war with Iran . But filling up still remains more expensive than it

Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibition The Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions. In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was to take effect this week and prohibits “high rank, low rank, general mujahideen, or service staff” from using mobile phones. Continue reading...

Campaigners welcome announcement cutting levies on menstrual health items, but say their work to end period poverty is ‘far from over’ Pakistan plans to abolish “period tax”, in a victory for young campaigners who had taken the government to court over the charges. Finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that sanitary towels and related items were “daily necessities that are indispensable for women’s health, dignity and full participation in social activities”, and said he intended to remove the sales tax. Continue reading...

Relations at lowest ebb in years after Washington refuses to apologise for deaths in strait of Hormuz Fury has continued to mount in India over the US’s refusal to apologise for the deaths of Indian sailors killed in strikes in the strait of Hormuz, further straining relations between the two countries as their leaders meet at the G7 summit in France this week. Last week, three Indian seafarers, who were working on board commercial oil tankers, were killed when the US launched missile strikes on the vessel as it sailed through the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Arrest of Min Zin, who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy, comes just month after Trump visit to Beijing China has arrested a US scholar who writes about Myanmar and Chinese foreign policy on suspicion of spying. Min Zin was suspected of “engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security,” China’s ministry of foreign affairs spokesperson, Lin Jian, said on Friday. Continue reading...

Relatives of those killed on flight AI171 are still struggling to obtain answers about what happened When Sagar Patel’s mother boarded Air India flight AI171 on 12 June last year, she called her son as she always did before takeoff. The flight was due to leave Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport in Ahmedabad, in the western Indian state of Gujarat, and was destined for Gatwick. “We always had a little traditional thing,” said Patel, a business manager from London. “Once she got on the flight, she would sit down and call me. She’d tell me: ‘Yep, I’m on the flight. See

Result expected around 3am as Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor hopes a win over Reform UK will help force the prime minister to step aside Polls close in Makerfield byelection as Andy Burnham eyes No 10 Burnham brings in top economists before possible leadership run David Blunkett , the former Labour cabinet minister, has suggested that Keir Starmer should stand down after the Makerfield byelection. In an interview on the BBC’s Newsnight, Blunkett suggested that Starmer standing aside would be the best option for the party regardless of whether Andy Burnham wins tonight or loses. Continue reading...

Byelection loss suggests voters rebelled against SNP over Peter Murrell’s theft of £400,000 in party funds UK politics – live updates The Scottish National party (SNP) has lost the formerly safe seat of Aberdeen South in a shock loss to the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish Conservatives’ Douglas Lumsden beat the SNP’s Richard Thomson by 6,050 votes, with a 14.69% swing away from the SNP. The Tories vote share was 49.51%. Lumsden’s vote tally was 14,308, with Thomson on 8,258. Continue reading...

Officers arrest man on suspicion of attempted murder as child is treated in hospital for serious injuries A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure, Cambridgeshire police said. The force said officers were called to Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdonshire at 1.24pm on Thursday over “reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure”. Continue reading...

Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor predicted to beat Reform but Keir Starmer is unlikely to easily step aside Makerfield byelection – latest updates Polls have closed in Makerfield, Aberdeen South, and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, with the result in the north-west of England constituency byelection poised to decide the future of UK politics. The population of Makerfield , a constituency sitting just outside Wigan, has found itself at the centre of the British political world in recent weeks after Andy Burnham quit as mayor of Greater Manchester to contest the seat that he hoped would lead him not only to Westminster,

Labour mayor giving advisory roles to ex-Bank of England economist and others seen as attempt to reassure markets Makerfield byelection – latest updates Three economic heavyweights have been brought in to advise Andy Burnham as he attempts to reassure the markets before his possible return to parliament on Friday and challenge to Keir Starmer . Burnham is understood to be getting advice from Andy Haldane, a former Bank of England chief economist, as well as Richard Hughes, a former chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility and Jim O’Neill, a crossbench peer and former Treasury minister who worked on George

Former presidents, heads of state and celebrities converged on a lakefront park in Chicago’s South Side to dedicate the Obama Presidential Center Sign up for the Breaking News US email He calls the situation a “win-win” for the US. Vance is here, and he starts by claiming that Trump’s peace deal with Iran “is already bearing real fruits for the American people”, with 12.5m barrels going through the strait of Hormuz last night and gas prices dropping below $4 today for the first time since the conflict began. Continue reading...

Attack brings to at least 211 number of people killed as Trump administration targets alleged ‘narcoterrorists’ The US military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing three people, as the Trump administration wages a months-long campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America. The latest attack brings the number of people the US military has killed in boat strikes to at least 211 since the Trump administration began targeting people it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September. Continue reading...

Wealth tax criticized by billionaires and Gavin Newsom would levy a one-time 5% tax on residents worth over $1bn A popular proposal in California to impose a wealth tax on billionaires has gained enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in November, state officials announced on Wednesday. The news is set to intensify an already heated debate around the tax, which has pitted tech moguls and the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, against the labor union backing the measure. Continue reading...

Musical stars and retired politicians from less polarised era seeming antidote to cage fights on White House lawn The Barack Obama presidential center opened in Chicago on Thursday after more than a decade in the making amid a musical fanfare and paeans to democratic principles that evoked a previous age, all while delivering an implied rebuke to Donald Trump . Featuring appearances by a cast of musical stars and retired politicians from a less polarised era, it was a seemingly perfect antidote to the crass spectacle of cage fights on the White House lawn. Continue reading...

Legal team of alleged gunman, 28, reverses position on ‘extreme emotional disturbance’ defense after one day In a stunning reversal, Luigi Mangione’s legal team said on Thursday they would no longer pursue a psychiatric defense in his upcoming state trial over the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Just one day earlier , Mangione’s lawyers told Judge Gregory Carro they would pursue a defense claiming the 28-year-old was suffering an “extreme emotional disturbance” at the time of Thompson’s killing on 4 December 2024. Continue reading...

An autopsy has shown that an 11-year-old girl who went missing in France was raped before she died, an informed source said on Thursday, confirming suspicions in a case that has sparked public outrage. The girl, named as Lyhanna, went missing on May 29 in the southwestern town of Fleurance and her body was found in an abandoned silo almost a week later. Anger grew after it emerged that the main suspect, the 41-year-old father of a school friend, had twice before been formally accused of raping a...

White House officials bade farewell on Thursday to one of the two jets that have been used to transport US presidents for more than 30 years. The goodbye messages fuelled speculation that a Boeing 747 controversially gifted to US President Donald Trump by the Gulf emirate of Qatar is now set to enter service. “‘Well done, good and faithful servant. ‘The Last Ride’,” Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said in a post on social media with a picture of the iconic white and blue jet after...

⁠SpaceX’s bankers are preparing to meet investors as early as next week to discuss a bond offering of at least US$20 billion, two sources familiar with the matter said ‌on Thursday, as Elon Musk’s newly public company seeks funding for an ambitious and capital-intensive AI expansion. SpaceX’s AI ambitions come with a steep price tag, requiring tens of billions of dollars in investment for data centres, computing hardware and power infrastructure. The offering ⁠would mark the first time the...

A group linked to al-Qaeda claimed Thursday’s attack on the airport of Niger’s capital, Niamey, that killed at least 11 soldiers and two civilians, six months after other jihadists staged a large assault on the sensitive site. Twenty-two attackers were also killed as security forces repelled the raid on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey, Niger’s defence ministry said. Gunfire erupted early in the morning and rang out for hours near the airport, where a large military presence was...

New York City leaders including Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday vowed to work to put an end to the 150-year-old horse carriage industry in the wake of a teenager’s death. Romanch Mahajan, 18, was killed when a Central Park carriage horse bolted from its driver while he was on a family trip celebrating his high school graduation. Mahajan jumped out of the carriage after his mother fell out and he hit his head on the ground, his father, Deepak Mahajan, told The New York Times. “He was screaming,...

A man has ⁠been arrested ⁠on suspicion of attempted murder ⁠after a three-year-old boy ended up in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in central England on Thursday, resulting in him sustaining ‌critical injuries, police said. Cambridgeshire Police said officers were called following reports of an incident at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a zoo near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, which resulted in the boy being in the ⁠enclosure. The child has been taken to hospital with serious ‌injuries and is in a critical...

All living US ex-presidents – with the notable absence of current White House occupant Donald Trump – joined a star-studded line-up on Thursday for the opening of Barack Obama’s presidential centre in Chicago. Obama, 64, struck his trademark hopeful tone in a speech inaugurating the modernistic centre. The country’s first black president alluded to fears among many Americans that US democracy is in danger, winning applause with the phrase “no kings” – a popular anti-Trump protest slogan. But...

US President Donald Trump lashed out at critics of his agreement with Iran on Thursday, calling those who accused him of offering concessions to end the war “fools”, ahead of negotiations in Switzerland on implementing the deal. Oil prices tumbled after Trump and his Iranian counterpart separately signed their accord to end the Middle East war, with the Strait of Hormuz to reopen but two months of negotiations lying ahead. In a sudden development after uncertainty over when the deal agreed...

A British court has jailed two men linked to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London for up to 10 years for spying on activists, prompting immediate condemnation from the city government, which reiterated that their convictions involved “unfounded allegations and smearing”. Bill Yuen Chung-biu, an office manager at the HKETO, was sentenced to eight years in prison for assisting a foreign intelligence service on Thursday. Co-defendant Peter Wai Chi-leung, a security firm...

Israel’s foreign minister said on Thursday that he was severing all contact with the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas over reported remarks in which she allegedly compared Israel to the apartheid regime that once ruled South Africa. Diplomatic relations between Israel and the EU have come under heavy strain since the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, as well as over violence by Israeli settlers towards Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. On Thursday, Gideon Saar accused EU foreign...

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at Nato allies on Thursday, announcing a six-month Pentagon review of American forces in Europe whose outcome will depend on how fast the Europeans take responsibility for their own security. “This will be a real review. It will be designed to ensure that Nato is moving fast and irreversibly towards Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe,” he told his Nato counterparts in Brussels. Hegseth lambasted...

Keir Starmer is not on the ballot, but the UK prime minister’s future is on the line in a special election on Thursday. Voters in the Makerfield district of northwest England were electing a new lawmaker, and the leading contender is Andy Burnham of the governing Labour Party, the current mayor of Greater Manchester and oddsmakers’ favourite to be the next prime minister. If Burnham defeats a candidate from the anti-immigration party Reform UK and wins the seat for Labour, he is almost certain...

Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for a second time in a week and disrupted commercial flights at Moscow airports in one of its biggest drone attacks since Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour more than four years ago, Russian officials said on Thursday. Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian oil facilities, aiming to cut Moscow’s revenue for the war and make Russians feel the consequences of the invasion. Some areas have reported fuel shortages. The attack came hours after...

A massive ancient oak tree linked to the legend of Robin Hood may have been loved to death. The 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is believed to have died after it did not sprout leaves this spring, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said Thursday. Visitors who viewed the tree’s gnarled limbs and sprawling canopy in Nottingham over the past two centuries compressed the soil around it, making it difficult for rain to reach its roots, the conservation group said. The forest...

Scientists have found the oldest known evidence of the plague, which sparked deadly outbreaks dating back about 5,500 years ago – some 200 years earlier than previously thought. The disease has sickened humans for thousands of years and wiped out a significant chunk of Europe’s population in the 14th century during what’s known as the Black Death. Though rare, the plague is still around today and is treated with antibiotics. “To understand our own history, we believe that understanding the...

A teenager thrown to the ground Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away from its driver has died, according to police. The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3pm, according to the New York Police Department. At least two passengers were sent flying out of the careening cab. The teenager was initially hospitalised in critical condition, while the other passengers refused medical treatment. The four...

As US President Donald Trump moves to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through a peace deal with Iran, major shipping companies such as Maersk are likely to stop short of resuming normal operations in the near term amid lingering concerns about the waterway’s security and the durability of the agreement, according to observers. Some industry insiders said the deal’s impact on the global shipping industry would hinge on whether the United States extended sanctions relief beyond the initial agreement,...

A senior US official on Wednesday released the text of an agreement reached between Washington and Tehran to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after months of conflict had battered the global economy and sent oil prices soaring. The outline of the agreement, titled “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran”, was released following days of pushback over the Trump administration’s lack of transparency. US President...

US President Donald Trump is happy with Canada’s arrangement to allow a capped number of Chinese electric vehicles to be imported at a low-tariff rate, Prime Minister Mark Carney said. When asked about Carney’s comment, Trump did not express explicit approval, but said he could understand the quota. The deal, unveiled during Carney’s trip to Beijing in January, allows as many as 49,000 Chinese EVs in a 12-month period at a tariff rate of around 6 per cent, with that quota to climb gradually over...

A top Huawei Technologies executive’s admission that the Chinese telecoms company illegally conducted business in Iran can be used in the coming US trial against Huawei, according to a judge’s ruling filed in Brooklyn federal court on Tuesday. Chief Financial ‌Officer Meng Wanzhou made the admission as part of a 2021 deal to dismiss the criminal charges she faced in the case. In a four-page statement of facts, Meng acknowledged lying to a financial institution about Huawei’s compliance with...

The US Federal ⁠Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, but policymakers expect a hike in borrowing costs later this year amid growing concerns about inflation lodged above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. New quarterly projections showed nine Fed officials now anticipate a hike in rates by the end of 2026, and an updated policy statement removed language that had been used to flag the likelihood of further reductions in borrowing costs this year. Indeed, the statement, in an...

⁠Luigi Mangione, the man accused of ⁠gunning down a health insurance executive in Manhattan, plans to argue at his murder trial that he was undergoing an extreme mental health crisis at the time of the alleged killing, a judge revealed at a hearing on Wednesday. The strategy poses ‌steep legal hurdles but could lead to a jury convicting Mangione of the lesser crime of manslaughter, which carries significantly lighter sentences. Mangione, who appeared in court in a dark suit and white shirt, is...

US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attempted to defuse escalating tensions over the recent killing of three Indian sailors by American naval forces off the coast of Oman. Speaking to the media after their first bilateral meeting in 16 months, Trump said both Washington and New Delhi continue to “work together” on the issue, calling commercial vessel operations “a rough profession”. “I heard about that,” Trump added, without offering any condolences or...

US President Donald Trump sought on Wednesday to frame his vague arrangement aimed at ending a questionable war as a major win that would bring the conflict to a close, reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz and prevent Iran from “ever” obtaining a nuclear weapon. “On Sunday, we reached an agreement with Iran that achieves everything we set out to accomplish, everything and much more,” the US president said at a press conference in France on the sidelines of the Group of 7 (G7) economies. “When I...

After decades waiting for justice, relatives of women murdered by New York’s Gilgo Beach serial killer laid into him on Wednesday before he was sentenced to life in prison. He told them: “I am responsible” for the crimes. “The words I would say would have no meaning,” added Rex Heuermann, the Long Island architect who lived a secret life of violence for years before admitting he killed eight women. The sentencing capped an extraordinary investigation that solved one of New York’s most perplexing...

From free marketeers to long-term interventionists, EU countries of all stripes are converging on the need for urgent action to prevent a Chinese-driven European deindustrialisation ahead of a key summit in Brussels, multiple sources said on Wednesday. A broad coalition of members now support the development of a tough new trade strategy that could involve multiple new instruments and a more rapid-fire, strategic use of existing weapons. One of the tools could be modelled on US President Donald...

When Iran’s ⁠Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi announced the interim deal this week to end the ⁠war with the United States, he declared his country the victor. To many Iranians, it does not feel that way. More than three months of US and Israeli air strikes, and a blockade of Iranian ports, have poured new misery on a people already toiling under years of sanctions. Although the war is over – for now – Iranians are still watching their spending carefully. Few of the supporters and opponents of the...

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Wednesday that his country’s negotiations with Israel in Washington were independent of the US-Iran deal to bring an end to the Middle East conflict. Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and separate their conflict from the wider regional war. But the announcement on Monday of the US-Iran deal, which Iran and mediator Pakistan say includes Lebanon, has...

Government workers in different parts of Afghanistan have started switching off their smartphones, following an order imposed on Wednesday that they said came from Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. A letter announcing the ban on smartphones for all government employees started circulating on social media last week under the emblem of the Supreme Court, which has not responded to requests to comment. “All the heads of departments in their respective provinces are advised to inform their...

In 1996, the bestselling China Can Say No, co-authored by a group of intellectuals, reflected a nascent rejection of worship of the West and a rise in Chinese nationalism. Thirty years on, China is not just saying “no” to the West, it possesses the strategic leverage to hit back, underpinned by its dominance in global supply chains, rare earth minerals and critical green technologies. China’s confidence is perhaps most evident in its rebuttals and forceful countermeasures against Western claims...

The fatal shooting in eastern Poland of a Russian artist known for his caricatures of Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely politically motivated, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday. “All indications are that this is a political murder,” Tusk said of the killing of Semyon Skrepetsky, whose real name is Robert Kuzovkov. “If it was commissioned by Russia, then this is also a very serious matter with an international dimension.” According to Polish officials, Skrepetsky was...

US President Donald Trump suspended a Senate hearing on Jay Clayton’s nomination for intelligence chief, saying on Wednesday he wanted to be sure Clayton’s current post as prosecutor would be filled by the man of his choosing. In a game of musical chairs, Trump picked Clayton, who headed the Securities and Exchange Commission during the president’s first term in office, as his director of national intelligence (DNI). Clayton has served as US attorney for the Southern District of New York – one...

Over 1,100 foreign citizens received Russian visas last year for their declared commitment to “traditional values”, state media reported on Wednesday, a track opened as Moscow hardens its anti-liberal narrative amid the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has for years denounced anything that goes against what he calls “traditional family values” as unRussian – including everything from LGBTQ rights to mixed-gender bathrooms – portraying them as a sign of the moral decadence of the...

The recent escalation in the Middle East has produced an unforeseen winner. The conflict has rekindled worries about logistics and energy security, prompting governments and businesses to reconsider their reliance on fossil fuels and fragile supply routes. This has sped up the move towards renewable energy. And the principal beneficiary of this shift is China. The strategic significance of the Strait of Hormuz is well understood. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil trade passes through this...

Norway’s ⁠Crown Princess Mette-Marit has undergone ⁠a successful lung transplant and is recovering ⁠from the procedure, the royal household said in a statement on Wednesday. The 52-year-old wife of Crown Prince Haakon, the heir to the Norwegian throne, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2018, a chronic disease that causes scarring in the lungs and leads to a reduced oxygen uptake. The hospital said the transplant had “so far” been successful, ‌in a statement provided by the palace, but...

For years, Washington described India as an indispensable partner, a democratic counterweight to China and a strategic anchor in the Indo-Pacific. Then the US Navy killed three Indian sailors and America’s top diplomat could not even bring himself to apologise. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar raised the deaths directly with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call last Friday, reiterating what he called India’s “strong protest” and declaring, in a later social media...

A new political party called Restore Britain is threatening the rise of Nigel Farage’s hard-right group, with a tougher anti-immigrant stance and the backing of tech trillionaire Elon Musk. Led by businessman and ex-football chairman Rupert Lowe, Restore is tipped to deprive Farage’s Reform UK party of victory over the ruling Labour Party in a crunch special election on Thursday. Lowe, 68, formed Restore as an alternative on the right of British politics in February following his split from...

Captain Raman Kapoor was loading oil at an Iraqi port when word reached him that the United States and Iran were at war. Within hours, his tanker was trapped north of the Strait of Hormuz with 24 crew members aboard, as missiles began arcing across the sky overhead. “We were stuck inside the war zone and everyone was so scared and clueless about what to do,” Kapoor, 48, recalled. “We all felt so trapped. We were helpless, totally helpless.” He and his crew would stay that way for 75 days. The...

The leaders of the world’s richest democracies are talking about how to tackle some of the world’s biggest problems this week, but hot mics at the G7 summit revealed that conversations also covered lighter fare. Sports. Cigarettes. The weather. And something about Greenland? As world leaders made their way into conference rooms at a lakeside resort, microphones set up for their weighty discussions about war and trade often caught off-the-cuff banter. Meloni quit smoking Italian Prime Minister...

One of US President Donald Trump’s pet beauty projects for Washington was supposed to make the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool look blue, like part of the US flag. Enter Mother Nature. Algae has proliferated in the water, turning it a swampy green. “Can you see it in my photos? Oh well, I’ll just use a filter to hide the algae,” said Farrah Lu, a 43-year-old tourist from China. The invasion comes just days after the completion of the pool repainting project, part of Trump’s drive to put his...

SpaceX roared past Amazon’s market valuation on Tuesday ⁠and briefly topped that of Microsoft, rapidly scaling the list of the world’s most valuable companies on a topsy-turvy trading day fuelled by frenzied action in the firm’s newly listed option contracts. SpaceX shares rose 4.8 per cent to close at US$201.80, giving Elon Musk’s company a market value of roughly US$2.655 trillion – some US$800 billion more than its value when it sold its record initial public offering last week and about...

The race for artificial intelligence has hardened into a two-power contest between the United States and China, fought over rare earths, data and the rules governing the technology, with Latin America and Europe sidelined, Brazil’s top foreign policy adviser said on Tuesday. Celso Amorim, a former foreign and defence minister, made the case at the Forte de Copacabana International Security Conference in Rio de Janeiro, an annual forum run by the Brazilian Centre for International Relations with...

As trade tensions between Beijing and Brussels continue to rise, China’s firms in the European Union have been forced to walk a delicate tightrope: expanding their presence in the lucrative market while grappling with heightened regulatory hurdles and rapid geopolitical shifts. In the second part of this three-part series, we look at whether China and the EU are heading for a full-blown trade conflict. Last week, Beijing gathered more than a dozen Chinese companies in Berlin for a forum with a...

The Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue is back in the diplomatic conversation. It has not formally restarted, and no summit is on the horizon. But the signals are here. In 2025, Moscow again pushed for reviving the RIC format. India said any meeting would have to be arranged in a “mutually convenient manner”, a cautious but open formula. China said it was willing to maintain communication with Russia and India on trilateral cooperation. This month, Russian President Vladimir Putin again spoke...

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang – whose work helped enable artificial intelligence – stressed in an interview on Tuesday that society has no choice but to change in the advent of AI. Huang has been optimistic about the technology’s potential to rapidly change society, creating faster economic growth and more scientific breakthroughs. But as the head of a computer chip company now developing AI systems, Huang has felt obliged to respond to critics who warn of job losses and threats to humanity...

New York City found a reason to party on Thursday, cheering, crying and climbing around Broadway to celebrate the Knicks’ N.B.A. championship.

Fans gathered in Manhattan on Thursday to cheer on the N.B.A. champions at a parade that has been 53 years in the making.

The book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan of The New York Times, “Regime Change,” reveals a host of details and surprising exchanges as President Trump pushed to drastically expand his power.

The defense secretary described the vaccine requirement, which he lifted in April, as an “absurd, overreaching” mandate.

The White House insists that private donations are paying for a new ballroom, but the administration is using taxpayer money for a series of security upgrades.

The director of national intelligence’s office was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Now some lawmakers want to shrink it.

Two members of Gov. Jared Polis’s board that reviews commutation requests came forward to say the secretive panel had twice rejected the release of Tina Peters, convicted of election tampering.

The Major Oak in the Sherwood Forest was between 800 and 1,200 years old. It succumbed to a combination of over-tourism, climate change and misguided efforts to save it.

British archaeologists may have found the remains of a site where people celebrated the solstice thousands of years ago, a few miles from the famed stone circle.

I emigrated from the Soviet Union decades ago, and recently toured Thomas Jefferson’s home with my American-born history-buff son.

Thursday’s opening drew four former presidents, as well as Bruce Springsteen, Bono and Jennifer Hudson. Chicago has seen years of planning and legal fights.

The Obamas each took to the microphone, delivering speeches before a crowd of dignitaries, elected officials and Democratic supporters.

Celebrity guests paid winking homage to President Obama’s notorious tan suit.

The story of one progressive activist arrested in Minnesota in January shows what critics say is the aggressive nature of the Trump administration’s response to those who have protested its immigration crackdown.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to sell or give away most of the 11 warehouses it bought to detain migrants, reversing course on a signature initiative.

An 18-year-old was ejected after a carriage horse bolted on Wednesday as the driver took a photograph. It was unclear how long the voluntary shutdown might last.

The case, which resulted in a short jail sentence despite years of alleged abuse, has drawn outcry in Texas. So have the attempts to politicize it.

Thomas Kean Jr. has missed three months of votes in Washington and has not been on the campaign trail in his New Jersey district because of an unexplained health condition.

President Trump’s grip on the capital loomed over the race, and he threatened to tighten it if Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George is elected. She almost certainly will be.

The spectacle seemed targeted to the young male voters drifting away from the president. Some were skeptical.

The “Law & Order: SVU” actress “was really scared” about starring in “Every Brilliant Thing.” Who does she look to for inspiration? The Knicks, of course.

I asked the vice president what is Christian about this White House.

America and Israel have snatched defeat from victory.

The author of books like “The Possible Human,” she held workshops that drew on mythology, psychology and the experiential ethos of Esalen. But she refused to be called a guru.