Minimalist News

AI Tax Increases Are Like The Tractor Tax Proposals Of Old Authored by Bruce Thompson via RealClearMarkets , President Ronald Reagan famously described Washington politicians' solutions to every problem as "if it moves, tax it." That is exactly what many in Washington today want to do with artificial intelligence. As Wall Street Journal chief economic commentator Greg IP wrote recently, a growing number of experts believe there is "a simple answer to AI job losses." Tax it. His column described a petition signed by 1,000 economists, including 17 Nobel laureates, pleading for higher taxes on AI to prevent "large scale"

Online Betting Adoption Goes Parabolic: First-Timers Triple, Gen Z Overtakes Millennials, And Football Season Hasn't Even Begun Online betting is off to the races - and this summer the adoption curve started looking like a hockey stick. According to a new analysis by Bank of America - which can see every ACH, debit and credit card payment its customers make to and from sportsbooks, horse-racing platforms and prediction markets their own customers make: Roughly 5% of BofA customers sent money to an online betting platform in July. The number of online bettors is up 40% since the start of the

Cannabis Gummies Harm Driving Performance Hours After Use, Study Says Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times , The use of commercially available cannabis edibles impairs people's driving ability, even after several hours of consumption, a study has found. Published in the JAMA Network Open journal on Aug. 31, the peer-reviewed study looked at simulated driving performance after the consumption of cannabis edibles. Conducted in a Canadian hospital, the study analyzed data of 40 people aged 19-45 years. They received gummies containing delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the main psychoactive chemical in cannabis that causes brain-altering effects. Various combinations of THC

This Red State Is Betting It Can Abolish Its Income Tax The data center debate isn't going so well for the builders, as Americans far and wide seriously oppose the construction of new data centers near where they live . One state, however, thinks it can incentivize residents. Country roads take West Virginians home across the Virginia state line near Charles Town, where the data center debate has intensified. (Charlie Creitz/Fox News) Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) has unveiled seven principles aligned with 2025 legislation to reduce and eventually eliminate state income tax. Under the plan, West Virginia would set

Victor Davis Hanson: The Left Is Dragging America Back To The Dark Ages Via The Daily Signal , Editor's note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today's video from Daily Signal senior contributor Victor Davis Hanson . Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal. The more you look around us today, I think a good description of 2026, culturally, economically, socially, politically , is that we are in a modern medieval world. Maybe we're progressive regressives, and I don't mean that just in the sense

El Nino Crushes Atlantic Hurricane Activity, Lowest Since 1941 The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season arrives next Thursday , yet by this point the basin would normally have produced multiple systems tracking through the Caribbean, the Gulf of America, and the open Atlantic. This year, however, a strengthening El Niño and record vertical wind shear are tearing apart disturbances before they can rapidly intensify . Bloomberg reports that only five short-lived tropical storms have formed this season, and none has intensified into a hurricane. The Atlantic has not recorded so little activity at this point in the season since

Asian Oil Buying Spree Sends Dubai Crude Toward $100 Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com , Stronger appetite for Middle Eastern crude grades from China and India has added upward pressure on prices for these grades , pushing the Dubai futures close to $100 per barrel, Bloomberg reported today, citing unnamed traders. Demand for Middle Eastern oil is especially strong from refining majors such as Indian Oil Corp. and PetroChina, as well as refiners in South Korea and Japan, the report said. This is despite the latest escalation between the United States and Iran, with Saudi Arabia's oil exports dropping

Vance Suggests Iran Conflict Could Drag Through Midterms, But At Least We're Not Calling It A War The White House has returned to its prior talking point that the war against Iran shouldn't be called a war. In earlier stages of the conflict President Trump had applied various monikers that stopped far short, from an "excursion" to a "little detour" to a "stopover" to a mere limited "military operation". A full five months ago he had proclaimed , "We had to take a little detour. Won’t be long." Various phrases like this have been repeated on a monthly basis, as

Brazilian Lift: Diplomats Accused Of Helping Fugitive 'Dr. Frankenstein' To Flee US Authored by Jonathan Turley via JonathanTurley.org , There is an intriguing story out of Brazil where Joao Arajuo, 57, a plastic surgeon known as " Dr. Frankenstein, " resurfaced after cutting an ankle monitor and fleeing the United States . The infamous plastic surgeon mocked the police and recounted how easy it was to flee the country. However, in detailing his escape, he implicated Brazilian diplomats in actively assisting the flight, making them accessories after the fact. Araujo was awaiting trial for a variety of crimes linked to

Excavation Work On Trump's Arch To Begin Over Next 2 Weeks, Burgum Says Excavation work on President Donald Trump's triumphal arch is scheduled to begin over the next two weeks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Sept. 3. "This will be one of the great pieces of American architecture, honoring the history and significance of Arlington Cemetery and befitting the most powerful capital in the world," Burgum said in a post on X. Burgum also included pictures of what the arch would look like. The proposed monument would include a mezzanine level at 166 feet, a 24-foot-high observation deck, and

States Must Report Illegal Immigrants To Feds Or Risk Losing Federal Welfare Funding: DOJ Authored by Troy Myers via The Epoch Times , States must alert the federal government to known illegal immigrants when they opt into receiving certain federal welfare benefits, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday. The move withdraws a 1998 DOJ opinion and clarifies that under a 1996 welfare-reform law - the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act - all state agencies, including those that administer welfare funding, have the duty to report individuals unlawfully in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security

Missouri House Candidate Accused Of Plotting To Plant Cocaine On Primary Rival A Republican candidate for the Missouri state House is facing a federal charge after authorities accused him of orchestrating a plot to secretly place drugs on a political rival, CBS affiliate KOLR-TV reported. Thomas Ross, 37, who sought Missouri's House District 161 seat representing the Joplin area, was charged Wednesday in connection with the alleged scheme targeting primary opponent Louise Secker. Missouri House Candidate Thomas Ross Investigators have accused Ross of directing his former campaign manager to put cocaine and a prescription amphetamine pill among Secker's belongings ,

Insurrection For Real Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Clusterfuck Nation , "The Democrat agenda is to legalize crime and criminalize the middle class." - Stephen Miller Not to put too fine a point on it: but whenever a lawfare ninja of the Democratic Party utters the phrase "our democracy," you must know that they are completely full of shit. For sure, they do not mean anything remotely related to an American commonweal, as understood by people of sound mind and good faith. What they mean by "our democracy" is the state as a racketeering operation run for the sole

Mistrial Formally Declared In Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial After State Supremes Refuse Stay Update (1505ET): The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied an emergency stay Friday afternoon in the Lindsay Clancy case , after which the judge formally declared a mistrial. JUST IN - Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt is hearing Lindsay Clancy's defense appeal to stay the mistrial judgement. pic.twitter.com/zOiGYlY9gv — Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 4, 2026 Clancy, a former labor-and-delivery nurse, is charged with first-degree murder in the January 2023 strangling deaths of her three children (ages 5, 3, and 8 months) in Duxbury. The defense argued she

IRS, Treasury Propose Cutting Tax-Exempt Status For Schools With Diversity Policies Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times , The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would strip private colleges and schools of their tax-exempt status if those institutions engaged in racial discrimination through policies such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday that a proposed rule would bar a private school from obtaining tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code if the school "adopts, maintains, or enforces a policy or practice that

Argentina's Milei Escalates Falklands Dispute With Oil Sanctions On UK, Israeli Firms Argentina's President Milei has announced plans to sign a decree sanctioning companies working on oil exploration of the Falkland Islands , coming a mere days after President Trump indicated that the US position on the archipelago was "under review" . The Libertarian-Right firebrand leader proclaimed quite provocatively that "The Falkland Islands are Argentinian, historically and legally. There is no debate " and added that the "winds of change" have more lately favored Argentina's claim. Milei characterized the Falkland's Sea Lion Project , which is based out of what

Pentagon, HHS Investigating Whether COVID Vaccines Contributed To Military Deaths Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness , The Trump administration is investigating whether COVID-19 vaccines contributed to the deaths of U.S. service members following the Biden administration's military vaccine mandate, according to testimony from an Army doctor assigned to the effort. Army physician Theresa Long said in an Aug. 14 federal court deposition that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailed her to serve as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s senior medical military adviser. Long said she is examining 2,544 unverified reports of deaths among service members submitted to

Deutsche Bank: August US Auto Sales Beat Forecasts, But Incentives Remain A Factor U.S. auto sales came in stronger than expected in August, offering another sign that consumer demand for new vehicles remains relatively resilient despite elevated borrowing costs and broader questions about the economy. According to Deutsche Bank’s auto team, led by Edison Yu, August sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of roughly 16.9 million vehicles. That was comfortably ahead of the bank’s 16.4 million estimate and also above the roughly 16.4 million pace recorded a year earlier. The headline SAAR number was strong, although the underlying

Trump Admin Asks Supreme Court To Unblock New Mail-Ballot Rules Before States Start Mailing Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times , The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 3 to allow the government to begin implementing a regulation that tightens rules around mail-in voting. In the emergency application , U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices to stay U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani's Aug. 27 order that blocks the United States Postal Service (USPS) from enforcing a final rule published Aug. 26. The rule implements Section 3 of President Donald Trump's Executive Order

Enes Kanter Freedom Files Lawsuit After Chicago Sky Ejection, Ban Authored by Timothy Frudd via The Epoch Times , Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom filed a lawsuit on Sept. 3 after he was ejected during a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) game and banned from future games. Kanter Freedom sued the Chicago Women's Basketball Operations, LLC, which operates the Chicago Sky. The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the City of Chicago were also named in the complaint. The lawsuit alleged that the three entities conspired and acted together to discriminate against Kanter Freedom based on his "verbal and

US president suggests he might support his Argentinian acolyte’s drive to reclaim sovereignty of disputed islands Donald Trump has long embraced vengeance. “I am your retribution,” he declared to an admiring audience at the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) as he commenced his march back to the White House. It is unlikely Argentina, and far-flung holdovers of the former British empire, were on the US president’s mind at the time. Continue reading...

Abelardo De La Espriella posts video of himself with rows of body bags as performative populism continues to sweep Americas Colombia’s hardline president, Abelardo De La Espriella, has provoked outrage after posting a video on social media in which he strides through rows of white body bags that he says contained the corpses of 23 “neutralised” guerrillas. De La Espriella took power last month vowing “all-out war” against illegal armed groups and he published the footage on Thursday in an apparent attempt to show he was fulfilling that pledge. Continue reading...

President cites Trump’s suggestion that he might reconsider US stance on British sovereignty and threatens swifter sanctions on UK oil interests President Javier Milei has said “winds of change” favourable to Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands are blowing around the world in a televised address, citing signs that Donald Trump may reconsider the US position on the islands’ sovereignty. “Recently, President Trump declared that the US is re-evaluating its historic position in relation to the Malvinas,” he said, using the Argentinian name for the islands. Continue reading...

Ed Miliband says Britain’s position remains ‘unwavering’ in response to remarks by Argentina’s president UK politics live – latest updates British ministers have hit back after the Argentinian president said “winds of change” favourable to his country’s claim to the Falklands were “blowing around the world”. The foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, said the UK would “resolutely uphold” the self-determination of the islands after the Argentinian president, Javier Milei, said his country needed to take them back. Continue reading...

Opposition leader says interim government lacking democratic mandate to negotiate on natural resources • The US and Venezuela: a century-old relationship drenched in oil The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has questioned Donald Trump’s oil deal with Venezuela’s interim government, saying the country’s natural resources do not belong to “an illegitimate regime”. In her first public comments since Trump announced what he called “the biggest oil deal in world history” with Venezuela last Friday, Machado walked a diplomatic tightrope between challenging the agreement and trying not to rile the White House. Continue reading...

Seoul reportedly seeking parliamentary approval to send military assets to Middle East but president’s office plays down claims South Korea is reviewing a possible deployment of military assets to the strait of Hormuz amid pressure from Donald Trump over Seoul’s reluctance to provide support in the region, according to domestic media reports. Citing unnamed government and military sources, the reports published on Thursday and Friday said preparations were under way and that the government intended to seek parliamentary approval for a new deployment. The reports, which appeared in major South Korean outlets, said the exact scale and timing had not

Jump lifts currency to highest level against dollar in a month, while global markets remain jittery Business live – latest updates The Japanese yen has soared by more than 2% against the dollar amid speculation the Bank of Japan is set to raise interest rates. The latest jump on Thursday lifted the yen to its highest level against the dollar in a month, at 155.57, and followed a 0.9% move the previous day. Continue reading...

Oil consumption plummets and EV sales soar as analysts say demand may not fully return even if crude price falls China’s carbon dioxide emissions fell by 1% after the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, thanks to a sharp reduction in oil consumption and a steady rise in the use of electric vehicles and public transport, analysis shows. The report reveals the role of clean energy in cushioning the price shocks caused by the strait of Hormuz crisis to the world’s biggest oil importer. It also reinforces hopes that China, which is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, may

Speed limit dropped from 60km/h for around 70% of general roads in the hope of making narrow streets of crowded cities safer Drivers on residential roads in Japan have been forced to take their foot off the accelerator, after the speed limit was slashed from 60km/h (37mph) to 30km/h in an attempt to reduce deaths and injuries among pedestrians on narrow urban streets. The new limit, which went into effect on Tuesday, applies to residential roads with no centre line or maximum speed signs, media reports said. Continue reading...

Wong, 29, is accused of urging foreign powers to impose sanctions, blockades and other hostile measures against China Joshua Wong , one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy activists, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to conspiring to seek foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and China, a national security charge that carries a maximum life sentence. Prosecutors have accused Wong, 29, of working with the exiled Hong Kong activist Nathan Law to urge foreign powers to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China. Continue reading...

A total fire ban is in place for greater Sydney with extreme fire danger exacerbated by hot and windy conditions Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Summer heat is due to arrive early across much of eastern Australia with potentially record early September temperatures predicted for Brisbane and Sydney, while snow was expected in southern New South Wales. Maximum temperatures in Sydney during the first days of September were on track to match the city’s midsummer average of 26.4C, warmer than any other start to spring since the city’s Observatory Hill station opened in

Cotality says prices have declined in most capital cities over winter. Search the data to see how they have changed in your area Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s property market is facing a rare price correction, as rising interest rates and less favourable tax settings for investors accelerate a downturn. Most capital cities recorded winter price falls, according to Cotality data, with Sydney leading the decline. That weakness is expected to continue, as higher inflation could lead to further interest rate hikes , denting demand. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast ‘Gut-wrenching’: Bowen to meet with Nepali community today Chris Bowen said he would meet members of the Nepali Australian community later today. Every person who’s been rescued or found is a relief to their family and to the broader Australian community. But of course, we still have 36 Australians who are missing and unaccounted for, which is just gut-wrenching for all Australians and for the Nepalese Australian community in particular, whom I’m spending time with later today. But all I can say is

Charles says claims by developer Jean Nassif in an intercepted phone call that ‘we’re reshuffling the government’ did not reflect promises allegedly made to Nassif Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The younger brother of Dominic Perrottet has denied asking his brother to appoint a cabinet minister to achieve outcomes for a property developer, a corruption inquiry has heard. Charles Perrottet told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Friday that claims made in an intercepted phone call featuring developer Jean Nassif days before his

‘Challenging’ weather conditions and lack of snowfall are being blamed after a winter that broke multiple heat records Sign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter here Major Australian alpine resorts are closing their ski operations up to a month early after a winter that broke multiple records for heat with limited snow falls being washed away by rain. Predictions in June that a building El Niño could combine with global heating for a challenging ski season came to pass , with seven resorts either already closed or announcing ski lifts will stop operating this

Irish boxer lauded for her tenacity and inspiration before her last fight in front of 80,000 people at Croke Park When Katie Taylor steps into the ring on Saturday night to defend her titles and once again enthral Ireland, there will be a bittersweet tinge. After a singular career that pioneered women’s boxing, the super-lightweight champion and Olympic gold medallist is bowing out. She is 40 and it is to be her final bout. “The end of an era, isn’t it?” said Trevor McMahon, her brother-in-law and founder of a gym where she trains. “It’ll be an amazing night but

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt Polls have suggested that the election on Sunday could yield Germany’s first-ever state government led by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), shattering a postwar taboo and leaving minorities’ fate in the hands of a party that has promised to launch deportations “from day one”. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has told SBU to deliver ‘appropriate, tangible response’ to Kyiv strike The head office of Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency has been hit in a Russian drone attack, sending plumes of black smoke rising into the air in the heart of Kyiv. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he had instructed the SBU to deliver an “appropriate, tangible response” to the strike, while the foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, described it as a “major escalation”. Continue reading...

Belarusian said to have had tourist visa issued by Italy is investigated over alleged attempt to attack Leipzig airport Germany is urging its European partners to introduce tighter limitations on Russian citizens entering the EU on tourist visas, after recent sabotage attacks which Berlin has blamed on Moscow . German authorities are investigating a Belarusian national, who also holds a Russian passport, over the alleged attempt to attack Leipzig airport using drones and explosives. Continue reading...

Russian and Ukrainian strikes in July killed more crew than in whole war to that month, preventing grain exports A summer of hostilities in the Black Sea proved deadly for seafarers, as Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s ships and port infrastructure, preventing vital grain exports and prompting concerns that the conflict will push global food prices even higher. More crew were killed in the Black Sea in July than during the entirety of the war before that month as the conflict has intensified , making the body of water the most dangerous in the world for commercial shipping. This

The Israeli army had helped plan the delivery of food aid on 1 April 2024, but things went wrong from the beginning and ended in seven deaths • Exclusive: why seven international aid workers were killed in Israeli airstrike On the evening of 1 April 2024, a team of aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) stood on Gaza’s Mediterranean shore overseeing the unloading of a barge full of desperately needed food on a makeshift jetty made of sand and rubble. The Gaza war had been raging for six months and Israel’s closure of land crossings had left the whole

Exclusive: Guardian investigation reveals targeting of World Central Kitchen convoy was result of widely used military tactic • Death on the road to Rafah: the night the IDF targeted World Central Kitchen aid workers Seven aid workers killed in an airstrike in Gaza were marked as targets under an Israeli military practice of establishing guilt by association, a Guardian investigation shows. A top Israeli military prosecutor announced last month that he would not pursue criminal proceedings for the April 2024 incident in which drones fired missiles at three clearly marked World Central Kitchen (WCK) cars soon after they had escorted

Troops escort settlers into al-Mughayyir and raze village outside Hebron as ethnic cleansing of West Bank continues Israelis have shot dead two teenagers in a Palestinian village encircled by settlers, and Israeli troops have razed an entire village outside Hebron, in the latest attacks in a surge of Israeli terror and ethnic cleansing across the occupied West Bank. The shootings targeted Khalil Abu Alia, 16, who was about to start 11th grade at the al-Mughayyir boys school, and 19-year-old Omar al-Nassan, who graduated from the same institution with top marks this summer. Continue reading...

Family-run Al-Qarara Seed Bank is striving to help Palestinians gain sovereignty over their food security Salama Ayesh Muhanna still remembers the first seeds he planted on his family’s land in al-Qarara, Gaza. At just 17, Muhanna had proudly sprouted cucumbers. “I was very happy because I saw the results,” Muhanna says. “We were farmers at heart.” Continue reading...

Mourning turns to anger as residents of Kuhestak say Baloch communities are being placed in path of conflict People in Kuhestak, a predominantly Baloch city in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, are mourning after a strike on a wedding killed at least four people, including a child, and injured more than 60, according to local authorities. The blast hit at around 9.30pm on 1 September, turning a night of celebration into one of devastation for the small coastal community, which is on the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Officials say pair were rescued from Trishuli 3A hydropower tunnel in Nepal after being trapped at depth of 170 metres Two people have been pulled out alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after deadly flash floods buried the projects in deep mud and left them trapped. The workers were rescued during an operation at the Trishuli 3A tunnel, a hydropower project in one of the areas worst affected by last week’s floods , according to the army spokesperson Brig Gen Raja Ram Basnet. Continue reading...

About 46 people believed to be trapped in ‘room-like’ structure inside hydro plant tunnel on Nepal-Tibet border After the flood: human suffering on an unfathomable scale in Nepal’s worst-hit districts Nepal authorities have said they are “confident” that dozens of workers in Nepal’s Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant are still alive, more than a week after deadly flash floods left them trapped in an underground chamber. Authorities said that at least 639 workers were still missing from hydropower plants built along Nepal’s Bhote Koshi and Triushuli rivers. Continue reading...

Bangladeshi complainants allege Rampal power station’s pollution and climate risks threaten the Sunderbans, a world heritage site Barclays Bank is facing a formal complaint over its financial links to a coal-fired power station near the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and home to millions of people in Bangladesh and India. Three complainants from the region have submitted a case to the UK government’s Office for Responsible Business Conduct, alleging that the British bank breached international guidelines by underwriting companies involved in the emission-heavy Maitree super thermal power project, also known as the Rampal power plant. Continue reading...

Several missing Australians have been found since Tuesday morning, bringing the total citizens unaccounted for to 38 Australians missing in the Nepal floods: what we know so far A total of five Australians missing after devastating floods ravaged the Nepal-Tibet border last week have been found. Of the five Australians confirmed safe, one was found in Nepal, one in Tibet, and three outside the crisis-hit area. The total number still missing is 38. Continue reading...

More than 1,000 people confirmed dead and more than 4,000, including 36 British nationals, remain missing A British aid worker was mistakenly identified by Nepalese authorities as a rescued survivor after returning to Kathmandu on a humanitarian aid flight. Alastair Chambers, a 45-year-old former Gloucester councillor, said he flew to Nepal last week to distribute sleeping bags, food and essentials to communities cut off by collapsed bridges. Continue reading...

Experts say invasive species are creating ‘pollinator deserts’ and could have serious impact on food security British beekeepers have called for a national awareness campaign about the impact of Asian hornets as they warned the invasive species was creating “pollinator deserts” and threatening food security. Native to south-east Asia, the yellow-legged hornet is thought to have arrived in Europe in 2004 and has continued to spread ever since, its numbers probably boosted by increasingly warm springs and summers. Continue reading...

Splits emerge within party after resignation of officials reported to police for apparent plot to evade donations law Nigel Farage sought to shore up his damaged leadership on Friday as he attempted to distance himself from two of his most senior officials reported to the police for apparently plotting to evade the law on foreign donations. As the scandal engulfed Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham, Farage was forced to suspend close aides Dan Jukes and head of policy James Orr after an undercover investigation by reporters from a group called Verbatim . Continue reading...

James Orr, an associate professor, was shown in Channel 4 News footage apparently trying to sidestep electoral law Cambridge University has said it is examining the conduct of James Orr, its associate professor and a top Reform UK aide, after he was filmed appearing to try to circumvent electoral laws on foreign political donations. Orr, the suspended head of policy for Reform, is one of two senior officials to step aside after claims that he orchestrated a plot to have polling paid for by a foreign firm – something that is impermissible under British electoral law. Continue reading...

Nazir Afzal to focus in review’s first stage on support given to professor in immediate period before his death The University of Cambridge has asked Nazir Afzal, a former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England, to lead the first part of its review into the death of the scholar Jason Arday. Arday died at his home in south London on 14 August, nine days after his resignation as a Cambridge professor amid swirling allegations of plagiarism and inconsistencies in statements about his career. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here British ministers have hit back after the Argentinian president said “winds of change” favourable to his country’s claim to the Falklands were “blowing around the world”, Kiran Stacey reports. The Electoral Commission has issued a statement this morning saying it is in touch with the police about the undercover investigation into Reform UK. In a statement, it said: We are considering all relevant information, in line with our regulatory remit, and we are in touch with the Met police. The Electoral Commission has not approved the donor

This live blog is now closed. Sign up for US Breaking News emails President Trump threatened in a social media post on Friday to stop trade with some countries unless the US Federal Reserve moves to cut interest rates. Trump cited August’s strong jobs report as sufficient justification to lower rates, and warned that, if the central bank didn’t go along, he’d halt trade between the US and any nations with which it maintains a trade deficit. Continue reading...

Ruling allows defense department to proceed for now in exerting greater editorial control over military news outlet A federal judge has declined to stop the Pentagon from firing journalists who say they were illegally punished for speaking out about the need for the Stars and Stripes publication to maintain its editorial independence. The ruling by US district judge Trevor McFadden allows the Pentagon to proceed for now in exerting greater editorial control over the historically independent military news outlet. Continue reading...

Indira Talwani’s ruling presents major setback for president as first states begin to send out mail ballots for midterms A federal judge on Friday again blocked Donald Trump’s executive order to impose sweeping restrictions on mail-in voting, the latest in a legal back-and-forth playing out less than two months before election day. US district court judge Indira Talwani initially placed a temporary order blocking the president’s mandate and has now extended that prohibition with a stronger preliminary injunction. The ruling comes hours after North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for the 3 November midterm

Interior department given three months to decide whether wolves can be removed from endangered species list Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday directing the interior department to consider de-listing gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act and to contemplate whether the agency could make it easier to authorize killing them. The order gives interior secretary Doug Burgum three months to determine whether gray wolves and Mexican gray wolves have recovered enough for the federal government to de-list them. Continue reading...

Jeffrey Mosteller pleaded no contest to charges relating to burning death of Thomas Cooper in Michigan A former safety manager has been sentenced to one year and seven months in prison in connection with the death of a five-year-old Michigan boy who was killed in a fiery January 2025 explosion inside a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Jeffrey Mosteller, 66, received that sentence after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter in Oakland county circuit court in Michigan on Monday. Continue reading...

A judge declared a mistrial in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial on Friday after jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict on whether she was criminally responsible for killing her three young children. The mistrial, on the seventh day of deliberations, leaves the case unresolved and allows prosecutors to take the 36-year-old former labour and delivery nurse to trial again. Neither Clancy, her family nor the jury showed any emotion as the judge announced the mistrial. The deliberations...

The United Nations General Assembly voted on Friday to back a resolution spearheaded by several African countries to adopt a map that makes their continent bigger while shrinking North America and Europe. Aimed at “a more accurate representation” of continental landmasses, the resolution was supported by 164 countries while the US voted against it and six other states abstained. The new map – known as the Equal Earth cartographic projection – “is a relevant option for improving the accuracy of...

President Donald Trump intensified pressure on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, threatening to cut off trade with certain economies with which the US has a deficit if the central bank does not act. Trump issued his demands on Friday in a lengthy social media post after a stronger-than-expected August jobs report, which could bolster the case for Fed officials to raise rates at their next policy meeting starting September 15. In his post, the president exhorted his hand-picked Fed...

Denmark and four other European Union countries agreed on Friday on a model for “return hubs” in non-EU nations and hope to begin sending migrants to the facilities as early as 2027, an official said. The announcement, made after a one-day meeting in Copenhagen, is the latest development in an effort by EU states to send people whose asylum requests have been rejected to third countries outside the bloc. “We are moving forward towards what is actually a fundamental transformation of the common...

The US job market rebounded in August as employers added a surprising 162,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stayed at a low 4.1 per cent. The jobs report, issued by the Labour Department on Friday, could be good news for President Donald Trump two months before midterm elections in which the health of the economy is weighing on voters’ minds. Hiring far exceeded the 65,000 forecasters had expected, according to a poll by FactSet. Labour Department revisions also looked good, adding 55,000 to June...

This summer, David Chen, a Chinese national living in Japan, got an unexpected lesson in global industrial supply chains – delivered through a bag of potato chips. When popular Japanese snack brand Calbee replaced its signature colourful packaging with monochrome designs, Chen initially assumed it was a marketing gimmick. “Then news reports explained the switch stemmed from a naphtha supply crunch. I even looked up the word,” Chen said. Naphtha, a flammable liquid processed from crude oil, might...

When China’s trade with Latin America reached a record US$518.4 billion in 2024, it marked a fundamental shift in hemispheric economics. Beijing is now the largest bilateral creditor and second largest trading partner of Latin America and the Caribbean, with President Xi Jinping pledging a new credit line of 66 billion yuan (US$9.2 billion) at the 2025 China-Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) forum. Chinese investment has evolved from extractive industries towards clean...

Britain’s populist Reform UK said two senior advisers to leader Nigel Farage stepped down on Friday after an undercover investigation alleged the party had broken electoral law by arranging for a foreign donor to pay for political polling. Reform denied any wrongdoing and said it had been the victim of a hoax perpetrated by climate activists. The governing Labour Party wrote to the police asking them to investigate possible criminal offences, including an alleged proposal to channel a larger...

US President Donald Trump’s White House on Thursday unveiled a website featuring classic arcade games - but with a “Maga” twist, in which players can deport migrants and build a border wall. Rights groups swiftly criticised the release of the online games, which comes as the Trump administration steps up its mass arrest and deportation programme for undocumented migrants. One game called Rio Run - an updated version of the game Snake - features a digital version of US border tsar Tom Homan...

Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic’s body arrived in Serbia on Thursday, where it was received with military honours. The casket, draped in the Serbian flag, was carried from the plane by six soldiers after arriving from The Hague, accompanied by Mladic’s son Darko and Serbia’s Justice Minister Nenad Vujic. The body was then driven from the airport under police escort, reportedly to a Belgrade military hospital. Mladic died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and...

We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Xi, Trump and Putin may hold trilateral meeting at next Apec forum, Kremlin says A senior Russian aide suggested on Tuesday that Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin could hold a...

Argentine President Javier Milei escalated his country’s dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands on Thursday, vowing new measures to halt an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and praising US President Donald Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands’ sovereignty. Milei cast Trump’s comments as proof that his close relationship with the US president – criticised by political opponents as overly deferential – was paying dividends. “The...

US Vice-President J.D. Vance said that the United States ⁠was investigating a deadly strike on an Iranian wedding earlier this week that an analysis published by Reuters showed likely resulted from a direct hit by a US munition. An explosion that ripped through a wedding celebration in southern Iran on Tuesday likely resulted from a direct hit by a US munition and not a ricochet off another target, according to an analysis on Thursday by weapons experts who reviewed images and video verified by...

France is facing pressure to consent to the International Court of Justice taking up a decades-old territorial feud with Vanuatu, after Paris firmly reasserted its sovereignty over two strategically vital Pacific islands. Vanuatu filed an application with the UN’s top court earlier this week seeking recognition of its claim over the uninhabited Matthew and Hunter islands. However, the case cannot proceed without French consent, prompting Vanuatu to warn it would seek a UN General Assembly...

President Donald Trump’s administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to let it enforce a new US Postal Service rule tightening the use of mail-in ballots, moving swiftly after a judge temporarily blocked the regulation ahead of November’s midterm elections. In an emergency request, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift Boston-based US District ‌Judge Indira Talwani’s order temporarily preventing the USPS from enforcing the new rule, which it adopted following an executive...

Former Ecuadorian president Lenin Moreno and a former Chinese ambassador to Quito asked the country’s highest court on Thursday to spare them the five-year sentences handed down last week over a US$76 million bribery scheme. Moreno was convicted of bribery by a three-judge panel of the National Court of Justice over contracts for Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric project secured by a Chinese state contractor. The judges found unanimously that he had used his position as vice-president, held from...

A single juror in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is preventing the jury from reaching a unanimous verdict, her lawyer said in court on Thursday, after deliberations stretched into a sixth day over whether to convict the Massachusetts woman of killing her three young children. Defence lawyer Kevin ‌Reddington made that statement shortly after the jury sent Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth, Massachusetts, a note that prompted him to reinstruct jurors on what would constitute “reasonable...

Ten research teams were honoured on Thursday at a satirical science awards ceremony that was hosted outside the US for the first time due to travel concerns. Researchers who studied milk from cockroaches and analysed soil health using underwear received Ig Nobel prizes celebrating unusual and imaginative contributions to science. The awards organised by a digital magazine called the Annals of Improbable Research shifted to Europe after 35 years in the US over concerns about attendees being able...

Federal prosecutors have charged a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with lying to investigators about the events leading up to the shooting of a Venezuelan man during the Minneapolis immigration crackdown earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorised to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said Christian Castro, the officer who authorities say shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in the leg in...

Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system’s smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet. The linked European and Japanese spacecraft separated as planned from their cruiser, but controllers had to wait two anxious hours to receive confirmation via radio signals. The crucial operation was broadcast from the European Space Agency’s control centre in Germany, more than 200 million km (124...

A cabinet secretary fretting about his daughter’s university choice might once have been considered a private family matter. In Donald Trump’s America, it has become official content. US transport secretary Sean Duffy recently appeared with his family in a road trip series carried on the department’s YouTube page. In one episode, his daughter, Paloma, said if she were admitted to Harvard University, she would probably urge her parents to let her attend. Duffy, however, warned the university had...

Norway had seized a Russian ship in the Arctic to enforce a US$4.22 billion compensation claim won by Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz over Moscow’s seizure of its assets when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, officials said late on Wednesday. The vessel, the Professor Molchanov, was seized off the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, according to Covington, the US law firm representing Naftogaz. The Russian state news agency TASS quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying the Norwegian...

Iran attacked US military bases in Kuwait on Thursday, despite US President Donald Trump threatening further strikes in a fresh flare-up six months into the war. Trump said his military was prepared to attack Iran “any time we want” after extensive US bombardment of sites across the country left at least 19 Iranians dead. Tehran retaliated by hitting US military targets across the Middle East, including in Kuwait, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan...

A Maltese court on Wednesday acquitted tycoon Yorgen Fenech of orchestrating the car-bomb killing of investigative reporter Daphne Caruana Galizia, sparking outrage from her family and media freedom advocates. The wealthy businessman had stood accused of masterminding the 2017 assassination of 53-year-old Caruana Galizia, which sparked unprecedented protests and brought down a government. Caruana Galizia’s family said in a statement that Fenech’s acquittal was “denying her the justice she...

Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro urged a US judge on Wednesday to dismiss criminal drug trafficking charges against him, arguing he should be immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign country. The charges, filed in Manhattan federal court, formed the basis for the US military’s raid on Caracas and capture of Maduro on January 3. The Venezuelan leader, who has been held ‌in a Brooklyn federal jail since his seizure, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial on June...

A low-altitude flyover by two Airlink passenger jets before a rugby match at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium is being reviewed by South African aviation authorities after it drew safety concerns, officials said on Wednesday. The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) said it had obtained flight data recordings and requested additional information from regional carrier Airlink as part of its assessment. A full report with recommendations would be issued once the review was complete. “It is...

A US missile hit a home in southern Iran where dozens were gathered to celebrate the wedding of a fisherman’s daughter, according to a rights group and Iranian media. Iranian state media said four people – two women and two children – were killed and more than 60 were wounded. The rights group said one of the children, a teenager, was killed by another strike on a nearby communications tower. Heavy explosions shook the coastal town of Kuhestak on the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, and security...

US President Donald Trump will now speak on both nights of the Republican Party’s unusual midterm convention next week, a party official said on Wednesday, an expanded role that will compete for ‌viewers with the start of the NFL season. Trump had originally been scheduled to deliver an address on Thursday to close out the September 9-10 convention in Dallas, but now will deliver the keynote speech on Wednesday and speak after US Vice-President J.D. Vance on Thursday evening as well, the party...

US President ⁠Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he was “happy” Prince Harry and his family left the US and relocated back to Britain. “I am happy about it. I was not a fan,” Trump said in the Oval Office when asked about the recent decision ‌by Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to leave California after six years. The family arrived back in Britain at the end of August. The couple stepped down from official royal duties in 2020 when they moved to the US. “I thought they treated...

The Dutch central bank said Wednesday it had moved 86 tonnes of its gold reserves out of the US and Canada to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest”. The DNB bank said gold reserves held in London could be traded more easily than those held in New York and Ottawa. “This makes it the quickest for DNB to deploy in a crisis situation,” the bank said in a statement. “With this step, we have improved the deployability of the gold reserves. We assume that we will never need to deploy the...

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as “Trump Strait” despite ongoing clashes with Iran – then hours later implied he wasn’t serious. Trump has made a series of geographical name changes to international bodies of water in his second term, at least partly with the aim of trolling other countries. The latest suggestion came as Trump insisted the US had full control of the crucial waterway, even as fresh clashes raged there with Iran. “Now that we have it...

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, said on Wednesday that an Iranian ‌attack on an oil tanker owned by its national shipping company had killed two Filipino seafarers. Sidr, owned by Bahri, was one of two supertankers carrying Saudi oil reported to have been hit late on Monday while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has threatened tankers attempting ⁠to sail through the narrow waterway without authorisation, impeding energy exports from neighbouring ‌oil-rich Gulf...

Israel has plans ready to remove Palestinians from the Gaza Strip but is waiting for the United States to figure out where to take them, the defence minister has said. “There is no real solution for Gaza in the end without this migration,” Defence Minister Israel Katz told a conference hosted by Israeli news site Ynet and newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday. The Israeli government “is organised and prepared to get them out – by sea, by air, by every way possible”, he said. The US embassy...

Oil giant Chevron confirmed that it would expand operations in Venezuela after US President Donald Trump announced an ambitious deal to develop the nation’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits. Chevron, the only US oil company with a major presence in Venezuela, said on Wednesday that it had been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, where it has active operations. The company plans to invest more than US$7 billion over the next five years, with the goal of more...

China is beginning to match its economic presence abroad with the military reach required to operate across it. The clearest evidence came from Egypt. Chinese J-16 fighters flew there recently, supported by YU-20 tankers that refuelled them in the air. The Chinese jets are taking part in Egypt’s “Eagles of Civilisation” alongside Egyptian Rafales and MiG-29s. This is the first time China has sent the jets to Africa, providing experience in moving a combat force across continents and operating...

Ireland needs to be prepared for a vote on whether to reunify with the UK’s Northern Ireland region, Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee has said. “I do believe that there will be a border poll at some stage,” McEntee told reporters in Wicklow, Ireland, ahead of a European Union foreign ministers meeting on Wednesday. “It is for the people of Northern Ireland to decide this and it is only where there’s a view that there may be a majority that we should move forward on this.” Her comments came...

For the first time in recent history, Danish ⁠conscripts have been deployed to ⁠Greenland, as Denmark moves to ⁠bolster its presence in the Arctic after US demands to acquire the territory. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish island, citing national security concerns and accusing Copenhagen of neglecting Arctic defence. Denmark and ‌Greenland have firmly rejected the idea. The conscripts are part of the first cohort under Denmark’s new extended...

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was born 25 years ago as a modest mechanism for managing borders between China, Russia and four Central Asian states. At its anniversary summit in Bishkek this week, it looks more consequential – and harder for the United States to dismiss. The timing is important. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains unresolved, while the war between Iran and the US has turned the Persian Gulf into another theatre of strategic competition, with energy markets again...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused security officials on Tuesday of intentionally failing to wake him on the morning of Hamas’ October 7 attacks, a day after his wife claimed an opposition figure knew of the onslaught in advance. Netanyahu is heading into close-fought elections later this year, and has come in for sustained criticism in the national debate over who is responsible for the failures that led to the October 7, 2023 security fiasco. The prime minister has alleged in...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Tuesday that his country’s drones would make Russia’s airspace “completely unsafe” for the duration of the war, drawing accusations of “state terrorism” from Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Both sides have intensified long-range attacks in recent months and diplomatic efforts led by the United States remain stalled more than four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion. “Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer...

The murder case against the Utah man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year is headed for trial, and the defendant could face the death penalty if he is convicted. Utah District Judge Tony Graf on Tuesday sided with prosecutors who said they had “overwhelming” evidence that suspect Tyler Robinson shot Kirk once in the neck as the ally of US President Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of thousands last September in Orem, Utah. One of Robinson’s lawyers entered a...

China has spent years articulating its preferred principles for the world order. In June, it went a step further, bringing many of them together in a white paper on global governance and setting out how its Global Governance Initiative should translate principles into practice. Two ambitions sat side by side: an “equal and orderly multipolar world” and a “universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation”. The timing is telling. World leaders will gather in New York this month for the...

President Donald Trump pressed US oil refiners to boost domestic production of petrol and diesel during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, as he contends with high prices and mounting cost-of-living concerns before November’s midterm elections. Trump made clear he wanted lower prices at the pump for Americans and asked executives how to increase refining capacity, according to a White House official who provided details on condition of anonymity. The official said industry representatives were...

Prime Minister Andy Burnham faced lawmakers in the House of Commons on Tuesday for the first time since becoming UK leader six weeks ago, with wars in Europe and the Middle East weighing on his promise to kick-start the economy, ease the cost of living and oversee a radical redistribution of power from London to Britain’s regions. On the day parliament returned from its summer break, Burnham said he would “unlock a feeling of positivity and possibility in every postcode in Britain”. “We can make...

Syria was constructing a nuclear reactor in Deir el-Zour under the leadership of ousted former president Bashar al-Assad, according to a UN report seen Tuesday by Associated Press. Inspectors with the UN nuclear watchdog visited several sites in Syria in August and carried out verification work that confirmed the existence of a long-suspected nuclear site, according to the confidential report circulated to member states. Based on this visit, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that...

Ms. Clancy still faces murder charges for killing her three children. She is likely to remain in a hospital, and prosecutors may decide to retry her.

Republican groups had asked the court to clear the way for political parties to pay the same low-cost ad rates as candidates, a move that could undercut a Democratic advantage in the midterms.

The ruling arrived before the Supreme Court could decide whether to intervene but appeared certain to set off yet another round of appeals.

New intelligence reports have assessed that Iran now has a far better understanding of its capabilities and the limits of U.S. power.

Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Joey King and Maisie Williams on the unlikely sequel, embracing their witchiness and their hopes for a third film.

Sunday’s vote in the state of Saxony-Anhalt could produce the strongest showing in the history of the Alternative for Germany party, and potentially a far-right government in the statehouse.

The feminist icon thought many women would carry on her legacy. But at an unsteady time for feminism, how will the movement carry on?

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Gloria Steinem was asked about the young women supporting Bernie Sanders over Hillary Clinton. Her answer created a brief hullabaloo.

The ruling casts doubt on statements from the federal health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who speculated that measles deaths reported by the state may have been “fabricated.”

The agency’s weekly update escalates a political fight after Pennsylvania said two deaths had been caused by the virus.

In a legal deposition, the doctor, Theresa Long, compared immunizing service members against Covid to Nazi doctors experimenting on concentration camp prisoners.

Doctors were hopeful the drug, which was being tested in a large clinical trial by Novartis, was going to be a powerful new tool to fight heart disease.

Postpartum psychosis is misunderstood and a poor fit for the justice system.

The government is seemingly incapable of stopping the far right.

Thousands are missing, and some families have lost hope of recovering their bodies. To carry out his sacred duty, a son lights the funeral pyre for a straw effigy of his father.