Minimalist News

Secret Service Agent On JD Vance's Detail Under Investigation For Leaking Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA , CNN reported Thursday that a Secret Service agent on Vice President JD Vance’s security detail has been put on administrative leave and is suspected of leaking information about his travel to a news site. According to CNN, the agent is suspected of leaking to MS NOW about how agents on Vance’s security detail are overworked by his busy schedule. MS NOW’s source complained about Vance planning to fly with his son on a Marine Corps helicopter to a golf lesson —

NHTSA Begins Work On New Car Door-Handle Rules After Bloomberg's Tesla Report Auto-safety regulators at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will begin considering new federal requirements for vehicle door handles and emergency-release systems following a series of deadly incidents in which occupants became trapped after electrically operated doors lost power . NHTSA said an inaccessible or difficult-to-locate mechanical release could prevent occupants from escaping after a crash or fire, potentially resulting in serious injury or death. The agency granted a petition seeking "a robust and obvious door egress system in all motor vehicles" and will begin rulemaking proceedings. The

US Lays Groundwork For Approving Offshore Nuclear Power Projects Authored by Melanie Sun via The Epoch Times , The U.S. federal government has outlined a preliminary framework to oversee the approval of offshore nuclear power projects , advancing President Donald Trump's agenda to safely unleash domestic energy production and reestablish the United States as the global leader in nuclear energy. Birds fly along the Pacific Ocean near the dry fuel storage of canisters containing spent nuclear fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) along the Pacific Ocean south of San Clemente in San Diego County, Calif.., on June

Watch: Ukraine, Iran Tensions Run High In Rare Rubio-Lavrov Meeting A US delegation headed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio is holding three day closed-door talks with Russia on the sidelines of an annual gathering by foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila. The high point came in a rare direct Rubio-Lavrav meeting, where the US top diplomat said Russia should have the incentive to end a "very blood war" that has devastated both sides. Rubio admitted that so far there's been an "unsuccessful or at least unfruitful" effort to end the war and find

Gov. Hochul Responds To Criticism, Explains Rationale For AI Data Center Moratorium Authored by Oliver Mantyk via The Epoch Times , New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on July 21 responding to the publication's criticisms of her decision to halt data centers of a certain size from being built in her state. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in New York City on March 19, 2026. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images In her op-ed, Hochul explained her stance on AI data centers and why she believes her decision to prevent the creation of large

Sen. Cruz Says GM Pushed The China Car Ban Provision That Would Also Knock Out Mercedes-Benz The Senate Commerce Committee advanced the bill unanimously. Its chairman voted yes and then accused a Detroit automaker of writing part of it to remove a German competitor. People look at a BYD Seagull car by Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD Auto at the Bangkok International Motor Show in Nonthaburi on March 27, 2024. Lillian Suwanrumpha /AFP via Getty Images The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously advanced the Connected Vehicle Security Act of 2026 on July 22, codifying into law a Biden-era executive order

Trump "Close" To Ordering "Massive Attack Greater Than Anything Before" On Iran Summary Trump escalates warnings of "massive attack": Trump threatened to hold Iran responsible for future Houthi attacks and said he is "close" to ordering a massive new strike (Axios interview). Houthis escalate: The Houthis threatened Saudi Aramco after attacking two Saudi oil tankers and expanding their blockade of Saudi shipping. Oil jumps: Brent crude climbed back above $100 as Red Sea and Hormuz shipping disruptions intensified. Rubio says no talks are happening: Rubio said Iran is "begging for a deal" while warning Tehran will continue to "pay a

Saudis On Trump's Israel Normalization Demand: 'Tweets Don't Overturn Signed Deals' Update(1258ET) : Saudi unnamed officials are pushing back, as expected... After President Trump earlier this morning in a Truth Social post asserted that the already signed US-Saudi nuclear deal would actually be conditioned on Riyadh joining the Abraham Accords, journalist Laura Rozen quotes an unnamed Saudi source who says Trump’s demand is too late. "It was signed. So nothing to renegotiate," the Saudi source says . "Tweets don’t overturn signed agreements." Is the 'civilian nuclear energy' deal already dead on arrival, even as it's expected to be presented to

Energy Department Issues Emergency Order As Hot Weather Conditions Threaten Blackouts The Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order authorizing Southwest Power Pool Inc. to use certain energy resources to reduce the risk of potential blackouts , according to a July 21 statement from the department. Electrical transmission poles and lines in Commerce, Calif., on Aug. 7, 2025. Mike Blake/Reuters The order, issued on July 20 and signed by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, stated that Southwest Power Pool (SPP) had asked the DOE to temporarily permit certain resources to operate beyond their normal limits to help ensure grid

Boasberg's Law: Chief District Court Judge Under Renewed Scrutiny Over Pattern Of Unilateral Actions Authored by Jonathan Turley, Chief Judge James Boasberg is frustrated … and he is not alone. Recently, the D.C. federal judge reportedly “ groused ” that the D.C. appellate court had ordered him to reconsider a case about whether the D.C. government engaged in biased enforcement against political graffiti. Conversely, the litigants are equally irked over what they see as Boasberg’s bias after he responded by, again, dismissing their claims without a trial. For a second time, Boasberg has barred pro-life groups from access to a

SpaceX Meltdown Vaporizes $1 Trillion In Market Cap As Stock, Bonds Crater SpaceX's Tuesday rebound was short-lived, with shares sliding to a new low of $110.85 late Thursday morning and extending their brutal post-IPO selloff. At a current market capitalization of roughly $1.479 trillion, SpaceX has erased about $1.16 trillion, or 44%, since its valuation peaked at $2.639 trillion on June 23. Shares are also trading well below the company's $135 IPO price, underscoring how quickly investor enthusiasm has evaporated. The chart shows a selloff across SpaceX's capital structure: Black line, right axis: SpaceX shares, down from $157.68 on June

This American Drone-Motor Company Is Positioned For "Massive Procurement Tailwind" Looking at the state of modern warfare, H.C. Wainwright analyst Amit Dayal initiated Unusual Machines with a "Buy" rating, telling clients the drone-part maker is emerging as a key player in " anchoring the US drone industry's sovereign supply chain ." Dayal called UMAC a " pure-play , American-made, NDAA-compliant drone-component manufacturer" that is perfectly positioned for a " massive procurement tailwind" across the US drone industry as the US government races to stockpile everything from one-way attack drones to interceptor drones. What's key about UMAC is that it makes

"Closing Time" On The AI Bubble Is Sooner Than Most Think; Ed Dowd Warns Iran War Brings Global Recession Closer Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com , Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of PhinanceTechnologies.com warned at the end of May we could see “$250 a barrel oil and 11% inflation as a worst-case scenario in 2026.” That didn’t happen... yet. Dowd explains, “We had two scenarios when we talked last..." " One was the conflict would get resolved in the April – May time frame. Oil would peak out around $125 (per barrel), and inflation would peak out

Software Vendor Fires Back At NJ Governor Over Noncitizen Voting Scandal New Jersey's noncitizen voter registration scandal has taken an uncomfortable turn for Gov. Mikie Sherrill, and the vendor she blamed for it is no longer taking the fall quietly. IDEMIA, the French multinational that has worked with New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission for more than 40 years, is refusing to play the role assigned to it. What the company is now saying about who was responsible for approving registrations undercuts the governor's account. A voter arrives at the Moorestown Township Fire Station to cast a ballot in the 2025

Jim Jordan Refers Jack Smith To DOJ For Possible Prosecution Authored by Bryan S. Jung via PJ Media , Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has formally referred former Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution , alleging that Smith made false statements under oath to Congress about the scope of his investigation into President Donald Trump. According to Fox News , in a July 22 letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Jordan alleges that Smith intentionally misled the House Judiciary Committee during a December 2025 deposition by testifying

White House Accuses Moonshot AI Of Distilling Anthropic Tech For K3 Authored by Felix Ng via CoinTelegraph.com, A White House official accused Moonshot AI of distilling Anthropic’s Fable AI model to develop Kimi K3, which launched last week. In a post on X on Wednesday, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios alleged the Chinese AI firm developed an internal platform to distill US models at scale, using methods designed to evade detection. “Legitimate AI distillation used to create smaller, more efficient models plays a vital role in this open innovation ecosystem,” he said. “However, large-scale,

Crop Prices Hit 3-Year High As Heat & War Stoke Supply Fears; Options Whale Places $20M Corn Bet The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index (BCOMAGSP) climbed to a three-year high Wednesday as widening conflict across critical energy and grain trade corridors, from the Black Sea to the Strait of Hormuz and the southern Red Sea, collided with scorching heat waves across Europe and the US and mounting El Niño risks in critical agri growing belts, reviving the threat of global food inflation. BCOMAGSP is a dollar-denominated benchmark that tracks 10 major agricultural futures, including Chicago and Kansas City wheat, corn, soybeans,

AIpocalypse No! Initial Jobless Claims Collapse To Lowest Since 1969 Amid ongoing exclamations of an AIpocalypse in the jobs market, the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits for the first time crashed to just 187k last week (well below expectations)... That is the lowest since 1969... Additionally, continuous jobless claims tumbled back below 1.8mm (1.796mm) Americans... Zero signs of labor market stress in any of this data as the 'low hire, no fire' economy pushes forward. Tyler Durden Thu, 07/23/2026 - 08:39

ECB Keeps Rates Unchanged (As Expected), Warns 'Full Energy Inflationary Shock Yet To Come' The European Central Bank kept its key deposit rate unchanged at 2.25 percent and said it was "closely monitoring" the inflationary impact of fresh conflict in the Middle East. The ECB reiterated it won’t pre-commit but act one meeting at a time based on information as it arrives. "Uncertainty remains high and the full inflationary impact of the energy shock has yet to play out," the lender of last resort for the 21 countries that use the euro said. "The Governing Council is therefore closely monitoring

Elon Vows AI-Made 'Odyssey' After Blasting Nolan's Take On Homer Via American Greatness, Elon Musk says he’ll beat Hollywood at its own game, pledging that his artificial intelligence venture will produce a full-length film of Homer’s “The Odyssey” by year’s end, one he insists will stay faithful to the ancient text in a way Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation has not. Musk, believed to be the first trillionaire in modern history, unveiled the project Tuesday evening on X, posting AI-generated footage from Grok Imagine depicting a scene from the epic poem. “Before this year ends, Grok Imagine will make a full-length

Valentín Lavín Romero is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in 2024 A mayor was shot dead on Wednesday in the Mexican state of Morelos after having survived a previous assassination attempt earlier this year. He is the 14th mayor to be murdered since Claudia Sheinbaum became president in October 2024. Valentín Lavín Romero, who was from the Green party, an ally of the ruling leftwing Morena party, was wounded at the end of January when hitmen shot him at a petrol station on a motorway. Continue reading...

Trump’s 50% tariff threat means there will be no ribbon-cutting celebration of Gordie Howe International Bridge A planned joint US-Canada ceremony on Friday celebrating the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, is no longer expected to take place after Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on most Canadian goods. In announcing the tariffs, the president accused Canada of unfairly discriminating against US automobiles, alcohol and dairy products, escalating tensions with one of the United States’ closest allies. Continue reading...

US secretary of state says international community should ‘join forces’ against authoritarian Ortega regime Nicaragua’s congress, controlled by the country’s long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has announced a “work plan” to implement the authoritarian leader’s order that the country should no longer hold elections. The UN and the US strongly condemned Sunday’s announcement by Ortega, who has been in power since 2007 and, after a controversial constitutional change last year, now governs alongside his wife , Rosario Murillo, as “co-president”. Continue reading...

Researchers listening off the Caribbean island of Dominica found variations in the mammals’ audible clicks when marine traffic was close Sperm whales produce a specific pattern of clicking noises when they hear the noise of boats, researchers have found. The pattern is so distinct that the scientists who identified it said they can now use it to predict when ships are nearby. Researchers from Project Ceti (the Cetacean Translation Initiative), a non-profit research organisation working to decode sperm whale communication, spent four years tuning in on the calls of 15 sperm whales off the coast of Dominica. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. Sign up for US Breaking News email US gas prices have continued to rise since the conflict with Iran resumed this month. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), a gallon of fuel is now just over $4 – almost a dollar more than a year ago. It comes as Brent Crude , the international oil benchmark, is now up by almost 2% to $90.92 a barrel . Continue reading...

Dunedin will be the focal point, having last experienced such an eclipse in 1163 – before any humans reached New Zealand Hotels are booking out two years in advance in the New Zealand city of Dunedin as it prepares for the region’s first total solar eclipse in more than 850 years. At 4.17pm on 22 July 2028, the moon will pass in front of the sun, casting a roughly 100km-wide shadowy band across parts of southern New Zealand. Everywhere within that band – from tourist hotspot Queenstown in the west to Dunedin city in the east – will be plunged

Isabel Rose, 26, sentenced to six years for blackmail and perverting course of public justice over her allegations against British man A British woman who reported being raped to police in Hong Kong has been sentenced to six years in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of public justice. Isabel Rose, 26, from south-east London, travelled to Hong Kong in early 2024 to visit a British banker she had met while travelling in south-east Asia. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Penny Wong will deliver speech criticising China’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Penny Wong will warn China that Australia and other neighbouring nations will not be bullied by its “provocative” actions, after its involvement in another “destabilising and dangerous” incident this week. The foreign affairs minister – who will deliver the address on Thursday in the Philippines, where the 59th Asean foreign minister’s meeting is being held – will also caution world leaders against placing a toll on the strait of Hormuz after both

Prosecutors seek a one-year sentence and heavy fine after chef garnished dish with insects not approved for consumption Prosecutors in South Korea have asked a court to sentence the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant to one year in prison for serving a dessert topped with ants, an insect not approved for consumption under local food safety law. The request, made on Monday, also sought a 20m won (£10,108) fine for the company that runs the restaurant, Yonhap news agency reported . Continue reading...

In April Japan coined new term kokushobi for days above 40C as country advises workers to wear shorts to the office to cope with stifling heat Japan logged its first official kokushobi or “cruelly hot day” on Tuesday since the new term for when temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius was introduced in April. The Japan Meteorological Agency coined the new designation to warn the public of the heat dangers of days that were once freak weather events but have now become more common. The central Japan cities of Gujo and Tajimi in Gifu prefecture, along with Toyota in Aichi prefecture,

Treasurer points to other reforms after Labor members call for ‘fairer return’ from natural resources. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Jim Chalmers has claimed rightwing political parties will “prey on” voter insecurities about a worsening economy while championing “anti-worker” policies. The treasurer previewed Labor’s economic attack lines for the next election campaign in an interview from the party’s national conference in Adelaide with 7.30 last night. Chalmers claimed One Nation, the Liberal party and the Nationals did not have plans that would ease the pressure on workers. He said:

In a fortnight of rolling blunders, the One Nation leader digs deep into the Trump playbook of blame-shifting Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast There’s apparently only one thing to blame for Pauline Hanson’s string of bad headlines in recent weeks, from her decision to pal around with the far-right convicted criminal Tommy Robinson to her description of domestic violence on Wednesday as a “two-way street”. According to the One Nation leader, it’s of course not Hanson herself who is to blame. Continue reading...

Hackers access Australian customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and some bank account details, company says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Origin Energy customers’ addresses, phone numbers and partial bank account data have been accessed in a hack, the company has confirmed. The firm has 4.8m customer accounts in Australia, providing electricity, fossil gas, LPG and internet services to homes and businesses. Continue reading...

One Nation leader labels family violence leave ‘ridiculous’ and decries ‘woke’ support of women’s rights in November podcast Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Pauline Hanson has described paid leave for those experiencing family and domestic violence as “ridiculous”, and suggested the issue is taking police away from “real crime”, calling for the family law system to be “wound back”. In an unearthed interview, the One Nation leader said the advancements of women’s rights in the family law system over the decades had become “broken” because they favoured women and were now “suppressing the

This blog is now closed. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Self-reported domestic violence incidents declining in NSW but deaths and hospitalisations fail to fall New data shows self-reported domestic violence incidents in New South Wales have declined, but the number of women and children murdered or hospitalised in domestic and family violence incidents over the past eight years has not significantly budged. The decline in self-reported violence is significant because it reflects underlying levels of violence in the community, not just what is reported to police. It suggests that, despite rising reports of

Some parts of Mediterranean Sea 5C hotter than normal, with air temperatures above 44C expected in Spain Brutal heat torching southern Europe has forced nearly 20,000 people to flee wildfires in France as a marine heatwave scalds the Mediterranean and researchers warn that “Dantesque” scenarios cannot be ruled out as infernos worsen. A “particularly intense” wildfire on France’s southwestern Atlantic coast prompted the evacuation of more than 18,800 people, including thousands of tourists from campsites and holiday homes, as firefighters struggled to control the blaze. Continue reading...

Mykhailo Fedorov says only in his former post could he ‘combat procurement corruption and complete the army’s transformation’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has offered a bit more detail on the new package of sanctions , saying they are “the largest round in four years,” and will “hit Putin where it hurts most.” In a statement, she said : “We have agreed on the 21st sanctions package against Russia. It delivers sweeping measures targeting Moscow’s financial system, its military-industrial complex and energy sector, that keep Russia’s war economy running. Continue reading...

Swedish nonprofit alleges cost to repair replica was $6,000 but Universal – which made $264m on film’s opening weekend – has not stumped up The Swedish owners of a Viking longship replica that features in the Hollywood blockbuster The Odyssey say they feel “forgotten” after film-makers allegedly returned the vessel damaged and failed to foot the bill for repairs. In nearly three decades at sea, the warship Glad av Gillberga – based on a wreck from around 1040 found in Denmark’s Roskilde fjord – has successfully sailed the North Sea, the Baltic and even voyaged to Canada. Continue reading...

Danny Boyle’s drama about the acquisition of the Sun and a four-hour Elon Musk documentary will premiere alongside new films from Martin McDonagh and Werner Herzog – but only one female director has a movie in competition The Venice film festival promises to take a swing at media moguls of the print and digital era this year, with Trainspotting director Danny Boyle’s new film about Rupert Murdoch’s acquisition of the Sun and a new documentary about Elon Musk included in the lineup of the films for the festival’s 83rd edition. In Boyle’s Ink, which will open the festival on the

Pioneering study linking noise pollution to Parkinson’s finds 3% increase in risk for every 11.5dB rise in noise levels Long-term exposure to road traffic noise is associated with a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease, the biggest study of its kind has found. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder in which parts of the brain become damaged over time, affecting movement and balance. Continue reading...

Secretary general António Guterres tells security council the Middle East is being pushed to the ‘edge of the unimaginable’ amid latest threats from Donald Trump Trump says he is close to decision on largest-yet attack on Iran Earlier in the US day, before Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump issued this threat on his Truth Social platform : From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any

President’s remarks follow Houthi strikes on Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and oil prices rising past $100 a barrel again Middle East crisis live – latest updates Donald Trump has said he is close to deciding whether to launch “a massive attack” against Iran, on a scale larger than strikes already witnessed during the months-long conflict with Tehran. Speaking to the Axios news site, the US president said: “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.” Continue reading...

Far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among thousands who gathered at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site Israel’s far-right minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, joined thousands of Jewish extremists who stormed Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site on Thursday. Escorted by armed police, they prayed, waved the Israeli flag and sang the national anthem in a provocative display of political power. Continue reading...

Sharp rise in oil price reflects fears Houthi militias could strangle Saudi exports as US-Iran fighting intensifies How the Bab al-Mandab blockade threat pushed oil back above $100 The oil price broke above $100 a barrel for the first time in two months as a fresh escalation of the Middle East conflict threatens to compound disruption to global oil supplies. The benchmark oil price rose sharply on Thursday, from $95 the day before, amid fears that Yemen’s Houthi militia could strangle Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea while US-Iran tensions over oil flows through the strait of Hormuz intensify.

Residents eligible for dining and hotel packages if they can persuade family and friends to city spurned by visitors amid Iran war Middle East crisis – live updates Dubai is offering to pay residents who attract family and friends to visit the emirate in an effort to revive tourist numbers that have plummeted since the city was drawn into the US-Israel war on Iran. The Dubai Invite scheme, an initiative of the department of economy and tourism, allows residents of the United Arab Emirates to nominate friends and relatives and then to receive benefits worth more than 3,000 UAE dirham

PM says ‘those who try to harm the future of our youth will not be spared’ as scandal spirals into widespread anger Narendra Modi has vowed to set up “fast-track courts” to speed up the punishment of officials accused of leaking examination papers, as the Indian prime minister seeks to quell a youth-led “cockroach” protest movement that has rocked Delhi and posed one of the biggest challenges to his government. In his first public remarks on the movement, Modi posted on X: “Nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth … Those who try to harm

Proceedings suspended as politicians call for Modi government to address police violence and education scandals India’s opposition parties have shut down parliament in a protest calling for the resignation of the education minister, in solidarity with the new youth-led “cockroach” movement . Opposition politicians, led by the Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, gathered outside the parliament building in Delhi on Wednesday, many dressed in black and waving placards calling on Dharmendra Pradhan to quit. Continue reading...

Thousands of people again on the streets of Delhi calling for education reforms despite police violence on Monday Taru had come to the protest prepared this time. In one hand was an anti-government poster and in the other was a bicycle helmet. “We need to have protection in case Delhi police beat us up again,” said the 25-year-old, who stood among her friends. “We are not scared of them and we won’t run away, no matter what they do. We’ll stay here till they listen.” On Tuesday, central Delhi still thronged with thousands of protesters, as an unprecedented expression of

National disaster agency confirms ‘severe financial and human losses’ in eastern province of Nuristan Rescue crews in Afghanistan are searching for survivors and bodies among the rubble of houses destroyed by devastating flash floods that authorities said had killed nearly two dozen people and left more than 100 people missing. The Afghanistan national disaster management authority said on Tuesday that 23 people had died, 80 had been injured and more than 100 were missing after floods struck the eastern province of Nuristan on Monday, causing an undetermined number of buildings to collapse. The provincial capital city of Parun was among

Youth-led group calls on education minister to quit in one of India’s largest anti-government rallies in years Tens of thousands of protesters have defied police orders and descended on Delhi to demand the resignation of India’s education minister in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in years. A huge crowd, largely made up of students and gen Z-ers, filled the streets in the heart of India’s capital from early Monday morning shouting anti-government slogans. Hundreds had already camped out overnight. Continue reading...

Conservative leader is becoming more confident and forging a message for her party, but faces a new opponent “So, Andy Burnham seems like a nice guy.” Those were the slightly unexpected opening words of Kemi Badenoch’s first speech since the change in prime minister. But make no mistake: she was there to bury her opponent. Even Badenoch-sceptics inside the Conservative party and farther afield agree the Tory leader is becoming more confident, and has been able to forge an increasingly coherent message for her party, one based on a promise of economic competence. Continue reading...

MPs and others condemn behaviour of CT Group, which offered cash for positive coverage of clients A political lobbying firm secretly paying journalists for articles favourable to its clients is facing calls to reveal full details of the payments, after the practice was denounced as a dangerous “attack on democracy”. MPs, senior lobbyists and transparency campaigners all condemned the behaviour of CT Group, the firm co-founded by the campaign strategist Lynton Crosby , an election guru previously hired by David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Clinical assessments concluded Rudakubana could not be safely managed in prison, sources say The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital after clinical assessment, the Guardian can disclose. He was transferred to Broadmoor high-security hospital from the category A prison Belmarsh this week after it was concluded that he could not be managed safely in a prison environment, sources confirmed. Continue reading...

Hospitality businesses call on Andy Burnham to cut VAT and extend help to hotels and restaurants Pubs, clubs and live music venues in England will receive a 20% discount on their business rates bills as part of a £100m aid package but Andy Burnham has immediately faced calls to be more ambitious. The prime minister said the measure, aimed at supporting the high street and easing cost of living pressures, would be fully funded, including through a review of relief for businesses deemed not to make a positive contribution to communities, such as vape shops. Continue reading...

CEO Chris O’Shea defends Centrica’s plans as it reports rise in retail profits following focus on bigger margins The owner of British Gas has claimed that most households would rather speak with an AI chatbot than deal with the company’s staff as it prepares to cut 1,300 jobs from its call centres. Centrica, the supplier’s FTSE 100 owner, plans to cut 800 jobs as the company carries out a “targeted deployment of AI tools”, on top of the 500 cuts it confirmed last month. Continue reading...

Karoline Leavitt insisted nuclear deal is ‘contingent’ on condition revealed by Trump in a social post US House passes second war powers resolution Sign up for the Breaking News US email By a vote of 214-208 lawmakers in the House passed a war powers resolution to curb the Trump administration’s military action in Iran, ahead of the lower chamber’s August reccess. Four Republicans, Brian Fitzpatrick, Warren Davidson, Tom Barrett and Thomas Massie , voted yes, alongside all Democrats. Continue reading...

‘Ratepayer Protection Pledge’ president has touted is non-binding as people continue to struggle with rising bills Donald Trump has announced that about 200 entities have signed on to his non-binding “Ratepayer Protection Pledge”, expanding a voluntary commitment which claims to ensure US consumers will not bear the cost of the AI datacenter build-out. Trump delivered remarks on Thursday at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters, alongside Lee Zeldin, the agency’s administrator, and Chris Wright, the energy secretary. Other attenders included governors who signed on to the pledge, including Brian Kemp of Georgia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Spencer Cox of Utah

Residents in Ladera Ranch in Orange county voice concerns after six children diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Concerns are growing in southern California over a cluster of “exceptionally rare” cancer cases that has sickened multiple children in a suburban community. Families living in the Orange county neighborhood of Ladera Ranch, home to about 26,000 people, have reported that six children in the community were diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, Katrina Foley, the vice-chair of the county board of supervisors, said in a statement . Continue reading...

Agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing info in MS Now report about vice-president’s helicopter trip A Secret Service agent assigned to JD Vance’s protective detail is “the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security”, according to the Secret Service chief of communications. The agent came under suspicion after allegedly providing information that appeared in an MS Now report about the vice-president’s planned Marine Corps helicopter trip with his son to a golf lesson, a source told CNN . Continue reading...

Vance Boelter receives two life terms after admitting politically motivated killings and shootings Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to killing a top Democratic lawmaker and her husband was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison on Thursday, a little over a year after the political attacks. Vance Boelter, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in June to the six counts related to the killings of the former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the

German police on Thursday detained a 20-year-old man after he fatally stabbed another man inside a bank branch in the southern city of Regensburg, in an incident that initially raised fears of a hostage-taking. Special forces officers detained the German national inside the building about three hours after the incident was reported, a police statement said. Paramedics had earlier managed to administer first aid to the victim before he was transferred to hospital, where he died. It remains...

A friend of a man who went on a deadly stabbing spree at a Manchester synagogue was jailed for life by a UK court on Thursday for planning a separate terror attack with him. Jihad Al-Shamie went on a knife rampage targeting a mosque in the northwestern city last October that killed two people. Al-Shamie was later shot dead by police. His friend Mohammad Bashir, 31, last month pleaded guilty to the preparation of terrorist acts. Last August, he drove Al-Shamie on a trip to spy on the UK’s Defence...

One soldier died and four were injured on Thursday when a military helicopter crashed in the Czech Republic, the army said. “A Venom helicopter has crashed at the 22nd helicopter base in Namest nad Oslavou. Five soldiers were on board. Emergency services are currently deployed at the scene,” the army wrote on social media. In a later post, it added that one soldier was killed and four injured in the crash. “Our absolute priority now is to provide all possible care and support to the injured...

Anthropomorphising artificial intelligence – that is, treating AI systems as though they possess human emotions, intentions, consciousness or moral judgment – is both an ethical and a practical problem. While attributing human qualities to AI systems may make interactions more approachable, it also risks clouding users’ perceptions of the technology’s true nature and limitations. Call a spade a spade. The so-called hallucinations that generative AI systems produce are nothing more than errors...

Beijing and Washington are actively soliciting industry feedback on potential bilateral tariff reductions under the newly established board of trade, according to China’s commerce ministry. “The Chinese side is widely soliciting views from stakeholders – including domestic firms, business associations, local governments as well as American firms and business associations – on relevant tariff reduction arrangements,” Meng Huating, director of the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Foreign...

The UK government on Thursday announced a tax cut for struggling pubs, clubs and live music venues as new Prime Minister Andy Burnham aims to ease the cost of living crisis. The 20 per cent cut to business rates – a local tax paid by firms – is the third policy announcement since Burnham became prime minister on Monday, including a planned cap on most bus fares in England and the removal of value added tax on household electricity bills. The latest tax cut is expected to save some 32,000...

The European Union on Thursday slapped Google with fines worth €890 million (US$1 billion) in a move that risks escalating tensions with the United States. The EU fined the US giant €460 million for illegally favouring the company’s own services – for example, Google Flights or Google Hotels – over rivals in search results. The second fine worth €430 million was because Google did not allow app developers to show consumers offers, free of charge, outside its Google Play store, the European...

For the most dramatic change in a benchmark index in financial markets in recent years, look no further than the stock markets of developing economies. Just over a year ago, mainland China and India had a combined weight of 50 per cent in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Fast forward to today, and it is South Korea and Taiwan that account for over half of the gauge. At the end of last month, the weight of South Korea in the index stood at nearly 24 per cent, four percentage points more than that...

Wildfires raged on Wednesday in Sicily, southwestern France and central Spain, having claimed the lives of three firefighters and sparked thousands of evacuations. Temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius and gusts of hot wind fanned the flames in the southern Italian island, where wildfires have been raging for several days. Around 6,000 firefighters, forest guards and civil protection officials were deployed to battle the flames with the help of water-bombing aircraft, the head of the region,...

Adolf Hitler’s birthplace in Austria was officially inaugurated as a police station on Wednesday in an effort to destroy the building’s appeal as a site of pilgrimage for people who glorify the Nazi dictator. A memorial stone is to remain in place outside the house in Braunau am Inn near the German border with the inscription: “For freedom, democracy and liberty. Never again fascism. Millions of dead remind us”. Hitler was born in the building on April 20, 1889. His family moved to another...

In the past week, one regulation has forced many people in China to say goodbye to long-standing “relationships”. As of July 15, the government placed artificial intelligence (AI) companions under tight supervision. It comes as automated companions have experienced something of a boom over the past few years. According to the rules, AI-human interactions should not encourage violence or harm users’ physical and psychological well-being. Moreover, AI bots should not lure users into sharing...

The ⁠Iranian-aligned Houthis said on Thursday they struck two Saudi oil tankers as part of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, threatening to create a second chokepoint on global oil supplies alongside Iran’s near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Two weeks since the effective collapse of an interim truce meant to end the war, the US military launched another nightly round of air strikes on Iran, prompting Iran to fire at neighbouring Arab countries that house US bases. US Secretary of State Marco...

The US on Wednesday announced a landmark deal with Saudi Arabia that would establish a civilian nuclear programme in the Gulf country, with Washington insisting the agreement includes safeguards against non-proliferation. The move comes as the US under President Donald Trump fights a war with Iran that began in large part over concerns with Tehran’s nuclear programme – an issue that remains a key point of contention during now-stalled peace talks. Two agreements – one on “peaceful nuclear...

Chile wants to widen the group of countries buying its copper and attract about US$100 billion in mining investment over the next decade, its foreign minister said on Wednesday, in the most explicit move yet by the new government in Santiago to reduce its exposure to Chinese demand. “The market is highly concentrated and we need to broaden the number of places that buy our copper,” Francisco Perez Mackenna said at a Bloomberg summit in Singapore, part of a tour through the Asia-Pacific. He said...

Washington is still not receiving sufficient critical mineral exports from China, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday, even as top American and Chinese officials met to finalise key economic deliverables for President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to the White House. “We are getting a flow of critical minerals from China. It’s not as much as we would want. It’s not at the pace we would want, but we are getting them,” Greer said during his testimony before the Senate Finance...

The man convicted of trying to kill Salman Rushdie spent years researching the writer’s whereabouts before stabbing him on a lecture stage, federal prosecutors said Wednesday at the opening of his federal terrorism trial. It is a second trial for Hadi Matar, who was found guilty in a New York state attempted murder case last year. The federal terror charges focus more on Matar’s alleged motive for the attack on the renowned author and free-speech advocate in 2022. Prosecutors started working on...

A French modelling scout with close ties to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead at his home outside Paris, prosecutors and his lawyer said on Wednesday. Under investigation in France, Daniel Siad, 69, was one of several French men accused of aiding the US financier to traffic and abuse women. Siad had not yet been questioned by investigators, but had denied the allegations. “An investigation to determine the cause of death was opened on Monday evening following the...

⁠From humble origins as a family business run out of an ⁠apartment near Moscow, Wildberries has grown in under two decades into Russia’s top online retailer and a key economic driver in the country. It has now become a target of strikes by Ukraine. Ukraine has attacked four Wildberries warehouses over the last week in a widening campaign of drone strikes against a company at the heart of Russia’s consumer economy, bringing the war closer to millions of ordinary Russians. In towns across Russia,...

US President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant each time Tehran attacks a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, escalating Washington’s response as the conflict spread across the region and placed another major shipping route at risk. The warning came hours before Trump was due to attend the return of four US service members killed in Iranian attacks and related operations in Jordan and Iraq. “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran...

Why haven’t Ukraine’s drone and missile attacks on Russia triggered Moscow’s use of tactical nuclear weapons, as it has threatened? When Russia is attacked time and again, one wonders what purpose it serves to have the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. The Ukraine war is at a stalemate. Though roughly 90 per cent of the territory in East Donbas is under Russian control, its ground advances have slowed to less than 100 metres a day, according to a July 1 report by the Centre for Strategic...

More than 1,000 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Africa’s top health body, a grim toll in the fastest Ebola outbreak in history, as conflict, community resistance and an uneven response fuel its spread. Speaking at a health summit in Ghana on Wednesday, Dr Jean Kaseya, director general of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said 1,031 deaths have been confirmed. “These are people dying. They are dying because we don’t...

A judge on Wednesday set a June 1, 2027, trial date for ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on US drug-trafficking charges, while a defence lawyer vowed to seek dismissal of the case on the grounds that Maduro is immune from prosecution as the head of a sovereign state. Maduro and his wife, wearing beige prison garb, appeared during a hearing lasting about ‌20 minutes in Manhattan federal court before District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in one of the most...

On July 9, a fire burned through a shoe factory in Jinjiang, Fujian province, killing at least 28 people. The accident signals a larger problem: firms operating under financial pressure often cut costs by compromising safety. China’s low-cost business model needs reform, but why has change been so difficult? The plant that burned employed hundreds of workers, yet company filings for 2025 indicate that only a handful of them were enrolled in pension and medical insurance plans. A fire-safety...

After US strikes on Iran’s largest nuclear facilities last year, both US President Donald Trump and the White House were adamant that the Middle East nation’s nuclear programme had been destroyed. “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term!” Trump wrote on social media. “Iran’s Nuclear Facilities Have Been Obliterated – and Suggestions Otherwise are Fake News,” the White House wrote in a press release. A year later,...

Searchers have found the wreckage from a Pan Am flight that plunged into the ocean off Puerto Rico in 1952, an accident that killed 52 and led to requirements for the passenger safety briefings given on every commercial flight. The plane, the Clipper Endeavor, made a hard landing after losing engine power shortly after take-off. The 17 passengers and crew who survived told investigators everyone lived through the landing, but panic set in as many passengers struggled to find life vests and the...

US President Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear programme, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly about the yet to be formally announced decision, said the agreement was expected to be announced publicly as early as Wednesday. The deal was expected to last 30 years and was also expected to involve US firms...

The cost of the United States’ war in Iran has risen to US$37.5 billion so far, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, as he faced sceptical lawmakers for the first time since heavy bombings resumed to seek urgent funding for the unpopular conflict. With just six months before midterm elections in which US President Donald Trump’s Republicans may face an uphill battle to keep their House of ‌Representatives and Senate majorities, Democrats are riding high in public opinion polls as...

Over the past year, China’s Belt and Road Initiative has seen rapid development in Central Asia. This has been evidenced by the launch of several railway and road routes connecting China’s industrial and economic centres to logistics hubs in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. China’s improved transport to the region reflects two interrelated trends: growing trade momentum and Central Asia’s strengthening position in continental logistics. Last year, China became the largest trading partner...

US President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to help Lebanon “a lot” as its president, Joseph Aoun, sought Washington’s backing for a fragile effort to disarm Hezbollah and forge a path to peace with Israel. Aoun, the first Lebanese president invited to Washington since 2009, asked Trump for political support and continued backing for the Lebanese army, which has begun deploying in southern areas under a US-backed framework agreement with Israel. “We need to support the LAF,” Aoun said, referring...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday sacked his Soviet-trained army chief Oleksandr Syrsky following a political crisis triggered by the removal of a popular, young and tech-savvy defence minister. The Ukrainian leader announced he was appointing joint forces commander Mykhailo Drapaty in his place. Syrsky, 60, had served in the role since 2024 and was among Kyiv’s most experienced commanders, having led the defence of Kyiv at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. His...

France’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill banning social media access for children under 15, making France the first European country to bar children from apps such as TikTok. President Emmanuel Macron has championed the ban as a flagship reform of his final term in office and pledged to enforce it by September. “France is leading the way in Europe when it comes to protecting our children and teenagers,” Macron said in a video posted on social media, hailing “a major step forward”. He...

US President Donald Trump’s administration is using another tariff threat to put fresh pressure on Canadian provinces to end their boycotts of American alcohol. But provincial leaders are not backing off. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would not lift his province’s ban on the sale of American wine and spirits in government-run stores unless the US removes sectoral tariffs on cars and steel. “We have to negotiate through strength, not weakness. And we need to throw everything on the table,” he...

The ⁠man accused of murdering former ⁠government minister Ann Widdecombe struck her 21 times on the top of her head with a hammer during the attack at her home earlier this ‌month, prosecutors told a London court on Tuesday. Widdecombe, 78, who was a prominent figure in Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK but no longer a member of parliament, was found dead at her home in rural southwest England on ⁠July 9 after being attacked the day before. Police have said they believe Widdecombe had been...

Asia’s oil buyers are facing the risk of a second maritime chokepoint being disrupted after Iran-aligned Houthi militants threatened to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, even as shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain severely disrupted by the US-Iran conflict. Analysts said any serious disruption in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could leave Asia with fewer alternatives for Middle Eastern crude, threatening Saudi shipments and increasing the risk of oil prices rising above US$100 per...

A man suspected of fatally shooting six child welfare workers at a shelter for mothers in Stade in northern Germany last month died by suicide in jail on Tuesday, officials said. The suspect, who has been partially identified in German media as 45-year-old Fatih Khan G., was found dead by jail staff in his single cell early Tuesday, the Lower Saxony state justice ministry said in a statement. The ministry said there are “currently no indications of third-party involvement” in the suspect’s death...

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Tuesday he would cut taxes ⁠on electricity bills, the first of several early moves to signal his intent to ease a cost-of-living crisis and quell anger over successive governments’ failure to bring change. On his second day in his new job, Burnham said his government would remove the value-added tax from domestic electricity bills from October 1, cutting around £45 from the average annual bill of around £1,862 that households pay. With bond investors...

The China threat has landed in Brussels. A new European Union position paper accuses Beijing of amplifying security threats, posing “a critical long-term strategic challenge” and reviving “sphere-of-influence logic” to reshape the global order. Beijing is cast as an enabler of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while its “assertive behaviour” in the South China Sea threatens European and Indo-Pacific security, stability and prosperity. The document, “Common Understanding: The Threats and Challenges...

While Beijing has lifted refined fuel export restrictions this month amid elevated global oil prices and ample national reserves, it has also introduced compliance requirements for refiners – a cautious pivot aimed at safeguarding domestic stockpiles, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. “With the interim truce between Washington and Tehran having collapsed, Beijing has adopted a more cautious stance on easing curbs for fuel exports,” a person familiar with the matter said in...

Nvidia’s H200 chips, a step down from its most advanced Blackwell line, have resumed imports into China, albeit in small quantities. Meanwhile, China’s chip exports nearly doubled in the first half of this year. Much of these exports are mature logic integrated circuits for applications in consumer electronics and automotive sectors. While the US is the undisputed leader in the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips, China is emerging as a dominant player in mass market legacy...

A man stabbed and wounded two tourists Tuesday morning near the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece’s top tourist attraction, police said, in what appeared to be a random attack. The assailant attacked a man and a woman, both Greek Americans, with a knife on a pedestrian street near an entrance to the Acropolis itself and near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum, which lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill. The 53-year-old male victim suffered a serious wound to his arm which required a...

Nicaragua’s long-serving President Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, eliminating the possibility of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further entrenching the rule he shares with his wife. Ortega, who has continuously held power since 2007 following an earlier presidential term ‌in the 1980s, said the move will close off any path to the opposition, although he did not provide details about carrying out the ban. “There won’t be any...

Iran targeted US radar and air defence installations in the Gulf on Tuesday, warning Washington of “more decisive and powerful” attacks to come as the conflict threatened to widen with a blockade of Saudi ports by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked and stopped two “non-compliant oil tankers” attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, part of an effort to tighten its grip on the vital waterway while the war reignited. Following the deaths of at least three...

The US Department of Justice said on Monday it launched a probe reviewing whether some Harvard University financial aid programmes were discriminatory, marking the latest fight against ‌the university by President Donald Trump’s administration. “The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today it is opening a compliance review into Harvard University to determine whether its China-based financial aid programmes and practices exclude American-citizen students,” the department said...

US President Donald Trump signed orders on Monday to impose new 50 per cent tariffs on many Canadian goods, claiming “discriminatory treatment” by Ottawa against American alcohol, automobile and dairy products. The tariffs take effect in 30 days and cover various items including wine, hockey sticks and cement, said the White House. Trump, who saw many of his tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court this year, tapped an untested legal provision for the new duties – Section 338 of the Tariff Act...

Oil prices are set to rise once more as renewed US attacks on Iran leave the Strait of Hormuz, a major artery of oil trade, closed again. With US strategic petroleum reserves at their lowest in over 40 years, America will have trouble keeping oil prices below US$100 a barrel, as it has mostly done in the war so far. Analysts warn that sustained oil prices above US$100 risk accelerating inflation, depressing consumption and inviting recession. They have also turned their attention to China and...

The administration’s 10 percent global tariffs are set to expire at midnight, but officials have been preparing replacements.

The S&P 500 tumbled more than 1 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sank more than 2 percent.

As online research evolves, so has the language we use to describe it.

First as a Marine and then as a journalist, I spent years tied to Afghanistan. I returned one last time to speak to a former enemy in search of answers, and perhaps closure.

After Andrew and Tristan Tate, prominent leaders of the so-called manosphere, were arrested in Miami, many of their onetime allies on the American right pulled back support.

Even as ICE has retreated from its plan to buy warehouses, the new complex near the Virginia border signals that the agency remains determined to increase its detention capacity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was busy trying to put out other fires when a student movement suddenly exploded. There are no easy solutions to the problems behind it.

Health officials did not identify the location of the outbreak, or what they believed was causing it.

Foot traffic to chains such as Chopt and Chipotle fell in recent weeks after a recall from Taylor Farms and changing messages from the F.D.A.

The awards are bestowed only once every four years to mathematicians under the age of 40.

Once, a tub of popcorn was just a tub of popcorn. Now, ‘collectible concession vessels’ could make one chain more than $100 million.

For Gen Z college graduates, the way millennials lived out their ambitions no longer makes sense.

JD Vance isn’t going to save us. Neither is Pete Hegseth.

A study from a group called Rebuild by Design estimates that the money will be needed to repair the effects of climate change in the next 24 years.