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A storm, overpriced food and a sad ferris wheel: inside Trump’s dreadful state fair
The Guardian

A storm, overpriced food and a sad ferris wheel: inside Trump’s dreadful state fair

Attendance at the Great American State Fair is sparse and the heat is extreme, but at least you can pay $25 for a pretzelThis was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every WednesdayI have been to some disappointing fairs in my time. There was one, in a small town in north-west England, where the main attraction was a little slide that you rode down o...

Badenoch urges Burnham to condemn defence investment plan as No 10 says funding is ‘credible’ – as it happened
The Guardian

Badenoch urges Burnham to condemn defence investment plan as No 10 says funding is ‘credible’ – as it happened

Minister and MPs have raised concerns that his ‘poisoned chalice’ plan will take cash from much-needed road projectsMinister and MP ‘furious’ over cuts to road projects to fund defence planDan Sabbagh is the Guardian’s defence and security editor.Andy Burnham is a “true patriot” who will provide the money needed to maintain Britain’s security when he becomes prime minister, the new defence secreta...

Keir Starmer suggests Andy Burnham borrow billions for defence
The Guardian

Keir Starmer suggests Andy Burnham borrow billions for defence

Prime minister says he will take no lectures from Tories after Kemi Badenoch says investment plan is insufficientUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has suggested Andy Burnham borrow billions more to cover the hole in the government’s Defence Investment Plan (Dip), in a move which economists say would severely reduce Burnham’s headroom against his fiscal rules.The prime minister said on ...

Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover reveals Alzheimer’s diagnosis
The Guardian

Lethal Weapon star Danny Glover reveals Alzheimer’s diagnosis

The 79-year-old actor told media ‘I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life. There’s work to do. Your life continues’Lethal Weapon actor Danny Glover has revealed he has been living with Alzheimer’s for several years.Glover, 79, announced the news during an interview on The Today Show, during which he explained that he had been diagnosed “not long” after receiving an honorary Oscar in 2022. “I cou...

UK national lottery funding too concentrated in south, Nandy says

UK national lottery funding too concentrated in south, Nandy says

The Guardian

Culture secretary launches first review of how money is spent in more than two decadesFunding from the national lottery is too heavily concentrated in the south, the culture secretary has said, as she launched the first review in more than 20 years into how billons raised by ticket sales is spent.In comments that chime with Andy Burnham’s pledge to devolve more power from London if he becomes prim...

How extreme heat is exposing extreme inequality

How extreme heat is exposing extreme inequality

The Guardian

The climate crisis and worsening disparity could be responsible for more than 100,000 deaths a year in Europe, which should set off alarm bells for policymakers• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereCall it a tale of two heatwave experiences.As brutally hot conditions brought much of western Europe to its knees, an American writer living in Paris asserted that, for many, t...

Author of England maternity care review ‘listened to wrong voices’, says adviser

Author of England maternity care review ‘listened to wrong voices’, says adviser

The Guardian

Dr Bill Kirkup said section of Valerie Amos’s report criticising ‘normal birth ideology’ was removed before publicationThe author of a major inquiry into maternity care altered its final report to remove criticism of “normal birth ideology”, one of her expert advisers claims.Dr Bill Kirkup said Valerie Amos had “listened to the wrong voices” before a section outlining the potential risks of encour...

‘Please think again’: fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts

‘Please think again’: fury over Exeter University plan to scrap dozens of humanities posts

The Guardian

Rowan Williams and Mark Kermode join campaign against proposed cuts for humanities, arts and social sciencesLeading writers, broadcasters, academics and theologians have thrown their weight behind a campaign to save 150 jobs at the University of Exeter, amid growing outrage at a sector-wide hollowing out of the humanities.In excess of 21,000 people – and counting – have signed a petition railing a...

Teachers in England get two-year 6.6% pay rise but schools to foot part of bill

Teachers in England get two-year 6.6% pay rise but schools to foot part of bill

The Guardian

Unions pleased with rise above forecast inflation but concerned nearly a third of it will come from school budgetsUK politics live – latest updatesTeachers in England will receive a 3.5% pay rise from September and a further 3% next year, with extra school funding to meet most but not all of the higher wage bill, the government has announced.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said the go...

Andy Burnham says ‘nothing off table’ in case of Rochdale grooming gang leader

Andy Burnham says ‘nothing off table’ in case of Rochdale grooming gang leader

The Guardian

Labour leader-in-waiting wants to close loophole preventing deportation of sex offenderAndy Burnham will explore “all possible options”, if he becomes prime minister, to close a legal loophole that prevented the deportation of a “vile” Rochdale grooming gang leader.In his first significant intervention as Labour leader-in-waiting, Burnham said nothing would be “off the table” in the case of Shabir...

England has just had its hottest June on record, Met Office data shows

England has just had its hottest June on record, Met Office data shows

The Guardian

Chief scientist says dangerous heatwaves, which are getting more likely, ‘bring home the implications of climate change’The month of June was the warmest in England on record, driven by a searing heatwave in the final days of the month, which for the first time had red heat alerts for three days, according to Met Office data.The Met Office said provisional statistics showed Wales and the UK as a w...

Bayeux tapestry tickets generate nine-hour online queues as public scramble for access

Bayeux tapestry tickets generate nine-hour online queues as public scramble for access

The Guardian

Reports say up to 80,000 people waiting by mid-afternoon for chance to see historic artwork at British MuseumPeople keen to see the Bayeux tapestry faced online queues of up to nine hours when tickets went on sale for the first time on Wednesday morning.The British Museum, which is hosting the wool-on-linen artwork from September, saw huge traffic to its ticketing website as a scramble for access ...

At least 3.3m people were victims of Dutch enslavement, research claims

At least 3.3m people were victims of Dutch enslavement, research claims

The Guardian

Figure is more than five times the widely used 600,000 figure widely cited in apologies by king and politiciansAt least 3.3 million people were enslaved in the Netherlands during the transatlantic slave trade, research claims – more than five times the 600,000 figure widely used in history books and cited in apologies by the king and politicians.King Willem-Alexander referred to the more than 600,...

Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ greed after earning over $2bn since return to office

Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ greed after earning over $2bn since return to office

The Guardian

Elizabeth Warren and colleagues demanded tighter rules on political figures’ crypto dealings, citing disclosures of large-scale Trump family profitsUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has again been accused of “brazen crypto corruption” after financial disclosures revealed his family’s cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1bn in his first year back in the White House.A 927-page d...

Josh Burns says partner Georgie Purcell faces antisemitic abuse because she is Jewish, commission hears

Josh Burns says partner Georgie Purcell faces antisemitic abuse because she is Jewish, commission hears

The Guardian

The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion hears how witnesses are subjected to hate speech amplified by misogynyGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastVile, threatening abuse is being levelled at witnesses to the antisemitism royal commission, the inquiry has heard, while a Labor MP has said attacks on his partner were heightened because they were stacked with ...

Arts degrees to cost $50,000 until at least 2028 as measures to lower Australian university fees put on hold

Arts degrees to cost $50,000 until at least 2028 as measures to lower Australian university fees put on hold

The Guardian

Barney Glover, head of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission, says he will provide advice about degree funding to the government next yearGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe man tasked with reforming the controversial Job-ready Graduates (JRG) program says he will not recommend any interim measures to reduce the $50,000 cost of arts degrees, despite calling the sc...

Rapid demand for AI datacentres in Australia could stoke inflation, experts warn – and crowd out land for housing

Rapid demand for AI datacentres in Australia could stoke inflation, experts warn – and crowd out land for housing

The Guardian

Calls are growing for new datacentre approvals to be halted until stronger protections are consideredGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTransport for NSW and the Reserve Bank have warned datacentres could take scarce land from logistics firms and housing developments, pushing up prices and overheating the economy, as calls grow for a national pause on the booming sector.The...

Lambie, Hanson and Pocock form unlikely alliance to protect transparency campaigner Rex Patrick

Lambie, Hanson and Pocock form unlikely alliance to protect transparency campaigner Rex Patrick

The Guardian

Exclusive: Patrick is using freedom of information rules to seek where nuclear waste from Aukus submarines will be keptGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJacqui Lambie, Pauline Hanson and David Pocock have joined a push for the government to stop a legal threat against Rex Patrick, after bureaucrats unexpectedly escalated a transparency case to the federal court.Patrick, a ...

Two dead after small plane crashes in field in Essex

Two dead after small plane crashes in field in Essex

The Guardian

Two-seat Cessna aircraft was being used for short flight experience when it crashed in Ongar on Tuesday, police sayTwo people have died after a light aircraft on a “short flight experience” crashed in a field near Ongar in Essex, police have said.The two-seat Cessna plane crashed in a field off Mill Lane, Ongar, on Tuesday after taking off from North Weald airfield about seven miles west, Essex po...

Venezuelan police officers arrested over alleged looting after earthquakes

Venezuelan police officers arrested over alleged looting after earthquakes

The Guardian

Anger at authorities and government grows as local people, volunteers and rescue teams continue search for survivors Four Venezuelan police officers have been arrested and are facing dismissal after being accused of looting cash from the rubble of a building that collapsed during last week’s devastating twin earthquakes.News of the incident came as local people and national and international rescu...

Canada to ​join Eurovision song contest from 2027

Canada to ​join Eurovision song contest from 2027

The Guardian

Country is first to join since Australia in 2015 as event director says it ‘continues to welcome the world’Canada will ​join the Eurovision song contest next year, becoming the first new ⁠participant since Australia in 2015, organisers have announced.Participation is not limited to countries in geographic Europe and instead is open to all members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which Can...

Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ crypto greed after earning over $1bn since return to office

Trump accused of ‘disgusting’ crypto greed after earning over $1bn since return to office

The Guardian

Elizabeth Warren and colleagues demanded tighter rules on political figures’ crypto dealings, citing disclosures of large-scale Trump family profitsUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has again been accused of “brazen crypto corruption” after financial disclosures revealed his family’s cryptocurrency ventures generated more than $1bn in his first year back in the White House.Elizabeth Wa...

Australia’s mortgage burden is now above 1989 levels – when interest rates were 17%

Australia’s mortgage burden is now above 1989 levels – when interest rates were 17%

The Guardian

KPMG analysis rebuts claims older generations had it harder when it came to buying and paying off a homeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s national mortgage burden is heavier now than it was when lending rates reached 17% at the end of the 1980s, new analysis reveals.Terry Rawnsley, an urban economist at KPMG, said his research was in part a “myth-busting” exerc...

‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA

‘Beautiful blobs’: synthetic life a step closer as scientists make cells using lab-made DNA

The Guardian

Tiny, quivering spheres designed to feed and multiply raise prospect of artificial organisms to make drugs, food and fuelResearchers claim they are closer to creating life from scratch after building tiny, quivering blobs that use lab-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish.The synthetic cells were made from chemical compounds and are believed to be the first to demonstrate the complete cell...

Save student loan plan ends, leaving millions of US borrowers 90 days to find a new one

Save student loan plan ends, leaving millions of US borrowers 90 days to find a new one

The Guardian

The Trump administration is requiring borrowers to choose new repayment options after the Biden-era plan was ruled unconstitutionalMore than 7 million Americans will be forced to change their student loan repayment plan beginning on Wednesday, as the Save plan officially ends. The termination of the Biden-era initiative, which was launched in 2023, coincides with a larger overhaul of the US studen...

Ireland takes presidency of EU in Dublin ceremony – Europe live

Ireland takes presidency of EU in Dublin ceremony – Europe live

The Guardian

Volodymyr Zelenskyy among guests as Micheál Martin says ‘we will stand unswervingly by the people of Ukraine’Pistorius talks about changes in the German military reserve system, with “the Bundeswehr building up.”He talks about reforms needed to allow to mobilise reservists better and more efficiently. Continue reading...

Crypto and stock stakes: key takeaways from Trump’s financial disclosures

Crypto and stock stakes: key takeaways from Trump’s financial disclosures

The Guardian

US president raked in more than $1bn from crypto – an industry he has sought to deregulate – and a total of $2.2bn last year, files revealAlarm bells over conflict of interest as filing shows Trump raked in $2bn in 2025Donald Trump’s money-making ventures enriched him by more than $2bn last year, according to newly released financial disclosures.The revenue was supercharged by the Trump family’s c...