Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, was arrested in New Jersey in June, and died after a ‘medical emergency’, agency said

An immigrant being held at a New Jersey ICE detention center died on 1 August, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday. Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, 41, is the 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year, according to agency data.

Lopez-Cornejo, who is originally from El Salvador and first came to the US in 2006, was arrested by ICE agents in Plainfield, New Jersey, on 18 June and sent to Delaney Hall detention facility to await deportation. Less than two months later he suffered an unspecified “medical emergency”, and was later pronounced dead by University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, ICE said.

Residents and farmers say contractors have tapped border aquifers that threaten water supply for those nearby

Construction crews building a border wall in New Mexico were ordered to stop drilling new wells after ranchers said that pumping groundwater to produce concrete could threaten their livestock amid a severe drought.

The order comes as crews across the southern border race to complete one of Donald Trump’s key domestic priorities – barriers that span four states and received over $46bn in federal funding. Controversies have sprouted up in Texas and California, and border-town residents and environmentalists have reported a wide variety of issues with construction.

• UFC says Nascimento died in his sleep

• Brazilian flyweight was 34 years old

• Last fought in split-decision loss in June

UFC fighter Allan Nascimento has been found dead at home at the age of 34, the organisation has announced.

The Brazilian flyweight was pronounced dead after suffering an apparent heart attack in his sleep.

Shares soar as yearly revenue up 93%, even as opposition grows to company’s role in Trump immigration agenda

In a sea of companies reporting mixed financial results this quarter, Palantir stands out. Although Palantir was not immune to the AI jitters that caused industry-wide drops in share prices earlier this year, the AI and analytics company reported that its overall revenue grew 93% year over year to $1.94bn. That’s well over the $1.8bn Wall Street expected Palantir to bring in for the second quarter.

The glowing financials sparked a 10% surge in share prices in the immediate aftermath. Despite growing opposition to Palantir’s work with various governments including the crucial role the company plays in the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, Palantir’s revenue from US government contracts grew 90% year over year to $809m.

Trump ‘disappointed’ with US attorney amid reports he’s considering removing her from her post

• Trump’s reflecting pool saga: a timeline

Donald Trump accused US attorney Jeanine Pirro of having “folded like an umbrella” amid reports that he was considering removing her from her post.

Trump criticized Pirro on Monday after she dropped vandalism charges against a former Olympian accused of damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Trump nominated Pirro to serve as interim US attorney for the District of Columbia last year, and the Senate later confirmed her in August.

Coalition of 25 states asks US Court of International Trade to halt tariffs and declare them them unlawful

• Trump imposes fresh tariffs on dozens of trading partners

A coalition of 25 US states sued the Trump administration on Monday over new tariffs pegged at 10% to 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, calling them a pretext for replacing import taxes struck down by the supreme court in February.

The states are asking the US Court of International Trade to halt the tariffs, declare them unlawful and order refunds of duties that have already been paid.

Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback calls failure to pay Briana Whatley money owed ‘an oversight’

A far-right Republican candidate in Florida’s governor’s race has been accused of stiffing a high school debate champion over the better part of $11,000 in scholarship money she won from a company he founded.

Student Briana Whatley landed the awards as regional and national champion of Incubate Debate, a league-style competition set up by the candidate, James Fishback, to encourage youth to engage in political discourse.

North Carolina congressman’s campaign rejects committee finding that Edwards ‘engaged in sexual harassment’

The US House of Representatives ethics committee on Monday recommended that Chuck Edwards, a Republican congressman, face censure after determining he “fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment” by giving gifts and lavishing attention on two young female staffers.

The bipartisan panel began investigating the second-term North Carolina congressman earlier this year, after receiving complaints about his conduct. In a report approved by Democratic and Republican committee members, they determined there “was substantial reason to believe” Edwards broke House rules by singling out the two unidentified aides for special treatment that made them uncomfortable and harmed relations with other employees.

• Israeli striker scored, then gestured at CF Montréal fans

• Revolution ‘strongly condemn’ the chants

The New England Revolution have denounced chants they deemed “antisemitic” and “discriminatory” from CF Montréal fans during Saturday’s MLS matchup between the sides in Quebec. The specific chants were directed towards New England’s Israeli striker Dor Turgeman, with broadcast microphones capturing fans chanting “free Palestine” shortly before he scored a goal.

MLS on Monday confirmed it was “aware of reported antisemitic and discriminatory language directed at a New England Revolution player” and that the matter is under investigation.

Democrats say agreement – which clears way for Blanche’s confirmation – makes promises president can easily reverse

A compromise between Todd Blanche and two Republican senators that potentially cleared the way for Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general is weak, Democrats and several experts said, as it makes promises Donald Trump can easily reverse.

Blanche, the acting attorney general, posted two documents on Sunday evening showing he was withdrawing an 18 May order allowing for the creation of a $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund and clarifying that broad tax immunity the justice department granted to Trump only applied retroactively to the president, his sons, and businesses.

• Berg is a senior partner at private equity firm 26North

• Commissioner will take over on 1 January 2027

The Major League Soccer board of governors has voted to install Los Angeles FC co-managing owner Larry Berg as the league’s next commissioner.

Berg will succeed Don Garber as the head of the 30-year-old league, with a term starting on 1 January 2027. He will be the third commissioner in MLS history.

Threats come as questions surround death of Mississippi teenager, who was found dead after boat trip with friends

Several people with no apparent connection to the Nolan Wells case have been criminally charged with making threats amid questions surrounding the Mississippi teenager’s death in July.

The death of the 18-year-old Mississippi college freshman has drawn widespread attention since he was found dead following a boat trip to Horn Island, several miles off the Mississippi Gulf coast, with a group of friends.

‘Disturbing’ footage shared by California detainee surfaces amid wider complaints about conditions in ICE detention

Attorneys for a man detained in a California immigration detention center have released footage showing him holding up a bottle of water from inside the facility that appeared to be contaminated with worm-like creatures.

The footage came from a video call with Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Los Angeles man who has been detained for months at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, north-east of LA.

Hundreds of structures damaged as firefighters battle to contain 15 major wildfires amid extreme heat and drought

Firefighters in Washington state are battling wildfires that have forced 60,000 people to flee and destroyed hundreds of buildings as drought and extreme heat fuel an “extraordinary” fire season in the Pacific north-west.

Fifteen major blazes are raging across the state, David Upthegrove, the head of Washington’s department of natural resources, told reporters over the weekend.

• Filipino sensation beats Jessica Pegula 4-6 6-4 6-0

• Fritz beats Jodar in men’s final for first title of season

Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level singles title and Taylor Fritz ⁠claimed his first trophy of the season after both rain-delayed DC Open finals were completed on Monday.

Eala stunned top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6 6-4 ⁠6-0 after the weather-hit ⁠women’s final resumed ​with the 21-year-old trailing by a set but leading 2-1 in the second, while third-seeded Fritz beat Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 7-6 (2) 6-4 ⁠in a tight men’s decider.

Paul Rivera says missing section included questions on Biden’s decision to run for re-election, the Times reports

The author of an infamous internal Democrat party report on the 2024 presidential election loss has claimed that an entire section that included a discussion of generational wealth established by high-ranking elected officials was cut from the draft version leaked and later released earlier this summer.

Paul Rivera, the author of the autopsy, told the New York Times that a section titled “What Happened in 2024” was missing from the published version but had been included in the version he personally handed to embattled party chairman, Ken Martin, in January.

• Pair last played doubles at the 2022 US Open

• Serena returned to action at Wimbledon before injury

• US Open begins 31 August in New York

Serena Williams and Venus Williams are ⁠set to make their Cincinnati Open doubles debut this ⁠month after being ⁠awarded ​a wild card on Monday, marking their return ⁠to doubles action for the first time since 2022.

The Williams sisters ⁠have won 14 major doubles ​titles, including six ‌at Wimbledon, ‌plus three Olympic gold medals.

US sees first fatalities due to intestinal illness, though both had significant ​underlying health conditions

Two people have died from cyclosporiasis in Michigan, the state’s health department said on Monday, marking the first fatalities in the largest US outbreak ⁠of the intestinal illness.

“According to medical records, both individuals had significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration,” a spokesperson for the Michigan health and human service department told the Guardian in a statement.

• Irish golfer one of four wildcard picks for Europe

• Rookies Ramirez, Nadaud and Rhodes also selected

Leona Maguire has retained her place in Europe’s Solheim Cup team despite a disappointing 2026, with the Irish golfer one of four wildcard picks named on Monday by Anna Nordqvist.

Maguire joins three rookies – Julia López Ramirez, Nastasia Nadaud and Mimi Rhodes – in completing the Europe side who will attempt to reclaim the trophy in the Netherlands next month.

In giving the head coach another World Cup cycle, US Soccer is tempting fate for negligible benefit

Mauricio Pochettino and US Soccer enjoyed their time together.

Or, rather, they enshoyed it, as Pochettino would pronounce it in his thick Argentinian accent, which charmingly carries over when he speaks English.

Representative who did not seek re-election in 2024 died of Alzheimer’s disease, her son said

Kay Granger, who served in the US House for almost three decades as the first elected Republican woman from Texas, died on Sunday, her family said. She was 83.

The cause of death, according to her son JD Granger, was Alzheimer’s disease.

Move comes after Blanche gives senators written assurance he will drop Trump’s $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund

Two Republican senators who threatened to block Todd Blanche’s bid to permanently become US attorney general announced they will advance his nomination after he said in writing that a planned $1.8bn slush fund for Donald Trump’s allies was dead.

The US Senate judiciary committee is due to vote on Tuesday on whether to approve the nomination of Blanche, who is already acting attorney general, and send it to the wider Senate for a vote.

Coverage for gender-affirming care is no longer covered by federal plans, and workers must pay out of pocket

US federal employees and their families are joining a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration for blocking insurance coverage of gender-affirming healthcare.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) and the DC-based law firm Correia & Puth filed the lawsuit on Monday morning against the federal office of personnel management (OPM), arguing that the prohibition violates Title VII, which protects against sex discrimination.

More than 60,000 people have been evacuated and at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures destroyed, authorities said. The Spokane Area fire, which contains three separate blazes, has not yet been contained

Police credited Jordan Salinas with limiting number of victims in attack on restaurant in Twin Falls, Idaho

A healthcare worker returning fire on a 24-year-old gunman who killed three people and wounded several others an In-N-Out Burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, has said his impulse to confront the attacker was “automatic” and “mechanical”.

That description from 35-year-old Jordan Salinas came in an interview with the Idaho Statesman that was published on Sunday, providing a detailed account of actions that police credited with limiting the number of victims in the attack a day earlier.

A new book, Homes for Our Time, by Philip Jodidio, showcases the quiet revolution in green residential architecture

State supreme court rules in case of two bishops who were silent about three children abused by Mormon parents

Clergy members in Arizona who learn of child abuse in the context of religious confession are not required to report it, the state’s supreme court has said in a ruling that protects what church leaders call the “seal of the confessional”.

The panel’s ruling ends a long-running case in which three children who were sexually abused by their parents sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon church, and two bishops who became aware of the crimes but remained silent.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International

Erica Fox left Lovers Point near Monterey in December alongside group of swimmers but never made it back

A single, devastating shark bite was fatal for an ocean swimmer whose body was found on a California beach in December, a new autopsy report confirmed.

Erica Fox, 55, drowned after that shark bite broke her pelvis and severed a major artery, according to the findings of the autopsy, which were first reported on by California’s Monterey Herald newspaper.

The EU’s panic and the lack of solidarity emboldens smugglers and the far right – and makes Spain even more vulnerable

For the European hard right and the White House, it seemed almost too good to be true: left-liberal Spain punished with a migration crisis of its own making.

The histrionics came right on cue. As thousands of mainly Moroccan citizens streamed into the tiny Spanish enclave of Ceuta at the tip of north Africa, Spain’s far-right party Vox decried a migrant “invasion”, blaming Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s regularisation and leftist politics. The Trump administration did the same. A senior Israeli diplomat goaded Madrid over its “colonial” territories while Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, called for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen area. Denmark and Finland backed Italy’s move and, by the weekend, 22 EU leaders had penned a letter pointing an implicit finger at Madrid over its presumed failure to “relentlessly combat illegal migration”.

• Pochettino joined US national team in 2024

• Coach led US to last 16 at 2026 World Cup

US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino and the US Soccer Federation have agreed to a contract extension that will keep Pochettino attached to the program through 2030, US Soccer announced on Monday.

The two sides had been actively engaged in discussions on a contract extension for several months, long before the USMNT’s disappointing, last-16 exit in this summer’s World Cup, with the federation making it clear it desired Pochettino to stay. Conversations picked up in the weeks following the World Cup, with the Guardian reporting last week that the sides had been in the “final stages” of agreeing to a deal. Financial details of the contract extension were not released, but Pochettino is expected to get a raise on top of the $6m per year he earned under his previous deal with the federation – already the largest outlay for a US head coach.

Raids on Glass House Farms in California became a ‘litmus test’ for how much violence agents could inflict during Trump’s deportation campaign

On a sunny morning last July, hundreds of heavily armed immigration agents in camouflage stormed a greenhouse complex in Camarillo, an hour north of Los Angeles. They came with face masks, guns, chemical munitions and armored tactical vehicles, blocking access along a road lined by produce fields.

What unfolded next would irreversibly transform the lives of many there that day.

John Sayles’s 1987 film, which dramatizes a 1920 labor conflict, shows how class solidarity can overcome prejudice

When John Sayles, a student at Williams College taking time off from his summer factory job, was hitchhiking during the summer of 1970 in West Virginia, it was often coalminers who picked him off the main interstate highways.

At the time, miners were amid the wake of a contentious union election within the United Mine Workers of America. Fierce tensions had led to the murder of the union reform candidate Joseph Yablonski and his wife in December 1969.

The Greeks learn at Troy that breaking the rules works, then carry the lesson home. Nolan’s film shows how an exception becomes a habit of power

• This article contains spoilers for The Odyssey

I had not read The Odyssey since I was a student. Stories change when we return to them later in life, or perhaps we are the ones who change. Christopher Nolan’s film made me want to find out what I had missed.

More specifically, it made me want to read Emily Wilson’s translation. Her scathing essay about the film nearly stopped me from buying her translation. I bought the book anyway.

Shock and fury as Trump administration holds back Medicaid funding to states over alleged caregiving fraud

By now, when Shannon Rosa hears about cuts to Medicaid and misinformation from the Trump administration about disabled people and their families, her predominant feeling isn’t fear or sadness.

It’s fury.

Thousands of budding US novelists enlist in courses each year, hoping to gain credentials that often influence who gets published

Thomas Pynchon was known to avoid the press and refuse interviews. There are only two official photographs of the Gravity’s Rainbow author available publicly – one taken at high school, the other during his time in the navy. He is the embodiment of the American image of a great writer: a mysterious recluse who works in a turret alone.

These days, the writerly lone wolf is more a myth than it is a reality. Most of today’s celebrated authors are trained in the profession and their qualification is the MFA (master of fine arts). Percival Everett received his from Brown, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie studied at Johns Hopkins University, and Jhumpa Lahiri went to Boston. Great writers, now, are less rare animals discovered in the wild and more elite thoroughbreds, meticulously trained and set up for the race ahead.

US president says he called off another US attack on Iran as part of a push for an agreement. Plus why Pokémon Go is still bring global joy 10 years on

Good morning. Donald Trump said talks with Iran would happen on Monday but declined to set a deadline for an agreement, after earlier saying he had called ⁠off an imminent attack. For its part, Iran said it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the strait of Hormuz, and it had no plans to receive a delegation or send an Iranian one to any talks.

On Saturday night, Trump claimed on social media that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal ⁠that would lead to “the immediate, complete and total” reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”. He added that Tehran must “rapidly make a deal”.

What has Iran said about the strait? The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, told state television on Sunday that a deal was close with Oman over a new route through the waterway. “We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides – neither the northern route nor the southern route – but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security,” he said in an interview.

How many measles cases has the US seen? His remark came as the incidence of measles crossed a milestone – the US has officially recorded 2,371 confirmed infections so far this year, surpassing the total tally in 2025 of 2,289. Taken together, in the past two years there have been more measles infections in the US than in the rest of the 21st century combined. The last time a greater number of measles cases was recorded in a single year was in 1991.

This live blog is now closed.

• Sign up for the US Breaking News email

On Tuesday, we’ll bring you the latest from Michigan where voters will head to the polls for competitive primaries in Senate and House races.

The most closely watched competition is the Democratic primary for the US Senate, where congresswoman Haley Stevens is up against former public health official Abdul El-Sayed. They’re vying to ultimately win the seat of outgoing senator Gary Peters in November. The race has now turned into a proxy battle for the future of the Democratic party. Establishment-backed Stevens has received support from party leaders and her race has been buoyed by millions from the pro-Israel lobby. Meanwhile the insurgent El-Sayed has built a strong grassroots movement and is endorsed by progressives lawmakers in the Democratic caucus.

Factories in upbeat mood despite fears over economic impact of US war on Iran, poll finds

• Business live – latest updates

UK manufacturers ramped up production last month for the fourth consecutive month and at the fastest pace in almost two years, according to a leading survey of the industry.

The S&P Global poll of manufacturers found them in upbeat mood in July, though anxious about the prospect of a long war in the Middle East that would block supplies of oil and gas, and raise the cost of production.

On Tuesday, voters will choose between ex-congresswoman Cori Bush, or pro-Israel incumbent Wesley Bell

The pastor of a historically Black church on St Louis’s north side, Rodrick Burton, has watched with bewilderment as the congressional race in his district has drawn national attention not about the bloodshed in his community, but rather in Gaza.

“As a pastor who’s had eight members murdered, violence over there is terrible,” Burton said of the conflict in the Middle East.

Exclusive: court records reviewed by the Guardian show medical procedures included force-feeding, intravenous forced hydration and involuntary blood draws

Homeland security officials under the Trump administration have quietly attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in US immigrant detention to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, a Guardian investigation has found.

In 2025 and 2026, officials had definitely performed the procedures on at least three detained immigrants and probably subjected two more to the forced treatment – widely considered torture by human rights groups. The other five people gave in and broke their hunger strike at the last minute as force-feeding procedures loomed.

One Kurdish asylum seeker and hunger striker detained at the privately run Port Isabel service processing center in Los Fresnos, south Texas, was subjected to force-feeding for nearly eight months, according to a series of filings in the southern district of Texas federal court, beginning in May 2025 and ending only when he was deported.

Another hunger striker at the same facility was subjected to involuntary medical procedures, including force-feeding, for nearly six months between September 2025 and March 2026, filings in the same court show.

Someone detained at the Krome service processing center in Miami, a privately run ICE jail, was subjected to forced medical procedures for nearly three months, filings in the southern district of Florida federal court show. DHS seemingly began the forced practices three days before Trump’s 2025 inauguration for a second term, then continued.

Two other hunger strikers, one at the Northwest ICE processing center in Washington state and another inside the Montgomery processing center on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, were probably subjected to forced medical procedures, according to filings in the western district of Washington and in the southern district of Texas federal courts.

In at least five cases, hunger strikers detained in Texas, Arizona and Florida, ended their hunger strike right before officials began with the forced medical procedures, filings in the southern district of Texas, district of Arizona and southern district of Florida federal courts show.

The forced procedures were performed inside the detention centers.

In six cases reviewed by the Guardian, detained immigrants did not have any legal representation during the court proceedings granting the involuntary medical procedures.

The DHS and ICE have conducted these procedures throughout the years, regardless of which presidential administration is in power. In 2024, under Joe Biden, the Guardian found that the DHS attempted to subject at least 10 hunger strikers in ICE detention to forced medical treatment. It definitely proceeded with at least two people, and probably subjected at least four more people to them. However, since the return of Trump to the White House and the dramatic increase in immigration arrests and detention, medical experts and advocates worry more hunger strikes will occur and strikers will be subjected to the practices.

Look out for Force-fed by ICE parts three and four in the coming days

The president’s methods, from ‘flooding the zone’ with scandals to prioritizing loyalty over competence, could ultimately weaken rather than strengthen him

The pattern is by now all too familiar: with every power grab Trump tries – from a fraudulent speech about voter fraud to appeals to his supreme court to let him rig the midterms – a debate kicks off about whether these moves are signs of strength or of desperation. Maybe we keep getting caught in this debate because the question is badly posed. So much of what is distinctive about Trump’s governance during his second term can serve the consolidation of an autocratic regime and at the same time create particular vulnerabilities for the regime. We have to become better at identifying these weaknesses, as opposed to being shellshocked by Trump’s brazenness every single time.

Aspiring autocrats operate differently in the 21st century; in previous eras, they had little hesitation about unleashing violence and committing massive human rights violations. Today, they try to fool both domestic and international audiences into thinking that democracy and the rule of law still exist. The recently deposed Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, was a master of this technique; he spent many years performing what he called “the peacock dance” to convince the European Commission (and Chancellor Angela Merkel) that he wasn’t creating a kleptocratic autocracy.

Jan-Werner Müller is a Guardian US columnist and a professor of politics at Princeton University

After visits by US ambassador Mike Huckabee to the nearby Israeli settlement of Shilo, Palestinian Americans in Turmus Ayya have witnessed a terrifying rise in attacks

No man’s land in Turmus Ayya lies where the US flags end and the Israeli flags begin. It is a few hundred metres of soil scorched by molotov cocktails where Israeli settlers have placed a boulder to tell the Palestinian villagers: this is our land now.

On one side of that boulder are the white-stoned mansions where the Palestinian residents of Turmus Ayya live. About 80% of them are US citizens, members of the diaspora in New York, Chicago and Paterson, New Jersey, who return for the summers and bring their children here to experience Palestinian culture and learn Arabic. Many call themselves proud American patriots and fly the stars and stripes from their balconies.

Brent crude drops by 5% after US president claimed talks on Middle East peace deal would resume

Crude oil prices fell sharply while stocks and government bonds rallied on Monday after Donald Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran and claimed peace talks were about to resume.

Brent crude was trading 5% lower at $83.47 a barrel by lunchtime, after falling as much as 7.3% to $81.55 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate dropped more than 5% to $79.47 a barrel.

US and Japanese governments confirm they carried out a rare joint intervention late last week

• Why has Trump stepped in to prop up Japan’s currency?

• Business live – latest updates

The yen has hit its highest level in three months after Japan and the US launched a combined operation to support the Japanese currency.

The yen strengthened to ¥155 to the US dollar on Monday, its highest level since early May, after Tokyo and Washington confirmed they had carried out a rare joint currency intervention late last week.

Proposed $400bn tie-up with Bristol Myers Squibb would create world’s fourth-largest drugmaker but analysts question rationale

More than £17bn was wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest drugmaker, AstraZeneca, on Monday after a report that it was in discussions to take over its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb in a deal that would create a near $400bn (£300bn) pharmaceutical group.

AstraZeneca, run by Pascal Soriot, its longtime chief executive, had been worth nearly £196bn before the news broke. BMS, headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, and known for its cancer treatments, was worth $133bn (£98bn).

The president’s pretext of stopping forced labour is only a ruse – he is trying to grab a share of global trade for the US

Here he goes again. The US President, Donald Trump, is increasing and decreasing tariffs willy-nilly, violating international agreements that he himself signed and almost surely violating federal law. The only difference this time is that he has a new pretext for abusing tariffs: stopping forced labour.

Of course, the administration is right that too little is being done about forced labour. But its stated concern is a ruse. With the new tariffs closely tracking the ones that Trump imposed on the basis of trade balances, are we supposed to believe that bilateral trade deficits just so happen to be highly correlated with the use of forced labour?

Todd Blanche issues formal order terminating measure widely derided as a ‘slush fund’, in move that could clear path for his nomination as attorney general

Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche issued a formal order late on Sunday terminating Donald Trump’s $1.8bn “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate his political allies, a move that follows weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who were blocking his nomination to become attorney general.

While Blanche has repeatedly said publicly that the fund was dead, the justice department had resisted formally confirming that in writing. That had drawn concern from lawmakers that it could be revived in some form, especially after Trump expressed continued support for the idea.