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Police officer fatally shoots man in Madison, Wisconsin, sparking protests

Shooting happened on street in popular neighborhood lined with restaurants, bars, shops and homes

A police officer in Madison, Wisconsin, shot and killed a man Wednesday in an incident that was captured on cellphone footage, sparking local protests.

John Patterson, the Madison police chief, acknowledged the shooting at a news conference, but stressed footage circulating was just one perspective of what happened.

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© Photograph: Scott Bauer/AP

© Photograph: Scott Bauer/AP

© Photograph: Scott Bauer/AP

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Trump scoffs at ‘affordability’ as he touts economic policies at Georgia rally

President visits swing state to promote ‘Trump accounts’ and says high prices lingering from Joe Biden’s presidency

Donald Trump scoffed at the word “affordability” as a political message, describing it at a campaign rally on Wednesday as a term concocted by Democratic political consultants to criticize his presidency. Yet even as the president dismissed the notion of affordability, he devoted much of his speech at Wheeler high school to touting the bread-and-butter benefits of his economic policies.

“So I just want you to remember that if you’re paying a little bit more – a lot of it’s come down now, we got it coming down very rapidly actually,” Trump said in Marietta, an Atlanta suburb, casting higher prices today as a lingering effect of the Biden administration.

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© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

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US signs landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could pave the way for domestic nuclear enrichment

Trump administration hails agreement, which comes as the US fights a war with Iran in part to prevent Tehran enriching uranium domestically

The US has signed a landmark nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia that could allow the kingdom to enrich uranium in the future.

In a statement on Wednesday, the US Department of Energy said its secretary, Chris Wright, and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, signed a “peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement”, along with a “bilateral safeguards agreement”.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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House Republicans to write $95bn bill to fund Iran war and aid farmers

GOP-controlled chamber paves way for reconciliation bill, while making long-shot attempt at new voting restrictions

House Republicans on Wednesday agreed to begin the process of writing a $95bn bill to fund the war with Iran as well as provide new aid to farmers, while making a long-shot attempt to impose new restrictions on voting nationwide.

In a virtually party-line 216-214, the Republican-controlled chamber passed a budget resolution that paves the way for the creation of a reconciliation bill, which can advance through the Senate under special rules that circumvent the Democratic filibuster and requires only a simple majority to pass. Two Republicans – Warren Davidson of Ohio and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, as well as Kevin Kiley, an independent of California who aligns with the GOP – joined all Democrats in opposing the measure.

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© Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

© Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images

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California toddler bitten by rattlesnake ‘hiding under’ Amazon package

Three-year-old girl landed in ICU after snake bit her while grabbing a package outside her family’s Santa Clarita home

A three-year-old girl landed in the intensive care unit earlier this month after a rattlesnake bit her while she was trying to grab an Amazon package.

Addy, the young girl, ran out with her mother on 13 July to pick up a package dropped over the gate to their home in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

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House passes $1.15tn defense bill despite standoff over Israel and Trump’s voter agenda

Passage of annual bill complicated by Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran without congressional approval

The US House of Representatives passed a $1.15tn defense policy bill in a near-party-line vote on Wednesday, after Democrats refused to back the measure amid the war with Iran and Donald Trump’s push to impose new restrictions on voting nationwide.

A key plank of the president’s plan to spend $1.5tn on the military in the 2027 fiscal year, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed the Republican-controlled chamber by a 216-212 vote, with all but six Democrats opposing its passage. Seven House Republicans broke ranks to oppose the measure, which now goes to the Senate.

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© Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

© Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

© Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty Images

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OpenAI’s rogue agents are a wake-up call to risks posed by artificial intelligence | Shakeel Hashim

Hacking of Hugging Face shows we do not seem to have reliable ways to curb extremely powerful AI systems

Last week Hugging Face – a company that hosts artificial intelligence models and datasets – was hacked.

After it reported the incident to law enforcement, few would have predicted what came next: the culprits were revealed to be AI agents from OpenAI, which had broken out of containment and were acting of their own accord.

Shakeel Hashim is the editor of Transformer, a publication about the power and politics of transformative AI

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© Photograph: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Pau Barrena/AFP/Getty Images

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US trade chief defends tariffs as Democrats say Trump ‘in denial’ over price hikes

Jamieson Greer denies tariffs have pushed up prices during grilling from lawmakers over cost-of-living concerns

Donald Trump’s chief trade official denied the president’s sweeping tariffs have increased prices for US families, as lawmakers challenged him over cost-of-living concerns across much of the country.

US inflation surged to a three-year high earlier this year. During a heated exchange before US senators on Wednesday, however, US trade representative Jamieson Greer appeared to claim Trump’s controversial economic agenda had not driven prices higher.

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© Photograph: Michael Brochstein/Zuma/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Michael Brochstein/Zuma/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Michael Brochstein/Zuma/Shutterstock

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Possible bloodstains were detected at D4vd’s home, law enforcement testify

Gory details about tarp, mats and inflatable pool come to light during hearing over death of Celeste Rivas Hernandez

At singer D4vd’s former Hollywood Hills home, law enforcement detected possible bloodstains – invisible to the naked eye – on items including a green tarp, black rubber mats and a crumpled inflatable pool that had the odor of fresh laundry.

The gory details came to light on Wednesday, the second day of a hearing to determine whether there was probable cause for the musician, whose full name is David Anthony Burke, to stand trial for the murder and sexual abuse of Celeste Rivas Hernandez.

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© Photograph: Bill Robles/AP

© Photograph: Bill Robles/AP

© Photograph: Bill Robles/AP

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Inter Miami sign Casemiro as MLS announces investigation into tampering

  • Midfielder signs a one-year deal with extension option

  • League investigation centers on the transfer

Inter Miami have signed Casemiro as a free agent, but Major League Soccer is investigating the South Florida side for potential tampering in the process of acquiring the Brazilian midfielder.

Casemiro has signed what amounts to a one-year contract with Miami, beginning now and ending at the conclusion of the 2027 “sprint season” that precedes the league’s switch to a fall-to-spring calendar in 2027-28. There is an option for an extension that would see the Brazilian stay in Miami through the 2028-29 MLS season.

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© Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

© Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

© Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

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Man killed in ICE ‘encounter’ was on vacation in US with tourist visa – reports

Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán ran into traffic and killed by semi after federal officials approached him at Florida gas station

The Mexican man who was hit and killed by a semi-truck in Florida when running away from federal immigration officials was vacationing in the US with a tourist visa, according to news reports this week.

The 28-year-old, Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, was killed on 14 July after an “encounter” with federal officials, including those with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a state highway patrol spokesperson said last week.

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© Photograph: Kelly Jordan/AP

© Photograph: Kelly Jordan/AP

© Photograph: Kelly Jordan/AP

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Trump’s war on Iran is unpopular and expensive. He’s perfectly OK with that

Trump’s response to the Iran war’s mounting death toll and astronomical costs? ‘It won’t have any impact on me’

Could it be … that Donald Trump isn’t a team player?

The midterm elections are less than four months away, and Republicans in the House and the Senate – hampered by a deeply unpopular president and what might be an even less popular war – are increasingly fearful of losing their jobs. Even Trump’s base is beginning to turn against the conflict.

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© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

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‘Our system is in dire straits’: progressive Democrats hold Medicare for All hearing

Congressional Progressive caucus say ‘healthcare should not be a privilege’ as they champions single payer system

The Congressional Progressive caucus (CPC) held a shadow hearing on Medicare for All on Wednesday, led by Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell.

The hearing comes as over half of the House Democratic caucus has co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation, and Senator Andy Kim introduced legislation on Tuesday that would enroll all children into Medicaid until the age of 26, while Republicans passed drastic healthcare cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including nearly $1n in cuts to Medicaid and allowing Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire.

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© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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Thousands of immigrant children risk losing lawyers after Trump aid cuts

More than 20,000 unaccompanied children risk going to US immigration court alone after federal funding cuts

Thousands of immigrant children who came to the United States without being accompanied by a parent or guardian are now at imminent risk of losing the attorneys assisting on their legal cases, amid cuts in government funding, advocates warned this week.

The Trump administration has severed ties with nearly a hundred legal organizations across the country that provide immigration advice and has been funneling kids into fast-tracked court hearings.

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© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

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Mamdani says he can’t arrest Netanyahu as mayor and urges US to enforce ICC warrant

Mamdani admits he lacks power to arrest Israeli prime minister after saying he’s ‘not welcome’ in New York City

Zohran Mamdani, the New York City mayor, doubled down on his support for the international criminal court (ICC) on Wednesday and called on federal authorities to execute the court’s warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest should he visit the city in the fall.

“I call on the federal government to join the international criminal court and to execute both this warrant as well as any warrant the international criminal court holds,” Mamdani told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.

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© Photograph: Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

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Nolan Wells’s autopsy inconclusive as family presses for answers in teen’s death

Independent exam of Black teen found cause and manner of death ‘undetermined’ as family questions timeline

Nolan Wells’s cause of death and manner of death are both “undetermined, pending investigation”, according to an independent autopsy, announced on Wednesday by Wells’s family’s attorney, Ben Crump.

The results came nearly three weeks after Wells, an 18-year-old college freshman, was found dead.

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© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

© Photograph: David Dee Delgado/Reuters

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Mamdani taps Lina Khan and Tony Shorris for key New York economic posts

Appointments mark a shift in the city’s development agencies as the mayor reshapes his economic agenda

New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has named Lina Khan as the next chair of the city’s Economic Development Board (EDB) and longtime city government official Tony Shorris as the next leader of the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC), marking major changes at one of New York’s most influential agencies.

Khan, who previously chaired the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) during the Biden administration, has been a close adviser to the mayor. She was the youngest person to chair the FTC and the first of South Asian descent, focusing on antitrust and antimonopoly enforcement.

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© Photograph: Angelina Katsanis/Reuters

© Photograph: Angelina Katsanis/Reuters

© Photograph: Angelina Katsanis/Reuters

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Venezuela’s Maduro gets June 2027 trial date in US drug-trafficking case

Venezuelan president and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been held at Brooklyn jail and both have pleaded not guilty

The ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, will go on trial on US drug trafficking charges starting on 1 June ⁠2027, a judge said ⁠on Wednesday.

Maduro wore beige prison ​garb as he was led into a Manhattan courtroom by US marshals for a hearing before district judge Alvin Hellerstein in one of the most consequential criminal cases in recent history.

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© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/Reuters

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US teen buys Wilt Chamberlain jacket in thrift store that sells for $89,600

The $3 purchase was authenticated as a rare piece from Chamberlain’s final NBA season

An Oregon teenager admitted “I got very, very lucky” after a basketball legend’s jacket he picked up at a thrift store for pocket change sold at auction for almost $90,000.

Quinn Brown said he was in a Goodwill store in Portland in January when he saw somebody throw the bright yellow jacket into a clothing bin.

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© Photograph: Sotheby's/AP

© Photograph: Sotheby's/AP

© Photograph: Sotheby's/AP

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Tropical storm Bertha makes landfall in Louisiana with 45mph winds

In Kentucky and West Virginia, rescuers freed trapped residents as states face catastrophic floods and damage

Tropical storm Bertha made ‌landfall in ‌St Bernard parish, on the Gulf coast south-east of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday afternoon, the ⁠US national ⁠hurricane ⁠center said.

The Miami-based forecaster ‌added that maximum ​sustained winds were estimated ⁠to be ​45mph (75km/h) ‌with higher ​gusts.

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© Photograph: Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal/USA TODAY Network/Reuters Connect

© Photograph: Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal/USA TODAY Network/Reuters Connect

© Photograph: Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal/USA TODAY Network/Reuters Connect

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CDC cuts leave US less prepared for disease outbreaks, former officials warn

As measles, hantavirus and cyclospora spread, experts say lost staff and expertise are slowing the response

A series of health challenges – hantavirus, screwworm, Ebola, cyclospora, measles, whooping cough, bird flu – are exposing the widening gaps in America’s ability to prevent, identify and halt infectious disease outbreaks.

The rapid dismantling of the US public health system at all levels means the US is in worse shape than it was before the Covid pandemic, former top CDC officials say.

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© Photograph: Megan Varner/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© Photograph: Megan Varner/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© Photograph: Megan Varner/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Democrats need to hammer Trump on his unprecedented corruption | Steven Greenhouse

To win in this year’s midterm elections, the party must highlight that Trump has made huge financial gains while millions struggle to make ends meet

If the Democrats hope to maximize their chances of winning in this November’s elections, there’s a subject they need to scream far and wide about: Donald Trump’s immense and unprecedented corruption. The Democrats need to make clear to every American that Trump has shamelessly used his second term to increase his wealth by an astounding amount – by more than $2bn – all while millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, their struggles made worse by Trump policies that have pushed up inflation and gas prices.

Every day through election day, the Democrats should convey loud and clear that America’s billionaire president has focused far more on making himself richer than on improving the lives of average Americans. Trump’s corruption and conflicts of interest are so vast and outrageous that many Americans have little idea how vast and outrageous they are: ranging from Trump’s making more than $1.4bn from crypto last year to granting pardons to criminals whose families have donated to Trump’s campaign to his sons’ investing in startup companies that receive generous help from the Trump administration.

Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

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Three speeches on a single day signaled a dying American democracy | Robert Shpiner

Stephen Miller warned of a leftwing ‘cancer’ threatening civilization. As a critical care doctor, I have a response to his diagnosis

The presumption that US elections are legitimate died last week in Washington. It was 237 years old. It did not die of one wound. It died of three, inflicted in a single day, in daylight, on the record. And the country, running to the loudest of them, never examined the one most likely to kill.

In critical care we distinguish the mechanism of death from its cause. The mechanism was a Thursday. The cause was chronic, progressive and untreated.

Robert B Shpiner is a clinical professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

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© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

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I joined the long lines for Trader Joe’s viral tote bags. What I found surprised me

Shoppers are waking up before sunrise to score the $3 mini grocery bags, which have become a global status symbol

A Friday morning on a public holiday usually means sleeping in. Instead, I was standing outside my local Trader Joe’s before 7am, staring at a line of shoppers that seemed to stretch for miles.

The grocery store in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles, wouldn’t open for another hour. But hundreds of people were already waiting for the same thing: Trader Joe’s new striped pastel mini canvas totes, a $2.99 reusable bag that has inspired a frenzy more typically associated with sneaker releases or concert presale tickets.

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© Photograph: Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register via Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register via Getty Images

© Photograph: Paul Bersebach/Orange County Register via Getty Images

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House Democrat calls for congressional hearings on Trump administration’s nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia – as it happened

This live blog is now closed.

A reminder that my colleagues are covering the latest out of the Middle East at our dedicated live blog.

Donald Trump took to Truth Social a short while and noted that the US will destroy one bridge or power plant, including those near Tehran, “any time” that Iran “shoots a ship” in the strait of Hormuz.

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© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

© Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

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‘Our hearts are crushed’: Hannah Rapp’s violent death sparks outpouring of grief

Family and boxing community grieving deeply after Rapp was killed by motorist while she was cycling in Texas

The violent death of the US boxer Hannah Rapp, whom authorities say was killed recently by a motorist while she cycled, has left her sport, her communities outside the ring and her loved ones grieving deeply just weeks after she took her first world title shot.

A statement from the Bryan Boxing gym where Rapp trained in Texas commemorated her as “an amazing lady and soul” while the Aggieland Cycling club to which she belonged recalled how her “kindness and excitement for life [buoyed] all who knew her”.

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© Photograph: Harry Aaron/Most Valuable Promotions

© Photograph: Harry Aaron/Most Valuable Promotions

© Photograph: Harry Aaron/Most Valuable Promotions

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Has Trump dragged the US into a forever war in Iran? | Mohamad Bazzi

He decried endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now he may be stuck in one of his own making

As Donald Trump launched a war of aggression against Iran nearly five months ago, he insisted Washington would achieve a decisive victory within weeks. Trump and his advisers scoffed at any suggestion that they were breaking repeated campaign promises not to start new conflicts, and to end America’s legacy of forever wars, especially in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In early March, a week into the war, Trump declared he would only agree to “unconditional surrender” by Iran’s theocratic government. He vowed to destroy much of Tehran’s military, called for a popular uprising and touted the overthrow of the regime that rose to power after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Of course, Trump’s grandiose promises turned out to be the latest chapter in a long history of American imperial hubris.

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© Photograph: Amir Hossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Amir Hossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Amir Hossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP/Getty Images

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The world is on fire, and who does Trump blame? The Canadians | Arwa Mahdawi

The US president has been complaining about Canada’s ‘filthy, polluted and unhealthy air’. Maybe he should put all that energy into tackling the climate crisis

Right, that’s it: we’ve got to do something about Canada. The country’s wildfires, which resulted in air quality alerts across more than 20 US states, ruined my weekend. On Friday the air in Philadelphia, where I live, was so unhealthy I couldn’t go outside without my eyes stinging. My kid’s preschool cancelled outdoor time, while the city suspended trash pickup and closed public pools.

You know who did not suspend their regularly scheduled programming because of a bit of toxic smoke? The plot monitoring committee at my allotment. Despite the apocalyptic conditions, they were still busy ensuring the gardening bylaws were strictly adhered to. I realised this on Saturday when I got an official violation for too many weeds. Yes, I’d got a bit carried away with “chaos gardening” (all the rage these days) and I’d meant to clean things up on Friday, until the smoke got in the way. So, thanks for that Canada.

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© Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

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Footage shows Texas police officer rescuing man from burning car – video

Newly released footage shows the moment a police officer from Southlake, Texas, pulls a driver unharmed from a car after the vehicle burst into flames during a routine traffic stop. Cpl Joshua Swisher was awarded the local police department's meritorious conduct award for his bravery in the incident

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© Photograph: SOUTHLAKE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY / Associated Press

© Photograph: SOUTHLAKE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY / Associated Press

© Photograph: SOUTHLAKE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY / Associated Press

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World Cup 2026 awards: the Guardian team give their final tournament verdicts

The best games, goals and personal highlights – from a magical Azteca to Erling Haaland breaking America

Paraguay 1-1 Germany. There were plenty more games with more goals but none could match the drama of the penalty shootout in this last-32 tie. Germany aren’t supposed to lose in them but they did this time in spectacular fashion. Ed Aarons

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© Composite: Guardian Designl Imagn Images/Reuters; PA; Fifa/Getty Images; AMA/Getty Images; Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Designl Imagn Images/Reuters; PA; Fifa/Getty Images; AMA/Getty Images; Getty Images

© Composite: Guardian Designl Imagn Images/Reuters; PA; Fifa/Getty Images; AMA/Getty Images; Getty Images

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Americans far more likely to view politics as greatest threat to safety, study finds

New survey reveals one in 10 Americans identify politics as biggest risk they face in life – 10 times the global average

Americans are 10 times more likely than people elsewhere in the world to regard politics as the greatest threat to their personal safety, according to a global survey that suggests the country’s deep partisan divisions are poisoning everyday life.

The latest Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll found that one in 10 Americans identified politics as the biggest risk they face in their daily lives when asked an open-ended question. The figure is up from 6% in both 2021 and 2023 and well above the global average of 1% across 140 countries.

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© Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

© Photograph: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Why many Black Americans were rooting for Argentina to lose the World Cup | Etan Thomas

Many Black Americans were not cheering Spain’s complicated history. They were rooting against the racism, politics and silence associated with Argentina

There are moments in sports when you realize people aren’t just watching the score any more. They’re watching values. They’re watching who speaks. They’re watching who stays silent. And they’re watching what those silences say.

I found myself thinking about that throughout this World Cup. On paper, Sunday’s final looked simple. Spain v Argentina. Two footballing giants and countries with glorious soccer histories. Two nations whose pasts are also stained by colonization, oppression and chapters of history that shouldn’t be whitewashed simply because someone can score a goal.

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© Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

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Wednesday briefing: How Trump’s Iran gamble has produced a crisis reshaping the global order

In today’s newsletter: ​A White House operating without expertise, strategy or restraint ​is stuck in a conflict with no easy way out, which is sending economic shockwaves far beyond its own borders

Good morning. Within two hours of entering No 10 on Monday afternoon, Andy Burnham had his first call with Donald Trump. After chit-chatting about the football (both agreed England had an “excellent tournament”) and Manchester (our new prime minister invited the president to visit the city Trump once described as a “town”), they got on to far trickier territory: the strait of Hormuz.

The US has attacked Iran for the eleventh consecutive night, hitting aircraft hangars and drone storage sites across the country. It came after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on US air bases and neighbouring Gulf states, which have accused it of deliberately targeting desalination plants that are essential to life in the region. Each side now claims it is preventing the other from gaining control over the strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil was shipped before the war began. Vessels carrying crucial shipments of oil, gas and fertiliser remain at a standstill.

UK politics | Andy Burnham is under mounting pressure to explain how he will pay for his policy pledges as he implored his new cabinet to examine “all possible ways” to tackle the cost of living crisis.

UK news | A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of the former MP and Reform UK spokesperson Ann Widdecombe. Joshua Kerry, 28, is accused of killing the former Conservative minister at her home in Haytor, Devon, by hitting her on the head with a hammer 21 times.

Middle East | The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, told the Senate the US-Israel war on Iran had cost $37.5bn so far, as he faced lawmakers furious over the conflict’s soaring price tag and the deaths last week of three American service members.

Climate crisis | About 23 million people will be banned from using hosepipes by this weekend, as England and Wales moves closer to drought status.

Ukraine | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and offered a “prominent position” to the defence minister he sacked last week in a move that sparked nationwide protests.

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© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

© Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

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Saudi Arabia and US strike deal for kingdom to enrich uranium

Donald Trump approves agreement to help country make fuel for civilian nuclear programme

Donald Trump signed a nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that could enable the kingdom to enrich its own uranium for nuclear reactions.

The US energy secretary, Chris Wright, and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, signed “a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement” and “an accompanying bilateral safeguards agreement,” according to a statement from the US Department of Energy.

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© Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

© Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

© Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

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Election deniers win Republican primaries in Arizona

Andy Biggs wins nomination to challenge Katie Hobbs as Alex Kolodin won party’s primary for secretary of state

Donald Trump-backed candidates in Arizona prevailed in key primary contests on Tuesday, setting up a fall campaign that will test whether Republicans can reverse some of their recent losses in the presidential battleground state.

Andy Biggs, the hard-right congressman endorsed by Donald Trump, easily won the Republican nomination to challenge the incumbent Democrat, Governor Katie Hobbs.

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© Photograph: Rebecca Noble/Reuters

© Photograph: Rebecca Noble/Reuters

© Photograph: Rebecca Noble/Reuters

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