JD Vance urges UK anti-immigration activists to ‘keep on going’ 19. May 2026 (22:27) US vice-president appeared to align with attendees of Tommy Robinson’s ‘unite the kingdom’ rally in LondonThe US vice-president, JD Vance, has urged anti-immigration activists in the UK to “keep on going” after tens of thousands gathered for a rally in London.Vance appeared to align himself with those who attended a march on Saturday where the far-right activist Tommy Robinson told supporters to prepare for the “battle of Britain”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Billionaire Trump donor in line to make millions from Thames Water bid 19. May 2026 (22:14) Paul Singer is founder of a leading creditor in the hedge fund consortium locked in talks with the UK governmentA billionaire Donald Trump donor could make millions from a deal being struck between the government and Thames Water.The UK’s largest water company, ministers and creditors are at an impasse as they try to agree a rescue deal to stave off Thames’s collapse. The water company built up a £17.6bn debt pile in the decades after its privatisation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New York woman dies after stepping out of car into open manhole 19. May 2026 (21:50) Family seeks answers after incident at uncovered maintenance hole near Cartier building late at nightSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe family of a New York woman is struggling for answers after the 56-year-old fell to her death upon stepping out of her car and slipping down an open maintenance hole on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue.The woman in question died on Monday night and was identified by family members as Donike Gocaj, from Briarcliff Manor, a commuter belt area north of New York City. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Andy Burnham to face Reform’s Robert Kenyon in crucial Makerfield byelection 19. May 2026 (21:27) Outcome of contest for seat just outside Wigan could change the course of British politics for years to come Andy Burnham will face Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon in next month’s crucial Makerfield byelection in a clash that could change the course of British politics for years to come.Reform are billing Kenyon, a plumber and army reservist who contested the seat just outside Wigan in the 2024 general election, as a local champion taking on a professional politician who is using the seat for his own advantage. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US justice department ‘forever’ bars IRS from auditing Trump’s past tax returns 19. May 2026 (21:25) Addendum quietly slipped into widely criticized agreement creating a $1.7bn fund to compensate president’s alliesThe justice department quietly added a provision barring the IRS from auditing Donald Trump’s tax returns on Tuesday, amending a widely criticized agreement that creates a secretive and loosely controlled $1.776bn fund to compensate allies of the president.The addendum, signed by Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, says the government is “forever barred” and “precluded” from examining the tax returns of Trump, his family, company and “related companies”. The agreement applies to anything filed before the agreement was reached. It was posted on the justice department website on Tuesday morning, a day after the department announced creation of the fund. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump turns to Middle East allies as deal to end Iran war proves elusive 19. May 2026 (20:45) President claims planned Tehran attack postponed to allow talks to continue – but no indication peace plan is imminentAs he seeks an exit from the Iran war, Donald Trump is increasingly outsourcing his policymaking to US allies in the Middle East, while the White House appears unable to find a simple way to end the fighting and reopen global shipping lanes held by Tehran.In Trump’s telling, the “dealmaker-in-chief” has maintained a consistent policy toward Iran aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, leveling threats and incentives to reach a new deal that would also open the Strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Has anybody seen Nigel? Speculation swirls as Farage performs disappearing act 19. May 2026 (20:45) As campaigners take to the streets for what could be the most significant byelection for decades, the Reform leader’s absence remains a mysteryIt has been six days since Nigel Farage cancelled a scheduled appearance at a Reform UK rally in Sunderland, a key election target in Labour’s heartlands.The reasons given – chaos in government and what appeared to be an impending Labour leadership race – seemed logical. After all, as a quotation sometimes attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte goes: never interfere with an enemy while he is in the process of destroying himself. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rubio criticizes WHO’s Ebola response as US continues sweeping public health cuts 19. May 2026 (20:44) US secretary of state says WHO was ‘a little late’ in identifying deadly Ebola outbreak in the DRC and UgandaUS secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) was “a little late” in identifying the deadly Ebola outbreak in the the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.On Tuesday, Rubio told reporters: “The lead is obviously going to be CDC (the Centers for Disease Control) and the World Health Organization, which was a little late to identify this thing unfortunately.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Todd Blanche says he would not recommend a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell 19. May 2026 (20:44) Acting US attorney general made comments about the Epstein associate at a Senate hearing over budget requestsUS politics live – latest updatesTodd Blanche, the acting US attorney general, told lawmakers on Tuesday that he would not recommend a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex-trafficking crimes.Blanche’s comments came during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, where he was testifying before the appropriations subcommittee over budget requests for the justice department. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cracked part had been flagged ahead of Kentucky plane crash that killed 15 people 19. May 2026 (20:31) New information surfaced at hearing into the UPS freight plane crash, which happened in November 2025Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed on Tuesday that it is reviewing reports of cracks in a wing mount before the left engine sheared off from a UPS freight airplane on takeoff from Louisville, Kentucky, in November, resulting in a crash that killed 15 people.That information surfaced at the beginning of a two-day hearing into the crash of the delivery service’s MD-11, which left all three crew members and 12 people on the ground dead. An additional 23 people on the ground were injured as an auto parts recycling plant ignited after the freighter crashed into it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
