Todd Blanche’s US attorney general prospects in question as vote looms 29. July 2026 (22:21) Republican John Cornyn says he will not back nomination without written confirmation $1.8bn slush fund is deadTodd Blanche’s hopes of becoming US attorney general seemed to be in jeopardy on Wednesday after the Department of Justice did not provide written assurances to a key Republican senator that a $1.8bn slush fund was dead.The US Senate judiciary committee will hold a vote on Thursday on whether to advance Blanche’s nomination. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Hackers steal sensitive data from UK Department for Education and police 29. July 2026 (21:10) Details of parents and staff, including email addresses and phone numbers, are among data taken by cybercriminalsThe Department for Education and a police database have been targeted by a cyber-attack, exposing more than 740,000 pieces of data.Details of government officials, senior school leaders, university staff, police officers and members of the public have been taken by hackers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brave New World or Groundhog Day? Burnham revisits old ground in speech on social care 29. July 2026 (20:15) Right-wing media hostility helped sink his reform plans in 2010, but the new PM’s passionate speech suggests there is now clear political will for changeFor campaigners perpetually disappointed by the failure of England’s political classes to fix England’s creaking adult social care system, the fear was that Andy Burnham’s long-trailed speech would be less Brave New World, more Groundhog Day.Burnham acknowledged he had been here before. Back in 2010, as health and social care secretary, he unveiled extensive proposals to overhaul social care, only for them to collapse amid right-wing media hostility and furious political rows about “death taxes”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Fed holds interest rates steady despite Trump’s renewed calls to lower them 29. July 2026 (20:07) Rates remain unchanged for fifth time since December as tenuous Iran peace deal pushes energy prices up againThe US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, leaving rates unchanged for the fifth time since December despite Donald Trump’s renewed calls to lower rates.Cooler inflation data published earlier this month eased expectations for an imminent rate hike. But the tenuous peace deal between the US and Iran has made energy prices creep up again, strengthening the case for an increase. The Fed’s federal open market committee voted 9-3 to maintain rates, with three dissenting members who preferred to raise the rate by a quarter-percentage point. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump to announce $22bn plan to rebuild Dulles international airport 29. July 2026 (19:33) Planned overhaul forms part of president’s broader pattern of directing changes in Washington after arch and ballroomDonald Trump is due to announce a $22bn plan to rebuild Washington’s Dulles international airport on Wednesday after the US president personally weighed in on the design of the capital’s main international gateway.A White House official confirmed an announcement would be made, after CBS News reported that Trump had scrutinized 3D models from contractors competing to carry out the overhaul at the White House, and offered proposed changes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband testifies about day she killed their three children 29. July 2026 (19:23) Lawyers for Massachusetts mother say she was in throes of postpartum psychosis amid January 2023 tragedyMore than three years after a Massachusetts mother strangled her three young children, her former husband described returning home to the aftermath and a jury listened on Wednesday to his frantic 911 call, as her lawyers seek to prove she was in the grip of post-pregnancy psychosis.Lindsay Clancy, 35, admits she killed her children in January 2023 while her then husband was on an errand away from their home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. Her attorney says she was driven by postpartum mental illness and a jury cannot find she intentionally murdered the children. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
TfL brings case worth up to £1bn against carmakers over Ulez compliance 29. July 2026 (19:03) Transport for London claims polluting diesel vehicles had been able to enter clean air zone without having to payTransport for London is pursuing a potential £1bn legal action against car manufacturers over vehicles that it argues should not have been allowed to drive freely in the capital’s clean-air zone.The high court heard that TfL was making allegations of “fraud and negligence” against manufacturers including Stellantis, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and Nissan over their vehicles’ levels of diesel emissions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Norwegian teenager guilty of travelling to UK to carry out contract killing 29. July 2026 (19:02) Johannes Kongsnes Natland was recruited to murder unknown person by international crime gang linked to IranA Norwegian teenager has been found guilty of travelling to England to carry out a killing ordered by an international crime gang linked to Iran.Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, from Stavanger, Norway, agreed to shoot an unknown person for €25,000 (£21,500) in March last year. Two days after he arrived in the UK armed police arrested him in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, seizing two guns and ammunition. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Staff at newest V&A site in London vote overwhelmingly for strike action 29. July 2026 (18:50) V&A Storehouse dispute centres on toilet and hydration breaks as employees across V&A in London also vote to strike in wider actionStaff at the V&A’s Storehouse site in east London have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a dispute over what they say are inadequate toilet and hydration breaks.They will join staff across V&A sites in London who on Wednesday also voted to strike in a wider dispute over pay, working conditions, and the museum having declined to seek living wage accreditation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russia accuses Telegram founder of aiding terrorism in its latest online crackdown 29. July 2026 (18:36) FSB puts Pavel Durov on international wanted lists and says his messaging app is used for sabotage and murderRussian officials have charged Pavel Durov, the founder and chief executive of the messaging app Telegram, with aiding terrorism.The charges against the 41-year-old Russian-born billionaire, who lives in the Gulf, are the latest step by the Kremlin to bring the internet and digital communications under its control after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
