Flash floods and storms batter north-east US as deadly weather threatens millions 29. July 2026 (15:54) Lightning kills a New Jersey man as rescues, power outages and travel disruption hit regionBands of deadly, extreme weather including torrential rain and high winds sparked flash flooding and tornado warnings in several north eastern US states Tuesday night and into Wednesday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of people and playing havoc with travel.A 32-year-old man was killed on Tuesday afternoon in a lightning strike in Monroe township, New Jersey, authorities said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anthony Fauci invokes fifth amendment right not to answer questions in Senate hearing on Covid-19 – live 29. July 2026 (15:03) Medical adviser says he invokes right to refrain from answering questions, accusing Rand Paul of having ‘obvious obsession’ with himSign up for US Breaking News emailGary Peters, the Democratic ranking member on the homeland security committee, said that the committee has a long history of bipartisan inquiry and oversight, and the subject matter of risky research and the origins of covid-19 are a legitimate area to study.But today’s hearing with Anthony Fauci was not an example of that, Peters said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Half of England officially in ‘exceptionally serious’ drought 29. July 2026 (15:02) Environment Agency names seven regions affected by unusually hot and dry weather and shortage of waterHalf of England is officially in drought, with July set to be the driest on record after winter floods, the Environment Agency has said.The “flash drought” developed quickly because of unusually low rainfall and high temperatures. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Assisted dying debate should come after end-of-life care reform, says Burnham 29. July 2026 (14:55) Introducing legislation would be ‘very challenging’ before improvement of care system, says prime ministerUK politics live – latest updatesAndy Burnham has said the assisted dying debate needs to wait until palliative care and social care are fixed, as he delivered a speech to set out his path to resolving one of the most intractable problems in British politics.The prime minister said he was not opposed to having the debate on assisted dying, but told reporters it would be “very challenging” to introduce the controversial legislation until the care system was in a better place. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rogue OpenAI agent that hacked startup tried to attack other firms 29. July 2026 (14:38) ChatGPT developer says activity by autonomous tool was not at severity or scale of what occurred at Hugging FaceOpenAI has revealed that a cyber-attack carried out by a rogue AI agent had more than one victim.The ChatGPT developer said the agent – an autonomous tool able to carry out sequences of commands without human help – had located and used logins to access four other unnamed “publicly-available services” in addition to the US startup Hugging Face. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Boy, seven, dies after Essex coast incident that killed cousin and aunt 29. July 2026 (14:20) Musa Ahmed was being treated in intensive care in London hospital after being pulled from West Mersea seaA seven-year-old boy has died a week after an incident off the Essex coast in which his teenage cousin and her mother died as they tried to rescue him.Musa Ahmed was being treated for life-threatening injuries after being pulled from the sea near West Mersea beach on 22 July. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lib Dem MP calls for investigation into Reform deputy leader’s £80,000 loan 29. July 2026 (14:18) Richard Tice referred to parliament’s standards watchdog over undeclared sum from Farage aide George CottrellUK politics live – latest updatesRichard Tice has been referred to parliament’s standards watchdog over an undeclared loan of nearly £80,000 from Nigel Farage’s aide George Cottrell.The development opens up the prospect of another inquiry into a Reform UK MP by the watchdog, which was investigating Farage after the Guardian’s revelation that he received an undeclared £5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
BMW to cut ‘as many as 8,000 jobs’ under pressure from Chinese rivals 29. July 2026 (14:02) Layoffs will come in admin and development divisions in Germany, with production operations unaffectedBMW is planning to cut as many as 8,000 jobs in Germany, according to reports, in the latest sign of Europe’s largest carmakers reducing costs under pressure from Chinese rivals.The Munich-headquartered company has started a voluntary redundancy programme agreed with employee representatives, a BMW spokesperson said on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
French music producer Kavinsky, known for Drive soundtrack hit Nightcall, dies aged 50 29. July 2026 (13:55) French authorities investigate death of musician who performed at Paris Olympics, but say ‘no suspicious elements’ at playThe French electronic musician Kavinsky, known for the song Nightcall which achieved iconic status after its inclusion in the Ryan Gosling film Drive, has died aged 50.A police source speaking to French newspaper Le Figaro indicated that the suspected cause of death was a stroke. Kavinsky, real name Vincent Belorgey, had reportedly been complaining of headaches in recent days, and he was discovered at home after a concerned neighbour alerted emergency services. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US schools are struggling to keep the yellow bus running amid shortages and cuts 29. July 2026 (13:00) Districts are reducing routes and exploring new ways to get students to class as transportation costs climbEducation officials across the United States are increasingly facing a fundamental challenge: how do they ensure that school students can actually get to their classrooms?The bright yellow school bus might be a visual icon of US education famous around the world, but in reality it is becoming harder for districts to steer. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
