Trump intelligence pick Jay Clayton refuses to say Biden won 2020 election 15. July 2026 (17:48) Clayton, if confirmed, would replace Bill Pulte, and is facing senators for confirmation as the US’s top spyJay Clayton, the US attorney for the southern district of New York, refused to say that Joe Biden won the 2020 election during his Wednesday confirmation hearing to become the nation’s next intelligence chief.Clayton opted instead to say that Biden was “certified” as president. Clayton also skirted questions about his previous election integrity claims and whether or not a White House official asked him to subpoena a group of New York Times journalists as part of an alleged national security investigation. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Unlicensed casinos could face ban on sponsoring UK sports teams from 2027 15. July 2026 (17:47) Proposal to protect vulnerable and stop money laundering could affect Premier League clubs and Formula OneUK politics live – latest updatesUnlicensed casinos could be banned from sponsoring sports teams in the UK from next year, in a move that poses financial questions for Premier League football clubs such as Everton FC and sports including Formula One.Plans for a ban, revealed by the Guardian on Sunday and confirmed by the government on Wednesday, are aimed at protecting vulnerable people and reducing the risk of sport being used by organised crime groups for money laundering. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Unheard David Bowie songs from 1965 to be released – including ones with Jimmy Page on guitar 15. July 2026 (17:46) Compilation entitled David Bowie: The Shel Talmy Recordings will be released in September, collating material from when he recorded as Davy JonesUnheard 1965 recordings by David Bowie, from when he was starting out in swinging 60s London as Davy Jones, are finally to be released – some featuring a pre-Led Zeppelin Jimmy Page.Before he broke through with 1969’s Space Oddity, and scaled up through The Man Who Sold the World and Hunky Dory towards the explosive impact of his Ziggy Stardust alter ego in 1972, Bowie started out as a very different kind of artist: sharp-suited and coiffured, playing the kind of forthright, blues-influenced, sometimes faintly psychedelic pop-rock that was the hallmark of mid-60s London, from the Beatles to the Small Faces and the Who. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
White House overturns DHS halt to ICE traffic stops despite killings of two men 15. July 2026 (17:40) Move comes after Trump rebuked his own homeland security department and insisted ICE maintain policyThe White House overturned a one-day old homeland security department (DHS) memo that said they would be halting traffic stops in the wake of recent stops that left two men killed in the space of a week on Wednesday morning, hours after Donald Trump insisted ICE keep making them.Federal officers across the US had been told to temporarily stop pulling drivers over on Tuesday. That directive came after ICE agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston on 7 July and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine on Monday. Both men were unarmed, neither was the intended target of the operation that killed him, and in both cases the agents involved wore no body camera to record what happened. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Todd Blanche sits for confirmation hearing in bid for attorney general 15. July 2026 (17:21) Trump’s nominee will face tough questions over purging of career prosecutors, Epstein files and moreTodd Blanche is testifying in front of the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday, as one of Donald Trump’s most loyal and powerful enforcers in government aims to be confirmed as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.Few officials have been more instrumental in Trump’s crusade to transform the federal government in his second term than Blanche. Trump tapped Blanche, his former personal attorney, to serve as the deputy attorney general, the justice department’s No 2 position, at the start of his term, where he steered the department’s day-to-day work as career employees were purged over their connection to Trump investigations and the president oriented the department towards punishing political rivals and investigating debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Greater gliders not as great at gliding as thought – but still look like magic carpets, experts say 15. July 2026 (17:01) While new study challenges assumptions about how far they travel, witnessing them in action still takes your breath away, scientists sayFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThey may look like a fluffy flying carpet, but greater gliders are not as great at gliding as previously thought, Australian researchers have discovered.The first study to measure the aerial ability of Australia’s largest gliding marsupial has found they soar across an average distance of 19 metres – far shorter than the 100 metres suggested in an 85-year-old study. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Almost 145,000 Australians will lose support for autism under NDIS reforms, documents reveal 15. July 2026 (17:00) Internal estimates show 144,600 people will be taken off the scheme by 2030, many of them under 18Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlmost 145,000 Australians receiving support for autism on the national disability insurance scheme (NDIS) are expected to be removed by the end of the decade, internal estimates show, as the federal government moves ahead with plans to narrow the focus of the “diluted” $52bn scheme toward those with significant and complex needs.From 2028, almost two-thirds of the 241,000 participants set to lose access to the NDIS will be aged 18 or under, health department documents released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws show. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Albanese’s AI plan is admirable – but will face tech giants more powerful than most national governments 15. July 2026 (17:00) Challenges of regulating social media or stopping hate speech show these firms can set their own terms and prices for countries like AustraliaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese took a trip back in time during his much anticipated speech on artificial intelligence on Wednesday.Seeking to harness the momentous change bearing down on our lives, the prime minister told an audience at the University of Sydney that his government would keep pace with AI, even seeking to “get out in front” of the technological tidal wave. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Albanese’s AI blueprint sparks calls for datacentre moratorium until new regulations in place 15. July 2026 (17:00) Prime minister’s plan will create energy regulations for datacentres in AustraliaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEnvironmental and community groups have called for a pause on datacentre development until new regulations are in place after Anthony Albanese promised “greater clarity and speed” over their approval.In his landmark speech on artificial intelligence at the University of Sydney on Wednesday, the prime minister said Australia would create a legal obligation for large-scale datacentres to underwrite new power supply, pay their full share of grid connection, and add as much energy to the grid as they take out of it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
As Russia’s assault continues, Ukraine’s politics shift and an old alliance begins to fray 15. July 2026 (16:30) Beneath the drone strikes and talk of ceasefires lies a battle over history that is testing Kyiv’s chances for an end to the conflict• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereI’ve just come back from a trip to Kyiv, where after more than four years of war, it can feel like the political and diplomatic news agenda has become cyclical: a suggestion that some kind of peace deal could be around the corner, followed by the swift intervention of reality that the Kremlin has no interest in abandoning its maximalist goals, and we all go back to the drawing board.We are now in a period where Russia has again stepped up its air attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Frequent mass drone and missile attacks keep Kyiv residents awake, and some even get through to the city centre, whereas in the past Ukrainian air defences were usually able to repel them. Nights can be noisy and scary: one attack while I was there killed 27 people. Thousands head into the metro to get some sleep. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
