Graham Platner shrugs off scandals to win Maine Democratic Senate primary 10. June 2026 (03:27) Platner, whose campaign was hit by series of negative headlines, to face Susan Collins in key midterm contest Graham Platner, a Marine veteran, oyster farmer and progressive activist, has scaled a mountain of personal controversies to win the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in Maine.His victory on Tuesday caps a remarkable rise for a candidate who has never held elected office and whose campaign was shadowed by negative headlines that might have ended a more conventional political career. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Karmelo Anthony found guilty of murder and sentenced to 35 years 10. June 2026 (02:46) Texas trial, which lasted a week, drew national attention due to race, as Anthony is Black and Austin Metcalf was whiteFollowing a trial that lasted just one week from jury selection to verdict, a Collin county, Texas, jury found Karmelo Anthony, now 19, guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of Austin Metcalf last year.The closely watched trial drew national attention, with viral social media posts that highlighted the racial composition of the case: Anthony is Black; Austin was white. Attorneys selected 12 jurors and six alternates for the trial; none of the jurors was Black. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Prisoners in Western Australia are living in ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading’ conditions, report warns 10. June 2026 (02:27) Inspector of custodial services says inmates are sleeping on the floor and denied basic entitlements due to ‘a systemic failure across multiple prisons’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastInmates in Western Australia are sleeping on mattresses on the floor of overcrowded cells and subjected to “cruel, inhuman and degrading” conditions, prompting the jails watchdog to call for urgent reform.Most of WA’s correctional facilities are in crisis, with an increased level of harm observed across the system, the state’s inspector of custodial services, Eamon Ryan, said in a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How Spencer Pratt’s ‘patently absurd’ bid for Los Angeles mayor fell flat 10. June 2026 (02:26) The ex-reality TV star, who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades fire, cast himself as the antidote to the city’s woesSpencer Pratt, an ex-reality TV star, cast himself as the antidote to Los Angeles’s woes as he campaigned to be the city’s next mayor.He curried favor with swaths of disillusioned voters who related to his diatribes against city leadership. His fervent social media posts, including re-shares of AI-generated campaign ads showing LA in an apocalyptic light, garnered national attention. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Seattle enacts year-long ban on new AI datacenters 10. June 2026 (02:15) Home city of Amazon and Microsoft passes moratorium as backlash against energy-guzzling AI infrastructure growsSeattle has passed a year-long moratorium on the construction of new datacenters. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the temporary ban on Tuesday.A major tech hub whose metro area is home to Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US federal judge blocks Alabama from executing man by nitrogen gas 10. June 2026 (01:51) Emily C Marks finds method proposed to kill Jeffery Lee violates ban on cruel and unusual punishmentA federal judge on Tuesday permanently blocked Alabama from executing a man with nitrogen gas after declaring the method violates the ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Alabama became the first state in the nation to use the execution method in January 2024, but has faced repeated legal challenges to its use.Emily C Marks, a US district judge, permanently enjoined the state from executing Jeffery Lee by nitrogen gas. Lee was scheduled to be executed Thursday at an Alabama prison. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Republican Steve Hilton advances in tight California governor’s race 10. June 2026 (01:45) Former UK political operative endorsed by Trump will face off against Democrat Xavier Becerra in November electionRepublican Steve Hilton, the former UK political operative turned Fox News personality, has advanced to the November general election in the race to become California’s next governor, facing off against Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former congressman, state attorney general and US health secretary.Hilton’s success, a remarkable achievement for a recent immigrant, came after he was endorsed by Donald Trump. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Grim reality of prison conditions laid bare in damning report 10. June 2026 (01:02) Inmates in England and Wales live among vermin while gangs control entire wings, monitors warn, with failures ‘at risk of becoming normalised’Staff at immigration detention centre wore England flags, report findsThe independent monitoring board’s annual report of conditions across the prison estate of England and Wales is stark and unflinching.Men and women are held for long periods in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, often living alongside vermin. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Staff at immigration detention centre wore England flags, report finds 10. June 2026 (01:02) Chair of prisons and detention watchdog concerned about intimidating effect as wide-ranging and damning review publishedGrim reality of prison conditions laid bare in damning reportStaff at an immigration detention centre wore England flags pinned to their uniforms while guarding migrants, a report from the prisons and detention watchdog has revealed.Their use by staff at one of the Home Office’s short-term holding facilities to detain migrants is revealed in the Independent Monitoring Boards’ national annual report, published on Wednesday, which is based on 127 annual reports about different prisons, young offender institutions and immigration detention centres. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lammy’s cuts to jury trials could have ‘far-reaching’ effect on race relations, say MPs 10. June 2026 (01:02) Justice secretary’s plans likely to increase black people’s suspicion of court system, committee suggestsDavid Lammy’s planned changes to the criminal courts in England and Wales could have a “far-reaching” impact on race relations, a cross-party committee of MPs has concluded.The deputy prime minister’s plan to remove the right to elect for a crown court trial “has the potential to increase mistrust in the criminal justice system among the black community”, the justice select committee said, because black defendants are more likely to elect for trial. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
