Alarm over $20m plan to supply ICE officers with electric-shock gloves

Luke Pollard warns government will force platforms to remove content, after latest deadly crash involving a car driving in wrong directionA minister has pressed social media companies to remove content from their platforms showcasing dangerous driving in the wake of a fatal collision that killed seven people in Middlesbrough.The crash in the early hours of Saturday, in which PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough died, occurred when a Volkswagen Passat, containing five individuals aged between 23 and 17, crashed head-on with a marked armed response vehicle while driving the wrong way on the A66. Continue reading...

House Democratic leader meets with president’s son-in-law has ignited fury amongst own party Democrats incredulous over Hakeem Jeffries and Jared Kushner meetingHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries’ meeting with Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law, has sparked backlash from his own party and other Donald Trump critics.Throughout this Congress, Republicans have adopted a my-way-or-the-highway approach to governing that has failed the American people. To stop the madness, we have repeatedly made clear that an extremist approach will not work and will be met with forceful opposition.The American people want bold change and that’s what House Democrats will deliver. In every conversation that we have with the Trump administration, we will continue to make it explicitly clear that the affordability crisis is not a hoax and nothing short of transformational policy change is acceptable. We are fighting for an affordable America. The question is whether Republicans will join us.Tim Scott defended fellow US South Carolina Republican senator Darline Graham’s knowledge of national security issues ahead of their state’s runoff election on Tuesday. Graham, who was appointed to fill the Senate seat held by her brother Lindsey Graham after his sudden death in July, is in a Republican primary runoff against South Carolina congressman Ralph Norman.Dan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan against Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s US Senate election, says a former Alaska mayor who recently backed the race’s Republican incumbent over a challenger sharing their name. That development provided another of multiple absurd elements to Dan S Sullivan’s campaign for a third term in the US Senate, which – beside Mary Peltola, a former Alaska Democratic congresswoman – has drawn opposition from Dan J Sullivan.The Donald Trump aide Natalie Harp flooded a since-disabled social media account with pro-Trump posts on the day that the president’s supporters attacked the US Capitol in early 2021, years before she went to work for him and developed an extraordinary close relationship with him, a new report has revealed.A series of moves by Donald Trump’s administration to sow doubt in the integrity of US elections has intensified concern among voting experts – and sparked hope among election deniers – that it could declare a national emergency. The White House and US federal agencies have released a string of documents this summer – including disputed analyses of alleged voting by noncitzens and historical intelligence memos – stoking expectations that the US president could move to exert greater control over November’s US midterm elections.Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed the threat of a fresh round of US economic sanctions as a “desperate” ploy, even as its president acknowledged that the Iranian people are facing “many problems” amid Washington’s efforts to isolate and debilitate the country’s economy. Continue reading...

Moscow warns of increased tensions with Britain as Burnham visits Kyiv to offer declassified details of missile componentsEurope live – latest updatesThe Kremlin has warned of an escalation in tensions between the UK and Russia as Andy Burnham arrived in Kyiv to present Ukraine with newly declassified blueprints to allow Ukraine to improve its production of long range missiles.In his first trip abroad as the prime minister, Burnham will give Ukraine previously classified information on the British manufactured components for long-range cruise missiles. Continue reading...

Campaigners say proposal for £10bn rescue deal in bid to avoid nationalisation is a ‘cosy stitch-up’Business live – latest updatesThe group of creditors pursuing a rescue bid for Thames Water have been accused of shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic after proposing an overhaul of the stricken utility’s board.In a bid to stave off temporary nationalisation by Andy Burnham, the lenders said they would appoint Liz Barber, the former chief executive of Yorkshire Water, and Clive Selley, the former chief executive of network operator Openreach, as directors if they are allowed to take formal control of the company. Continue reading...

West African country reports 46 suspected cases in outbreak declared in July, amid fears virus may be spreading undetectedMore than half of the mpox cases reported in Guinea-Bissau have been among children, local authorities have said, almost two months since the country announced an epidemic.A national outbreak was declared on 4 July, just over a week after a 27-year-old woman became the first confirmed case of mpox in the west African country. Since then, there have been seven confirmed cases and 46 suspected cases. Half of those patients have been children, with 16 under the age of four. Continue reading...

The US is scooping up treasury bonds in an effort to raise their price and push yields down – but it’s not workingThe bond market is driving the Trump administration crazy. Last week, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, announced that the government would sharply ramp up its purchase of treasury bonds, in an effort to raise their price and thus push down their yield, which amounts to the interest rate the government pays on its debt.It didn’t quite work as planned. Yields on treasurys fell after Bessent’s bond market intervention but soon bounced back. By Friday afternoon, the yield on the 10-year treasury was back near where it was before the secretary’s announcement. The yield on the 30-year bond was again trading around its highest level in 20 years or more. Continue reading...

Endorsement of Republican incumbent over challenger with same name adds twist to unusual campaign in AlaskaRepublican senator Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola advance in Alaska Senate primaryDan Sullivan supports Dan Sullivan against Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s US Senate election, says a former Alaskan mayor who recently backed the race’s Republican incumbent over a challenger sharing their name.That development provided another of multiple absurd elements to Dan S Sullivan’s campaign for a third term in the US Senate, which – beside Mary Peltola, a former Alaska Democratic congresswoman – has drawn opposition from Dan J Sullivan. Continue reading...

Defence minister says police ‘need time’ but ‘in the meantime’ the government has told platforms to take down content glorifying dangerous drivingCleveland police and crime commissioner Matt Storey was on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning to take questions on the fatal A66 crash.Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak died when their Volkswagen Passat, believed to be using cloned plates, collided with a marked armed response vehicle early on Saturday near Middlesbrough.Without being able to say whether that was anything like involved in this case, it’s absolutely idiotic for anybody to be doing anything other than being completely 100% focused on the road when they’re behind the wheel of a vehicle.And for somebody to be filming themselves or doing anything like that is absolutely ridiculous, and of course nobody should be doing that. And it is a worrying situation if that’s becoming more prevalent because it is incredibly dangerous. Continue reading...

Nidia Webb, who is legally settled in UK, falls foul of ‘known issue’ with Home Office’s digitised immigration processA woman who is legally settled in the UK was left stranded at a Spanish airport after the Home Office’s post-Brexit visa system mixed her up with her twin sister.Nidia Webb fell foul of what she was told was a “known issue” with the eVisa, which was brought in as part of the government’s drive to digitise the UK’s immigration system but has faced problems that have caused concern for thousands of people. Continue reading...

Police arrest five men and search six properties including the union’s Victorian headquartersGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo men have been charged and Victorian police have seized drugs, guns and cars linked to the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the building industry.On Monday, detectives from Taskforce Hawk arrested five men and searched six properties including the Victorian headquarters of the union, saying they were investigating secret commissions, fraud and drug trafficking. Continue reading...

Charles Perrottet appeared to be furthering Jean Nassif’s interests when he shared a secret recording, a former NSW MP claimsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDominic Perrottet’s brother shared “dirt” – including a secret pocket phone recording of a minister – to try to help a property developer achieve political outcomes, lawyers assisting a corruption inquiry have alleged.Former New South Wales Liberal MP and staffer Chris Spence told the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Monday that Charles Perrottet may have been acting in the interests of fugitive property developer Jean Nassif when Perrottet shared audio recordings with Spence in 2021, although he denied having knowledge of any plans Perrottet may have had at the time. Continue reading...