Anatomy of a speech: how does a Republican leader say no to Trump?
South Carolina’s state senate majority leader offered a nuanced case for rejecting Trump’s redistricting demands How does a Republican leader say no to Donald Trump? I had never had the privilege of speaking with the president of the United States until last week. And it really was – it was a privilege. I enjoyed the conversation. It was a very good conversation. ”I would hope that the home team can retain the majority. And I would also hope that if the home team retains the majority, that they’ll actually do something productive with it. And no matter how big and beautiful it was, there’s a whole lot more that they’ve left on the table.
Trying to go to 7-0 I think is extremely risky from a political standpoint. I think at best you’re going to get 6-1 and you may even go 5-2. I’ve told the press a number of times, I think if you get cute with this, you could end up in a 5-2 scenario. I don’t want [Democratic House minority leader] Hakeem Jeffries as the speaker of the House. I cannot in good conscience surrender this authority that has been preserved to, for, and by the states, and merely take orders from those who are not in South Carolina …I absolutely understand what the president’s concern is here. I understand what the president’s issue is here. I don’t disagree with that. But there are other concerns that we have to consider.
Those concerns have not been considered at all with the proposal that we have. Those concerns affect South Carolina and South Carolinians. We’ve been able to punch above our weight regardless of the administration, regardless of who the president is, regardless of who occupies the White House. We have had that influence. Doing this will absolutely diminish that influence. It just will. And everybody knows it. Everybody in here, everybody who’s familiar with the process, we understand what’s going to happen here … Continue reading...
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Trump-Xi Beijing Summit Addresses Trade War, Technology, and Iran Strategy
• President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping held high-stakes talks in Beijing focusing on resolving escalating trade tensions, technology competition, and coordinating responses to Middle Eastern developments. • The two leaders discussed tariff rollbacks, semiconductor supply chain restrictions, and potential joint initiatives on artificial intelligence regulation, with both nations seeking to avoid further economic deterioration.
Read original · watchingamerica.comUS-Iran Ceasefire Negotiations Show Progress Amid Regional Tensions
• Diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran have advanced ceasefire talks, with both nations signaling willingness to negotiate a formal agreement to end months of escalating regional conflict. • Officials from both countries met in a neutral location this week to discuss terms, including sanctions relief, prisoner exchanges, and military de-escalation measures along disputed maritime boundaries.
Read original · watchingamerica.com‘Magical’ objects from iron age hoard found in UK go on display
Exhibition of Melsonby hoard in York challenges ideas about life in northern Britain 2,000 years agoIron age objects that tell a dramatic story of female power and which dispel the myth that northern Britain was a left-behind backwater have gone on display for the first time.The objects exhibited in York are from the Melsonby hoard, the largest trove of iron age metalwork ever found in the UK, which experts say could alter our understanding of life in Britain 2,000 years ago. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comGB News should lose its licence, says ex-Sky News editor Adam Boulton
Veteran broadcaster accuses channel of ‘clear violations’ of Ofcom’s due impartiality rulesUK politics live – latest updatesThe former Sky News political editor Adam Boulton has said GB News should lose its broadcasting licence, as he accused Britain’s media regulator of failing in its duty to protect impartial television news.Boulton, who was Sky News’s political editor for 25 years after the channel launched in 1989, said he believed it was too late to revoke GB News’s broadcasting rights, despite bringing a partisan brand of coverage to British television since its debut in 2021. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comCanadian officer accused of spying for China acquitted of charges
William Majcher was accused of helping Chinese police coerce a Vancouver-area real estate investor, accused of fraud, to return to ChinaA retired police officer Canada accused of being an agent for China has been acquitted of national security charges after prosecutors failed to prove he acted illegally.William Majcher, who served in the RCMP’s financial crime unit, was charged in 2023 over allegations he had breached Canada’s Security of Information Act by helping Chinese police coerce a Vancouver-area real estate investor, accused of fraud, to return to China. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comLabor’s budget will benefit the young – but does little to woo voters drawn to One Nation
Jim Chalmers’ budget tips the scales in favour of younger and less well-off households – but it’s middle-class gen X that are turning to the rightwing partyExplore all of our 2026 Australia federal budget coverageLabor’s fifth budget will do what it says on the tin: it will benefit the young and the poor at the expense of the older and the rich.This is the most obvious takeaway from distributional analysis conducted by Ben Phillips, an associate professor at the ANU’s Centre for Social Policy Research. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comProminent Australian academic denies links to powerful Iranian politician
Prof Abbas Rajabifard of the University of Melbourne says he was listed as a co-author of research with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in recent peace talks, without his knowledgeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA University of Melbourne academic has denied collaborating on research with the speaker of Iran’s parliament – who has been leading Tehran’s peace negotiations with the US – saying he was named as an author on a journal article without his knowledge.On Monday Guardian Australia revealed that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, had built extensive ties to Australia over the past decade, including links to a University of Melbourne engineering research centre. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comNDIS cuts could leave some participants with a funding gap. How will the changes affect you?
Proposals also grant the health minister power to change disability support rules without state or territory approval. Here’s what you need to knowGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFunding for some services within the National Disability Insurance Scheme will be slashed – even in cases where participants could be left with a funding gap – as part of a sweeping proposal to drastically curb the scheme’s annual growth.The proposed changes, revealed on Thursday, will also grant the health minister, Mark Butler, god-like powers to reduce overall funding for support categories, determine pricing guides and caps for services and support, and the ability to change NDIS rules without state and territory approval for the first 12 months. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comMet chief says British Jews ‘not safe’ in London after series of attacks
King Charles visits Golders Green to show support as commissioner discloses counter-terrorism team leading 11 investigationsCounter-terrorism officers in London have launched 11 investigations and arrested 35 people after “a sustained period of attack” upon the Jewish community, the head of the UK’s biggest police force has disclosed.In one of his most stark comments on antisemitism in the UK Mark Rowley, the Met commissioner, told MPs in a letter: “British Jews are not currently safe in their capital city.” Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com‘We can all coexist’: artist Es Devlin uses selfies to unite UK in portrait of a nation
A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery aims to bring people together in increasingly atomised countryCan a collective portrait of Britain hold together a country that feels as if it is splintering apart? That is the quietly radical hope behind Es Devlin’s new installation at the National Portrait Gallery: a living portrait comprised not of monarchs, politicians or celebrities but of thousands of ordinary faces drifting slowly into and out of one another.Created in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab, A National Portrait for the National Portrait Gallery invites people across the UK to upload a selfie, which is then transformed into a portrait rendered in Devlin’s smoky charcoal-and-chalk style before joining a constantly evolving and revolving carousel of portraits projected on to a framed screen. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com‘It’s like stealing’: Palestinian family’s seized property listed on Booking.com
West Bank home described as ‘ideal for outdoor gatherings’ is among 41 listed rentals in illegal Israeli settlements Some of Mohammad al-Sbeih’s fondest childhood memories are of his small farm in the hills south of Bethlehem, where three generations of his family grew wheat and barley.“It was a hard plot to farm as it was on a hillside with terraces, but it was so beautiful,” Sbeih remembers. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.comWes Streeting quits cabinet and calls on Starmer to resign
Streeting, who is on the party’s right, had long been rumoured to be gathering support for tilt at leadershipUK politics live – latest updatesWes Streeting has quit as health secretary and called on Keir Starmer to resign as prime minister, saying it would have been “dishonourable” to remain in post and that there should now be a contest for the Labour leadership.But Streeting, who is on the party’s right, will not immediately launch a challenge and said he wanted to see a leadership contest with a broad range of candidates – a suggestion that the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, could fight in the contest. Continue reading...
Read original · theguardian.com