California: 40,000 people ordered to evacuate over chemical leak fears

A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThree people have died in a crash in Sydney after a man fled police who had been attempting to carry out a welfare check.A 42-year-old man fled in a white Audi after officers were called to a welfare check at a property in Gymea Bay, southern Sydney, at 12.25am on Saturday. Continue reading...

Michael Agzarian was charged despite internal legal advice that the images were ‘political satire’, court hearsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastPolice charged an artist who depicted prominent Australians in military uniforms emblazoned with Nazi symbols despite internal legal advice the images were “political satire”, a court has heard.Police dropped the case against Michael Agzarian before the Downing Centre local court on Friday, almost a year after he had been charged with one count of displaying Nazi symbols by a public act without lawful excuse. Continue reading...

The launch is the 12th test flight of the mega-rocket that CEO Elon Musk is building to get people to Mars one daySpaceX launched its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test flight Friday, an upgraded version that Nasa is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.The redesigned mega-rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted off from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites for release halfway around the world. Continue reading...

Change criticized by advocates marks the latest significant move by the Trump administration on immigration policyForeigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will have to do so from outside the country via the state department, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said on Friday, in a move criticized by aid groups, policy analysts and immigration attorneys.USCIS announced the move in a policy memo, which directed officers to consider relevant factors and information on a case-by-case basis when determining whether extraordinary relief is warranted. Continue reading...

Over 15 months, the ex-Democrat with no notable relevant background took actions seemingly meant to flatter TrumpTulsi Gabbard’s tumultuous 15-month tenure as the US’s top intelligence official ended Friday, when Gabbard submitted her resignation as director of national intelligence.Gabbard was an unconventional choice for the role, given she was a former Democrat with no notable intelligence background. Her political views, particularly on foreign intervention, have at times diverged from Donald Trump’s. But she also undertook norm-breaking actions as the country’s top intelligence chief that appeared designed to flatter Trump and his agenda of election denial. Continue reading...

Judge said Trump administration would not have prosecuted Ábrego García had he not challenged his high-profile deportationSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA US judge dismissed a criminal indictment against Kilmar Ábrego García on Friday, finding that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his high-profile deportation.Ábrego García, who had entered the United States without authorization in the past, became a symbol of the Trump administration’s drive for mass deportations when he was sent to the notorious anti-terrorism mega-prison in El Salvador known as Cecot last March. This was despite a prior court order barring him from being returned there because of a risk of persecution. Continue reading...

Former general Petr Pavel says Moscow’s testing of alliance’s eastern flank should be met with firm lineThe Czech president, Petr Pavel, has urged Nato to “show its teeth” in response to Russia’s repeated testing of the alliance’s resolve on its eastern flank, suggesting a range of options including switching off its internet, cutting its banks off Russian from global financial systems and shooting down jets that violate allied airspace.Speaking to the Guardian in Prague, Pavel called for “decisive enough, potentially even asymmetric” responses to counter Moscow’s provocative behaviour against the alliance or risk the Kremlin intensifying its actions. Continue reading...

Jacinta Allan will announce a plan to offer 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission, as part of a pre-election pushGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJacinta Allan will use Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire electrical apprentices to address significant workforce shortages. It will be the first time since the State Electricity Commission was privatised 30 years ago that the government has employed such apprentices.The Victorian premier will announce the plan in a speech that will draw on her father, Peter Allan’s experience as a linesman at the SEC, which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s. Continue reading...

White House reportedly forced Gabbard to resign after being sidelined from Iran and Venezuela operations and becomes fourth woman to depart Trump’s cabinetUS politics - live updatesSign up for the Breaking News US emailTulsi Gabbard is leaving her post as US director of national intelligence following a tumultuous stint in which she was largely sidelined as Donald Trump launched attacks on Venezuela and Iran.In a letter to the US president, she said she would resign and leave her post on 30 June. “While we have made significant progress ... I recognize there is still important work to be done,” she wrote. Continue reading...

Move comes after federal appeals court upholds ruling that opens door for government to detain and deport KhalilAttorneys for Mahmoud Khalil, the former Columbia University student who last year became the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech, will ask the US supreme court to intervene after a federal appeals court opened the door for the government to once again detain and ultimately deport him.On Friday, the third circuit court of appeals upheld a January ruling by a three-judge panel, which had reversed a lower-court decision ordering Khalil’s release on bail last June. The ruling marks the latest chapter in Khalil’s months-long challenge of the government’s campaign against him. The appeals court’s decision marks a significant setback for him, but his lawyers insist he cannot be deported – for now. Continue reading...

For some transgender men and women – and the campaigners who support them – the updated guidance confirms their worst fearsStephen Whittle was visiting the Chelsea flower show as a birthday treat with his wife on Thursday afternoon. At around the same time, the updated code of practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission was published. It confirmed, amongst myriad updates, that single-sex spaces such as toilets and changing rooms must be used on the basis of biological sex, and that transgender people may not access those that accord with their lived gender.Among the floral displays, 70-year-old Whittle did not stray from habit. “Of course I used the male facilities, as I have done for the last 50 years. Can you imagine what the guy on security would have said if I’d gone to the ladies?” Continue reading...