Justice department files new criminal charges against ex-FBI director Comey

The limited-edition versions will place the US president’s portrait inside cover alongside declaration text and flag motifsUS politics live – latest updatesThe United States government, marking 250 years of independence from a monarchy, will this summer issue passports featuring a large photograph of its most senior leader’s face.The limited-edition documents, billed as a commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, will display Donald Trump’s photograph on the inside cover, surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence and the US flag, with his signature rendered in gold. A separate page features the famous painting of the founding fathers signing that very document. Continue reading...

Ex-NIAID employee David Morens accused of trying to shield correspondence related to outbreak of pandemicAn ex-adviser to former top public US health official Anthony Fauci has been indicted by Trump administration prosecutors on accusations that he illicitly concealed federal records during the Covid pandemic.The justice department on Tuesday announced charges against David Morens, 78, of Chester, Maryland, amid a sharply divisive debate over the origins of the coronavirus, which has become particularly politicized during Donald Trump’s two presidencies. Competing theories – including a natural spillover versus a potential lab leak – have fueled partisan clashes, with splits along ideological lines. Continue reading...

Eight local broadcasting licenses under review after White House launched attack on late-night host over commentSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US’s top media watchdog announced on Tuesday that it is accelerating the review of eight local broadcasting licenses used by ABC, in a move critics see as a clear example of political and regulatory retribution against a disfavored broadcaster.The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) announcement comes after the White House launched a full-on attack against the ABC’s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, over a joke he made last week about Melania Trump. Continue reading...

Eight EU members continue to include force or violence in their definitions in national criminal codesThe European parliament has called on the EU to draw up a standardised consent-based definition of rape, in what legislators described as a crucial step towards addressing the patchwork of laws, some of them insufficient, that currently exist across the bloc.On Tuesday, 447 of the parliament’s 720 MEPs voted to approve a report calling for a common definition of rape, centred on “only yes means yes,” prompting a loud round of applause in the chamber in Strasbourg. Continue reading...

Defection is damaging to Saudi Arabia’s prestige – and could strengthen the US hand in the regionThe United Arab Emirates’ decision to walk out of Opec is a political as much as business decision, and will reignite the simmering rows between the UAE and Saudi Arabia – which had been covered up by their shared anger with Iran over its attacks on the Gulf states since the start of the US-Israel war on Tehran.In the short term, leaving the oil producing cartel it joined in 1967 gives the UAE the freedom to respond quickly to a long-term prospect of constrained supplies, and to maximise profit. But it is a decision the UAE has considered before, as UAE and Saudi tensions over production quotas have been longstanding. Continue reading...

Multiple people injured when gunman opened fire inside a social security office and later an appeals courtAn 89-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of shooting and wounding several people in attacks on government buildings in Athens.Hours after the double shooting in the Greek capital, authorities announced a suspect had been detained in the western port city of Patras, reportedly attempting to flee to Italy. His arrest followed a countrywide manhunt. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege Gannon Van Dyke won $400,000 using insider information to bet on Maduro raid on Polymarket The US army soldier charged with winning $400,000 by using insider information to bet on the removal of ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro pleaded not guilty to fraud charges on Tuesday.Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, entered the plea in US district judge Margaret Garnett’s courtroom in Manhattan. Van Dyke sported a shaved head and wore a black blazer, jeans and brown shoes as he arrived to the courtroom with his lawyers, Zach Intrater and Mark Geragos. Continue reading...

Downing Street says focus to remains on cutting bills, backing renters and lowering energy pricesDowning Street has dismissed a freeze on private sector rents even as Rachel Reeves left the door open to the idea, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor has been considering it as an option to cut the cost of living.A No 10 spokesperson said on Tuesday freezing private sector rents was “not the approach we will be taking” after sources told the Guardian it was Reeves’s preferred solution for dealing with a spike in housing costs in the wake of the Iran war. Continue reading...

US president says Americans ‘have had no closer friends than the British’ amid recent tensions between both nationsDonald Trump has praised the “special relationship” between the US and the UK, as he hosted a ceremonial military welcome for Charles and Camilla at the White House.Against a backdrop of recent tensions between London and Washington, the US president, speaking on the second day of King Charles’s state visit, said: “In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British.” Continue reading...

Gámez-Cuéllar brothers were arrested alongside parents in February and later released after bipartisan backlashThree teenage mariachi musicians who were temporarily detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February have been tapped to open for country singer Kacey Musgraves at several upcoming shows in Texas.On Monday, Musgraves announced that the Gámez-Cuéllar brothers Antonio, 18; Caleb, 14; and Joshua, 12, would join her for performances at Gruene Hall from 3 to 5 May as part of her Middle of Nowhere tour. Continue reading...

Vote goes PM’s way but he faces anger from his own MPs who accuse him of creating perception of ‘cover-up’UK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer saw off an opposition bid to refer him to a standards committee over Peter Mandelson’s appointment after Downing Street deployed its full weight to force Labour MPs to shore up the prime minister.However, the Labour leader bore the brunt of anger from some of his own backbenchers who accused him of creating a situation where they would be perceieved as being complicit in “a cover-up.” Continue reading...