Todd Blanche says case against Comey based on more than just Instagram post

About 200 firefighters responded to devastating blaze at University of South Florida’s lab on SaturdayOfficials are investigating whether a huge fire that destroyed a top marine science laboratory at the University of South Florida may have been caused by a lightning strike.Despite a massive response from local fire crews the Marine Science Laboratory building was completely destroyed after the blaze began on Saturday. Continue reading...

Southwest staff organized water cannon salute when aircraft arrived and Jon Jackson was met with cheers and applauseA Spirit Airlines pilot was given an emotional send-off into retirement by another airline after what was supposed to be his final flight was canceled amid Spirit’s sudden collapse on Saturday.Jon Jackson had been scheduled to fly his final flight into Baltimore-Washington international airport on Saturday when the low-cost airline ceased operations after running out of cash and rescue talks with the Trump administration failed. Continue reading...

As major parties once again spruik budget night events at thousands of dollars a ticket, some MPs say they resent the ritzy social galasGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThey’re dismissed as boring, little more than a “selfie” opportunity for economy nerds – or even labelled a threat to democracy.But as budget week approaches, the major parties are once again spruiking fundraising dinners and drinks for their most loyal followers – and slugging them for thousands of dollars. Continue reading...

While interest rate rises can’t affect the surging price of oil caused by Middle East turmoil, they are still the Reserve Bank’s best – and only – tool to fight inflationFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne economist is calling it the “Hormuz hike”.There’s a nearly 80% chance that the Reserve Bank will deliver a third straight interest rate rise on Tuesday, according to financial markets.Patrick Commins is Guardian Australia’s economics editor Continue reading...

Kaela Berg is running in a crowded field with a pro-union message and a vow to protect the state’s immigrantsWhen the Minnesota state legislature is not in session, Kaela Berg is working in the skies.Berg has spent the last six years doubling as a state legislator and a flight attendant, taking shifts when the legislature is on break. Continue reading...

US attorney says ‘we can establish’ pellet from defendant’s gunshot was ‘intertwined with fiber of vest’ of federal agentThe US government has evidence that a federal agent was shot by the suspect during an alleged recent attempt to assassinate Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the US attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on Sunday.“We now can establish that a pellet that came from the buckshot from the defendant’s Mossberg pump-action shotgun was intertwined with the fiber of the vest of the Secret Service officer,” Pirro said on CNN. Continue reading...

Billionaire’s role as honorary chair and main source of funding has led to boycotts and criticism event has lost its cacheThe Met Gala in New York is the grandest and ritziest event in the fashion calendar, and an indicator of the growing ties between designers, celebrity and power. But with tech billionaires now joining the cohort, this year’s party may be its most controversial yet.All eyes are on the guest list – and their outfits – to launch the fashion exhibition Costume Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Beyoncé, Venus Williams and Nicole Kidman are chairing the event with Vogue’s Anna Wintour, and tickets cost about $100,000 (£73,500). But in a plot twist worthy of the new Devil Wears Prada film, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, the Met Gala’s new honorary chairs, will be joining the 450 guests on the museum steps on Monday. Continue reading...

PM’s attendance at European Political Community meeting in Yerevan signals effort to build new ties after US ruptureCanada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins Monday’s summit of the 48-plus nation grouping in Yerevan, Armenia.Carney has said he is determined to build a new network of trade and diplomatic alliances after the loss of US markets under Donald Trump. His presence will also represent a show of western support for Armenia in its efforts to distance itself from Russia at a time when the US’s approach to Moscow’s opponents, such as Ukraine, is at best ambiguous. Canadian diplomats have rejected suggestions Ottawa might seek EU membership. Continue reading...

Airport seeks deal with BA owner, Virgin and billionaire local landowner, who has own expansion plan, over cost and service issuesHeathrow’s new chair has opened talks with airlines and the billionaire local landowner Surinder Arora to defuse a row that threatens to further delay the £49bn plan to build a third runway at Europe’s busiest airport.Philip Jansen, who was appointed at the start of the year, is understood to have held meetings with the airport’s carriers and with Arora, who has been promoting his own £25bn expansion scheme, in the hope of finding the middle ground in a row over cost and service issues. Continue reading...

US announced withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers last week after German chancellor said US was being ‘humiliated’ by IranDonald Trump has threatened to withdraw more US troops from Germany after stunning European leaders and some senior members of his own party by last week announcing the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany.The move left 30,000 US troops still in the country, according to CNN. But Trump threatened on Saturday that more cuts were coming. “We are going to cut way down, and we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” he told reporters on Saturday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Scale model found in Christo’s studio leads to London realisation of internally lit Package on a CeilingChristo once wrapped up the Reichstag, suspended a curtain across a Colorado valley and covered up the Pont Neuf in Paris. Now, six years after the artist’s death, a London gallery is to create a monumental installation he designed in 1968, using a detailed scale model and drawings that had been presumed lost until their chance discovery.Christo had imagined a vast, internally illuminated suspended form, like a cloud, but technical constraints meant the plan was never brought to fruition. Continue reading...