Top US arts camp and boarding school to demolish Jeffrey Epstein lodge

US president calls on US ally to ‘behave … or else we’ll have to blow them up’ in casual aside during cabinet meetingDonald Trump has threatened to “blow up” Oman if it fails to “behave” in a casual aside during a cabinet meeting, as the US scrambles to reopen the strait of Hormuz.The US president made the threat following reports of talks between Iran and Oman about jointly charging a toll for ships passing through the crucial waterway, which has been all but closed since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran. Continue reading...

The satellite visuals reveal vast burn scars after blaze tore through rare ecosystems on Santa Rosa IslandImages from a Nasa satellite showcased the devastating scars left behind by a wildfire that consumed roughly a third of Santa Rosa Island, one of the five that make up Channel Islands national park off the southern California coast.Taken on 20 May, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (Modis) took the false-color image of the burn area, showing swaths of blackened land. Continue reading...

Social services minister ‘concerned’ by some providers meant to help welfare recipients find workGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.The social services minister, Amanda Rishworth, was on 7.30 last night defending her decision not to get rid of the controversial for-profit aspects of the jobseeker program. More coming up. Continue reading...

There is no evidence Elliott Broidy’s links to Trump helped AI company win contract to monitor prisoners’ phone callsThe day before Donald Trump’s first term ended in 2021, he inked a pardon for Elliott Broidy, a scandal-plagued Republican fundraiser and former Republican National Committee official who had pleaded guilty three months earlier to trying to illegally lobby Trump and his administration.Last month, a company headed by Broidy won a $106m contract from the Department of Justice, according to federal contracting records. Continue reading...

Refunds came after the supreme court ruled Trump overstepped his authority in enacting sweeping tariffsUS importers are expected to receive $85bn in tariff refunds after the supreme court struck down Donald Trump’s tariffs in February, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency that collects tariffs.Importers and shippers have so far been refunded $20bn, according to court documents filed on Tuesday, with about $65bn more on the way. Continue reading...

A day after ICE officials pepper-spray senator, tensions ramp up outside facility on fifth day of hunger and labor strikeChaos breaks out at New Jersey immigration detention center – in picturesProtests against immigration enforcement at a facility where detainees are on a hunger and labor strike erupted in fresh violence on Tuesday night as federal officers sprayed chemicals and charged demonstrators outside the jail in New Jersey.Following hours of relative quiet, a day after masked and armored Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel pepper-sprayed US senator Andy Kim, tension ramped up again outside the Delaney Hall facility on the fifth day of the strike. Continue reading...

Anthony Odiong, 57, charged in Texas with exploiting status to pursue sex with vulnerable female congregantsA Roman Catholic priest replied “we are but men” when confronted after having been caught having sex with one of his parishioners in Texas by one of the congregant’s sons, according to court testimony on Wednesday.That version of events emerged at the second day of the trial of Anthony Odiong, who has been criminally charged with illicitly abusing his status as a clergyman to pursue sex with vulnerable female congregants. Continue reading...

Authorities have said they are still investigating the motive of the attack on Kerry Sheron, 69, by Thomas Butler A southern California man has died after an assault last week in front of his San Diego area home, which was well known for its extensive collection of US flags and signs supporting Donald Trump.Authorities confirmed on Monday that Kerry Sheron, a 69-year-old US army veteran, died days after he was attacked on Wednesday outside his home in Escondido. Police have arrested Thomas Butler, a 32-year-old who media outlets have identified as a navy veteran, on multiple charges including attempted murder, elder abuse and battery. Continue reading...

Ex-MP is charged with 18 sexual offences involving two alleged victims, and his wife with aiding and abetting Jeffrey Donaldson sexually assaulted a child and years later apologised to her at a church-brokered meeting, a court has heard.The former MP and Democratic Unionist party leader allegedly committed the abuse with complicity from his wife, Eleanor Donaldson, a prosecutor told Newry crown court in County Down on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Some experts criticize White House approach and say not allowing Americans to return to US hurts treatment effortsThe Trump administration is building a quarantine and treatment center in Kenya for Americans affected by the Ebola outbreak, instead of bringing them home.The White House on Wednesday confirmed that the US is setting up a facility in Kenya for Americans to quarantine after Ebola exposure in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Continue reading...

As government begins restoring connection, population voices dismay over food price increases and shortagesThe partial lifting of internet restrictions in Iran has revealed a rising tide of anger about food price inflation as ordinary Iranians decry annual price increases of 308% for vegetable oil, 190% for chicken, and 170% for rice.Iranian authorities on Tuesday began restoring the connection to the global internet that was severed on the first day of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic on 28 February, as it had been during mass protests in January. Continue reading...