US reinstates ‘gun show loophole’ amid rollback of firearms restrictions

• The United Arab Emirates withdrew from OPEC yesterday, marking a historic split from Saudi Arabia during the escalating regional crisis. • This decision coincides with the Strait of Hormuz being almost entirely shut down due to a US naval blockade aimed at halting Iranian oil exports. • The US is threatening to cut off major Chinese banks from its financial system to prevent processing of Iranian oil, intensifying global energy tensions.

Four months after US capture of Nicolás Maduro, officials hail repairing of ties as American Airlines flight lands at Simón Bolívar airportUS and Venezuelan officials have hailed a new era in diplomatic relations as the first direct commercial flight between the two countries in more than seven years landed in Caracas.Nearly four months ago, US special forces attack helicopters and planes swept into the skies over Venezuela’s capital after Donald Trump ordered the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro. Continue reading...

Decision follows pressure from lawmakers and families as investigations continue into response to deadly disasterThe embattled Camp Mystic organization on Thursday halted plans to reopen this summer in a decision that followed months of intensifying outrage by political leaders in Texas and the families of 27 young campers killed last July when massive floodwaters swept through the all-girls Christian camp in the middle of the night.The decision comes after days of pointed questioning by Texas lawmakers who are investigating camp officials’ response to the devastating flood on July 4 that claimed the lives of the campers and two teenage counselors. The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding. Continue reading...

Bipartisan measure includes funding for Secret Service and TSA, but excludes immigration enforcement operationsPartial government shutdown ends after Congress votes to fund DHS The US House of Representatives has voted to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security – excluding immigration enforcement operations – and end the longest government agency shutdown in history.The deal struck on Thursday aims to draw a line under a 75-day impasse that had threatened airport chaos and exposed fresh strains within the Republican party. Continue reading...

Coroner says none of the five civilians killed in incident in Belfast during Troubles should have been shotBritish army soldiers “lost control” and used force that was “not reasonable” in the killing of five civilians in Northern Ireland in 1972, an inquest judge has ruled.Four of the victims – two teenagers, a father of six and a Catholic priest – posed no risk when they were shot in the Springhill and Westrock areas of west Belfast on 9 July 1972, Mr Justice Scoffield said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Dozens handed life peerages in apparent concession, enabling their return to red benchesDozens of hereditary peers whose seats have been abolished have had their lawmaking powers restored as Keir Starmer seeks to accelerate changes to the House of Lords.It is understood that 15 Conservative hereditary peers, two Labour and nine crossbenchers have been handed life peerages, enabling their return to the red benches. Continue reading...

Decision follows backlash from Italian government and European CommissionThe jury of the Venice Biennale has quit just days before the prestigious art exhibition was due to begin, amid a row over the decision to allow Russia to participate.The resignation of the five-member international jury was announced late on Thursday in a brief statement by the Venice Biennale organisers, and came a day after the Italian culture ministry sent inspectors to Venice in search of information about the decision to allow Russia to have a pavilion at this year’s event. Continue reading...

Researchers say results mark a ‘profound change in technology that will reshape medicine’From George Clooney in ER to Noah Wyle in The Pitt, emergency department doctors have long been popular heroes. But will it soon be time to hang up the scrubs?A groundbreaking Harvard study has found that AI systems outperformed human doctors in high-pressure emergency medicine triage, diagnosing more accurately in the potentially life and death moments when people are first rushed to hospital. Continue reading...

Senator Jack Reed says at hearing that defense secretary failed to give Trump accurate picture of war in IranUS politics live – latest updatesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailPete Hegseth has failed to give Donald Trump an accurate picture of the war on Iran while resorting to “dangerously exaggerated” statements to create an inaccurate picture of a US military triumph, a senior Democrat told a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday.Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate armed services committee, told Hegseth, the defense secretary, that far from victory, US citizens were having to bear the cost of a war they did not support in the form of increased fuel prices. Continue reading...

Congress advances Homeland Security funding after Republicans used procedural tool to pass up to $75bn for ICE and border patrolSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxA historically long 75-day partial government shutdown has ended after the House voted narrowly to advance funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following a late-night Republican rally to boost a GOP budget blueprint.The tides turned on Wednesday evening when the House passed the Republican resolution following a last-minute deal over unrelated ethanol fuel provisions that flipped enough holdouts to push it over the line. Continue reading...

Lambeth council candidates Saiqa Ali and Sabine Mairey understood to have been detained over social media postsTwo women standing as Green party candidates in the local elections have been arrested over alleged antisemitic social media posts.The women, running in seats for Lambeth council, south London, were arrested by the Metropolitan police on Thursday morning. Continue reading...