Washington state’s ‘historic’ millionaire tax takes aim at super-rich – will it succeed?

Attack on ‘terrorist headquarters’ comes as Trump says he will not demand Lebanon is included in ceasefire dealIsrael has carried out airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, the most serious escalation in its war with Hezbollah since a ceasefire was established in mid-April.The strike hit two apartments in two separate buildings, Lebanon’s state news agency reported, killing two people and wounding 11, according to an initial death toll. Continue reading...

Search enters second day after Saturday shooting that wounded 12, two reported in critical condition, police sayOrganizers of a festival in the historic center of Toledo, Ohio, have cancelled planned events on Sunday as police continue the search for at least two shooters who wounded 12 people a day earlier.The Toledo police deputy chief, Joseph Heffernan, said the shooters were “probably shooting at each other” when gunfire erupted just after 5.30pm near the Old West End festival, an annual gathering of live music and architectural home tours. Continue reading...

Five hospitals in England and Wales have switched to test taken at home, rather than invasive hospital procedureNHS hospitals are using a new way of diagnosing bladder cancer that is faster, more accurate and more convenient for patients than the existing test.Doctors said the Galeas bladder test is a major breakthrough because it involves a urine test taken at home rather than an invasive procedure done at hospital which is uncomfortable for patients. Continue reading...

Comedian is doing first standup comedy tour in more than 15 years and says many issues he talked about in 1980s are still alive todayLenny Henry has said racism is “still at large” as he does his first standup tour in more than 15 years.Henry, best known for The Lenny Henry Show, which ran from 1984 to 2005, said the things he used to talk about in the 1980s are still relevant now. Continue reading...

New film revives story of Taylor Parker, convicted in 2022 of cutting unborn daughter from womb of friend she killedIn an America so often saturated with brutal crime stories, it takes special circumstances to truly register shock.But the story of Taylor Parker, now sitting on a Texas death row after being convicted of murdering her pregnant friend Reagan Simmons-Hancock in 2020 and cutting her unborn daughter Braxlynn from her womb, is horrific in part because it appears almost against nature itself. Continue reading...

Israel claimed it was attacking Hezbollah command centers in response to attacks on northern IsraelWe are seeing reports of Israeli attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Dahiyeh, with at least three explosions heard so far. ⁠The ⁠Israeli military claimed about an hour ago in a post on X that it was striking Hezbollah infrastructure ⁠in the Lebanese capital, without providing evidence.In a joint statement, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military ​had struck “terrorist” headquarters ​in Beirut’s ⁠southern ​suburbs in apparent retaliation for Hezbollah firing toward northern Israel earlier. Continue reading...

Firings are part of a broader personnel purge under under the leadership of director Kash Patel, a Trump loyalistSeveral FBI analysts tied to the creation of a 2023 memo warning of a potential threat from Catholic “violent extremists” were fired on Friday, according to their lawyer, the latest wave of terminations under the leadership of its director Kash Patel.The fired employees included four intelligence analysts and a supervisory analyst. The FBI declined to comment. Continue reading...

Proposed memorials have become flashpoints in a wider struggle over history and political powerDisputes provoked by public monuments, flags and symbols are intensifying as the US’s 250th birthday approaches next month, and none are so contentious as those proposed by Donald Trump.Among the recent projects planned by the US president are a Garden of Heroes, a monumental “Freedom” arch, a massive ballroom and turning the reflecting pool at the Washington monument the color of a Bahamian luxury hotel pool. Continue reading...

Historians and campaigners accuse US defence secretary of desecrating memory of soldiers who fell in NormandyThe US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been accused by historians and rights campaigners of “grotesque stupidity” and desecrating the memory of the soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy after he sought to link immigration to the D-day anniversary, saying that Europe was facing a different “invasion” of its shores.Speaking in north-west France on Saturday to mark the 82nd anniversary of the D-day landings, Hegseth seized on the moment marking the wartime liberation of Europe to reiterate the US administration’s longstanding attack on European immigration policies. Continue reading...

Attack was ‘extremely vile’ and deliberate, says Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy A Russian Shahed drone has substantially damaged a building used to store spent nuclear fuel close to the disused Chornobyl nuclear power plant, in what Ukraine’s president described as a deliberate and “extremely vile” attack.While the structure – the reception building of the spent fuel storage facility – was empty of containers at the time, the targeting of the sensitive site appeared to be direct messaging from Moscow amid an intensifying battle of long-range aerial strikes in which high-profile locations on both sides have been hit. Continue reading...

Holy Family Catholic primary school says enthusiastic response from parents has been biggest surpriseSchools banning pupils from having smartphones are commonplace. But what about a school where pupils ban teachers from using their smartphones, and then get their parents to join in?And not just phones: at Holy Family Catholic primary school in west London teachers are also barred from using laptops, monitors or tablets during the school’s screen-free Mondays, after an idea that came from the pupils themselves. Continue reading...

Video of figures clambering in and out of manholes sparks intrigue – and comparisons with crime-fighting turtlesIt started in early May. Under cover of darkness, three people pried open a manhole cover in Queens, New York, and clambered down into the sewer.The incident might have gone unnoticed, but the subterranean quest, which was caught on film, captured New Yorkers’ interest when it happened again, and again, in the same month, with two other groups filmed making their way in and out of the sewer system in Brooklyn. The string of events have seen those involved dubbed “mole people” by the local press. Continue reading...