White House says Donald Trump ‘did nothing wrong’ amid reports he showed classified map on plane in 2022 – US politics live

• Israel has recognized Somaliland, a self-declared statelet, signaling a strategic move to expand its influence within the Horn of Africa. • This development aligns with a June 1 report from the Global Conflict Index, which warns that separate conflicts in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa are merging into a singular system.

Kennedy Center had sued Chuck Redd for canceling Christmas Eve concert after Trump renamed institutionA superior court judge in Washington DC has ordered the Kennedy Center to pay more than $250,000 to a musician who canceled a performance at the arts center after the White House announced that Donald Trump’s name would be added to the venue.Judge Tanya Jones Bosier ordered the Kennedy Center on Monday to pay $252,479.70 in legal fees and costs to attorneys for musician Chuck Redd within 45 days. Continue reading...

Kyaw Zwar Minn was ousted for declaring loyalty to Aung San Suu Kyi after 2021 coup but refused to leave his homeMyanmar’s ousted ambassador to the UK has gone on trial on trespassing charges for refusing to leave a diplomatic residence after being unceremoniously locked out of the embassy in 2021.Shortly after Myanmar’s military seized power in 2021, triggering mass protests that spiralled into a civil war, Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of the embassy for declaring his loyalty to the deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Continue reading...

Move defies US envoy’s claim that Americans could be extracting crude by as early as next yearThe Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president’s envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year.Amid Trump’s imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland’s eastern coast after the oil company brought drilling equipment ashore in July without permission, drawing a “strong warning” from the government. Continue reading...

Celebrity blogger was hospitalized for a mental health crisis after he harmed himself during live streamThe mother of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is seeking temporary custody of his three children after he was hospitalized during a mental health crisis at his south Florida home last week.Court documents filed in Miami-Dade county and seen by multiple news outlets, including Miami’s NBC 6, show the request for custody was made by 48-year-old Hilton’s mother. Continue reading...

Family, friends and colleagues attend service at Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh, which former MP described as her ‘safe haven’Around 100 family, friends and colleagues have attended the funeral service of the former Conservative minister Ann Widdecombe, who was killed in her home in Devon last month.Politicians and broadcasters were among the mourners at Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh, a Catholic abbey where Widdecombe regularly worshipped, and which she described as her “safe haven”. Continue reading...

Rumors of plea deal in federal case have been circulating since June for suspect accused of killing Brian ThompsonAn unexpected hearing in the federal stalking case against Luigi Mangione has been scheduled, leading to speculation that the alleged United Healthcare CEO assassin was seeking a plea deal that would in turn end a murder prosecution in New York state court beginning next month.Prosecutors and Mangione’s lawyers filed a joint letter requesting the hearing at 11am on Friday in Manhattan federal court. Continue reading...

Family ‘extremely grateful’ to four-month-old ‘Goosey’ who ran out of fire-billowing building and repeatedly squawkedA pet goose is being credited with helping save a Texas family’s animals after sounding a honking alarm as a fire tore through their barn.The dramatic moment unfolded on the morning of 4 August in Fort Bend county, where four-month-old Goosey repeatedly squawked outside the burning barn, alerting his owners, the Gerber family, to the danger. Continue reading...

Darrell Hines’s lawyers ask supreme court to intervene, arguing he could face fate similar to failed execution in MayTennessee is scheduled to execute a man this week despite bipartisan backlash after the state botched its previous lethal injection, which dragged on for more than an hour before it was canceled.Darrell Hines, who was convicted of the 1985 murder of Catherine Jean Jackson Jenkins, a motel maid and mother of four, is due to be put to death on Thursday. Continue reading...

With almost all votes counted in Republican primary for governor, Lisa Demuth is ahead by over 10% of ballotsProgressive Peggy Flanagan sweeps Minnesota Senate primary in race defined by anti-ICE angerUS politics live – latest updatesMike Lindell, the pillow salesman, Trump supporter and election denier, has refused to concede defeat in Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary, despite trailing by a double-digit margin the morning after polls closed.The Associated Press called the race for Lisa Demuth, the Minnesota House speaker, late on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

‘Outstanding young Americans’ came together to catch a tennis ball for freedomThe Patriot Games, held this week in Ohio, was intended to be a “national athletic competition celebrating the character, determination, and excellence that define the American spirit”, according to a press release.The competition, which organizers insisted would be nothing like the Hunger Games, was to bring together “outstanding young Americans” from across the country, “to compete, inspire, and showcase the values that have shaped the United States for nearly 250 years”. ESPN, hosting the games, said it would “test excellence in skillsets of beloved American sports”. Continue reading...

Amid doubling prices and fraying tempers, shoppers hunt for elusive eyewear to prepare for rare eclipse of sun• Europe solar eclipse – latest updatesA secretive WhatsApp group was pinging with notifications throughout Wednesday, letting its members know where in London the latest “drop” would take place.The group’s focus, rather than being for an illicit substance, was for the much coveted eclipse glasses, which have prompted a frantic rush on shops before the celestial event. Continue reading...