Battle

AI-focused Super Pacs are spending heavily in midterms, and nearly half has gone to a single Manhattan district raceThe artificial intelligence industry is spending heavily in the 2026 midterms, hoping to secure influence over the technology’s first generation of legislation – and New York City’s primary has emerged as the key battleground.AI-focused Super Pacs have raised roughly $100m this cycle, of which $44m has been spent so far, in dozens of congressional races across the country. Nearly half of all spending has converged on a single Manhattan race: Tuesday’s Democratic primary in the district of NY-12.Will Craft and Andrew Witherspoon contributed reporting Continue reading...

The influential role vacated by the new Makerfield MP will be fiercely contested by Labour, Reform and the GreensAs Andy Burnham maps out the final steps on his path to Downing Street, he may feel that his future is clear. But a look back over his shoulder reveals a cloudier outlook, inviting the question: what now happens to his former role as Greater Manchester’s mayor?An election has been set for 30 July, and with the job widely seen as having grown under Burnham’s tenure to become one of the most influential in British politics outside Westminster, Labour is desperate to cling on to it – but parties to its right and left both see an opportunity. Continue reading...

Fire at cold-storage facility that started on 17 June continues to spew smoke across the metro areaMayor Karen Bass has declared a state of emergency for the city of Los Angeles, as firefighters still struggle to contain a blaze from a cold-storage facility that continues to spew smoke across the metro area.“This emergency declaration is crucial because Boyle Heights is not just responding to a fire. Residents have lived through days of smoke, shelter-in-place orders, disruptions to daily life, and ongoing questions about what this means for their health and well-being,” Councilmember Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights, said in a statement. Continue reading...

• European Council leaders are convening this week to address two critical, interconnected issues: the EU's long-term budget and the growing strategic challenge posed by China. • A bloc of nations, including Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Austria, is pushing for a more assertive stance regarding China's economic rise and the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine. • The discussions are vital as the EU seeks to balance internal financial stability with the need for increased defense and strategic autonomy amidst shifting U.S. relations.

Interior department insists water at Washington landmark is ‘crystal clear’ as witnesses report murky green poolUS federal government workers continue take on the green hue that has swept across Washington’s reflecting pool, an increasingly fiendish battle the Trump administration compared to its war with Iran.After Donald Trump ordered a $14.2m refurbishment to turn the monument “American Flag blue” in time for the country’s 250th birthday celebrations, the administration encountered a formidable foe: algae. Continue reading...

Dig at Boston site reveals ammunition intriguing finds from 1775 clash that launched revolutionary war in earnestGenerations of Boston families played and picnicked on the grassy, sloping lawns of the Bunker Hill Monument.Musket balls and other artifacts from one of the American Revolution’s most consequential battles were buried just below their feet the whole time. Continue reading...

US president says strait of Hormuz will be open from Friday but questions remain over waterway fees and Israeli breaches of ceasefire in LebanonTallying the global cost of the US-Israel war against IranMiddle East crisis – live updatesDonald Trump has declared that the strait of Hormuz will be “completely open” from Friday, as western leaders gathering at the G7 summit in Évian-les-Bains battled to prevent the fragile US deal with Iran from almost immediately unravelling.“The deal’s all signed. And the strait ⁠is already partially opened,” Trump said as he arrived at the summit in France, but Israeli breaches of the ceasefire in Lebanon and Iran’s claims about its right to charge fees in the crucial waterway revealed the agreement’s many loose ends. Continue reading...