Six States

Keir Starmer described the agreement, worth double original estimates, as a ‘huge win’ for British businessesKeir Starmer has struck a trade deal with six Gulf states in what he described as a “huge win” for British business, ending four years of talks led by four different prime ministers.The deal will offer £3.7bn worth of opportunities, double original estimates, for exporters, particularly in the food and luxury car sectors but also defence, aerospace, hospitality and other services, the government said. Continue reading...

Contest seen as latest test of president’s grip on GOP as he urges voters to reject one of the few senior Republicans who has defied himSign up for the Breaking News US email Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Voters will head to the polls in primaries across six states today, with the contest in Kentucky seen as a test of Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party.Police are investigating a deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego as a hate crime, after three people were killed and two dead suspects were identified near the scene. Democratic leaders from across the country issued statements in the wake of the shooting calling out Islamophobia and advocating for stricter gun laws.At a healthcare affordability event, Donald Trump announced that his website TrumpRx.gov will now include a catalog of generic drugs. Trump touted the move as “increasing the number of drugs available on TrumpRx by nearly seven times, adding over 600 affordable generics to the website”.Trump moved to dismiss a $10bn lawsuit against the Interal Revenue Service and his administration created a $1.776bn “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate his allies for supposed persecution by the government. Democrats harshly criticized the settlement, saying it amounts to the creation of a “slush fund” for the president’s allies.An effort to reshape South Carolina’s congressional districts got its first full airing Monday in the state House. Lawmakers launched a lengthy discussion over the consequences of acceding to Trump’s calls for a US House map that could yield a clean sweep for Republicans.Trump also said he is requesting the attorney general and Justice Department investigate mail-in voting in Maryland. In a post on Truth Social, Trump alleged that Maryland had “sent out 500,000 Illegal Mail In Ballots” and blamed “the Corrupt Governor of the State, Wes Moore”, a Democrat, who “allowed this to happen in order to make sure that Democrats win”.Nancy Pelosi has endorsed San Francisco supervisor Connie Chan in the race to fill the seat Pelosi will vacate at the end of her term.The Trump administration has proposed allowing up to 17,500 white South Africans to enter the United States as refugees, beginning in the new fiscal year, CNN reports, citing an emergency determination letter sent to Congress that it obtained. Continue reading...

• At least six US states—California, Georgia, Virginia, Arizona, Texas, and New Jersey—are tracking nine residents who disembarked from the MV Hondius cruise ship amid a deadly hantavirus outbreak overseas. • Health officials report no symptoms among the monitored Americans, including two each in Texas, New Jersey, and Georgia, and one each in California, Virginia, and Arizona; 30 people total left the ship late last month before the outbreak was confirmed. • State spokespeople like California's Brian Micek and Georgia's Nancy Nydam Shirek emphasize coordination with CDC and low public risk, with self-monitoring via daily temperature checks in Texas.