Pete

• Il programma includerà un pastore che ha definito 'demoniaco' il programma dei Democratici, un autore cristiano che ha dichiarato che sarebbe morto nella lotta per annullare le elezioni del 2020 e un rabbino che ha difeso la tortura. • Il segretario alla difesa, Pete Hegseth, sarà questo fine settimana il protagonista di un raduno religioso sul National Mall di Washington DC, organizzato da una fondazione privata in collaborazione con la Casa Bianca, che include alcuni relatori descritti dagli esperti come nazionalisti cristiani o estremisti. • Rededicate 250, presentato come la componente basata sulla fede del semiquincentenario dell'America, vede tra i relatori un pastore di Detroit che ha definito "demoniaco" il programma dei Democratici e ha lanciato la propria memecoin dopo aver pregato alla seconda insediamento di Trump; un rabbino che ha difeso l'uso della tortura e ha scritto un saggio intitolato "The Virtue of Hate"; e un autore cristiano e conduttore radiofonico che nel 2020 ha affermato che sarebbe morto nella lotta per impedire a Joe Biden di entrare alla Casa Bianca, e che in seguito è stato citato in una causa per diffamazione relativa alle accuse di frode elettorale del 2020.

Arena in Birmingham cleared after report of suspicious bag, with comedian pulled from stage mid-performanceA man has been charged over a bomb hoax after a live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham was stopped when a “potentially suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Comedian pulled from stage in Birmingham about 45 minutes into performance and audience told to leaveA live show by comedian Peter Kay in Birmingham has been stopped after a “potential suspicious bag” was found around the venue.The Utilita Arena Birmingham was evacuated and a 19-year-old man was taken into custody, West Midlands police said on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Parliamentary committee takes unusual step of declaring no confidence in executives at utility providerMPs have accused the leadership of South East Water of incompetence over repeated water outages for tens of thousands of customers, and expressed no confidence in their ability to reform the company.MPs from across the political spectrum said David Hinton, SEW’s chief executive, and the board of directors operated a culture of unaccountability at the company, which provides drinking water for 2.3 million customers in Berkshire, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex. Continue reading...

• House Democrats skeptically questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the first time since the Iran war began, pressing on strategy and costs during an April 29 hearing. • One Democrat accused Hegseth of partisanship, quoting his prior statements back at him in a heated exchange. • The confrontation highlights partisan divides over the war's economic toll and Trump's foreign policy amid plunging approval ratings.

As his defense secretary testified before House committee, Trump posted AI-generated image of himself with a weapon and a caption saying ‘NO MORE MR. NICE GUY’Pete Hegseth has denied that the US-Israel war on Iran is “a quagmire” and claimed critics of the operation posed a greater threat to the US than Iran itself, as he came under pressure to set out Washington’s strategy for the conflict.Appearing before the House armed services committee alongside Gen Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, the US defense secretary asked lawmakers to approve a $1.5tn budget in military spending – and then described some of them as “the biggest challenge” to the war effort. Continue reading...

Where Olly Robbins relied on recollections, Cabinet Office’s top civil servant was at pains to link her account to paper trail Seen through the Westminster bubble, the Peter Mandelson vetting affair looks like an age-old conflict pitting ministers against mandarins. Yet the latest top civil servant to testify to parliament over what some are now calling “Mandygate” gave an intriguing account that suggested it has never been as simple as that.Cat Little, the top civil servant at the Cabinet Office, did not put it in these terms, but what she revealed was an extraordinary dispute between the country’s most senior civil servants. Continue reading...