The Guardian

Witness says Lincoln Memorial pool was damaged before alleged vandalism

Former Olympic canoeist Davey Hearn’s lawyers say testimony undermines felony chargeA witness in the case against a former Olympic canoeist accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool testified that the area of the pool liner was already damaged and would have required repairs regardless of David “Davey” Hearn’s alleged actions.A court filing released on Monday contained that revelation – and in the document, lawyers for Hearn requested access to all grand jury testimony that led

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The Guardian

Banks charged mortgage holders $55m in extra interest after offset account errors, Asic finds

Australian banks ‘not getting the basics right’, regulator says after review of more than 200,000 home loansGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAsic has accused banks of “not getting the basics right”, after the regulator found faulty mortgage offset accounts meant borrowers were being overcharged tens of millions of dollars in extra interest payments.In a new report, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission showed lenders repaid $55m to hundreds of thousands of

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NY Times World

How to Tell if a Giant Manta Is Pregnant? Give Her an Ultrasound.

Scientists managed to confirm pregnancies in three giant mantas with underwater ultrasound scans, offering clues to the animals’ elusive reproductive habits.

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The Guardian

Ex-FCC officials warn agency sending ‘chilling message’ with ABC license review

Ex-officials ask FCC to reject petitions to deny renewal of broadcast licenses for eight stations owned by ABCA group of prominent former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials, including key staffers and commissioners appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents, issued a filing Tuesday that warns the agency is trying to send a “chilling message” to broadcasters after it received petitions to deny ABC license renewals for eight of its local television stations.The network’s

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The Guardian

New evacuation from tourist sites near Bordeaux as France and Spain fight wildfires

French authorities order evacuation of almost 4,000 people from Lacanau resort amid return of heatwaveEurope live – latest updatesThe evacuation of nearly 4,000 people from tourist sites on France’s Atlantic coast is under way as the return of winds and extreme heat jeopardised firefighters’ battles to contain wildfires raging to the west of Bordeaux.The precautionary evacuation order, which covers campsites, holiday villages and other tourist accommodation around the resort of Lacanau, exacerba

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The Guardian

Led By Donkeys wins compensation over seizure of Gaza protest banner

Waste firm Veolia pays £27k after ‘Yes it’s a Genocide’ banner taken by Greater London Authority was destroyedThe campaign group Led By Donkeys has received £27,000 in compensation after a giant banner it displayed in Parliament Square saying “Yes it’s a Genocide” was seized by Greater London Authority officials and destroyed.Representatives of the GLA arrived on the scene in central London and confiscated the 40-metre by 40-metre banner after it was unfurled on 4 December 2024, just under two m

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The Guardian

Japan earthquake injures 50 and traps ‘many people’ inside shopping mall

Deaths expected as Kumamoto shook by 6.8-magnitude quake, knocking out power and damaging buildingsA 6.8-magnitude earthquake has shaken south Japan, leaving at least 50 people injured, with some trapped and presumed dead inside a partly collapsed shopping mall.The earthquake hit the Kumamoto prefecture on the southern Kyushu island late on Tuesday afternoon, knocking out power to thousands of homes and damaging roads, bridges and buildings. Continue reading...

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BBC World

Gironde wildfires pick up as French region braces for new 40C heatwave

Firefighters are braced for a sharp rise in temperatures on Wednesday, which could complicate the containment of wildfires.

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The Guardian

‘It’s not cricket’: cheating row as ‘Clicky Ponting’ appears to dupe umpire

Viral video apparently shows a Saltburn 2nd XI fielder clicking his fingers to mimic a batter’s nickThe ball is bowled, the batter plays a shot and it’s caught by the wicketkeeper to cheers all round. The batter is clearly bemused. Did he hit it? Or … did a fielder click his fingers to mimic a nick?A row has erupted in the normally friendly, if ultra-competitive, world of English club cricket after footage went viral of alleged cheating. Australian cricket will always have Sandpapergate. The Nor

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The Guardian

Michigan authorities identify man they say killed wife and six children before home fire

Authorities say the killings fit the definition of family annihilation, one of at least eight in the US this yearAuthorities in Michigan have identified a man they say fatally shot his wife and six children on Friday in a mass murder that fits the definition of a family annihilation.Citing autopsy results, the Ottawa county sheriff’s office said in a news release Monday that Kristopher Karolkiewicz; his wife, Amanda; and their six children, age five to 15, all died of gunshot wounds before their

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WSJ World News

One Megabuyer—China—Finds a Way to Get Mideast Oil

Beijing’s longtime position as both a financial lifeline to Iran and a customer for its foes has helped it work around blockades.

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The Guardian

Imprisoned writer Mumia Abu-Jamal seeks UN intervention after 44 years behind bars

The former Black Panther’s lawyers ask a UN panel to review his detention after US legal avenues were exhaustedAs he approaches the 45th anniversary of his incarceration in December, the Black radical writer and prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is taking his claim that he has been subjected to arbitrary imprisonment for a crime that he did not commit to a new tribunal: the United Nations in Geneva.On Tuesday Abu-Jamal, 72, lodged a petition with the UN’s working group on arbitrary detention, a body with

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The Guardian

Cyclosporiasis cases show ‘vulnerabilities’ in US food safety system, experts say

US states and federal government tracking cases as outbreak comes amid cuts to public health fundingAn outbreak of cyclosporiasis highlights how US states and the federal government work together to track foodborne illnesses – and where they diverge.Experts said the enormous number of cases, potentially more than 11,000 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) count, is symptomatic of “vulnerabilities” in food safety systems in the US. Continue reading...

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The Guardian

Past fires suggest effects of Europe and North America wildfires may linger for years

Three years after Maui wildfires many still struggle with ‘biological, emotional and social consequences’, study saysA spate of ferocious wildfires across North America and Europe, worsened by the climate crisis, have incinerated homes and forests and forced thousands of people to flee. Previous fires suggest the effects of these blazes may linger for years to come.The current fires and their plumes of smoke can appear to be a temporary, if immediate, crisis. Nearly 1,000 fires have sprung into

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The Guardian

Previous winners Douglas Stuart and Marlon James lead a Brit-heavy Booker prize longlist

Chair of judges Mary Beard said each of the 13 books in contention for the £50,000 award ‘takes the reader to new places’• Comment: This Booker longlist may have two previous winners, but it’s keen to experimentDouglas Stuart and Marlon James, two previous winners of the Booker, have been named on this year’s longlist, alongside three-time nominee Elizabeth Strout, in a collection that “rewards risk”.The 13 novels selected for the 2026 prize, announced on Tuesday, feature authors of seven nation

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NY Times World

Kumamoto Castle, a Famed Landmark, Is Damaged in the Japan Earthquake

The centuries-old castle, one of the country’s best-known, was also affected by the region’s 2016 earthquakes.

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NY Times World

The mountainous region of Kumamoto is no stranger to quakes.

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The Guardian

Home Office used ‘AI hallucinated’ information to refuse asylum claim, judge suggests

Upper tribunal unable to find document cited in case and claims it is ‘analogous to relying on bogus evidence’UK politics live – latest updatesA senior judge has accused the Home Office of relying on “AI hallucinated” information to refuse an asylum claim.The case relates to a Moroccan woman and her child who fled her country after experiencing forced underage marriage and extreme violence, including rape. The woman claimed asylum on the basis of fears that she would be killed by her husband: a

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BBC World

'A narcissist': Victim's family hits out at Kohberger for challenging murder conviction

The man accused of killing four students in Idaho is taking back his plea, which was made to avoid the death penalty.

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The Guardian

Tory MP accuses French navy of firing shots in Channel incident

Chris Philp says patrol vessel may have been trying to stop him highlighting the small boats crisisUK politics live – latest updatesA Conservative MP has claimed a French warship fired warning shots near a boat he was on in the Channel in an attempt to stop him covering the small boats crisis.Chris Philp, who is his party’s home affairs spokesperson, was being interviewed by the BBC a couple of miles off Boulogne on Tuesday when the warship Flamant passed by. As it did so, a French navy officer

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