U.S. Supreme Court declines Trump’s appeal in E. Jean Carroll case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn a $5-million US verdict in favour of E. Jean Carroll in a case in which a jury found him liable for sexually abusing the former magazine columnist and then defaming her. The justices turned away Trump’s appeal after a lower court upheld the 2023 verdict and rejected Trump’s arguments that the trial was unfair because the judge impermissibly let jurors hear evidence of his alleged past sexual misconduct. Trump has been battling Carroll, a formerRead more
U.S. Supreme Court rules against Trump bid to fire Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve governor
Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Lisa Cook leaves the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21. Cook has spent about $1.2 million US fighting for her job after U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to fire her last August. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press) The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to let President Donald Trump fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook as it stood firm to preserve the central bank’s cherished independence against an unprecedented challenge by the Republican president. The court, in a 5-4 ruling, blocked Trump’s bidRead more
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump-led challenge against mail-in ballots
A person places an envelope in a ballot return box for mail-in ballots in Philadelphia. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that mail-in ballots postmarked by election day can be counted even if they arrive late. (Matt Rourke/The Associated Press) The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that states can count ballots that arrive after election day, a persistent target of President Donald Trump. The 5-4 decision rejected a Republican-led attack on laws in more than half the states and the District of Columbia that permit mailed ballots to arriveRead more
Supreme Court allows late-arriving mail-in ballots in defeat for Trump
The Supreme Court has ruled that states may count postal ballots received late if they were postmarked by election day, rejecting the Trump administration’s push to block it. The 5-4 decision upholds a Mississippi law that had permitted the counting of mail-in ballots postmarked before election day but arrived up to five days afterwards. The ruling marks a significant political defeat for Donald Trump, who called the decision a “tremendous loss”. The president has repeatedly stated that mail-in ballots are vulnerable to fraud. The states that allow late-arriving postal ballotsRead more
What we learned from Bill Gates’s interview with Congress about Epstein
Bill Gates is shown leaving following a closed-door interview before the House’s oversight committee investigating late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in Washington, D.C., on June 10. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters) Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates told a congressional panel that files released by the Justice Department in January only added to his embarrassment over interacting with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Epstein Transparency Act, passed in late 2025, mandated that the U.S. Justice Department release millions of files related to investigations into Epstein, whose death in aRead more
Trump’s D.C. reflecting pool is the butt of online jokes. What happened?
It was big, bold American flag blue. And then it was green. And then it was spotted with chunks of floating paint. U.S. President Donald Trump’s ambitious plan to renovate the 600-metre-long Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington, D.C., for the country’s 250th anniversary celebration has backfired spectacularly. The pool’s $14.7-million US renovation and subsequent rapid deterioration has become the butt of internet jokes. Some have dubbed June “ALGAEBTQ Pride Month” or commented that Trump, who promised to “drain the swamp” in Washington, has instead created a swamp. In oneRead more
Deadly ‘Omega’ heat wave breaks more temperature records in Europe
People cool off in the Trocadéro Fountain near the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Wednesday. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters) Western Europe was in the grip of a heat wave on Wednesday that claimed dozens of lives, disrupted power supplies, shut schools and cultural landmarks, as forecasters warned the extreme temperatures could persist until the end of the week. Smashing previous records, Britain logged its highest temperature for June, reaching 36.1 C in southern England as a heat dome hovered over much of western Europe. France recorded its hottest day since records began nearly 80 years ago, when temperatures peakedRead more
Trump asks Congress for $87bn, mostly for ‘urgent’ Iran war costs
The White House has asked lawmakers to approve $87.6bn (£66.5bn), mostly for “urgent needs” connected with the US war on Iran, a day after Congress passed a resolution rebuking the military action. The bulk of the funding – $67bn – is for the Defence Department, including $21bn for munitions, $17.3bn for operational costs and $12.1bn for classified programmes, said the White House. The other money is for unrelated measures including $11bn for US farmers and $1.4bn to tackle the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. But the proposal faces an uphillRead more
U.S. says retaliatory strikes on Iran in response to crash of American helicopter have ended
A U.S. army AH-64 Apache helicopter is shown during a joint live-fire exercise with the South Korean army in 2025. Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the U.S. military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers. (SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg/Getty Images) The U.S. military said Tuesday it carried out strikes against Iran following the crash of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the coast of Oman that President Donald Trump blamed on the Islamic republic. In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central CommandRead more
Pope Leo gives Spain’s ‘phoenix’ prime minister another turn in the global spotlight
Pope Leo XIV meets with members of the Spanish Parliament in Madrid on June 8. (Alessandra Tarantino/Pool via REUTERS) Earlier this spring, Spain’s defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s war plans in Iran briefly made the country the centre of global geopolitical friction. Now, Pope Leo XIV is visiting, thrusting the country back into the spotlight — only this time, welcoming an American who wields moral authority, rather than military might. Leo, who was born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, has been met with near-rapturous crowds in Madrid ever sinceRead more