United States
Trump ‘immediately’ asking US Supreme Court to reconsider birthright citizenship case
Getty Images President Donald Trump has said he will “immediately” ask the US Supreme Court to rehear a case challenging birthright citizenship in the US. It comes a week after the high court ruled that those born in the US have a constitutional right to citizenship, rejecting Trump’s executive order that sought to restrict the 150-year-old policy. While the Supreme Court allows for such a request, the high court has rarely ever granted a rehearing. The last time a decided case was reheard was some 60 years ago. “This miscarriageRead more
Ukraine to get licence to produce Patriot missiles, Trump says
AFP via Getty Images Zelensky confirmed in May that Ukraine had formally asked the US to authorise licensed production of Patriots US President Donald Trump has offered to give Ukraine the right to produce Patriot interceptor missiles, which could help Kyiv defend against Russia’s ballistic missile attacks. “We are gonna give you a licence to make Patriots,” Trump told Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky during Wednesday’s Nato summit in Ankara. “I think they can produce them very quickly once we explain it.” He said he had not yet informed defence manufacturers LockheedRead 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
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
Starmer to visit Middle East after US and Iran reach ceasefire deal
Reuters Keir Starmer welcomed the ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US as he travelled to meet with leaders of countries in the Gulf on Wednesday. The prime minister is expected to “discuss diplomatic efforts to support and uphold the ceasefire”, according to No 10. He will return to the UK on Friday. The ceasefire comes after Donald Trump threatened “a whole civilisation will die” if Iran did not agree to end the war and unblock the Strait of Hormuz – comments that led Downing Street to call again forRead more
Ukraine, its allies object to U.S. move to exempt Russian oil from sanctions for at least 30 days
The United States issued a 30-day licence for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize global energy markets roiled by the Iran war. The announcement comes a day after the U.S. Energy Department said that the U.S. would be releasing 172 million barrels of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve in an effort to curb skyrocketing oil prices. That release was part of a broader commitment by the 32-nation International Energy Agency toRead more
US lawmakers accuse justice department of ‘inappropriately’ redacting Epstein files
US lawmakers say files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were improperly redacted ahead of their release by the Department of Justice (DoJ). Members of Congress on Monday were allowed to begin a review of the unredacted versions of the approximately three million pages of files released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) since December. “The core issue is that they’re not complying with… my law, because these were scrubbed back in March by Donald Trump’s FBI,” Democratic congressman Ro Khanna said. At least one document has been unredactedRead more
Under-fire Trump commerce secretary confirms he visited Epstein’s island
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has confirmed he visited Jeffrey Epstein’s island in 2012, contradicting previous claims that he had cut ties with the sex offender years earlier, before he was convicted. “I did have lunch with him as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation,” Lutnick testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. “My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies … We had lunch on the island. That is true. For an hour.” Correspondence about the visit was included in EpsteinRead more
Trump threatens to block opening of US-Canada bridge
The White House has demanded that Canada “share authority” and ownership of a new bridge connecting the two countries after a “clear and direct” call between Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney. The Gordie Howe International Bridge, connecting the Canadian province of Ontario to the US state of Michigan, will not open until Ottawa “treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve”, Trump wrote on social media earlier. The bridge is funded by the Canadian government but will be publicly owned by both Canada andRead more