Five US dual citizens detained in Iran moved out of prison to house arrest

Move could indicate start of a possible prisoner swap between US and Iran, though negotiations for release of the five are continuing

Five US dual citizens detained by Iran have left Tehran’s Evin prison and are now under house arrest, in a move which could indicate the start of a possible prisoner swap between the two countries.

The Iranian Americans include the businessmen Siamak Namazi, 51, and Emad Shargi, 58, as well as the environmentalist Morad Tahbaz, 67, who also has British nationality, said Jared Genser, a lawyer who represents Namazi. The identity of the other two US citizens has not been made public.

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UK considers tighter rules on investment in China after US clampdown

Rishi Sunak mulls whether to follow US lead in restricting funding for advanced technologies

The British government is considering tightening rules on investment in China after the US president announced new measures aimed at limiting the dollars and expertise flowing into sensitive technologies in the country.

Joe Biden signed an executive order on Wednesday that authorises the US treasury secretary to prohibit or restrict US investments in Chinese entities in three sectors: semiconductors and microelectronics; quantum information technologies; and certain artificial intelligence systems.

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FBI agents shoot and kill Utah man accused of making threats against Biden

Agents were trying to serve warrant on Craig Deleeuw Robertson’s home hours before president was expected to land in state

A Utah man accused of making threats against Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state on Wednesday, authorities said.

Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6.15am, the FBI said in a statement.

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Democrat calls on Biden to stop ‘racists’ in Israeli government from ‘land grab’

Senator Chris Van Hollen says president should reassess military aid to Israel in light of extreme rightward tilt of government

A leading Democratic senator has called on Joe Biden to “get more personally engaged” in stopping “racists” in the Israeli government from a land grab in the occupied territories and committing “gross violations” of Palestinian rights or risk damage to the US’s credibility.

After a visit to Israel and the West Bank last month, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland told the Guardian in an interview that the US president should begin by reassessing the US’s huge military aid to Israel to prevent it from being used to facilitate annexation of the West Bank and oppression of the Palestinians, including the army’s complicity in escalating settler violence against the Arab civilian population.

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Australian government spent $42,000 on Sydney-themed Quad merchandise for event that didn’t go ahead

Exclusive: Items included stationery, media banners and accreditation lanyards for summit that was cancelled with just one week’s notice

The Australian government spent more than $42,000 on Sydney-themed merchandise for the ill-fated 2023 Quad leaders’ summit before the event was hastily moved to Japan.

Guardian Australia can reveal the government’s planning taskforce also spent more than $6m in preparation for the event to be hosted at the Sydney Opera House.

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Niger junta cancels France military ties as Biden calls for Bazoum’s release

US statement comes as ousted president says he is being held hostage and calls on international community to restore order

Joe Biden has called for the immediate release of Niger’s elected president and for the country’s democracy to be restored, in the highest profile statement by the US since the coup that removed Mohamed Bazoum from power, as Senegal also ramped up the pressure by saying its troops would join a a military intervention if necessary.

“I call for President Bazoum and his family to be immediately released, and for the preservation of Niger’s hard-earned democracy,” the US president said in a statement on Thursday, the 63rd anniversary of Niger’s independence. “In this critical moment, the United States stands with the people of Niger to honour our decades-long partnership rooted in shared democratic values and support for civilian-led governance.”

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Trump faces four criminal counts as six co-conspirators listed in January 6 indictment – as it happened

Special counsel Jack Smith to seek speedy trial and says January 6 was ‘fueled by lies’

University of Virginia political guru Larry Sabato took a look at the New York Times/Siena College poll released today, and what he found does not look good for Democrats:

The firm behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline said today that it expects work on the controversial natural gas conduit to be completed by the end of the year.

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Joe Biden says ‘I have seven grandkids’ after acknowledging four-year-old Navy

President had previously failed to publicly mention Navy, daughter from Hunter Biden’s relationship with Lunden Roberts

For the first time in an interview, Joe Biden acknowledged he has seven grandchildren, including Hunter Biden’s four-year-old daughter Navy.

“I have seven grandkids,” the president said, “five of ’em old enough to talk on the phone, you know, every day I either text or call them.”

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Biden administration trials website for new student loan repayment scheme

Beta – or testing – site for ‘Save’ plan should take only 10 minutes to use and aims to cut undergraduate payments in half

The Joe Biden White House is launching a beta – or testing – website as part of its new income-driven student loan repayment plan, according to reports.

The site, which CNN first reported on Sunday, comes as part of the president’s Saving on a Valuable Education (Save) plan, which was announced earlier this year after the supreme court struck down an earlier iteration of Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan.

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US-Saudi talks amid reports of far-reaching diplomatic plan for Middle East

But Jeddah’s demands for brokering an Israeli-Palestinian respite are reportedly a ‘non-starter’ and a ‘sucker’s bet’

The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has held talks with the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, in Jeddah, in what was reported to be part of a bid for an ambitious and far-reaching diplomatic breakthrough in the region.

The White House said Sullivan and the prince discussed on Thursday “initiatives to advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous and stable Middle East region interconnected with the world”.

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Trump hit with further counts in classified documents case as second aide charged – as it happened

The blog is now closed, but you can read more about Donald Trump’s new charges here and about Hunter Biden’s ongoing legal challenges here.

Joe Biden will soon speak on his administration’s efforts to protect workers from extreme heat, including by asking the labor department to issue a “hazard alert” as swaths of the US struggle with scorching temperatures.

“The hazard alert will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law. As part of the alert, the Department of Labor will provide information on what employers can and should be doing now to protect their workers, help ensure employees are aware of their rights, including protections against retaliation, and highlight the steps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently taking to protect workers,” the White House announced. “Additionally, the Department of Labor will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while OSHA continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules.”

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US begins sharing Russian war-crimes evidence with Hague court

Quiet decision ends dispute within Biden administration over ICC cooperation after Pentagon had been accused of obstruction

The Biden administration has said it has begun sharing evidence with the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague on war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The announcement ends a months-long dispute within the administration over the issue, in which the national security council (NSC) and the state department backed cooperation with the ICC, with the Pentagon resisting on the grounds it would imply endorsement of an international court that could one day seek to prosecute US soldiers.

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Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to tax and gun charges amid uncertainty over previous plea agreement – as it happened

Judge presiding over hearing involving US president’s son said she needed more time to evaluate previous deal

Ken Buck, a Republican representative of Colorado asked Mayorkas about the the China-Mexico fentanyl pipeline that has been entering the country and the rising fentanyl overdose deaths currently plaguing the US.

“The fentanyl killing thousands of Americans every year as a direct result of your dereliction when people die of fentanyl poisoning. It is your fault,” said Buck as he went on to ask Mayorkas what his response would be to the families of fentanyl victims in the US.

“We grieve the loss of any life as a result of the toxicity, the devastation… The challenge of fentanyl is not new. It has been escalating for more than five years…. This is a scourge and all of us have to work together to combat…

I stand by my statement…that China does bear responsibility because many of the precursor chemicals and the pill press equipment that is used to manufacture fentanyl does originate from there. This is a complex problem. We are taking it to the criminals…”

“I see other countries with systems that are more advanced than ours that can match the need for labor with the supply for labor… It is proven that lawful labor pathways cause a reduction in the number of irregular arrivals at our border…”

“We have used our parole authority consistent with the law and consistent with past practices of different administration.”

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Republican investigation into Biden ‘rising to the level of impeachment inquiry’ – live

The House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, seems ready to get on board with far-right lawmakers calling for impeachment

Donald Trump is, of course, seeking the Republican presidential nomination, and on Saturday plans to hold a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania – a city he owes money to.

As the Erie Times-News reports, Trump never repaid the city more than $35,000 for costs related to an October 2018 rally he held in the city, much of which went to pay for police and other city services necessitated by the then-president’s visit. Despite that, the city will seek reimbursement from the Trump campaign for whatever expenses result from his rally this week, mayor Joe Schember told the paper.

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DoJ sues Texas governor over refusal to remove anti-migrant buoys from river

Move is the latest in a growing political spat between Greg Abbott and Biden administration over immigration

The US Department of Justice has sued the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, over his refusal to remove a floating barrier placed on the Rio Grande to stop migrants entering the US from Mexico.

The move is the latest in a growing political spat between Abbott and the Biden administration, heightened by Republican attempts to scaremonger over immigration as the 2024 presidential election looms.

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US-China cultural exchange at low point after tensions and Covid, data shows

Tourism, academia and literature all exhibit signs that trend of closer ties has gone into reverse

Cultural ties between the US and China are at a low point after several years of decline, according to Guardian analysis of official figures.

The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students and even the world of literature all affected.

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Kamala Harris says claiming slavery had some benefit is ‘propaganda’ being pushed on US children – as it happened

Vice-president condemns ‘extremist so-called leaders’ in speech in Florida speech amid outcry over new school board guidance

For decades, US politicians have been reluctant to get involved in the topic of UFOs and aliens.

After a series of disclosures in recent months, however, Republicans and Democrats now appear to be lining up to inquire into the question of extraterrestrial life, as the world seems closer than ever to finding out whether we are alone in the universe.

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Supreme court ethics: Senate committee approves new rules as fresh Clarence Thomas claims emerge – as it happened

Rules passed along party lines; conservative nonprofits reportedly orchestrated a $1.8m PR campaign to defend supreme court justice
• This blog is now closed. To read more about Donald Trump click here

Here’s a rundown of the ethical controversies supreme court justices have been involved in.

Real estate transactions

Just about every week now, we learn something new and deeply troubling about the justices serving on the supreme court, the highest court in the land in the United States, and their conduct outside the courtroom.

Let me tell you, if I or any member of the Senate failed to report an all-expense paid luxury getaway or if we used our government staff to help sell books we wrote, we’d be in big trouble.

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Judge rejects Trump bid to move hush money case to federal court as legal challenges gather pace – as it happened

This blog is now closed. You can read the latest news on this story here.

Former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, who Donald Trump pressured to overturn the 2020 election, has been cooperating with special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 insurrection, NBC reported.

A spokesperson for Ducey yesterday confirmed that Smith’s team had contacted the former governor. “Yes, he’s been contacted. He’s been responsive, and just as he’s done since the election, he will do the right thing,” they told CNN.

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White House ends months-long snub to invite Benjamin Netanyahu to visit US

No date set for far-right Israel PM’s visit as arrival of President Isaac Herzog highlights over creeping annexation of West Bank

The White House has finally invited Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the US after months of snubbing the Israeli prime minister over his government’s creeping annexation of the West Bank and deepening oppression of the Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s office said President Joe Biden extended the invitation in a call between the two leaders on Monday ahead of a visit to Washington by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, this week that had thrown a spotlight on to the shunning of the prime minister.

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