Trump claims Iran war ‘nearing completion’ and seeks to justify conflict in prime time address

Markets sink after president offers little detail on how he intends to wind down conflict over next two to three weeks

Donald Trump used a prime time address to the nation on Wednesday evening to declare the month-long war in Iran a success “nearing completion”, despite a spiraling conflict that has caused economic turmoil across the globe, fractured transatlantic alliances and eroded the president’s approval ratings.

In remarks from the White House, Trump argued that the US’s “little journey” to Iran had nearly accomplished “all of America’s military objectives”, but offered little clarity on how he planned to wind down the conflict over the next “two to three weeks”.

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Supreme court justices appear skeptical of move to end birthright citizenship as Trump attends arguments

The US president issued an executive order in 2025 that seeks to undo constitutional right to birthright citizenship

The US supreme court on Wednesday appeared poised to protect birthright citizenship, the longstanding policy that babies born in the US are American citizens, in what would be a blow to a key immigration policy for Donald Trump.

The court heard oral arguments with Trump himself in attendance inside the courtroom’s public gallery. A majority of justices asked questions indicating skepticism about the government’s attempt to overturn birthright citizenship. But while some expected the case to be a clearcut win for those challengingthe government, it is unclear how many justices might side with Trump. A decision is expected this summer.

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Unsuspecting windsurfer collides with gray whale in the San Francisco Bay

Footage shows a man windsurfing being forcefully thrown from his board as a whale breaches off the California coast

An unsuspecting windsurfer collided with a gray whale on the San Francisco Bay in a startling and rare encounter captured on video.

The footage shows the moment the surfer is forcefully thrown from his board as a gray whale breaches off the California coast, plunging him into the water.

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Nicotine pouches not yet cleared for sale in US due to concerns over young users

FDA planned to fast-track applications for authorization, but agency reviewers raise alarm over addiction risk

Popular nicotine pouch products have yet to be cleared for sale in the United States despite a fast-track Food and Drug Administration scheme, as agency scientists hesitate to authorize them due to potential risks to new users, including children, three sources told Reuters.

New tobacco products like pouches, which users insert under their lip to get a nicotine buzz, must be authorised by the FDA in order to be legally sold in the US, the world’s largest market for smoking alternatives worth some $22bn.

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Trump says he is ‘absolutely’ considering withdrawing US from Nato

The president, a longtime critic of Nato, has stepped up criticism after allies refused to join the US-Israel war on Iran

Donald Trump has said he is “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from Nato, warning that the matter was “beyond reconsideration” after the refusal of US allies to join the US-Israeli war against Iran.

The president’s threats, his most determined to date, have left the alliance facing its worst crisis in its 77-year history, a former US ambassador has warned.

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Hegseth says suspensions lifted for helicopter crews who hovered over Kid Rock home

Pentagon chief’s remarks come after US army said crews suspended amid investigation into incident in Tennessee

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth said the crews of two US army AH-64 Apache helicopters that hovered next to the singer Kid Rock’s swimming pool while he clapped and saluted on Saturday are no longer suspended.

“No punishment. No investigation,” Hegseth wrote on social media. “Carry on, patriots.”

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US judge orders Trump to halt $400m White House ballroom project

US president demolished East Wing of White House last year to make way for 90,000-sq-ft project

A US judge has halted the construction of Donald Trump’s $400m White House ballroom.

The US president demolished the historic East Wing of the White House last year to make way for the project.

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Trump signs order to restrict mail-in ballots in probably unconstitutional move

President has falsely claimed ‘legendary’ fraud for limiting mail-in ballots and himself voted by mail last week

Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to compile a national voter file and to restrict the use of mail-in ballots, an unprecedented move that is probably unconstitutional.

The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security to work with the Social Security Administration to compile a list of verified US citizens who can vote in every state. It also directs the United States Postal Service (USPS) to begin rule-making on a process that would require states to notify the agency of voters who intend to receive a mail-in ballot and prohibit them from receiving one unless they are on a USPS-approved list of eligible voters.

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‘God squad’ waives endangered species law to allow US drilling in Gulf of Mexico

Critics say exemption for fossil fuels exploits White House’s ‘self-made gas crisis’, and could doom the rare Rice’s whale

A US government panel on Tuesday exempted oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a move which critics say could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life.

The Endangered Species Committee – which had not convened in more than three decades – voted to approve the request for the ESA exemption at the request of the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.

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US-based dissident artist put on trial in China over satirical Mao sculptures, says rights group

New York-based Gao Zhen was detained in 2024 during a family visit to China and then tried for ‘defaming national heroes’

The Chinese dissident artist Gao Zhen, known for making satirical sculptures of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been tried over accusations of “defaming national heroes and martyrs”, his wife and a rights group have said.

Gao, 69, who was detained in 2024 during a visit to China from the US, faces a maximum three-year prison sentence, his wife, Zhao Yaliang, and Shane Yi, a researcher at the Chinese human rights defenders group, said.

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New York councilmember and Hochul governor aide investigated for bribery

Prosecutors investigate whether Farah Louis and Debbie Louis accepted bribes to help migrant shelter provider

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether a New York City councilmember and her sister, an aide to governor Kathy Hochul, accepted bribes or kickbacks in connection with the appropriation of city funds to a migrant shelter provider, according to a copy of a search warrant obtained by the Associated Press.

The warrant, signed on 19 March, seeks evidence of possible criminal violations involving councilmember Farah Louis, a Brooklyn Democrat, and Debbie Louis, who serves as Hochul’s assistant secretary of New York City intergovernmental affairs.

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News outlets falsely report Somaliland called for extradition of Ilhan Omar

Reports, based on X post from unofficial account, follow JD Vance’s accusations and threats of finding ‘legal remedies’

Several news outlets have falsely reported that Somaliland’s government called for the extradition of Ilhan Omar, basing their stories on a post from an X account that does not represent the state despite its claims to the contrary.

Fox News, the New York Post, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s the National News Desk and the Independent ran stories on the US representative. The reports centred on a post by @RepOfSomaliland in reaction to claims by JD Vance that Omar had committed immigration fraud, which echoed prior allegations against the Somali-born Minnesota Democrat that she has vehemently denied.

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US quadruple amputee cornhole pro suspected of murder had ‘a dark side’, ex-girlfriend claims

Tori Mattingly told TMZ Dayton Webber would ‘lash out’ at her during four-year relationship that ended in 2025

A woman who claims she was romantically involved with a quadruple-amputee cornhole champion and the man he is accused of shooting dead in a murder case grabbing national attention has spoken of dating both of them – and said the accused killer had “a dark side”.

Tori Mattingly told TMZ in an interview published over the weekend that Dayton Webber would “lash out” at her during their four-year relationship. That relationship ended in February 2025 before she dated Bradrick Wells, the alleged victim of a deadly shooting in Webber’s car in suburban Washington DC on 22 March.

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Recent $167m lottery winner arrested for allegedly stealing $12,000 in Kentucky

Burglary arrest was James Farthing’s latest run-in with the law after winning the Powerball jackpot last year

A man who recently won a $167m Powerball lottery jackpot stands accused of stealing the relatively paltry sum of $12,000 after breaking into a house in his home state of Kentucky on Saturday, according to authorities who arrested him.

James Farthing’s arrest on Saturday on counts of burglary and illicit marijuana possession reportedly was at least his third since winning Kentucky’s most lucrative lottery prize ever.

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JD Vance says aliens are ‘demons’ and details obsession with UFOs

Vice-president promises ‘to get to the bottom of’ reports of US government files about unidentified flying objects

JD Vance, the vice-president of the United States, said this weekend that he considers aliens to be “demons”.

As the war in Iran continues, petrol and grocery prices soar and chaos continues at US airports as a partial government shutdown endures, Vance appeared on the conservative Benny Show podcast, released Saturday, to promise that he would spend time looking into what he called his “obsession” with UFOs and extraterrestrial visitors.

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Spain closes airspace to US military over Iran war, widening rift with US

Spain’s defence minister confirms move and describes US-Israel war on Iran as ‘profoundly illegal and unjust’

Spain has ramped up its opposition to the US-Israel war on Iran by closing its airspace to US aircraft involved in attacks, underlining its position as Europe’s leading critic of the conflict.

The move, first reported by El País newspaper and confirmed by the defence minister on Monday, comes after Madrid said the US could not use jointly operated military bases in the country for operations related to the war.

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Painting considered workshop copy is in fact by Rembrandt, expert says

Exclusive: UK owner’s version of Old Man with a Gold Chain reunited in Chicago with undisputed work by Dutch master

A portrait in a UK collection that has long been dismissed as a workshop copy of an almost identical painting by Rembrandt was in fact also painted by the 17th-century Dutch master, according to a leading scholar.

Each of the paintings, titled Old Man with a Gold Chain and dated to the early 1630s, is a near-lifesize depiction of an older man wearing a gold chain and a plumed hat.

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Trump appears to relax oil blockade on Cuba as Russian tanker arrives

US president says he has ‘no problem’ with countries sending oil to Cuba, in potential lifeline to island nation

Donald Trump appears to have relaxed his blockade on fuel-starved Cuba after a Russian tanker reached the Caribbean island carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude.

Russia’s transport ministry said the Anatoly Kolodkin tanker arrived at the port of Matanzas on Cuba’s northern coast on Monday to deliver the crisis-hit country’s first such cargo in more than three months.

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Pope seems to rebuke Trump in remarks about leaders with ‘hands full of blood’

Pontiff’s unusually pointed comments come after Pete Hegseth’s prayer for violence against enemies ‘who deserve no mercy’

Pope Leo has said God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war and have “hands full of blood”, in an apparent rebuke to the Trump administration.

The pontiff made the comments on Sunday as thousands of US troops arrived in the Middle East and days after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed for violence against enemies who deserved “no mercy”.

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Chesney the kangaroo found three days after hopping away from farm

Marsupial escaped from enclosure at Wisconsin’s Sunshine Farm on Wednesday after he was spooked by stray dogs

How does a kangaroo escape a petting zoo?

It’s not the opening line to a dad joke. If you’re Chesney the kangaroo, you scale an 8ft (2.5-meter) fence and go on the lam for three days, giving your keeper sleepless nights and sending residents of a small Wisconsin town on a search that would end happily on Saturday.

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