July’s heatwaves kept UK shoppers away from high street 07. August 2026 (07:00) Visits down 3.8% after 6.2% fall in June, with many choosing to buy online instead, research for retail body findsShoppers stayed away from UK high streets during last month’s heatwave temperatures, with many choosing to buy online instead as the mercury in some areas rose into the mid-30Cs.Trips to high streets were down by 3.8% year on year in July after a 6.2% fall in June, according to research from the monitoring firm Sensormatic for the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump unbound: the making of an imperial presidency – podcast 07. August 2026 (06:00) Donald Trump’s second term is unlike his first. The politicians who challenged him are gone. The lawyers who once pushed back now choose their battles. What remains is an imperial president with almost no internal checks, using executive power to reshape everything from the economy, immigration and even the presidency itself.Few journalists have covered Trump as closely as the New York Times journalist Jonathan Swan. Jonathan Freedland speaks to him about how the president has consolidated such power – and what it could mean for the US and the worldWatch Jonathan Freedland on our new Politics Weekly YouTube channelYou can find Jonathan Swan and Maggie Habermans’ book Regime Change hereSend your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.com Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Justin Pearson and Brent Taylor win primaries for key Tennessee House seat 07. August 2026 (04:44) Nominees to face off in November in redistricted seat central to Trump’s bid to retain slim Republican majorityTennessee primary voters picked a pair of Memphis-area lawmakers to square off in a dramatically reconfigured US House seat central to Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a slim Republican majority in the midterm congressional elections.Republicans chose state senator Brent Taylor, who was endorsed by Trump, to be their nominee in the revamped 9th congressional district. Democrats picked state representative Justin Pearson, who gained national prominence three years ago when he was expelled from the Tennessee House for protesting in support of gun control measures. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s birthright citizenship attack the latest effort in obsessive campaign 07. August 2026 (03:57) For more than a decade, president has been fixated on trying to undermine a key constitutional right With a pair of executive orders on Thursday, Donald Trump has tried – once again – to undermine the guarantee of birthright citizenship, a right enshrined in the US constitution and reaffirmed by the supreme court just five weeks ago.The orders attempt to broaden the categories of children who would be ineligible for automatic US citizenship and ban so-called “birth tourism”, which the president claimed is practiced by “hundreds of thousands” of people. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man dies after suspected dog attack at rural property in Sydney suburb 07. August 2026 (03:33) Police say body of 23-year-old found at Eschol Park property with significant injuries, indicating he may have been attacked before deathFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA young man has died after a suspected dog attack at a rural property, as police begin an investigation.Authorities were alerted to the discovery of the 23-year-old’s body at a rural property in Sydney’s south-west on Wednesday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia news live: Richard Marles insists Tony Burke’s speech on Labor’s new restrictive immigration policy ‘hasn’t been called off’ 07. August 2026 (02:43) Deputy prime minister says Burke’s speech before National Press Club was not cancelled. Follow today’s news liveFederal parliament is returning from winter break next week.Do you have a question you’d like to ask Guardian Australia’s team of political reporters in Canberra? Our political editor, Tom McIlroy, and the team will be answering readers’ questions on the Australian Politics podcast. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567m over harms to children’s mental health 07. August 2026 (02:22) Ruling comes as part of second phase of landmark trial that found social media company enabled harm against usersA New Mexico court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay $567m for mental health harm to children from its platforms.Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the bulk of the money – $420m – would be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration announces changes to Head Start in overhaul 07. August 2026 (01:27) While officials say proposed revisions will encourage more enrollment, advocates say it will undermine the programThe Trump administration has said it plans to overhaul Head Start, tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s neediest children.Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the federally funded preschool program, said on Thursday the proposed changes would encourage more local decision-making, but the proposal has sparked alarm across the Head Start community, where advocates say it threatens the backbone of the antipoverty initiative. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judge approves $106m settlement over deadly 2019 Hard Rock Hotel collapse 07. August 2026 (01:13) Settlement ends years-long legal battle over collapse of 18-story hotel that was under construction in New OrleansA judge approved a $106m settlement on Thursday that ends a years-long legal battle over the deadly 2019 collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel that was under construction in New Orleans.The 18-story hotel project partially collapsed in October 2019 , killing three people and damaging nearby property. A grand jury ultimately decided against indicting anyone in the deadly collapse, but lawsuits were filed, including one brought by the city of New Orleans in August 2020 naming the building owners, their partners and contractors. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump again rebukes Jeanine Pirro over reflecting pool ‘vandalism’ case 07. August 2026 (00:51) President attacks ‘terrible mistake’ of US attorney, who said in court filing damage stemmed from botched renovationDonald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Jeanine Pirro after the US attorney for the District of Columbia publicly challenged his claims that vandals had damaged the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.“She said there was no vandalism. There was tremendous vandalism,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday. “So, she made a terrible mistake. I don’t understand why she did such a stupid thing.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
