California announces minimum wage increase as governor taunts Trump 01. August 2026 (22:39) Gavin Newsom says new pay floor of $17.40, set to become highest of any US state, will go into effect on 1 JanuaryCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom announced that the state’s minimum wage will rise to $17.40 next year, a ay floor set to become the highest of any US state.The pay bump will go into effect starting 1 January, Newsom announced on Friday. The state’s current minimum rate is $16.90. In a news release, Newsom touted the move as a salve for working families amid high living costs and took a jab at the Trump administration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump offering early access to online posts in move seen as corruption 01. August 2026 (19:29) Truth Social, where Trump’s account is by far the largest, to offer users early access for up to $100,000 per monthDonald Trump is now offering early access to his Truth Social posts in a move that has been seen as corruption benefitting a sitting president.Trump Media and Technology Group officially rolled out its new subscription-based data service on Saturday, giving paying customers faster, real-time access to Truth Social posts from Trump and other high-profile accounts. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US reporter fighting back after border patrol seized his cell phones 01. August 2026 (17:00) Max Blumenthal says he was singled out at airport after Trump ally Laura Loomer targeted him in online postsWhen reporter Max Blumenthal went to a cafe in Tehran one night a few weeks ago to upload videos from his reporting on the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, he began seeing social media posts from Trump ally Laura Loomer targeting him, including one that suggested he should be “taken off the plane by US Marshalls when he lands back in the US … [and] detained”.“I began to prepare myself for being harassed on my return,” Blumenthal said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Agony and despair’: Nancy Guthrie’s family issues new plea for information on her whereabouts 01. August 2026 (16:59) Police also released notes received from presumed abductors of mother of Today anchor Savannah GuthrieThe family of Nancy Guthrie issued a new appeal on Saturday for information on the whereabouts of their missing grandmother, six months after she disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, and a day after local investigators released two purported ransom notes.“Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since,” a post on Instagram said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump vows to push $1.8bn slush fund as Senate committee set to reconsider AG nomination 01. August 2026 (16:31) After declaring ‘anti-weaponization’ fund ‘dead’, Trump reverses and says he’ll revive it despite Senate oppositionThe US Senate judiciary committee has scheduled a meeting early next week to consider Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general, as Donald Trump promised to revive the controversial $1.8bn “anti-weaponization” fund.The meeting, set for Tuesday, comes as Blanche’s confirmation has stalled over a dispute between the president and outgoing Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who are seeking written confirmation that the justice department would not establish the proposed fund. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Top mountaineer Nirmal Purja confirmed dead after 11 hit by avalanche in Pakistan 01. August 2026 (15:41) Other members of expedition led by world-renowned climber on Broad Peak have also died, climbing company saysA world-renowned Nepali mountaineer and former UK Special Forces member has died after being among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan’s Broad Peak.Nirmal Purja was killed leading an expedition of 10 other people on the world’s 12th-highest mountain when an avalanche struck at around noon on Thursday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
D4vd hearing details high hopes and brutal end of girl at heart of murder case 01. August 2026 (15:00) Texts reveal that singer and Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been in touch stretching back to when she was 11 years oldThe rising pop singer D4vd and 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez were in the throes of a clandestine relationship months before her mangled and decomposing body turned up last September stuffed in an impounded car registered to the musician.D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, is set to stand trial for murder, child sexual abuse and mutilation of human remains in connection to the teenager’s death. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Spanish PM calls for urgent EU meeting after ‘selfish’ responses to Ceuta crisis 01. August 2026 (14:35) Pedro Sánchez hits out at ‘polarising and unlawful reaction’ over mass crossing into Spanish enclave in north AfricaEurope live – latest updatesSpain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called for an urgent meeting of EU interior ministers after what he called some member states’ “selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction” to this week’s mass border crossing into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in north Africa.More than 50,000 people crossed into the territory from Morocco on Thursday and Friday, with at least 67 people dying in the attempt. Some drowned, while others were crushed as they tried to cross a breakwater barrier. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Democrats’ ‘climate hushing’ prompts activists to turn up the volume 01. August 2026 (14:00) Nationwide actions seek to counter view that talking about climate crisis distracts from affordability messagingThis summer, torrential rains have washed away Texas neighborhoods, dangerous heat has blanketed swaths of the country, and smoke from Canadian wildfires has choked communities as far south as Florida.Research makes clear that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. Yet the climate crisis has largely disappeared from the political agenda, with many Democrats who once described it as an existential threat now shying away from talking about it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Purple reign: how shade became British gardeners’ favourite 01. August 2026 (14:00) Britons move away from trend of grey paving and pristine lawns in an embrace of colour, with lavender a top choiceIf you manage to spot a garden in bloom this summer, beyond the strips of bleached and torched grass, there may be one colour you see more than any other: purple, the horticultural hue of the season.Plants such as lavender, salvias and catmint are in vogue, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which conducted extensive research into the colours Britons best love to see in their gardens. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
