Politics

A collection of 1635 posts

Politics

Labour to announce new Birmingham–Manchester rail link after HS2 cancellation

Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce plans to build a new railway line between Birmingham and Manchester, Independent.co understands, just over two years after Rishi Sunak cancelled the HS2 expansion in October 2023. Ministers are expected to set out the proposals as part of plans for new and

Politics

Public climate‑risk tools are being removed as homeowners lose access to data

Time reports that several climate‑risk tools that were once publicly available are being removed, including the Trump Administration’s elimination of FEMA’s Future Risk Index last year and Zillow’s removal of its climate‑risk rating in December. Some data remain available for a fee: First Street provides

Politics

Readers put parks and libraries top among 17 fixes for New York City

The New York Times invited readers to vote on 17 proposals for improving New York City as the administration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani begins, and the clear winner was a suggestion to devote more resources to parks and libraries. That idea received about 35,000 up votes and called attention

Politics

EPA proposes rule to curb states’ power to block pipeline and energy permits

The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed an Environmental Protection Agency rule intended to limit states' ability to block construction of oil pipelines, coal export terminals and other energy projects that could pollute nearby waterways. The proposal would narrow Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which allows states and

Politics

Supreme Court Hears Challenges to Idaho and West Virginia Trans Athlete Bans

The Supreme Court on Thursday heard the first of two cases challenging state laws that bar transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, taking up disputes tied to Idaho and West Virginia statutes. Twenty-seven states have enacted such bans, which supporters say are intended to preserve opportunities

Politics

Supreme Court hears challenges by two transgender athletes

The Supreme Court on Tuesday considered two lawsuits filed by transgender athletes from West Virginia and Idaho challenging state laws that would bar transgender females from participating on sports teams for women and girls, the athletes contend. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a high school sophomore in West Virginia, sued her state in

Politics

Prosecutors demand death for former South Korean president Yoon over failed martial law

South Korean prosecutors have asked for the death penalty for former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his failed December 2024 martial law declaration, in what the authorities describe as the first insurrection trial of a Korean head of state in three decades. Prosecutors told Seoul central district court the case

Politics

Clintons refuse to testify in GOP Epstein probe and face contempt threat

Bill and Hillary Clinton refused to testify in a Republican-led House probe into Jeffrey Epstein, the Independent.co reports. House Oversight Committee chair James Comer told reporters Tuesday that the committee intends to hold them in contempt of Congress next week. In an eight-page letter to Comer the Clintons called

Politics

Prosecutors seek death sentence for ousted South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol

A special counsel on Tuesday asked a court in Seoul to sentence South Korea’s impeached and ousted former president, Yoon Suk Yeol, to death on the charge of leading an insurrection when he briefly imposed martial law in late 2024. The three-judge panel at the Seoul Central District Court

Politics

Mike Johnson reserves judgment on alleged DOJ probe of Fed chair Jerome Powell

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would reserve judgment about a supposed Department of Justice probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at his weekly press conference, Independent.co reported. Powell announced on video that he was being threatened with criminal charges by the Trump administration’s DOJ. The charges

Politics

Relatively few college athletes are transgender, but the sports debate remains broad

President Trump and many Republicans have made barring transgender women from women’s sports a central political issue, and the topic is expected to remain important in the midterms, but the number of athletes affected by an outright ban would be relatively very low. Addressing Congress in 2024, Charlie Baker,

Politics

US ends temporary protected status for Somali nationals

The Trump administration is terminating temporary protected status (TPS) for Somalis living in the United States, giving hundreds of people two months to leave the country or face deportation. Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement that conditions in the east African country had improved sufficiently

Politics

Marine Le Pen appeals five-year ban from office after embezzlement conviction

Marine Le Pen began an appeal on Tuesday at the Paris Appeals Court against a March 2025 embezzlement conviction that includes a five-year ban from holding elected office; a verdict is expected during the summer and will determine whether she can run for president next year. The criminal court found

Politics

Leaked blueprints raise security concerns over China’s proposed Royal Mint embassy

According to Independent.co, the government is expected in the coming days to give the green light for Beijing to develop the former Royal Mint site near the Tower of London as a new ‘‘super-embassy’’. Full, unredacted blueprints published in the article show a 22,000 square-metre complex with a

Politics

U.K. to outlaw non-consensual sexualized AI images after Grok scandal

Time reports the United Kingdom plans to bring into force a law criminalizing the creation of non-consensual sexualized images, including those generated via Grok, the chatbot within Elon Musk’s X application. Technology Secretary Liz Kendal announced in the House of Commons Monday that individuals who create—or seek to

Politics

Two transgender athletes ask Supreme Court to block state bans on women’s sports

The Supreme Court on Tuesday considered lawsuits filed by two transgender athletes — a West Virginia high school student and an Idaho college senior — who contend state laws that would bar transgender females from participating on teams for women and girls are unconstitutional. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a high school sophomore in West

Politics

ICE agent kills Renee Good in Minneapolis; protests and fears follow

According to Time, an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good at 34th and Portland in Minneapolis, a little over half a mile from the site where George Floyd was killed in 2020. The account says Good was a poet and a mother and that her wife witnessed the shooting;

Politics

NSW urges review of 50% capital gains tax discount over housing affordability

The New South Wales government has told a federal parliamentary inquiry that generous capital gains tax (CGT) rules have pushed up property prices and damaged housing affordability, arguing the 50% CGT discount benefits wealthier investors at the expense of first-time buyers. In a submission, NSW Treasury said the CGT discount

Politics

Former Labour 'Twitter tsar' urges ministers to quit X after Grok image abuses

According to Independent.co, Kerry McCarthy, Labour’s first “Twitter tsar”, called X a “cesspit” and urged ministers and the Labour Party to leave the platform immediately after its AI tool Grok was repeatedly used to generate sexualised images of people without consent. On Monday Sir Keir Starmer issued an

Politics

Major central banks back Powell, warn political pressure could threaten market stability

Governors from 11 major central banks issued a joint statement on Tuesday backing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell and warning that political pressure on the Fed risks undermining financial and economic stability worldwide. The signatories included European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, Bank

Politics

Republicans break with Trump over DOJ probe of Fed chair Jerome Powell

Time reports that Republican lawmakers have publicly broken with the Trump administration after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Powell confirmed that the Fed received grand jury subpoenas from the DOJ on Friday as part of an inquiry into whether he lied

Politics

Powell rebukes White House after DOJ subpoenas, raising stakes for Fed independence

Jerome H. Powell pushed back publicly after The New York Times revealed a criminal investigation into whether he lied to Congress, and after the Justice Department served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas, prompting the central bank to abandon its previous cautious stance toward the administration. The subpoenas, served

Politics

Broad bipartisan and market pushback grows over Powell criminal probe

A criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell has prompted growing resistance in Washington, with former central bankers, some Republican lawmakers and market participants rallying to his defense as the dispute with the Trump administration deepens. Powell accused the administration of using threats of a federal criminal investigation as

Politics

Federal initiatives, buildings and a proposed coin have been named for Trump

President Trump has had a string of federal initiatives, places and items named or renamed for him in the last year, including “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” the Donald J. Trump United States Institute of Peace, a proposed Trump-class U.

Politics

ASIO chief to be able to recommend organisations be proscribed as hate groups

The head of Australia’s security agency would be able to recommend organisations be proscribed as hate groups under a Labor government draft bill released on Tuesday, the legislation shows. The draft also includes new hate speech and anti‑vilification laws and provisions for a major gun buy‑back scheme.