US reinstates ‘gun show loophole’ amid rollback of firearms restrictions

DoJ announces changes including ‘loophole’ that allows people to buy guns at shows without background check

The US justice department has rolled back several significant restrictions on guns, including reinstating the so-called “gun show loophole”, which allowed people at such events to buy firearms without a background check.

The changes, announced by the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, amount to a shift in firearm policy advocated by supporters of the second amendment, who are prominent in Donald Trump’s supporter base.

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Black lawmakers decry supreme court voting decision: ‘We’re going backwards’

Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures are at risk of losing their seats in Alabama’s Black congressional districts after ruling

The lawmakers who represent Alabama’s two Black congressional districts, who are now at risk of losing their seats after the supreme court effectively decimated the Voting Rights Act, said the decision sends the US “backwards”.

The 6-3 ruling in Louisiana v Callais on Wednesday weakens a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door for Republicans to eliminate majority-minority congressional districts across the south, and representatives Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures stand in the crosshairs.

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US political violence generates a familiar cycle - this time it's in overdrive

In modern America, it seems violence of this kind has become an ever-present storm that can strike anywhere and at any moment.

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Canada's Carney launches a sovereign wealth fund. What is it?

The fund - which Canadians can invest in directly - will help pay for major infrastructure projects in the country, the prime minister says.

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Washington in shock after White House press dinner shooting: ‘an angry, polarized nation’

Questions raised about political violence, security and gun control after brazen attack at event attended by top officials

• White House press dinner shooting aftermath – latest updates

A stunned Washington faced searching questions about political violence and gun control on Sunday after shots were fired at a prestigious media gala attended by Donald Trump and senior White House officials.

A man targeted a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel the previous night before being tackled and arrested. Trump and Melania Trump were rushed out of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner as guests dived for cover under tables.

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Did Trump save eight Iranian women from execution?

The US president says he saved eight Iranian women from execution, but Iran says otherwise.

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Seven dead in major Russian attack on Ukraine

The city of Dnipro was hardest hit, with officials saying four died in a strike on a residential building.

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Egyptian family of six taken back into ICE custody days after being released

Hayam El Gamal and five children were held for 10 months after husband allegedly threw molotov cocktails at crowd

An Egyptian family of six has been taken back into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, days after they were released from a detention facility in Texas on Thursday, according to their attorney Eric Lee.

Lee said Saturday morning that Hayam El Gamal and her five children were on a private jet in Denver bound for Egypt because of a court order violation.

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Watch: How one orangutan braved new bridge to unite his split community

The forest where the Sumatran orangutans live has been split by a road.

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New US exhibition explores power of monuments – with help from Rocky

Statue – one of city’s most popular tourist attractions – on steps of Philadelphia Museum of Art key plank of new show

A statue of Sylvester Stallone’s fictional boxer Rocky Balboa is the focal point of an examination of the power of monuments opening at the Philadelphia Museum of Art this weekend that marks two millennia of boxing and celebrity.

The statue, placed on the “Rocky Steps” of the museum in 1982, six years after the the 1976 film Rocky made Stallone a star, is one of Philadelphia’s most popular tourist attractions, visited by an estimated 4 million people annually.

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