White House pushes DoJ to revive reflecting pool case against Olympian

Justice department is asked to weigh new charges against David Hearn after US attorney dropped vandalism charges

The White House has asked the Department of Justice to weigh new charges against a former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, according to a person familiar with the matter, pushing to revive a case Donald Trump has fumed about ever since an ally dropped the case citing insufficient evidence.

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, dropped the charges against the man, David Hearn, on 31 July, blaming a contractor for a flawed installation. In a 20-page filing dismissing the charges, Pirro’s office said it had received evidence that damage to the pool occurred before Hearn visited it, and that “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.” Hearn has maintained that he reached in the water to touch a piece of already detached lining while he was on a bike ride in June.

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Richard Tice accused of ‘nasty tactics’ over legal threat to the Guardian

Reform deputy leader condemned for seeking disclosure of documents that could reveal reporter’s sources

Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of using “nasty tactics” in an attempt to intimidate journalists and deflect attention from his own financial affairs after issuing a legal threat to the Guardian.

In a letter sent from his lawyers, a Guardian correspondent was singled out for her reporting on a series of Tice’s financial transactions that were referred to the National Crime Agency.

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Former judge removed by Orbán elected Hungarian president

Since taking office in early May, the new Hungarian government has lost no time dismantling Viktor Orbán's legacy.

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July was hottest month ever recorded in US as heatwaves scorched country

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132 years of reliable measurements.

Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States, which excludes Alaska and Hawaii, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

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Former Thai MP allegedly kills official and confesses on YouTube

Chalong Riewrang called a YouTube livestream to say he had shot a government official.

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Perseid meteor shower set to dazzle northern hemisphere this week

Astronomers say viewing conditions promising for this year’s shower, and 50 to 100 meteors an hour may be visible

The Perseid summer light show is back, and viewing conditions are especially promising across the northern hemisphere.

The meteor shower’s is expected to peak on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and coincides with a total solar eclipse across Spain, Iceland and Greenland and a six-planet parade – though the best time to view the fireballs will come after totality.

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Child among three killed in Russian missile attacks near Kyiv

Russia continued its overnight attacks after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of Ukraine's dwindling supplies of missile interceptors.

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Australia is the planet's extinction hotspot, but one animal offers a glimmer of hope

The country is home to some of the world's most unique species - but it is losing them at an alarming rate.

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California woman who admitted to stabbing wife had also killed husband

Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, who served a decade for killing her husband, pleaded guilty to murder of Rebecca Marodi, a fire captain who fought the Eaton blaze

A California woman this week admitted to killing her wife, a decorated fire captain who fought the deadly 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, by stabbing her – the same fate she previously delivered to her husband and had served a decade in prison for.

Yolanda Olejniczak Marodi, 54, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to second-degree murder after killing her wife, Rebecca “Becky” Marodi, 49, a California fire captain, at their home in February 2025, just a month after Becky, as she was known, battled the Eaton blaze that killed 19.

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US federal judge halts order for Trump to turn over financial records to BBC

Judge issues temporary pause while he considers Trump’s request to revise his libel lawsuit against BBC

A federal judge has temporarily halted an order requiring Donald Trump to turn over detailed financial information about his business empire to the BBC as part of an ongoing libel lawsuit.

US district judge Roy Altman issued the temporary pause while he considers Trump’s request to revise and narrow parts of his lawsuit against the BBC over a 2024 documentary that aired in the UK.

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