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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Behind Nigeria's murky coup plot - the money, the prayers and a Nollywood arrest

What court papers and sources close to the investigation have told the BBC about the scope of the plan.

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D4vd possessed child sexual abuse images, LA murder prosecutors say

Police allegedly found images on iCloud account of singer accused of killing 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez

A Los Angeles prosecutor said that the singer D4vd, who was charged this week in the killing of 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez, was in possession of a “significant amount of child pornography”.

Police allegedly found the images on the iCloud account of the 21-year-old singer, whose legal name is David Anthony Burke.

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Wildfires burning across Georgia and Florida destroy homes and force evacuations

Smoke drifts into Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia, as air quality declines and 50 homes destroyed

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Wildfires burning across the south-eastern US intensified on Wednesday across parts of south-east Georgia, where 50 homes were destroyed, and across north-east Florida, forcing evacuations and school closures in some communities.

The Georgia forestry commission issued its first mandatory burn ban in the state’s history, effective across 91 counties in the lower half of the state, due to worsening drought conditions and rising wildfire activity.

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Virginia voters approve new congressional maps in blow to Trump

Result could help Democrats win four extra US House seats in tit-for-tat redistricting battle begun by Texas

Voters in Virginia on Tuesday approved new congressional maps intended to boost Democrats’ chances of retaking the House of Representatives, in the latest blow to Donald Trump’s effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve his control of Congress.

The tit-for-tat redistricting battle began last year after Trump pressed Texas’s Republican-controlled legislature to redraw that state’s congressional maps in an effort to oust as many as five Democratic House lawmakers in the November midterm elections.

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Anger remains white hot in Whitehall over Olly Robbins sacking

Keir Starmer’s decision to oust senior official may have knock-on effect for No 10’s relationship with civil service

Fury within Whitehall about the treatment of Olly Robbins remains white hot several days on from Keir Starmer’s decision to sack the senior Foreign Office civil servant.

“It’s just total self-serving, narrow, selfish, political-endgame stuff,” said one supporter of Robbins, who was dismissed for failing to tell the prime minister that the now disgraced former US ambassador Peter Mandelson had not passed UK security vetting.

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How safe is Starmer’s premiership after his Mandelson vetting statement to MPs?

Despite his explanation and the need for political stability, the PM is still unpopular – and Olly Robbins has yet to give his side of the story

Labour MPs frustrated with the lack of a clear mission from Keir Starmer’s No 10 have often urged the prime minister to be more forceful in his arguments, to prosecute his values, to find an enemy to define himself against.

The prime minister has found one: Olly Robbins. Starmer prosecuted his case against the former Foreign Office chief on Monday with the vigour of his former life at the bar.

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Victory slips away as marathon runner celebrates too soon

The dramatic end to the Delaware Marathon occurred when the lead runner slowed in celebration before a trailing marathoner sprinted toward the finish line .

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford agrees to sell $21m private jet following outcry

After confirming the purchase on Friday, Ford drew critcism from political opponents who called it a "gravy plane" and "out of touch".

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Republican senator criticizes Trump’s ‘holy war’ with Pope Leo

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a long supporter of Trump, says president’s feud with the pope is a ‘distraction’

A Republican lawmaker has condemned what he refers to as Donald Trump’s “holy war” against Pope Leo XIV.

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a long supporter of Trump and the ultraconservative Maga movement, condemned the president’s attacks on the pope during a Fox News interview on Saturday.

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Widespread damage as storm spreads through midwestern US

A series of strong winds has torn through the midwestern US, ripping roofs off homes and leaving roads obstructed.

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Two US army soldiers injured by brown bear during training exercise in Alaska

Soldiers were participating in ‘land navigation training’ when bear injured them in a ‘defensive attack’

Two US army soldiers have been injured after encountering a brown bear in a mountainous training area in Anchorage, Alaska, the military said on Friday.

The incident happened on Thursday as the soldiers were participating in a “land navigation training event” in Arctic Valley, part of the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson’s training area.

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French peacekeeper killed in southern Lebanon

President Macron blames the attack on Hezbollah. The Iran-backed armed group denies "any connection" to the incident.

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Starmer was kept in dark about Mandelson’s vetting by two other top civil servants

Exclusive: Officials have spent weeks debating whether or not to release highly sensitive information about the affair

Keir Starmer was kept in the dark about sensitive information relating to Peter Mandelson’s security vetting by two other top civil servants, including the head of the civil service, the Guardian can reveal.

The prime minister said on Friday that it was “unforgivable” and “staggering” that senior officials did not tell him that Mandelson failed a security vetting process weeks before he took up his role as ambassador to Washington.

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Palestinians hand over suspect in 1982 attack on Jewish restaurant in Paris

Hicham Harb is suspected of directing the attack in the Rue des Rosiers and acting as one of the gunmen who shot at diners.

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Man charged over 2002 Jam Master Jay killing to plead guilty, documents show

Jay Bryant negotiating plea deal in New York death of Run-DMC star, over which one conviction has been overturned

One of the three men charged in the killing of Jam Master Jay plans to plead guilty, court records show, in what would be the first admission anyone has made in court to any role in the Run-DMC star’s death in 2002.

Jay Bryant pleaded not guilty to murder after his 2023 indictment, but his lawyer and federal prosecutors told the court in recent letters that they were negotiating a plea agreement.

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Lawmakers clash with RFK Jr as he shifts focus away from vaccines

During a three-hour hearing, the US health secretary tried to focus on chronic disease while being pressed on vaccines.

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Rescuers to use air cushions in latest effort to save stranded whale

"Timmy" has been stranded in the Baltic Sea for weeks despite several attempts to free the ailing animal.

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Fisa surveillance vote sparks fierce debate as Congress splits on warrantless monitoring

Donald Trump says he is ‘working very hard’ with House Republicans to extend Section 702 without changes

• US politics live – latest updates

A controversial law that grants the US government sweeping powers for warrantless surveillance is set to expire next week. Replacing it has inspired fierce debate within the White House and Congress, including a scheduled vote cancelled the day of.

A coalition of progressive Democrats and far-right Republicans is pushing for reform of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), but they face strong bipartisan opposition from lawmakers advocating for an 18-month renewal with no changes, in line with Donald Trump’s demands. House GOP leaders delayed a procedural vote on a clean extension of Section 702 on Wednesday, after the chamber’s rules committee approved the measure on Tuesday night. Republican leadership was expected to bring the measure to the floor on Wednesday but canceled the scheduled vote, amid dissent from privacy advocates in their own party. Legislative action on the bill could still occur later in the day, as Republicans address their internal disagreements.

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Frank Gardner: What is China's role in the Iran war?

BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner explains how the world's second-largest economy fits into the Gulf conflict.

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House Democrats call for commission led by JD Vance to oust Trump

Measure by Jamie Raskin follows statements by Trump about annihilating Iran and post depicting himself as Jesus

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House Democrats on Tuesday proposed creating a commission that would work with JD Vance to remove Donald Trump from office under the 25th amendment, should they determine he is no longer fit to serve.

The measure, introduced by Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee, follows a series of statements from Trump, including his recent warning that Iran’s “whole civilization will die” if it did not capitulate to his demands, and a social media post that depicted him as Jesus Christ.

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Oil price dips below $100 a barrel after Trump claims Iran wants deal

US president’s previous threat to block strait of Hormuz had led to a 6.9% increase in earlier trading

• Explainer: strait of Hormuz blockade

Oil prices have fallen back after briefly rising to above $100 a barrel as Donald Trump claimed Iran had made contact and wanted “very badly” to strike a deal in the face of his blockade of the strait of Hormuz.

The Brent crude international benchmark rose above the key psychological threshold earlier in the day, at one point up 6.9% to $101.70 a barrel on news of the US president’s plan to block the waterway to Iranian marine traffic.

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‘This is not serious leadership’: Donald Trump and Marco Rubio watch UFC in Miami as Iran talks fail

• President has long been a fan of mixed martial arts

• Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr also at event

Donald Trump and US secretary of state Marco Rubio attended a UFC event in Miami night on Saturday night as peace talks with Iran failed on the other side of the world.

Trump entered the Kaseya Center shortly after 9pm alongside several members of his family and UFC chief Dana White, who has been a supporter of the president since his first term. Seated nearby was Rubio as well as the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, the rapper Vanilla Ice and former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino.

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Move to expel Democrat Eric Swalwell from Congress gains steam

Pressure mounts on Californian, who denies rape claims, and on Texan Tony Gonzales, who had affair with staffer who died by suicide

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A growing number of Congress members from both parties have called for Eric Swalwell, a Democratic US representative and candidate for California governor, to resign his seat this weekend, following reported allegations of inappropriate behavior, sexual assault and rape.

Swalwell has denied the allegations, but he may not get the chance to quit before his colleagues expel him. Polarized Congress members appear to be eyeing an opportunity to rid themselves of both Swalwell and disgraced Republican US representative Tony Gonzales of Texas, who acknowledged having an extramarital affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.

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Melania Trump's speech propels Epstein crisis back to forefront

She has now placed herself squarely into the Epstein story and at odds with the administration, which wants to end the investigation.

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Middle East crisis live: Iran peace talks under way as Trump claims US has begun clearing mines in strait of Hormuz

US and Iranian media report peace talks have begun in Islamabad, while Netanyahu says Israel remains committed to fighting Iran

• US and Iran hold talks in Islamabad as Pakistan seeks to broker peace deal

• US officials claim Iran unable to find mines it laid in strait of Hormuz

The UK will host a strait of Hormuz meeting next week, bringing together multiple countries aiming to restore free movement of ships through the strait, which has been blockaded by Iran since the beginning of the war and inflicted heavy damage on the global economy.

A British official told AP that the meeting will oppose the idea of tolls being charged for passage through the waterway, as proposed by Iran as part of ceasefire negotiations.

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Taiwan opposition leader meets Xi Jinping in Beijing

Cheng Li-wun is the Kuomintang's first sitting leader to visit China in a decade.

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BBC at the site of Israeli air strikes in Beirut

At least 182 people were killed and 890 others wounded, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

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X Factor star Chico Slimani found guilty of drink-driving by London court

Singer, 55, said he had broken his sobriety after three ‘devastating’ bereavements and has not drunk alcohol since

Chico Slimani, a memorable X Factor contestant, was found guilty of drink-driving on Thursday, telling the court his arrest came hours after he broke his sobriety.

The singer, 55, whose real name is Yousseph Slimani, reached the quarter-final of the TV talent show in 2005 and later released a No 1 single, It’s Chico Time.

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Man charged with US firebomb plot is linked to group whose leaders back violence against Palestinians

Revealed: JDL 613 Brotherhood has platformed a convicted terrorist and its video recordings display an obsessive antipathy to New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani

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A man who has been charged with plotting to firebomb a pro-Palestine activist’s home is tied to a group whose leaders support violence against Palestinians and have platformed a convicted terrorist who fundraises for a violent settler movement in the occupied West Bank.

Video recordings by the group, called JDL 613 Brotherhood, also reveal its leaders possess an obsessive antipathy to New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani. They feature the organization’s founder, Yisrael Yaacob Ben Avraham, describing Mamdani as a “Muslim terrorist”, a “cancer”, and his election a “harbinger” of “a creeping Islamic takeover of America”.

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Trapped miner rescued from flooded Mexican tunnel after 14 days

The 42-year-old gold miner was standing in waist-high water when rescuers found him in a flooded tunnel.

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Best-selling The Housemaid author Freida McFadden reveals true identity

One of the biggest mysteries in publishing is solved, as The Housemaid writer reveals her real name.

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Gambia appoints British barrister to prosecute gruesome Jammeh-era crimes

Ex-President Yahya Jammeh's 22-year rule was known for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.

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California sheriff who seized ballots ordered to halt election investigation

Attorney general says court ruling against Chad Bianco ‘reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue sheriff’

The California supreme court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff and gubernatorial candidate who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his investigation into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.

The order came after the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, last month asked the court to step in, arguing the sheriff has no authority over election materials. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.

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Republicans silent as Democrats call on US cabinet to oust Trump over Iran

Lawmakers call for use of 25th amendment after president brazenly threatens to commit war crimes in Iran

As Donald Trump unleashes curse-filled threats against Iran, Democrats are raising alarm over his mental stability and calling for his removal from office – while Republicans remain conspicuously silent.

Democrats are escalating their rebukes as the 79-year-old president delivers rambling, incoherent speeches, hurls puerile insults at US allies and brazenly threatens to commit war crimes. He used an Easter Sunday social media post to warn Iran to “Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell”.

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The 40 minutes when the Artemis crew loses contact with the Earth

As the astronauts pass behind the Moon they will experience a moment of silence and solitude as communication with the Earth is blocked.

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Trump warns Iran to reopen strait of Hormuz by Tuesday or face ‘hell’

President shifts deadline again for attacking power plants and bridges in expletive-ridden social media post

• Middle East crisis – live updates

Donald Trump issued an expletive-laden warning on Sunday that Tehran had until Tuesday night to reopen the strait of Hormuz or the US would obliterate Iran’s power plants and bridges.

Iran’s parliament speaker responded with a warning that the US president’s “reckless moves” would mean “our whole region is going to burn”.

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Analysis: Trump declares victory in Iran war after rescue, but threats to US operation still loom

The rescue could impact how Trump views a ground operation to take Kharg Island or to seize enriched uranium sites.

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After 16 years in power, could Viktor Orban finally be unseated?

Hungary is going to the polls in nine days - after 16 years in power, can Viktor Orban be unseated?

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Gucci Mane apparently robbed at gunpoint by rapper and seven others

Pooh Shiesty among those accused of robbing and kidnapping three men after dispute involving record label

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Federal prosecutors on Thursday accused rapper Pooh Shiesty and eight others of robbing three men at gunpoint and kidnapping them in January in Texas after a contract dispute involving rap star Gucci Mane’s record label.

The US attorney’s office in Dallas declined to name the victims and an FBI affidavit attached to a criminal complaint only refers to them by their initials. One victim, RD, is described as the owner of 1017 Records – the label belonging to Gucci Mane, whose legal name is Radric Delantic Davis.

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Unanswered questions remain after death of Australia's most wanted fugitive

Double-murderer Dezi Freeman evaded capture for seven months in the bush but police believe he had help.

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Why isn't Artemis II landing on the Moon?

The US is aiming to be the first country to land humans on the lunar surface again by 2028 - so what's this mission for?

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Trump’s White House ballroom wins approval of planning authorities

Blessing from NCPC comes just days after judge ruled work on project cannot proceed without congressional approval

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Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project received the approval of Washington’s planning authorities on Thursday, two days after a judge ruled work cannot proceed without Congress’s approval.

The National Capital Planning Commission, which ​is chaired by one of Trump’s former lawyers, gave the green light to the “East Wing Modernization Project” on Thursday, describing the ballroom as just the latest stage over two centuries of continuous changes.

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US approves new oral weight-loss pill developed by Eli Lilly

Called Foundayo, the tablet becomes the second one to receive FDA’s green light after Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light on Wednesday to a new oral weight-loss medication developed by the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.

Known as orforglipron or brand name Foundayo, the once-daily tablet becomes the second GLP-1 drug in pill form to hit the market in a short span of time, arriving after Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill received approval in December.

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