POV: you’re Jim Chalmers using social media to sell the most ambitious budget of your life 16. May 2026 (02:00) Politicians still care about traditional media, but winning over people spending more of their lives online is the challenge for modern MPsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHe’s up before sunrise, pounding the pavement in a cap and running shorts. He’s still up late into the night, having slipped into a comfortable sweater while he checks figures in a darkened office by lamplight, fuelled by sugar-free Red Bull.It’s “decision week”, Jim Chalmers declares of the annual federal budget in a video that pinged around political group chats this week. The treasurer was keen to take people behind the scenes on social media. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Supreme court rejects Virginia Democrats’ bid to restore congressional map 16. May 2026 (01:51) Order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competitionThe supreme court on Friday rejected Virginia’s bid to restore a congressional map that would have given Democrats a chance to pick up four seats in the closely divided House of Representatives.The court’s order, issued without any noted dissent, is the latest twist in the nation’s mid-decade redistricting competition . It was kicked off last year by Donald Trump urging Republican-controlled states to redraw their lines and was supercharged by a recent supreme court ruling severely weakening the Voting Rights Act that opened up even more winnable seats for the Republican party. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump’s lack of focus on human rights in China is big departure for US diplomacy 16. May 2026 (01:30) Change reflects both transformation of US in Trump era and China’s increasing confidence on world stageAsked before he departed for Beijing if he would raise with the Chinese president the case of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy activist jailed in Hong Kong, Donald Trump said: “I’ll bring him up.”But, the US president added: “It’s like saying to me, ‘If Comey ever went to jail, would you let him out?’ It might be a hard one for me.” Trump was referring to James B Comey, a former FBI director and a frequent target of Trump’s ire. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Where is Dela Rosa? Philippine senator outmanoeuvres president in evading arrest 16. May 2026 (01:01) Chaotic week in which enforcer of ‘war on drugs’ flees senate building leaves government looking ‘incompetent’The wanted man outran security agents, rallied protesters and even serenaded the media with a military hymn. Then, after a sudden exchange of gunfire, the Philippines’ most controversial lawmaker slipped out of the heavily guarded senate building in the middle of the night.Senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is wanted by the international criminal court for crimes against humanity, is now nowhere to be seen. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds 15. May 2026 (23:34) Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in IranThe Pentagon has quietly dismantled a program it is legally required to operate to prevent and respond to civilian deaths in US military operations, according to its internal watchdog.A report released by the department’s inspector general concluded the US military no longer has the people, tools or infrastructure needed to comply with two federal statutes requiring it to maintain a functioning civilian casualty policy, and operate a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence (CP CoE). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Colorado governor commutes sentence of election denier Tina Peters 15. May 2026 (23:03) Former election clerk who allowed unauthorized access to voting systems was convicted and sentenced to nine yearsUS politics – live updatesSign up for the Breaking News US emailThe Colorado governor, Jared Polis, commuted the nearly nine-year prison sentence of a former Colorado clerk who allowed unauthorized people to access her county’s voting systems in a case that had been an intense focus of Donald Trump and other allies who sought to overturn the 2020 election.Tina Peters, who is currently incarcerated, will be released on parole on 1 June after Polis reduced her sentence from eight and a half years in prison to about four and a half. “This is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed non-violent crimes,” Polis wrote in a clemency letter to Peters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tennessee school district bans Alex Haley’s Roots under 2022 state law 15. May 2026 (23:01) With third-highest number of books banned, state removes renowned work about slave trade from library shelvesA Tennessee school district has banned Roots, the author Alex Haley’s groundbreaking novel and one of the most renowned and influential works about the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade.Knox county schools (KCS) took that step under a state law that has disappeared hundreds of titles from school libraries and alarmed advocates of free expression. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Georgia town sues over ICE plan for vast immigration detention center 15. May 2026 (21:22) Officials of Social Circle, population 5,000, file lawsuit over plan to turn warehouse into 10,000-capacity facilityOfficials in the small Georgia town of Social Circle have filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agencies over plans for a huge immigration detention facility, arguing the project threatens to overburden local services and damage the environment.The complaint, filed on Wednesday in US district court for the middle district of Georgia, accuses US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of moving ahead with the project without completing mandatory environmental assessments. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Shaky truce between Israel and Lebanon extended for 45 days, US says 15. May 2026 (21:05) Statement following ‘productive’ talks in Washington comes as Israel launches strikes on southern city of TyreIsrael and Lebanon have agreed to a 45-day extension of their ceasefire after another round of talks in Washington, the US state department has said.It came after two “productive” days of talks, and more negotiations would be held from 2-3 June, the department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
How team Burnham finally cleared the first of many hurdles on route to Westminster 15. May 2026 (20:46) At one stage the northern mayor looked to be locked out of parliament, again, but he is still only one step along the road to his No 10 ambitionsFor weeks, Andy Burnham’s supporters had told MPs to “hold the line”, that he had a seat in parliament in his sights and that he would be a contender in any leadership contest. That was never the full truth.His path to No 10 – if he makes it – is littered with more failed attempts than almost any other politician. Two leadership contests, a block on a return in Gorton and Denton, and quite a few aggrieved MPs in the north west who have had to spend weeks batting off suggestions they will give their seats up for him. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
