Republican chair calls six-hour deposition ‘very productive’ and says former president answered every question Bill Clinton testimony – latest updates Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Bill Clinton told a congressional committee on Friday he “had no idea of the crimes” Jeffrey Epstein was committing and insisted he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with the disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker. The former president’s remarks came in his opening statement in a deposition to the House of Representatives’ oversight committee, a day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, appeared before the same body and called the proceedings “partisan political theater” and “an insult to the American people”. Continue reading...

Trump administration’s unlawful policy turns ‘refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare’, judge says A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration policy that allowed immigration authorities to arrest and detain certain refugees in Minnesota, ruling that the government relied on an incorrect interpretation of federal law and unlawfully targeted people who had already been admitted to the US. In an order on Friday, the court said the administration’s approach had effectively been “terrorizing” refugees by subjecting them to arrest and potentially indefinite detention despite their lawful status. The judge concluded that federal immigration law does not give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to detain refugees simply because more than one year has passed since their arrival in the country. Continue reading...

Musician died after being rushed to hospital in Los Angeles on Friday, with his family remembering him as a ‘true rock and roll legend’ and ‘inspiration to millions’ Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter behind Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Oh! Carol, Calendar Girl and Bad Blood as well as many hits performed by other artists included Stupid Cupid and Love Will Keep Us Together, has died aged 86. A representative confirmed his death to Variety on Friday, hours after he was reportedly rushed to hospital in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...

Home secretary will defy ‘plain wrong’ calls from unions and leftwing MPs that she is alienating Muslim voters Shabana Mahmood will press on with hardline immigration policies despite calls for a reversal from unions and left-leaning Labour MPs after the Green party’s byelection victory. Senior Labour sources insisted that the home secretary would continue to roll out changes to asylum policy, dismissing as “plain wrong” claims that it would further alienate Muslim voters. Continue reading...

Law demanding IDs must match ‘sex at birth’ invalidated the driver’s licenses of about 1,700 trans people in the state Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Two transgender men are suing Kansas over a new law that invalidated their driver’s licenses and about 1,700 others for reflecting people’s gender identities and not their sex assigned at birth, arguing that the measure is “dehumanizing”. The men filed their case Thursday, the same day the law took effect, and argue that it violates rights to privacy, personal autonomy and due legal process guaranteed by the Kansas state constitution. The men also are challenging the law’s tough, new enforcement provisions for the state’s three-year-old policy of barring transgender people from using public restrooms or other single-sex facilities associated with their gender identities. Continue reading...

Brown, third member of hit HBO series to die since December, was trapped in barn fire while trying to jumpstart car at home Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox The Wire actor Bobby J Brown died recently in a barn fire at his Maryland home, making him the third cast member of the acclaimed HBO show to pass away since December. According to authorities and a statement on social media from his daughter, Reina, the 62-year-old Brown had gone into a barn at his residence in the St Mary’s county community of Chaptico at about 10pm on 24 February to try to jumpstart a car. It evidently ignited during the attempt, and Brown asked his wife for a fire extinguisher. Continue reading...

At the end of the season, how costly might this untimely slip prove for Aston Villa? Judging by the way Unai Emery fumed on the touchline, this defeat by near neighbours Wolves will hurt for a while yet and, significantly, it could have major implications on their hopes of returning to the Champions League. Wolves understandably savoured every moment of just their second Premier League win of the season, every outfield player joining the celebrations as João Gomes fired in his first goal in a year just after the hour, and then again joyously when Rodrigo Gomes made it 2-0 in the 98th minute. The win meant Wolves at least can say they have beaten Derby’s record Premier League low points tally of 11 from 2007-08. Continue reading...

Department of Defense and artificial intelligence company were unable to reach agreement before deadline Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Donald Trump said Friday he will direct all federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” all use of Anthropic technology. The Department of Defense and Anthropic have hit an impasse with neither side backing down as a deadline for an agreement hits Friday afternoon. The Pentagon is demanding that the artificial intelligence company loosen ethical guidelines on its AI systems or, the government says, face severe consequences. Continue reading...

Former Boy Scouts cave to Pete Hegseth as he laments move from ‘focus on God as the ruler of the universe’ Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender children, the defense secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Some of the changes mirror what the organization suggested to the defense department in January, which included discontinuing its citizenship in society merit badge and introducing a military service merit badge as well as waiving registration fees for the children of military personnel. Continue reading...

As tensions between two countries reach high amid capture of Venezuela’s Maduro, US president says Cuba is in ‘trouble’ Donald Trump has suggested the US could carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba as tensions between Washington and Havana reach a new high following the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro. As he left the White House for a campaigning event in Texas on Friday, Trump said: “The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble.” Continue reading...

Attorney general Pam Bondi says 39 people now charged over January protest and warns ‘more to come’ Federal authorities have arrested more people on Friday for their alleged involvement in a protest at a church in Minnesota in January, following earlier arrests of organizers and journalists that were demonstrating amid sweeping, and often violent, immigration enforcement efforts in the state. Attorney general Pam Bondi said the justice department unsealed an indictment that charged 30 more people for the demonstration. Of those charged, federal agents have already arrested 25 of them, Bondi said, with “more to come”. The latest arrests bring the total number of people charged to 39. Continue reading...

Volatility and unusual structure at Stamford Bridge leave club’s young manager with a big test to rebuild like his rival has at Arsenal Arsenal’s journey under Mikel Arteta has long been a reference point for Chelsea’s owners. It is part of the club’s shift towards youth and potential after the Roman Abramovich era. Chelsea have built with a long-term view and, seeing how Arteta has reversed Arsenal’s decline since his appointment as manager in December 2019, have been keen to find a young coach capable of becoming a similarly galvanising force at Stamford Bridge. It is not an easy task. Chelsea briefly thought they had their rising star when they hired Graham Potter in September 2022, only for his reign to end after seven months. Now there is hope that Liam Rosenior can become Chelsea’s answer to Arteta. Rosenior is young, confident, talented and a little unconventional in the way he presents himself. It is early days but the 41-year-old has made an encouraging start, winning eight of his first 12 games, and has transmitted enough authority to keep jibes about his inexperience at bay so far. Continue reading...

The city’s mayor says the accident doesn’t appear to be the result of a technical issue but ‘was connected to the driver’ A tram derailed and crashed into a building in Milan on Friday, killing two people and injuring 38 others. One of the dead was hit by the tram as it derailed while the second victim was a passenger, the city’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, told reporters at the scene. Continue reading...

Deal signals feverish pace of AI investment with multibillion-dollar backings from Nvidia, Amazon and more OpenAI said on Friday it is raising $110bn in a blockbuster funding round that would value the ChatGPT maker at $840bn, in a deal that signals the feverish pace of investment in artificial intelligence. It’s more than double the amount the company raised last year, when it racked up $40bn in the largest private tech deal on record. Continue reading...

Mary Walsh, leaving after 46 years, says staffers told to ‘aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum’ A veteran CBS News producer who is leaving the network after 46 years has suggested that political bias is at play at the network in a farewell memo sent to colleagues on Friday afternoon. “We’ve been reading a lot of goodbyes lately and here I am headed out the door. It’s too soon, even after 46 years,” Mary Walsh wrote in the memo, which was obtained by the Guardian. “But maybe it’s for the best. We’ve been told to aim our reporting at a particular part of the political spectrum. Honestly, I don’t know how to do that.” Continue reading...

Researchers find that across 195 US cities, winters are on average nine days shorter than they were in 1970-1997 For the millions of people across the United States who have spent the last month digging themselves out of above-average levels of snow and ice, this winter has felt especially long and harsh. But the typical winter is actually getting shorter in 80% of major US cities scrutinized by researchers, according to new data released by Climate Central, an independent climate science and communication group. Researchers found that across 195 US cities, winters are on average nine days shorter today than they were from 1970 to 1997, as the climate crisis progresses. Continue reading...

Russian airstrikes in Kyiv, Ramadan in Gaza, Trump’s State of the Union address and snow in New York City – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Continue reading...

Chelsea left particularly frustrated by Uefa actions Clubs were not briefed about plans to release information Premier League clubs are unhappy with Uefa’s decision to reveal details of their financial results before some have been published and without warning. Chelsea’s record pre-tax loss of £355m last season formed a key part of Uefa’s European Club Finance and Investment Landscape report, which was presented by its executive director, Andrea Traverso, at the Financial Times’s Business of Football Summit on Thursday, with the losses incurred by Tottenham and Aston Villa also featuring prominently. Continue reading...

Ofcom says it could now apply to courts to issue fines and demand internet service providers to block access to site A suicide forum linked to multiple deaths in Britain has been ruled in breach of the Online Safety Act after it failed to properly block access to UK users when ordered to do so last year. Ofcom, the online regulator, said it could now apply to the courts to issue fines and demand internet service providers block access to the site in the UK. This will depend on how the site responds over the next 10 days. Continue reading...

⚽ Premier League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Table | Read Football Daily | Mail Tom Aston Villa fans are nervous about this one. Wolves have not lost at home against their Midlands rivals since 2020 and generally have a decent record in this fixture when it’s played at Molineux. After a slump in form Unai Emery’s side are no longer looking up the table and instead have a resurgent Manchester United breathing uncomfortably down their neck like an unwanted admirer on a sweaty dancefloor. With others in the hunt for Europe starting to appear in Villa’s rearview mirror, it is a bad time for the goals to have dried up, but that they have. Four goals in their last five games have been enough to earn one two draws, two defeats and one win. Out of the FA Cup and handed a testing tie against Lille in the Europa League, the next month is going to be crucial in determining the outcome of Villa’s season. In theory this is exactly the kind of fixture they would want right now, a struggling opponent with one of the league’s worst defences, but Wolves will be up for this. Continue reading...

Designer’s first catwalk for the brand in Milan flirts with bad taste with short, tight dresses and a diamante G-string Demna is fashion’s dark lord of apocalyptic streetwear. Gucci is the glossy sex kitten of Milan. Put the two together, and what do you get? Sex appeal that flirts with bad taste. At Demna’s first Gucci catwalk show, staged in Milan on Friday afternoon in front of an audience including Donatella Versace and Paris and Nicky Hilton, dresses were so short and tight that Emily Ratajkowski periodically yanked down a handful of disco-ball sequins to cover her bottom as she walked. There were lapdance-bar tinsel hair extensions, and Kate Moss in a diamante G-string. A certain sketchiness in the roll of the hips, a model who pulled his phone out of his bumbag and scrolled his way down the catwalk. Continue reading...

Plans to return humans to the moon will come in later mission as agency grapples with delays and glitches Nasa announced on Friday radical changes to its delayed Artemis III mission to land humans back on the moon, as the US space agency grapples with technical glitches and criticism that it is trying to do too much too soon. The abrupt shift in strategy was laid out by the space agency’s recently confirmed administrator, Jared Isaacman. Announcing the changes on Friday, he said that Nasa would introduce at least one new moon flight before attempting to put humans back on the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century, in 2028. Continue reading...

Some sent home despite BMIs below 15, considered ‘severe malnutrition’ and far short of 18 minimum Patients with eating disorders are being discharged from mental health units even though they are still very thin and have “dangerously low” body mass index levels. Some hospitals are sending home people whose BMIs are as low as 12.5, despite usual clinical practice in the NHS seeking to wait until a BMI of 18 or 19 has been achieved. Continue reading...

Military reckoned ‘good’ Afghan insurgents were separate from ‘bad’ Pakistani insurgents but distinction has blurred Days after the Taliban swept to power in 2021, Pakistan’s then spymaster appeared in Kabul on what looked to many like a victory lap. Sipping tea in the lobby of the Afghan capital’s fanciest hotel, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed told reporters: “Don’t worry, everything will be OK.” This week it became clear just how badly Pakistan had miscalculated how it could rely on the Taliban, as Islamabad unleashed airstrikes in Afghanistan and troops from both countries fought each other on the border. Continue reading...

Labour billed it as ‘two-horse race’ with Reform, but Green candidate Hannah Spencer’s media campaign, and authenticity, won the day From the outset of the Gorton and Denton byelection, Labour strategists were desperate to say the party was on course to win, but the party’s trouncing at the hands of the Greens has made this look laughable in hindsight. Hollie Ridley, Labour’s general secretary, sent a note to No 10 at the end of January saying it was “clearly a two-horse race” with Reform UK, and only 3% of voters saying they would stick with the Greens. Continue reading...