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Trump mulls ‘temporarily’ pulling Blanche’s attorney general nomination until key Republican senators leave office – live

Trump says he may wait until two Republican holdouts, senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, are out of office before nominating Blanche for top DoJ jobSign up for the US Breaking News emailThe US economy expanded at a sluggish 1.5% pace from April through June as rising imports weighed on growth. But consumer spending rose. And the Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation grew more slowly last month despite remaining above the central bank’s 2% target.The commerce department reported today that growth in US gross domestic product (GDP) – the nation’s output of goods and services – decelerated from 2.1% in the first three months of 2026 and came in below economists’ expectations. Continue reading...

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Burnham says he told Trump he would be ‘pragmatic’ on drilling for oil in North Sea – politics live

‘There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that,’ the prime minister says when asked about his conversation with Donald TrumpQ: [From ITV’s Romilly Weeks] You say that Reform UK followed all the rules in relation to donations. But why did George Cottrell give $2m to his mother shortly before she made substantial donations to the party?Jenrick said Reform was certain all the rules were followed. Any questions for Cottrell would have to be directed to him, he said.It does seem curious that in this case the police have chosen not to take action.We’ll see whether they take action against the individual who posted the original tweet, who wore the T-shirt. I’m hearing today that the police may have closed that investigation as well. [See 9.20am.] Continue reading...

Middle East crisis live: Jordan says it foiled Iranian missile attack as US launches ‘heavy’ strikes on Iran after pause

Jordanian military says it intercepted five missiles targeting the kingdom after US military says it hit dozens of Revolutionary Guard targets on ThursdayUS launches fresh strikes on Iran after days-long pause, amid fears the war is wideningA liquefied natural gas tanker controlled by QatarEnergy exited the strait of Hormuz overnight – the first such vessel ⁠visible on ship-tracking data to ⁠leave the waterway ​since 11 July, data from analytics firms showed on Thursday.The Al Areesh tanker, which loaded a cargo at Qatar’s Ras Laffan terminal around 4-6 July, sailed ⁠out of the strait overnight on 29 July, according to Kpler and LSEG data. Continue reading...

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Trump says he may ‘temporarily’ drop bid to make Blanche attorney general

President says he has no objection to pulling his former lawyer’s name until dissenting Republicans are out of officeUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has threatened to “temporarily” shelve a bid to permanently install his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche as US attorney general amid resistance in US Congress.Blanche, currently serving as acting attorney general, has been struggling to persuade a handful of Republican senators to back his nomination for the role. Continue reading...

Bank of England holds interest rates at 3.75% as inflation fears mount

Split vote comes as Iran war is rekindled and oil price climbs back above $90 a barrelBusiness live – latest updatesOnly Middle East crisis is preventing drop in UK interest ratesThe Bank of England has kept UK interest rates on hold as it warned that a further escalation in the Iran war could drive inflation above 4% next year, adding to cost of living pressures on households.Against a volatile backdrop in the Middle East conflict, the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted by six to three to keep its key base rate at 3.75%. Continue reading...