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Trump pardons former Republican congressman convicted of insider trading

Donald Trump pardoned Stephen Buyer of Indiana, who served nearly two years in prison after conviction As his administration promotes what it calls a crackdown on fraud in states run by Democrats, Donald Trump once again used the pardon power to excuse financial crimes committed by a Republican, granting a pardon this week to Stephen Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana who served nearly two years in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information after he left office. Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/YUDj5MH

If this is Messi’s last World Cup, could he eclipse Maradona and win it twice?

After living in the Argentina idol’s shadow, the 39-year-old star of Qatar is still capable of a final glorious chapter Lionel Messi in Qatar felt like the perfect story. It was the great finale. He is doomed always to be compared with Diego Maradona and, placed alongside a life of operatic ups and downs, of injury and addiction, drugs bans and organised crime, the highest highs and the lowest lows, his narrative always seemed a little flat: a kid was good at football, and then was consistently good at it for two decades, winning title after title. Yes, there were tears and frustrations, moments of doubt, but he wasn’t nearly drowning in a cesspit, shooting at journalists with an airgun or using a fake penis to evade the drugs testers. Qatar offered at least a degree of dramatic intrigue. Club success evidently wasn’t enough. Messi was driven. He had overcome his natural reserve to become the true leader of the team while winning the Copa América in Brazil the previous year. He gave te...

The week around the world in 20 pictures

Attacks on police in Southampton, Russian strikes in Kyiv, the Ebola outbreak and PSG win the Champions League – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalists Warning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MqWRiaH

Wildfire smoke has reversed US progress toward ozone air quality, study finds

Since 2015, fires have undone years of effort to reduce ozone levels, underscoring a growing public health crisis The highly destructive wildfires that have battered the US and North America in recent years have significantly increased emissions and been linked to tens of thousands of premature deaths, but their impact on air quality is greater than previously known, according to new research. A study published in Science on Thursday found that, since 2015, wildfires have reversed US progress toward ozone air quality standards, as the worsening pollution caused by wildfire smoke has undone years of efforts to reduce emissions. Ground-level ozone (O3) is created when pollutants from cars, refineries and industrial sources react with sunlight, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/au9YA6J

Alex Younger, former head of MI6, dies aged 62

Keir Starmer says Younger led an ‘exemplary life’, while foreign secretary says country owes him ‘an enormous debt of gratitude’ Alex Younger, the former head of MI6, has died at the age of 62 after being treated for cancer. Younger led the Secret Intelligence Service, the agency also known as MI6, between 2014 and 2020. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MBo2HmG

Labour figures who wrote competing ‘manifestos’ join forces to warn against tribalism

Mathew Lawrence and Mark McVitie, previously seen as favouring Burnham and Streeting respectively, say change of direction is needed UK politics live – latest updates Two of Labour’s leading policy figures, who put forward “manifestos” for Andy Burnham and a centrist grouping, are to join forces to help forge new ideas for a future government. The authors of the two essays – which have previously been described as competing visions for a Burnham- or Wes Streeting-led government – said Labour urgently required a serious intellectual debate about its direction rather than simply a change of personality. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/RETGcg1

Trump administration proposes 25% tariffs on Brazil despite US trade surplus

US claims world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in ‘unreasonable’ trade practices that ‘restrict US commerce’ Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The Trump administration proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil , charging that the world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in trade practices that are “unreasonable’’ and that “burden or restrict US commerce”. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he received the decision “with indignation”. The Brazil president also blamed the decision by the US administration on his rival in October’s elections, Flávio Bolsonaro , the senator who visited Washington last week. The senator is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, once nicknamed “the Trump of the Tropics” by his allies. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/jVpvc4W