Parts of the Great Barrier Reef have suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover since records began nearly 40 years ago, according to a new report.
Reefs have been battered in recent months by tropical cyclones and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish that feast on coral, but heat stress driven by climate change is the predominant reason, AIMS said.
AIMS warns the habitat may reach a tipping point where coral cannot recover fast enough between catastrophic events and faces a "volatile" future.
AIMS surveyed the health of 124 coral reefs between August 2024 and May 2025. It has been performing surveys since 1986.
Often dubbed the world's largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2,300km (1,429-mile) expanse of tropical corals that houses a stunning array of biodiversity. Repeated bleaching events are turning vast swaths of once-vibrant coral white.
Coral is vital to the planet. Nicknamed the sea's architect, it builds vast structures that house an estimated 25% of all marine species.
Bleaching happens when coral gets stressed and turns white because the water it lives in is too hot.
Getty Images
Coral can recover from heat stress but it needs time - ideally several years
Stressed coral will probably die if it experiences temperatures 1C (1.8F) above its thermal limit for two months. If waters are 2C higher, it can survive around one month.
The reef has "experienced unprecedented levels of heat stress, which caused the most spatially extensive and severe bleaching recorded to date," the report found.
Any recovery could take years and was dependent on future coral reproduction and minimal environmental disturbance, according to the report.
In the latest AIMS survey results, the most affected coral species were the Acropora, which are susceptible to heat stress and a favoured food of the crown-of-thorns starfish.
"These corals are the fastest to grow and are the first to go," AIMS research lead Dr Mike Emslie told ABC News.
"The Great Barrier Reef is such a beautiful, iconic place, it's really, really worth fighting for. And if we can give it a chance, it's shown an inherent ability to recover," he said.
There has been some success with the Australian government's crown-of-thorns starfish culling programme, which has killed over 50,000 starfish by injecting them with vinegar or ox bile.
"Due to crown-of-thorns starfish control activities, there were no potential, established, or severe outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish recorded on Central GBR reefs in 2025," the AIMS report noted.
The creatures are native to the Great Barrier Reef and are capable of eating vast amounts of coral. But since the 1960s their numbers have increased significantly, with nutrients from land-based agriculture run-off regarded as the most likely cause.
Richard Leck from the global environmental charity WWF said the report shows that the reef is an "ecosystem under incredible stress" and scientists are concerned about what happens when "the reef does not keep bouncing back the way it has," he told news agency AFP.
Leck said some coral reefs around the world are already beyond recovery, warning the Great Barrier Reef could suffer the same fate without ambitious and rapid climate action.
The Great Barrier Reef has been heritage-listed for over 40 years, but Unesco warns the Australian icon is "in danger" from warming seas and pollution.
Bill and Hillary Clinton appear onstage together at an event.
Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary are among a range of high-profile names to receive subpoenas from a congressional committee to testify about deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Republican James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued the subpoenas on Tuesday to the Clintons, as well as eight other individuals.
The committee is looking for more information about Epstein's history, after President Donald Trump's administration decided against releasing more federal files on the late financier.
That decision sparked outrage among Trump's supporters and some liberals, as many believe the files include a "client list" of famous men affiliated with Epstein.
The subpoenas cast a wide net across Justice Department leadership during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, and the committee also subpoenaed the department itself for records related to Epstein.
Merrick Garland, who headed the department under former President Joe Biden, received notice from the committee, according to Comer.
Both attorneys general during Trump's first term in office, Jeff Sessions and William Barr, did as well.
Former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, will also be compelled to testify before the committee.
It is not immediately clear if the individuals named by Comer will ultimately appear before the committee and, if they do, whether they will testify publicly.
Federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking of minors and other crimes in 2019, during the first Trump administration.
He died by suicide in jail later that year, which led to questions and rumours about his death while in custody.
This summer, current US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the justice department had reviewed its Epstein records and found no evidence of the long-rumoured "client list". She also said evidence supported he died by suicide while in custody and that the federal government would not release any more of its files.
The announcements sparked outrage among some in Trump's base who believed his administration was not forthcoming about Epstein-related materials.
In a rare break with President Trump, multiple members of the House Republican caucus have called for greater inquiry into the case.
Comer's subpoenas indicate that the House Oversight Committee -- which wields significant investigatory powers -- will continue to press for information from the Trump administration.
Zelensky said he and Trump had talked about the "increased brutality" of Russian strikes on Ukraine
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has said he and Donald Trump discussed sanctions against Russia, defence cooperation and drone production ahead of a visit to Moscow by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Thanking Trump for "productive" talks on Tuesday, Zelensky claimed that Moscow was particularly "sensitive" to the prospect of sanctions.
Trump has previously stated that if Russia fails to agree a ceasefire with Ukraine by Friday it will face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it.
Witkoff will be in Moscow on Wednesday and is expected to meet Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin has mostly skirted Trump's sanctions threat, though spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted last week that the Russian economy had "developed a certain immunity" to sanctions due to being under them for so long. Trump has also admitted that he did not know whether sanctions "bothered" Putin.
The US president may be hoping that Russia's trading partners will be sufficiently inconvenienced by the tariffs that they will choose to pivot away from buying Moscow's oil - ultimately making a dent in the revenue the Kremlin needs to continue waging its war on Ukraine.
On Monday Trump said he would impose hefty new tariffs on India, a major buyer of Russian oil, accusing it of not caring "how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine". The Kremlin said "attemps to force countries to cut trade relations with Russia" were "illegal".
In his Telegram post Zelensky said he and Trump had also talked about the "increased brutality" of Russian strikes on Ukraine.
The US president has previously referenced Moscow's repeated attacks on Ukrainian cities, signalling irritation that the bombings often follow "nice" phone conversations between himself and Putin.
Only last February Zelensky was asked to leave the White House after a disastrous meeting in which the US president accused him of not being thankful enough for US aid and of "gambling with World War Three".
The two men have gradually repaired their relationship. In July Trump said the US would sell "top-of-the-line weapons" to Nato members which would then pass them on to Kyiv - and this week it was announced that Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Sweden would be the first countries to buy weapons from the US under this scheme.
Their combined contributions will amount to more than $1bn and will go towards air defence equipment and ammunition.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said speed was "absolutely critical" and that Denmark would be willing to consider additional funding later.
More than three years on from Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian cities continue to come under heavy bombardment and regular drone attacks. Over the last day six people were killed across eastern Ukraine, authorities said.
Before taking office Trump repeatedly said he would be able to end the conflict within a day - and it was at his behest that Russia and Ukraine sat down for ceasefire talks for the first time last May.
But the discussions failed to bring the two sides any closer to peace and the US president has appeared increasingly impatient with the lack of progress.
Despite Trump’s looming deadline, Vladimir Putin last week poured cold water on any hopes of a swift, long-term ceasefire with Ukraine. Although he said he viewed talks with Kyiv "positively," he also noted that "all disappointments arise from inflated expectations".
The booing started in seconds at Representative Mike Flood’s town hall in Lincoln, Neb. Annie Karni, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times, reports from the auditorium after the Republican congressman’s town hall, which she said was one of the most raucous political events she’s ever witnessed.
The $34.8 million allocated by the National Endowment for the Humanities leans toward presidents, statesmen and the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary.
A statue of Thomas Jefferson at the University of Virginia, which is receiving a $10 million grant to expedite editorial work on the papers relating to the American Revolution, the Founding era and various presidents.
Bill and Hillary Clinton appear onstage together at an event.
Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary are among a range of high-profile names to receive subpoenas from a congressional committee to testify about deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Republican James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued the subpoenas on Tuesday to the Clintons, as well as eight other individuals.
The committee is looking for more information about Epstein's history, after President Donald Trump's administration decided against releasing more federal files on the late financier.
That decision sparked outrage among Trump's supporters and some liberals, as many believe the files include a "client list" of famous men affiliated with Epstein.
The subpoenas cast a wide net across Justice Department leadership during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, and the committee also subpoenaed the department itself for records related to Epstein.
Merrick Garland, who headed the department under former President Joe Biden, received notice from the committee, according to Comer.
Both attorneys general during Trump's first term in office, Jeff Sessions and William Barr, did as well.
Former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, will also be compelled to testify before the committee.
It is not immediately clear if the individuals named by Comer will ultimately appear before the committee and, if they do, whether they will testify publicly.
Federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking of minors and other crimes in 2019, during the first Trump administration.
He died by suicide in jail later that year, which led to questions and rumours about his death while in custody.
This summer, current US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the justice department had reviewed its Epstein records and found no evidence of the long-rumoured "client list". She also said evidence supported he died by suicide while in custody and that the federal government would not release any more of its files.
The announcements sparked outrage among some in Trump's base who believed his administration was not forthcoming about Epstein-related materials.
In a rare break with President Trump, multiple members of the House Republican caucus have called for greater inquiry into the case.
Comer's subpoenas indicate that the House Oversight Committee -- which wields significant investigatory powers -- will continue to press for information from the Trump administration.
Parts of the Great Barrier Reef have suffered the largest annual decline in coral cover since records began nearly 40 years ago, according to a new report.
Reefs have been battered in recent months by tropical cyclones and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish that feast on coral, but heat stress driven by climate change is the predominant reason, AIMS said.
AIMS warns the habitat may reach a tipping point where coral cannot recover fast enough between catastrophic events and faces a "volatile" future.
AIMS surveyed the health of 124 coral reefs between August 2024 and May 2025. It has been performing surveys since 1986.
Often dubbed the world's largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2,300km (1,429-mile) expanse of tropical corals that houses a stunning array of biodiversity. Repeated bleaching events are turning vast swaths of once-vibrant coral white.
Coral is vital to the planet. Nicknamed the sea's architect, it builds vast structures that house an estimated 25% of all marine species.
Bleaching happens when coral gets stressed and turns white because the water it lives in is too hot.
Getty Images
Coral can recover from heat stress but it needs time - ideally several years
Stressed coral will probably die if it experiences temperatures 1C (1.8F) above its thermal limit for two months. If waters are 2C higher, it can survive around one month.
The reef has "experienced unprecedented levels of heat stress, which caused the most spatially extensive and severe bleaching recorded to date," the report found.
Any recovery could take years and was dependent on future coral reproduction and minimal environmental disturbance, according to the report.
In the latest AIMS survey results, the most affected coral species were the Acropora, which are susceptible to heat stress and a favoured food of the crown-of-thorns starfish.
"These corals are the fastest to grow and are the first to go," AIMS research lead Dr Mike Emslie told ABC News.
"The Great Barrier Reef is such a beautiful, iconic place, it's really, really worth fighting for. And if we can give it a chance, it's shown an inherent ability to recover," he said.
There has been some success with the Australian government's crown-of-thorns starfish culling programme, which has killed over 50,000 starfish by injecting them with vinegar or ox bile.
"Due to crown-of-thorns starfish control activities, there were no potential, established, or severe outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish recorded on Central GBR reefs in 2025," the AIMS report noted.
The creatures are native to the Great Barrier Reef and are capable of eating vast amounts of coral. But since the 1960s their numbers have increased significantly, with nutrients from land-based agriculture run-off regarded as the most likely cause.
Richard Leck from the global environmental charity WWF said the report shows that the reef is an "ecosystem under incredible stress" and scientists are concerned about what happens when "the reef does not keep bouncing back the way it has," he told news agency AFP.
Leck said some coral reefs around the world are already beyond recovery, warning the Great Barrier Reef could suffer the same fate without ambitious and rapid climate action.
The Great Barrier Reef has been heritage-listed for over 40 years, but Unesco warns the Australian icon is "in danger" from warming seas and pollution.
Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Kendrick Lamar lead the nominations for this year's MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).
Sabrina Carpenter and Ariana Grande are also among the most nominated artists for the 2025 US award show.
Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, who are tied for most VMA wins with 30 each, have received one nomination this year - both in the artist of the year category.
Neither artist released an album in the past year, but both artists have undertaken blockbuster tours in that period.
Swift already holds the crown for most Moonman trophies for a single artist, as Beyoncé's tally includes collaborations with others.
Swift was also the biggest winner on the night last year, winning seven prizes, including the top two awards: artist and video of the year.
Overall this year, Lady Gaga has received 12 nominations, Bruno Mars has 11, rapper Kendrick Lamar is next with 10, and Espresso singer Sabrina Carpenter has eight.
Lady Gaga's nominations include artist of the year and best album for Mayhem. The 39-year-old is currently on tour in the US.
Die With A Smile, a collaboration between Lady Gaga and Mars, also 39, is nominated for song of the year, with the musicians also up for best collaboration, best pop, and video of the year.
This year's VMA's includes two new categories: best country and best pop artist.
The show will take place on 7 September at New York's UBS Arena.
No plans have yet been released for MTV Europe Music Awards this year, with the show reportedly on pause.
Government spokesperson Yolande Makole says Rwanda will have the power to approve who it will accept "for resettlement"
Rwanda has said it will accept up to 250 migrants from the US in a deal agreed with President Donald Trump's administration.
Under the scheme the deportees would be given "workforce training, health care, and accommodation to jump start their lives in Rwanda", government spokesperson Yolande Makole confirmed to the BBC.
A condition of the agreement was that Rwanda would have "the ability to approve each individual proposed for resettlement", she added.
The White House has not commented on the deal directly but told the BBC it was constantly talking to countries "willing to assist us in removing the illegal aliens that [ex-President] Joe Biden" had allowed to "infiltrate" the US.
Since Trump came back into power in January, he has focused on a sweeping mass deportation scheme to remove undocumented migrants from the US quickly, a key election promise.
Murmurs of a deal between Rwanda and the US came out in May, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was "actively searching" for a country to take some of what he described as the "some of the most despicable human beings".
The Trump administration has been courting several African countries to accept deported migrants whose home countries have refused to take them back. Eswatini and South Sudan have recently accepted some, including deportees who are convicted criminals.
Ms Makolo told the BBC that Rwanda had gone ahead with the deal with the US because "nearly every Rwandan family has experienced the hardships of displacement".
She added that Rwandan society values were founded "on reintegration and rehabilitation".
This echoed comments from May when Rwanda's foreign affairs minister said the country, which went through a genocide in the mid-1990s, was led in the "spirit" of giving "another chance to migrants who have problems across the world".
Rwanda had a deal with the UK, agreed with the Conservative government in 2022, to accept asylum seekers.
But the UK scrapped the scheme, which faced numerous legal challenges, after Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government took office in July last year.
AFP/Getty Images
It is not clear what is planned for the facilities prepared in Rwanda for migrants who had been due to arrive from the UK
The UK had paid Rwanda £240m ($310m), even building places to house the asylum seekers. It is not clear what has happened to these facilities.
The Reuters news agency reported that an unnamed Rwandan official had said the US would give Kigali an unspecified grant as part of the deal, but this has not been confirmed.
Ms Makolo told the BBC that more details would be provided once they had been worked out.
Human rights experts have raised concerns that removals to a nation that is not a migrant's place of origin - known as a third country - could violate international law.
Rwanda has previously been criticised for its human rights record, including the risk that those sent to the East African nation could be deported again to countries where they may face danger.
But Rwanda's government maintains it can provide a safe place for migrants.
The country has also come under fire for backing the M23 rebel group embroiled in the conflict in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo - an accusation it has denied.
Watch: Texas Speaker plans civil arrest warrants against absent Democrats
Dozens of Texas Democrats have secretly left the state in a dramatic effort to stop Republicans from holding a vote that could determine the balance of power in the US Congress.
Republican Governor Greg Abbot has issued orders that they be arrested on sight - and fined $500 a day. He has also threatened to expel them from office.
The Democrats left because at least two-thirds of the 150-member legislative body must be present to proceed with a vote on re-drawing Texas's electoral map. The plan would create five more Republican-leaning seats in the US House of Representatives.
This high stakes battle may seem both bizarre and confusing – but it is one that could spread to other states in advance of next year's national midterm elections. At its heart, it's a bare-knuckle fight over political power, who can wield it most effectively and who can keep it.
Why does Trump want redistricting?
The US House of Representatives is made up of 435 legislators who are elected every two years. They represent districts with boundaries determined in processes set by their state governments.
Who draws the lines and how can go a long way in shaping the ideological tilt of the district and the likelihood that it elects a Democrat or a Republican.
At the moment, the House rests on a knife edge with 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats. There are four vacancies likely to be filled by three Democrats and one Republican in special elections later this year.
It wouldn't take much of a shift in the political winds for Democrats to take back control of the House of Representatives in next year's midterm elections. And the party that controls the lower chamber of Congress has powers that extend far beyond simply setting the legislative agenda for the next two years, as important as that may be.
House leaders can launch sweeping investigations of presidential actions, as Democrats did in the second half of Donald Trump's first term and Republicans did in Joe Biden's final two years. They can also dig in on policy issues and trigger government shutdowns. They can even vote to impeach a president, as Democrats did in December 2019 and Republicans contemplated during Biden's presidency.
Trump appears focused on taking steps to improve his odds of avoiding a similar fate in his second term. He is reportedly fixated on the midterm races and encouraging Texas lawmakers to draw new congressional maps that could increase the likelihood of Republicans winning more House seats from there.
Watch: "Democrats need to be arrested" - Texas representative tells the BBC
How does redistricting usually work?
District lines are typically redrawn every 10 years, after a national census, to reflect shifts in the population within and between states. The most recent regularly scheduled redistricting took place in 2021.
In some states, the process is set by independent commissions but in others the state legislatures are responsible for line-drawing – and the results can frequently be crafted by the party in power to give their side a distinct advantage.
In North Carolina, for instance, Republican-drawn lines gave their party 10 of the state's 14 House seats in last year's national elections even though Trump only won the state by a slim margin.
Democrats in Illinois hold 14 of the state's 17 House seats, while former Vice-President Kamala Harris won the state with 54%. If Trump has his way, and the maps lead to a five-seat gain next year, Republicans would control 30 of the state's 38 seats. Last year, he won Texas with 56%.
So what could happen next?
The Republican push in Texas has leaders in Democratic-controlled states calling for a response, which could set off a redistricting "arms race" that spreads across the country.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, for example, has asked legislators in his state, where Democrats control 43 of the 52 seats, to find ways to increase their advantage. Governors Kathy Hochul in New York and JB Pritzker in Illinois have issued similar calls.
"Everything's on the table," Pritzker wrote in a post on social media. "We've got to do everything we can to stand up and fight back - we're not sitting around and complaining from the sidelines when we have the ability to stop them."
Grassroots Democrats, many of whom have been frustrated by the inability of their party's national political leaders to block the Trump administration's policy agenda, may welcome such confrontational language. States like California and New York have laws that mandate congressional districts be drawn by a bipartisan commission to create constituencies that are compact and fair.
Such efforts were the result of a push to remove political considerations from the redistricting process, but now some Democrats view those moves as unilateral disarmament that gave Republicans an advantage in the fight for a House majority.
"I'm tired of fighting this fight with my hand tied behind my back," Hochul told reporters at the New York Capitol in Albany on Monday. "With all due respect to the good government groups, politics is a political process."
She said the "playing field" has changed dramatically during Trump's second term and Democrats need to adjust.
Democrats may not have the final say, however. Republicans are already looking beyond Texas for more places to pick up seats. Vice-President JD Vance is reported to be considering a trip to Indiana later this week to push for new district lines in that state. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently said his Republican-dominated state may undertake a similar process.
Despite its explicit political designs, all of this is fair game under the US Constitution – at least the way a narrow majority of the US Supreme Court interpreted it in a landmark 2019 case.
Partisan "gerrymandering", as the process is sometimes called, has a long tradition in US politics – one that frequently creates oddly shaped constituencies that stretch for miles to include, or exclude, voters based on their political affiliations, all with the goal of giving one party an electoral majority.
The Republican move in Texas isn't even without precedent. In 2003, Republican leaders redrew their congressional maps to boost their electoral advantage.
The state's Democrats even responded in a similar way – leaving the state to delay the legislative proceedings. The redistricting ultimately passed after enough Democrats returned.
There is a risk in all of this, even for the party doing the line-drawing. While the goal is to maximise the number of seats where victory is probable, in an election where one side outperforms expectations even seemingly safe seats can flip sides.
Texas, and other redistricting states, could create an electoral map that does not survive a political deluge, leading to otherwise avoidable losses at the ballot box.
In a close election, however, every seat counts. And if next year's midterm elections continue the recent trend of narrowly decided political battles, what happens in state legislatures over the next few months could have dramatic political consequences in Washington DC – and, consequently, across America.
Follow the twists and turns of Trump's second term with North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher's weekly US Politics Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can sign up here. Those outside the UK can sign up here.
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Mike Braun is noncommittal on calling a special session to mid-decade redistricting despite pressure from the White House, but said the issue could come up when Vice President JD Vance visits the Hoosier state.
Asked whether he would call a special session to redistrict, Braun said “whatever we discuss there, if that topic comes up, is exploratory. So there’s been no commitments made other than that.”
Braun, who is a constitutionally weak governor working with a more powerful legislature, said redistricting “will be a broad conversation with the speaker and president pro tem.”
“Folks raising the most Cain about it are the ones that have gerrymandered their own states, where it looks like maybe the tentacles of an octopus," he told reporters at the Indiana Statehouse, adding: "We’ll see what happens."
Vance’s visit on Thursday comes as President Donald Trump leans heavily on states where Republicans control the legislature and the governor’s seat to redraw congressional maps mid-cycle. That effort has triggered a fierce battle in Texas, where Republicans are hoping to create five new favorable districts — if they can overcome Democrats’ efforts to prevent the legislature from having a quorum.
Republicans currently control seven of the nine seats in Indiana’s congressional delegation, but some Trump allies are hoping the state will draw new maps to squeeze Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan out of his northwest Indiana district.
Trump has said he hopes to gain as many as five additional seats through redistricting beyond the new Texas map. That means more states besides Texas and Ohio — which is legally required to redraw its maps and could net Republicans up to three more favorable seats — may join the redistricting wars.
MUTUALLY ASSURED REDISTRICTING: The multi-front, tit-for-tat gerrymandering war is putting New York Republicans in a perilous position, and they’re acting quickly to condemn Hochul — and even buck President Donald Trump — to avoid becoming casualties as Dems seek retaliatory redistricting.
After President Donald Trump pressed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to redraw his state’s congressional maps in a way that would add five GOP seats, Hochul responded with a pledge to “fight fire with fire.”
New York’s Republican Reps. Mike Lawler, Elise Stefanik, Nicole Malliotakis and Nick LaLota don’t want to become collateral damage. To that end, some are even willing to blast Trump’s efforts in Texas.
“What Texas is doing is wrong and I’m opposed to it,” Lawler texted Playbook, noting that he’s sponsoring a bill with fellow blue state Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley of California that would ban gerrymandering nationwide.
Malliotakis is speaking out against Texas’ redistricting efforts too.
“I may differ in opinion from many of my colleagues on this, particularly the ones from Texas,” she told The Joe Piscopo Show on Monday. “I’m not somebody who’s supportive of any type of gerrymandering.”
Their efforts come as Hochul continues to burn away any pretense that New York’s redistricting process should be independent.
“Up until now, Democrats have treated our political system like it’s still governed by norms, guarded by limits and rooted in fairness,” Hochul wrote in an op-ed published today in the Houston Chronicle. “Rules were meant to be followed. It hurts to say it, but that era has come to an end.”
On Monday, as Hochul hosted Texas lawmakers fleeing their state to prevent passage of redistricting legislation, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie told New York’s Republicans to pipe up.
“Perhaps the Republican members of Congress here in New York could say to their Republican colleagues in Texas, ‘Hey, slow down on this, because this can also affect us,’” he said.
But the Republicans speaking out about what’s going on deep in the heart of Texas still won’t forget Dems’ redistricting past at home.
New York Democrats tried to redraw district lines in their favor long before Trump told Texas to make changes of its own. In 2021, voters rejected a Democrat-led ballot referendum to weaken the independence of the state’s redistricting process. The next year, the courts blocked their attempts to redraw the maps in a way that would favor Democrats.
“New York Dems have been trying to gerrymander and rig the elections for years, well before what Texas is doing,” Lawler said. “They are not doing this in response, they are using this as cover to justify what they have wanted to do.”
Lawler said he’s still working on the specifics of his federal anti-gerrymandering bill.
Stefanik — who’s considering a gubernatorial run against Hochul — said she would work to prevent mid-decade redistricting in New York if elected governor. But she went silent when Playbook asked her if she’s against mid-decade redistricting in Texas.
“As Governor, Congresswoman Stefanik would support the NY State Constitution that is explicit with once a decade redistricting and the will of the voters of NY that voted for the independent bipartisan commission,” her spokesperson Alex DeGrasse said in a statement. “Congresswoman Stefanik successfully led the effort to protect the integrity of NY elections and fair district lines while Kathy Hochul tried twice to illegally gerrymander and suppress the will of New York voters.”
Hochul spokesperson Jen Goodman responded to New York’s GOP members.
“If New York House Republicans are serious about protecting democracy, they should direct their outrage at Donald Trump and their colleagues in Texas trying to dismantle it,” she said. “Until Texas stands down, Governor Hochul will continue exploring every available option to fight fire with fire and ensure New York voters are not silenced.”— Jason Beeferman
A FEDERAL SUIT AGAINST EVEN-YEAR ELECTIONS: Republicans are planning to file a federal lawsuit challenging New York’s new law moving most local elections to even-numbered years.
The suit is in the works as the state Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in September in a series of state-level cases brought over the 2023 law, which rescheduled town and county races. A mid-level appellate court concluded in May that the law doesn’t run afoul of the state constitution, despite challenges from eight GOP county executives.
Arguments in the forthcoming federal lawsuit were previewed in an amicus brief filed today in the state’s top court on behalf of the town of Riverhead and Nassau County Legislator Mazi Pilip. They’re saying the state law runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.
“The primary purpose of the First Amendment is not to increase raw participation numbers, but rather to protect the public dialogue and debate that sits at the very heart of our democracy. When local elections are consolidated with federal and statewide contests, local candidates are pushed to the margins of the ‘public square,’” according to the brief, a copy of which was obtained by Playbook.
“The First Amendment doesn’t stop at the steps of the state capital,” said William A. Brewer III, the counsel representing Riverhead and Pilip. “Our clients contend that in their communities, democracy will be drowned out — not by censorship, but by unnecessary burdens to local speech.”
State Sen. James Skoufis, who sponsored the now-on-the-books bill to reschedule elections, said the suit is evidence local officials like Pilip are “afraid of more voters participating in their elections.”
“This is desperate and pathetic,” Skoufis said. “It is obviously constitutional — there are other states that have done it, there are other jurisdictions that have done it. It unequivocally and dramatically increases voter turnout. So it’s laughable on its face that anyone thinks this isn’t going to be completely thrown out of a courtroom.” — Bill Mahoney
BOOK OF JOB APPROVAL: Mayor Eric Adams held a rally on the steps of City Hall today with a pan-city collection of faith leaders backing his run. The incumbent, who is limping along in the polls and facing high disapproval ratings from voters, used the opportunity to highlight his accomplishments and re-air his longstanding grievances with the press.
Adams, who repeatedly criticized Andrew Cuomo for avoiding the media during the Democratic primary, began the event with a warning: He would not be taking questions.
“After I speak, I’m bouncing,” Adams said. “You’re not going to tarnish the good news of today.”
He closed his remarks by asking God for a “special prayer.”
“Lay hands on our media,” he said. “Heal them. Put honesty in their hearts.”
Adams has taken umbrage at coverage of his since-dismissed federal bribery case, allegations of a quid pro quo with President Donald Trump and corruption probes that hollowed out his inner circle.
As he left, reporters peppered him with queries anyway, prompting the mayor to clap and chant “ask me the good news questions” as he and his retinue disappeared into City Hall. — Joe Anuta
RESOLUTION TO BACK THE BLUE: Stefanik introduced a resolution today to condemn the mass shooting last week in midtown Manhattan, where five were killed including an off-duty NYPD officer.
The measure also condemns “divisive rhetoric and violence against federal, state, and local law enforcement officers and urges lawmakers to redouble their commitment to backing the blue.”
The North Country Republican said in a statement that “anti-police policies should have no place in our great state.”
Meanwhile, on Long Island, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Rep. Andrew Garbarino, both Republicans, sought to emphasize the importance of training and collaboration among local, state and federal law enforcement officials. They toured the Nassau County Police Department’s intelligence center and police training village.
Garbarino, the new chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his focus will be counterterrorism, including in neighboring New York City.
“New York is the greatest city, it’s also the one that’s most top targeted and we have to protect it,” the House member said.
Stefanik and Blakeman, potential candidates for governor next year who are close allies of President Donald Trump, have slammed Democrats for policies and rhetoric they say is dangerous for law enforcement officials. But they did not reference their political affiliation in their remarks today. — Emily Ngo
— MAMDANI DRAWS JEWISH VOTERS: Zohran Mamdani appealed to Jewish New Yorkers who were drawn to his affordability-focused platform and unbothered by or supportive of his views on Israel and Gaza. (The New York Times)
— CUOMO RECALIBRATES: Andrew Cuomo’s revamped campaign is shifting away from his historically vehement defense of Israel. (Bloomberg)
— ICE CRACKDOWN: Most immigrants arrested in New York City since the Trump administration ramped up its stringent border policies do not have criminal charges or convictions. (The New York Times)
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Former Romanian President Ion Iliescu, who presided over the country's chaotic transition from communism to democracy, has died aged 95.
Iliescu had been diagnosed with lung cancer and hospitalised in early June in Romania's capital, Bucharest.
"It is with deep regret that the government announces the passing of the former President of Romania, Mr Ion Iliescu," a government statement said, adding that details of a state funeral would be shared soon.
Iliescu was Romania's first freely elected president, and served twice, from 1986-1996 and 2000-2004. He was accused of crimes against humanity over the violent revolt that toppled Romania's communist regime in 1989, but always denied wrongdoing.
Charges were brought in 2019, but he was never convicted.
In a separate case, he was also indicted over his role in calling in miners to crush student protests after his election in 1990.
The bloody crackdown, which became known as the Mineriad, drew widespread international condemnation.
Prior to his latest hospitalisation, Iliescu had been receiving regular medical check-ups at Elias Hospital in Bucharest.
In 2019, he underwent surgery for pericardial effusion - a condition affecting the heart.
Born on 3 March, 1930, in the southern city of Oltenița, Iliescu had largely withdrawn from public life in recent years, though he occasionally shared written messages on his personal blog.
His final post, on 19 May, congratulated Bucharest's liberal, pro-EU mayor, Nicusor Dan, on being elected president.
Bill and Hillary Clinton appear onstage together at an event.
Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary are among a range of high-profile names to receive subpoenas from a congressional committee to testify about deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Republican James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued the subpoenas on Tuesday to the Clintons, as well as eight other individuals.
The committee is looking for more information about Epstein's history, after President Donald Trump's administration decided against releasing more federal files on the late financier.
That decision sparked outrage among Trump's supporters and some liberals, as many believe the files include a "client list" of famous men affiliated with Epstein.
The subpoenas cast a wide net across Justice Department leadership during the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations, and the committee also subpoenaed the department itself for records related to Epstein.
Merrick Garland, who headed the department under former President Joe Biden, received notice from the committee, according to Comer.
Both attorneys general during Trump's first term in office, Jeff Sessions and William Barr, did as well.
Former FBI directors James Comey and Robert Mueller, will also be compelled to testify before the committee.
It is not immediately clear if the individuals named by Comer will ultimately appear before the committee and, if they do, whether they will testify publicly.
Federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking of minors and other crimes in 2019, during the first Trump administration.
He died by suicide in jail later that year, which led to questions and rumours about his death while in custody.
This summer, current US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the justice department had reviewed its Epstein records and found no evidence of the long-rumoured "client list". She also said evidence supported he died by suicide while in custody and that the federal government would not release any more of its files.
The announcements sparked outrage among some in Trump's base who believed his administration was not forthcoming about Epstein-related materials.
In a rare break with President Trump, multiple members of the House Republican caucus have called for greater inquiry into the case.
Comer's subpoenas indicate that the House Oversight Committee -- which wields significant investigatory powers -- will continue to press for information from the Trump administration.
The Royal Ballet and Opera said it was scrapping performances in Tel Aviv next year, after nearly 200 staff members signed an open letter criticizing its stance on the war in Gaza.
The US Coast Guard has determined the implosion of OceanGate's Titan submersible that killed all five people on board was "preventable", citing the company's "critically flawed" safety practices.
A damning 335-page report from Coast Guard investigators states that OceanGate, the company that owned and operated the Titan, failed to follow maintenance and inspection protocols for the deep-sea vessel.
"There is a need for stronger oversight and clear options for operators who are exploring new concepts outside of the existing regulatory framework," Jason Neubauer, the chair of the Coast Guard Marine Board, said in a statement.
The Titan submersible disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean while descending to the wreckage of the Titanic on 18 June 2023.
OceanGate has extended its condolences to the families of the victims and stated that it "directed its resources fully toward cooperating with the Coast Guard's inquiry".
Here are five key takeaways from the two-year investigation.
OceanGate had 'critically flawed' safety practices and a 'toxic' workplace culture
The report condemns OceanGate's safety practices as fundamentally inadequate. It says the primary causal factor for the implosion was the firm's failure to follow "established engineering protocols" for safety and testing.
There were "glaring disparities between their written safety protocols and their actual practices", the report states.
"This marine casualty and the loss of five lives was preventable," said Jason Neubauer, the chairman of the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation that was charged with investigating the Titan disaster.
The company continued to use the Titan sub despite a series of previous incidents that compromised the craft without properly assessing its suitability, the investigation found.
Loss of sub's structural integrity caused implosion
The sub imploded 90 minutes into the dive after its carbon-fibre hull suffered a catastrophic loss of structural integrity, the investigation found.
The report says the crew died instantly, subjected to nearly 5,000 pounds per square inch of water pressure.
Carbon fibre has not been used for a deep diving sub before.
It is known to be unreliable under pressure, and its layers are known to come apart in a process called delamination.
The submersible did complete 13 dives to the Titanic in the two years preceding the tragedy. But the coastguard criticised the company's continued use of the submersible without checking its hull, after a number of safety issues were picked up its monitoring.
Rob McCallum, from EYOS expeditions, a specialist in deep water operations, who advised Oceangate between 2009 and 2016, told the BBC that carbon fibre is an unpredictable material.
"When you listen to the sounds of that hull under stress, and the cracking and the popping, that's the sign of damage in the hull, that means the hull is getting weaker," Mr McCallum said.
"So you can't expect to take a vehicle to the same depth every time knowing that it's weaker than the dive before, and expect it not to fail at some stage, It is a mathematical certainty that it will fail," he said. "The tragedy is, you don't know when it's going to fail."
Stockton Rush's wife Wendy asks "what's that bang?" in footage that appears in new BBC documentary
OceanGate used 'intimidation tactics' to avoid scrutiny
The report accuses OceanGate of intentionally avoiding regulatory scrutiny through intimidation and strategic manipulation.
In the years leading up to the incident, the company "leveraged intimidation tactics, allowances for scientific operations, and the company's favorable reputation to evade regulatory scrutiny", the report said.
"By strategically creating and exploiting regulatory confusion and oversight challenges, OceanGate was ultimately able to operate Titan completely outside of the established deep-sea protocols," it added.
OceanGate founder and Titan pilot Stockton Rush's 'negligence' contributed to deaths
The report also blames Stockton Rush, OceanGate's founder and the pilot of the Titan sub during its fatal voyage, for contributing to the disaster.
Rush "exhibited negligence that contributed to the deaths of four individuals" (apart from his own), investigators said.
Had he survived, investigators said they would have recommended referring him to the US Department of Justice for potential "criminal offences".
Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation Chair Jason Neubauer told the BBC that the structure of the organisation was "deeply flawed".
"One of the biggest standouts that I think that any company could take away is, if your CEO, was also filling the role of safety officer, and lead engineer at the end, it's just too many," he said. "It's a consolidation of power that leads to no checks and balances."
Recommendations to prevent future incidents
To prevent similar disasters in future, the Marine Board issued 14 safety recommendations to the US Coast Guard and the wider submersible industry.
Key among them:
US Coast Guard (USCG) pursue "proper regulatory oversight" of submersibles
Revoking ORV (Oceanographic Research Vessel) designations for submersibles, requiring them to meet certification standards under new passenger vessel requirements
Dedicated USCG resources "providing field support for vessels of novel design"
In a statement, Oceangate offered condolences to the families of those who died in the deadly disaster, and to all "those impacted by the tragedy".
"After the tragedy occurred, the company permanently wound down operations and directed its resources fully towards cooperating with the Coast Guard's inquiry through its completion," it said.
Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said the force's priority was to support the victim
Warwickshire Police has responded to a claim it held back information over the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, saying officers "did not and will not cover up such criminality".
County council leader George Finch had claimed two men charged in connection with the reported crime were asylum seekers and accused the force and Home Office of covering it up.
In a letter addressed to Finch, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said the force's priority was to support the victim and identify those responsible.
Finch, who represents Reform UK, said residents had "not been told the full story" and the only risk to public order came from "the cover-up itself".
"The immigration status of Ahmad Mulakhil and Mohammad Kabir is now public knowledge, having been placed into the public domain by yourself," Mr Franklin-Smith wrote, in a letter published on the force's website.
The Chief Constable said he had asked the Home Office to confirm the men's immigration status.
Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch had accused police of withholding information regarding the alleged rape
The reported rape of a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton on Tuesday 22 July was a truly horrific crime," Mr Franklin-Smith added.
"My responsibility is what Warwickshire Police say and do and we will continue to work with our partners across the county on behalf of the Warwickshire public.
"I am confident that Warwickshire Police has treated this investigation seriously from the outset, working tirelessly to identify, locate, arrest and charge those suspected of being responsible for this awful crime as quickly as possible."
He confirmed he had first spoken to Finch, who at 19 is the youngest council leader in the UK, about the matter on 31 July as it was "good practice" to work closely with partner agencies.
"You informed me you had already received a confidential briefing from your Chief Executive and that you knew the person charged was an asylum seeker," he wrote.
"I confirmed this was accurate and we wouldn't be releasing immigration status at point of charge as we follow national guidance."
Finch had published a letter on his social media accounts on Sunday, claiming the chief executive of the council, Monica Fogarty, had told him Mohammad Kabir was an asylum seeker living in a house of multiple occupancy.
Ahmad Mulakhil faces two rape charges, while Mohammad Kabir is accused of kidnap, strangulation and aiding and abetting the rape of a girl aged under 13.
The men, both from the Warwickshire town, will next appear at Warwick Crown Court on 26 August.
Guidelines on disclosing personal information about suspects of crime are being reviewed but Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said it was up to individual police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service to decide what is released.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage previously called the police's decision not to publish the details a "cover-up".
Speaking alongside Finch at a press conference in Westminster on Monday, Farage linked a perceived lack of information from police to what happened after the Southport attacks July.
"It is not... in any way at all a contempt of court for the British public to know the identity of those who allegedly have committed serious crimes," he said.
Family members of an Oasis fan who died when he fell from a height at the band's concert at Wembley Stadium have paid tribute to him as "a loving family man".
Lee Claydon, from Bournemouth, "was taken from us far too soon and we will miss him so very much", his brother Aaron wrote.
"Our family has been turned upside down and are struggling to deal with this devastation and unexpected loss."
On Sunday, police said a man in his 40s "was found with injuries consistent with a fall" and was pronounced dead at the scene at the stadium in London.
Aaron Claydon wrote on Facebook: "Still in shock and cannot believe I am writing this, but sadly over the weekend I lost my best mate the man I looked up to and the man I was lucky enough to call my brother Lee Claydon."
A GoFundMe page he has set up for his brother's partner and sons has raised more than £4,500.
On Facebook, Shannon Gabrielle wrote: "My cousin Lee tragically passed away this weekend after no doubt having the time of his life at the Oasis concert this weekend.
"Most will have seen snippets in the news I'm sure & as you can imagine it has devastated the whole family and for his closest knit family unit it's the toughest time they are going through ever right now."
She added: "You just don't fathom you will go out for a night of amazing fun & not come home at the end of it."
Getty Images
Oasis extended their "sincere condolences to the family"
Mr Claydon reportedly fell from an upper tier.
On Sunday, Oasis said in a statement they were "shocked and saddened" to hear of the death of a fan.
They added: "Oasis would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of the person involved."
The band began the Oasis Live '25 reunion tour in July. Saturday's concert was one of seven sold-out reunion concerts at Wembley, which has a 90,000-person capacity across three tiers.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: "A man - aged in his 40s – was found with injuries consistent with a fall. He was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
"The stadium was busy, and we believe it is likely a number of people witnessed the incident, or may knowingly or unknowingly have caught it on mobile phone video footage."
Wembley Stadium said in a statement that medics, police and the London Ambulance service had attended to the injured man.
"Despite their efforts, the fan very sadly died. Our thoughts go out to his family, who have been informed and are being supported by specially trained police officers," the venue said.
The band will next appear at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium for three gigs over the next week and then take their tour to Ireland, Canada, the US and Mexico before returning to Wembley on 27 and 28 September.
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