Yahoo Movies First Thing: FBI searched Mar-a-Lago for nuclear weapons papers, say reports
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FBI agents were looking for secret documents about nuclear weapons among other classified material when they searched Donald Trump’s home on Monday, it has been reported.
The Washington Post cited people familiar with the investigation as saying nuclear weapons documents were thought to be in the trove the FBI was hunting in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. They did not specify what kind of documents or whether they referred to the US arsenal or another country’s.
The report came hours after the attorney general, Merrick Garland, said he had personally authorised the government request for a search warrant and revealed that the justice department had asked a Florida court for the warrant to be unsealed, noting that Trump himself had made the search public.
The justice department motion referred to “the public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred in its contents”.
What has Trump said about unsealing the search warrant? He said he would not oppose but rather was “encouraging the immediate release of those documents” related to what he called the “unAmerican, unwarranted, and unnecessary raid and break-in … Release the documents now!” Trump has until 3pm ET to officially respond.
Is it likely that Trump did take classified nuclear weapons documents with him when he left the White House? This is not known but Trump was particularly fixated on the US nuclear arsenal while he was in the White House, and boasted about being privy to highly secret information.
Al Gore hails Biden’s historic climate bill as ‘a critical turning point’
America’s passing of its first climate legislation will prove a pivotal moment that will help bring to an end the era of fossil fuels, according to Al Gore, the former US vice-president.
Joe Biden is poised to sign a $370bn package of clean energy spending, overcoming decades of American political rancor and inaction on the climate crisis. Gore said he was now sure the fossil fuel industry and its political backers would not be able to reverse the shift to a decarbonized world, even if Republicans are able to wrest back control of Congress or the White House.
“In crossing this threshold we have changed history and will never go backwards,” Gore told the Guardian in an interview. “I’m extremely optimistic that this will be a critical turning point in our struggle to confront the climate crisis.”
While the oil and gas industry is currently making enormous profits off the back of soaring fuel prices spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gore insisted this was “momentary compared to the big wheel that is now turning” on renewable energy.
Will the legislation pass? The legislation narrowly passed the US Senate on Sunday and is expected to ease through the House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, today before being signed by Biden.
Anne Heche not expected to survive car crash, actor’s family says
The family of Anne Heche say the US actor is “not expected to survive” after a severe collision that left her vehicle engulfed in flames last Friday.
In a statement, Heche’s family said through a representative that she had “a severe anoxic brain injury” and was now being kept on life support to determine whether her organs were viable for donation. The family said it had “long been her choice” to donate her organs.
“We want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers for Anne’s recovery and thank the dedicated staff and wonderful nurses that cared for Anne at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital,” the statement read.
“Unfortunately, due to her accident, Anne Heche suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and remains in a coma, in critical condition. She is not expected to survive.”
Heche, 53, is known for her work on films including the remake of Psycho, Donnie Brasco and Cedar Rapids.
What happened to her? Heche crashed her car into a house in the Mar Vista area of Los Angeles, near her own home, at speed on Friday. The collision caused a fire that took an hour to extinguish, according to reports.
In other news …
A Louisiana five-year-old was allegedly forced out of her kindergarten class at a religious school because her parents are a same-sex couple. The parents, Emily and Jennie Parker, were told their relationship did not follow the teachings of the school and that they would need to find a new school for their daughter, Zoey.
Senior career officials at the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) office of the inspector general (OIG) tried to alert Congress in April that Secret Service texts from the time of the January 6 Capitol attack had been erased, but their efforts were nixed by its leadership, documents show.
Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a previously unknown small armored dinosaur in southern Argentina, a creature that probably walked upright on its back legs roaming a then steamy landscape about 100m years ago. The Cretaceous-period dinosaur has been named Jakapil kaniukura.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog has called for officials to visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant as soon as possible amid renewed shelling in the area and warnings of the “catastrophic consequences” of continued fighting near Europe’s largest atomic plant.
A handwritten letter has come to light casting doubt on the critical testimony of a self-confessed murderer who provided the only implicating evidence at the trial of Richard Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma who is to be executed in six weeks’ time.
Stat of the day: Nearly 8,000 Canadians were dying early each year from outdoor air pollution, study finds
A study in one of the cleanest countries in the world could help governments think about future ways to manage air pollution. Census records for more than 7 million Canadians from between 1981 and 2016 were combined with air pollution data to find out whether small amounts of particle pollution were harmful. Despite the relatively clean air, the study found that nearly 8,000 Canadians were dying early each year from outdoor air pollution. Notably, even people in the cleanest areas were experiencing an impact on their health.
Don’t miss this: Scientists look at why mental exertion triggers exhaustion
It’s a familiar feeling on a Friday evening. After finishing a gruelling day’s work, you finally agree with friends on where to meet for a night out. But by the time you have figured out what to wear and where you left your keys, a night on the sofa begins to sound more appealing than one on the tiles. Now, scientists think they may be able to explain why you feel so weary before you have even reached the bus stop: your brain has slowed down to manage the strain. The brain could suffer from something similar to the painful buildup of lactate in muscles during physical exercise.
… or this: I speak more than 50 languages
“At sixth-form college, I completed Spanish GCSE, then A-level. From there, it became a way of life,” Richard Simcott says. “I did a combined languages degree, studying French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. I sat in on Swedish and Old Icelandic lectures, and did language exchanges for Romanian and Catalan. I went to Lyon, playing darts with the French gas and electricity trainees, then to Málaga. I’ve been described as one of the UK’s most multilingual people, which is very sweet. I’ve studied more than 50 languages now. I generally use 15 weekly and more than 30 in a year.”
Climate check: An anxious American west sizes up historic climate bill
The passage of the historic US climate legislation this weekend sparked renewed hope in environmental circles and even tears of joy in Congress. Many who have spent decades on the frontlines feel that despite its imperfections, the landmark federal funding opens up new frontiers on which to fight in a rapidly changing world. The call to arms rings especially true in the American west, where the devastating effects of the climate crisis – from drought to wildfires to heatwaves – are already hitting home. And there’s little time to waste.
Last Thing: Man overcharged 20 rupees for India train ticket wins 22-year legal battle
An Indian lawyer has won a 22-year legal battle with Indian Railways for overcharging him by 20 rupees (25c). When Tungnath Chaturvedi, 66, bought a ticket at Mathura station in 1999 to go to Moradabad, he was charged 90 rupees instead of 70. He complained but did not receive a refund. After 100 hearings, the court ruled last week in his favour, ordering the railways to pay a fine, as well as the outstanding amount plus 12% interest. The ruling was sweet vindication for Chaturvedi. “It’s not the money that matters,” he told the BBC. “This was always about a fight for justice and a fight against corruption, so it was worth it.”
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