Move will remove obstacle for confirmation of Kevin Warsh, Trump’s pick to replace Powell as Federal Reserve chair

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox

The US Department of Justice is dropping its criminal investigation against Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing the path for Donald Trump’s new nominee for chair to be confirmed.

Jeanine Pirro, Trump’s appointed US attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a social media post that she directed her office to close its investigation into renovations at the Fed headquarters that went over budget.

Continue reading...

The Guardian Australia picture editor, Carly Earl, explains why an official photo from the White House celebrating a champion women’s sports team has drawn backlash

Continue reading...

After backing out of public sight, the versatile and enduringly bankable actor has turned up on Instagram trading quips with Nicole Kidman as hype begins for Practical Magic 2 this autumn

She had long refused to join social media, preferring to eschew the machinery of celebrity. So if Sandra Bullock’s arrival on Instagram last week says anything, it’s that the Oscar-winning actor – once routinely dubbed “America’s sweetheart” – is ready to embrace the spotlight again.

After years of near-total retreat from public life, Bullock is suddenly everywhere: making her first major convention appearance in years at CinemaCon, teasing Practical Magic 2 alongside Nicole Kidman, and using her first Instagram post to revive one of the most beloved moments of her career – the “midnight margaritas” scene from the original 1998 film. Kidman quickly welcomed her to the platform in the comments, turning Bullock’s debut into a miniature Practical Magic reunion before the sequel’s press campaign had properly begun.

Continue reading...

Sources say German group may struggle to recoup its investment as titles shift to less profitable models

Axel Springer did not complete due diligence on the Telegraph before sealing its £575m takeover, with sources saying the German media company could struggle to recoup its eye-watering investment as the titles shift toward less-profitable digital subscribers.

To wrap up the deal quickly, Mathias Döpfner, the chief executive of Axel Springer, decided to forgo the usual extensive due diligence process to vet the value and prospects of a company, according to multiple sources.

Continue reading...

They’re in a league of their own

• See more of Fiona Katauskas’s cartoons here

Continue reading...

Saturday marks one year since Virginia Giuffre’s death – and other survivors are making a public reckoning possible

Saturday will mark one year since the death of Virginia Giuffre, one of the first women to surrender her anonymity, detail her experiences and publicly call for criminal charges against convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. For other Epstein survivors such as Liz Stein and Jess Michaels, Giuffre’s public reckoning made it possible to finally name what had happened to them.

“I saw myself in Virginia, in [Epstein survivor] Maria Farmer, in all of them,” said Danielle Bensky, who was pulled into Epstein’s orbit when she was 17. “And I thought: if they can be victimized, anyone can be. I was not alone. I finally understood that we were not going to be silent any more.

Continue reading...

Zonder waarschuwing verwijderde Meta ze: Instagramaccounts van queerclubs, nachtclubs en activistische organisaties, soms met tienduizenden volgers. „Je beseft pas hoeveel macht Meta heeft, als ze alles van je afpakken.”

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

The view down Gilles Arcade, Adelaide CBD towards the historic Queen's Theatre.
Old Victoria Theatre, on the corner of Gilles Arcade and Playhouse Lane, Adelaide. It was built in 1842 and opened under the name 'The Queens' Theatre'. In 1843, the building became South Australia's first Law Courts, then it was refurbished and became the Royal Victoria Theatre and operated under this name from 1850-1868. After many years of non-theatrical use it was converted back into a theatre again in 1996 and is now known as the Queens Theatre. It is now thought to be the oldest surviving theatre in mainland Australia.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

Old Victoria Theatre, on the corner of Gilles Arcade and Playhouse Lane, Adelaide. It was built in 1842 and opened under the name 'The Queens' Theatre'. In 1843, the building became South Australia's first Law Courts, then it was refurbished and became the Royal Victoria Theatre and operated under this name from 1850-1868. After many years of non-theatrical use it was converted back into a theatre again in 1996 and is now known as the Queens Theatre. It is now thought to be the oldest surviving theatre in mainland Australia.

Darren Schiller has added a photo to the pool:

The Austral Stores were a notable 1903 Edwardian-style commercial building complex on Hindley Street, Adelaide, designed by Albert Selmar Conrad for butcher Leopold Conrad. Located at 104-120 Hindley Street, the site originally featured 12 shops, a warehouse, and dwellings, later becoming West's Coffee Palace. It is now a recognized State Heritage Place.

Key Details of The Austral Stores (Hindley Street):
Purpose: Built in 1903 as a mixed-use commercial complex containing 12 shops, including bakers, tailors, and a butchery.
Architecture: Designed by Albert Selmar Conrad in the Edwardian Free Style, featuring red brick, stuccoed dressings, and twin three-storey towers.
Evolution: Known as "Grant's Coffee Palace" (1908) and later "West's Coffee Palace" (1919), reflecting the temperance movement of the time.
Location: 104-120 Hindley Street, Adelaide, in the city's West End.