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News Corp’s Australian division weighs on robust results

News Corp has delivered a strong rise in revenue across its global business, despite weakness in its news division, marked by a slide in digital subscribers at its Australian mastheads.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/aug/06/australia-news-live-nsw-politics-icac-corruption-perrottet-ibac-victoria-daniel-andrews-royal-commission-antisemitism-labor-tax-albanese-ntwnfb

White House confirms new helipad for supersized Marine One helicopter

Changes come after report says Trump unhappy with helipad’s appearance and lawn’s slope

The White House has confirmed that contractors are redoing a new helipad built on the South Lawn to accommodate a new supersized Marine One chopper recently added to the presidential transport fleet.

A White House official said the changes to the circular concrete landing pad were ordered as “we continue to make improvements as part of the ongoing project to best match the needs of the White House”.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/white-house-helipad-marine-one-chopper

Trump team pushes to block court order giving BBC access to financial records

President has sued the broadcaster for $10bn, claiming a documentary on 2021 Capitol attack led to financial harm

Donald Trump’s legal team is making an 11th-hour attempt to block a court order that would grant the BBC access to the president’s financial records, as part of his multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the British broadcaster.

Trump claims that the BBC’s 2024 documentary on the January 6 attacks have damaged the president’s business interests. In July, a Miami-based judge ruled that the president would have to start handing over detailed financial records to the BBC by 6 August. The records would reveal details into the hundreds of businesses owned by the US president’s family trust.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/trump-bbc-lawsuit-financial-records

New Mexico sues justice department for ‘stonewalling’ Epstein investigation

Filing by attorney general Raúl Torrez comes after DoJ appears to have ignored deadline for key Epstein ranch files

New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Justice and the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, on Wednesday for “stonewalling” its criminal investigation into the activities of the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at a remote ranch in the state.

Raúl Torrez, the New Mexico attorney general, had said he was mulling the possibility of legal action if the justice department did not share with him by 31 July information about the alleged historical abuse of girls and young women at Epstein’s Zorro ranch about 30 miles south of Santa Fe.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/new-mexico-sues-doj-epstein-investigation

Man charged in Washington state with starting largest wildfire in the area

Suspect had a prior conviction for reportedly shooting his father in Arizona, after he told his son to do the dishes

Authorities on Monday charged a man in Washington state with starting a wildfire that has consumed almost 4,000 acres and forced tens of thousands from their homes.

Aaron Farinacci, 37, of Spokane, was arrested and charged with first-degree arson for setting the Old Trails fire, the largest of three devastating wildfires burning through the region.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/04/washington-state-arson-charge-old-trails-wildfire

US House ethics panel recommends censuring North Carolina’s Chuck Edwards

Republican congressman was investigated for untoward and inappropriate advances toward two female staffers

The US House of Representatives ethics committee on Monday recommended that Chuck Edwards, a Republican congressman, face censure after determining he “fostered a hostile work environment and engaged in sexual harassment” by giving gifts and lavishing attention on two young female staffers.

The bipartisan panel began investigating the second-term North Carolina congressman earlier this year, after receiving complaints about his conduct. In their report, they determined Edwards broke House rules by singling out the two unidentified aides for special treatment that made them uncomfortable and harmed relations with other employees.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/03/house-ethics-panel-north-carolina-chuck-edwards-censure

Eastern Washington fires destroy 600 structures and force 60,000 to evacuate

Wildfires in and around Spokane have stretched ability of federal and local agencies to fight blazes

Wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures, authorities said on Sunday.

The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second largest city, burned about 8.2 sq miles (about 21 sq km), but they were among dozens across the western US that stretched the ability of federal, state and local agencies to fight them. A total of about 390 sq miles have burned across the state, and some of the fires, including those in the Spokane area, have not been contained.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/02/eastern-washington-wildfires