‘He was a master manipulator,’ Jeffrey Epstein assistant Lesley Groff testifies

Groff tells lawmakers ‘I am not a conspirator’ and that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while working for him

Lesley Groff, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, testified Tuesday before the House oversight and reform committee, telling lawmakers that she had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while working for him.

“I believe that my testimony will dispel the false notion that because of my employment with Epstein, I must have knowingly enabled or conspired with him to commit his evil acts,” Groff told lawmakers in her prepared opening remarks, obtained by the Guardian. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/09/jeffrey-epstein-assistant-lesley-groff-testifies

Kim Jong-un’s Triumph #wanitaxigo

How Trump acolytes seized on UK teen’s killing to push anti-immigration agenda

Senior administration officials jump on death of Henry Nowak – and statements echo language of the far right

Over a breathtaking few days that spanned Saturday’s 82nd anniversary of D-day, senior Trump administration officials have trampled over diplomatic protocol to tear into Europe’s immigration and anti-racism policies and argue that such actions could end western civilization.

From the United States, Vice-President JD Vance and other administration officials jumped on a controversial murder case in Britain to accuse Keir Starmer’s government of lacking the Trump administration’s “political will and leadership” to stop mass migration and defend national sovereignty.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/08/trump-hegseth-vance-henry-nowak-death

Huge crowds throng Madrid streets for Pope's open-air Mass

The pontiff waved at those gathered from his popemobile as he arrived at the Plaza de Cibeles.

Labour urges Farage to stop evading scrutiny over £5m gift from crypto billionaire

Call for ‘clear and truthful account’ comes amid questions about the Reform leader’s property spending

The Labour party has written to Nigel Farage urging him to stop “evading reasonable scrutiny” over the £5m personal gift he received from the Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.

The letter coincides with approval of a planning application that reveals the Reform leader’s plans to transform a dilapidated Kent property into a luxury beachfront residence.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/07/labour-farage-evading-scrutiny-crypto-billionaire-gift

How Xavier Becerra turned around his campaign to be California’s governor

In late March, his polling hovered near 3%, but in a stunning reversal Becerra has advanced to the general election

Xavier Becerra, the former Biden cabinet official whose California gubernatorial campaign survived a deeply underwhelming start, has advanced to the general election, in a stunning reverse of political fortune.

If he prevails in November, Becerra would make history as the state’s first Latino governor since 1875, when California was briefly led by Romualdo Pacheco, who was born in the territory when it was still part of Mexico.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/06/how-xavier-becerra-turned-campaign-california-governor

Bernadette Chirac, formidable former first lady of France, dies aged 93

Widow of French ex-president Jacques Chirac was a steely behind-the-scenes operator known for her charity work

Bernadette Chirac, the formidable widow of the former French president Jacques Chirac and a driving force behind his political rise, has died at the age of 93.

As France’s first lady for 12 years, Chirac was a steely behind-the-scenes operator in support of her husband, who served twice as prime minister, 18 years as mayor of Paris and two terms as president.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/06/bernadette-chirac-former-first-lady-france-dies