Michael Gove makes bid for Tory leadership
Political turmoil continues in Britain following the country’s vote to leave the EU last week. Michael Gove, who managed to force former ally Boris Johnson out of the race for the Conservative leadership on Thursday by announcing he was standing himself, has set out his case for becoming the next UK prime minister in a 5,000-word, 13-page memorandum. He pledged an extra $132m per week to the National Health Service and admitted: “Whatever charisma is, I don’t have it ... But at every step in my political life I’ve asked myself one question: what is the right thing to do?” Gove faces Theresa May, the firm frontrunner, who has warned against any attempt to keep the UK in Europe “through the backdoor”. She is due to lay out her policy platform later on Friday. Meanwhile the UK’s finance minister, George Osborne, has said a “supreme national effort” will be needed to get through the crisis. A clear majority of Britons (60%) believe a general election should be held before Article 50, the formal notice of an EU member’s intention to leave, is invoked, a poll by Opinium has found. The poll also found that 7% of those who voted to leave now regret their decision.
Michael Gove launches Tory leadership bid with Brexit promise
Loretta Lynch to speak on Clinton email investigation
US attorney general Loretta Lynch intends to accept whatever recommendation career prosecutors and federal agents make in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, a justice department official said on Friday, according to the Associated Press. Lynch was expected to discuss the matter further at a summit on Friday in Aspen, Colorado.
Austrian election must be rerun, court rules
Austria’s constitutional court has annulled the result of the country’s presidential elections, which saw a narrow defeat in May for rightwing populist Norbert Hofer. The court president, Gerhart Holzinger, announced on Friday that the run-off vote between Hofer of the Freedom party and Green-backed Alexander Van der Bellen would have to be repeated across the whole country after an investigation revealed irregularities in the count of the vote in several constituencies. The unprecedented ruling comes a week before Van der Bellen was due to be sworn into office.
Austrian presidential election result overturned and must be held again
Fatal Tesla autopilot crash
The first known death caused by a self-driving car was disclosed by Tesla Motors on Thursday evening. The company announced that in May the autopilot sensors on one of its self-driving Model S cars failed to identify a large, white 18-wheel truck and trailer crossing a Florida highway. The car smashed into it, killing driver Joshua Brown in the first accident of its kind. Tesla has sought to deflect blame from its Autopilot feature in the 7 May crash, saying neither driver and its technology had noticed the danger. Here, early adopters share hair-raising videos of their Model S cars veering into traffic.
Tesla driver dies in first fatal crash while using autopilot mode
Syed granted new trial
Adnan Syed, the Baltimore man who received international attention through the viral podcast Serial, which cast doubt on his murder conviction, has been granted a new trial. Baltimore judge Martin Welch granted a new trial after lawyers for Syed, 35, argued that his lawyer in the original trial had provided ineffective counsel and failed to investigate a crucial alibi.
Adnan Syed, subject of Serial podcast, granted a new trial
Transgender miltary ruling
Defense secretary Ash Carter has said transgender people can now openly serve in the military. While there is no official count of transgender service members, the thinktank Rand has put the figure at about 2,450 of the 1.3 million active duty service members. “Our military, and the nation it defends, will be stronger,” Carter said. “It’s another step in ensuring that we continue to recruit and retain the most qualified people – and good people are the key to the best military in the world.”
US military ends ban on transgender service members
Lyin’ Trump
In our new weekly fact check, we examine the lies, falsehoods and exaggerations the Republican candidate has offered over the past seven days. This week, Alan Yuhas examines Trump’s assertions about trade, immigration and campaign funding. Meanwhile, Trump’s Super Pac backers worry the candidate’s errors are piling up.
The lies Trump told this week: from US trade policies to his own campaign
In case you missed it ...
A giant swimming, venomous centipede has been discovered by accident in Thailand. The creature, Scolopendra cataracta, is the world’s first known amphibious centipede and was discovered by entomologist George Beccaloni, during his honeymoon to Thailand in 2001. It is eight inches long and has a fierce bite. “It was pretty horrific-looking: very big with long legs and a horrible dark, greenish-black colour,” Beccaloni told National Geographic.
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