Ted Cruz refuses to endorse Trump
Vice-presidential pick Mike Pence was warmly received during another chaotic night at the Republican national convention in Cleveland. But his debut was undermined by boos that greeted Texas senator Ted Cruz who refused to endorse Donald Trump in a speech, revealing the enduring cracks in Republican party unity. “Please, don’t stay home in November,” Cruz said. “Stand, and speak, and vote your conscience, vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the constitution.” But Cruz was met with resounding boos after he withheld his endorsement, leaving the value of his display of party disunity uncertain.
Mike Pence bid for Republican unity marred by clashes on convention floor
Meanwhile, in another break with traditional presidential policy positioning, Trump has suggested the US would not necessarily help a Nato ally under attack. Trump said he would first consider how much they have contributed to the alliance.
Trump says US may not automatically defend Nato allies under attack
Trump’s sexual assault accuser breaks silence
Jill Harth, the woman at the center of sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump in the 1990s, has spoken for the first time in detail about her personal experience with the billionaire tycoon. For two decades, Harth, a makeup artist, stayed quiet about the way Trump pursued her, and – according to a lawsuit she instigated – cornered her and groped her in his daughter’s bedroom. Harth decided to speak out about her experience with Trump because she wants an apology after he called her claims “meritless”.
Jill Harth, woman who sued Trump over alleged sexual assault, breaks silence
UN must do more to fight causes of extremism, says frontrunner for top job
The United Nations must do a better job of combating the root causes of violent extremism and global insecurity, Helen Clark, one of the frontrunners to succeed Ban Ki-moon as UN secretary general, said in an interview with the Guardian. Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand, is one of 12 contenders to succeed the incumbent secretary general. She said the UN’s archaic bureaucratic structure was proving a hindrance. “The UN is seen to be not doing so well on the peace and security front,” she said.
UN must do more to fight causes of extremism, says frontrunner for top job
Erdoğan declares three-month state of emergency
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has declared a three-month state of emergency across the country, less than a week after a coup threatened to topple his government. The decision, announced in a televised press conference, gives the president the power to issue decrees that have the force of law on matters relating to the state of emergency. The announcement raises further concerns about restrictions on freedoms and rights in Turkey.
Turkey coup attempt: Erdoğan declares three-month state of emergency
Tech investor Peter Thiel on Trump
Tonight at the Republican convention shindig, tech investor Peter Thiel will address an enduring conundrum: how to square the natural libertarianism of Silicon Valley with staunch conservatism. Thiel shares Trump’s antipathy to the “politically correct” rhetoric of diversity and multiculturalism, as well as to affirmative action, writes Ben Tarnoff. Yet Trump “gives Thiel something far more valuable: a way to fulfill his long-held ambition of saving capitalism from democracy”.
Donald Trump, Peter Thiel and the death of democracy
Michelle Obama hits the road in Carpool Karaoke
The US first lady made her highly anticipated debut on James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke. The pair sang the Stevie Wonder hit Signed, Sealed, Delivered as well as Beyoncé’s girl-power anthem Single Ladies. “We just dropped the mic, we were making honey in the beehive, we were making honey to put in our lemonade,” Obama joked from the passenger seat of Corden’s car. During a tour of the White House, the pair were also joined by the rapper Missy Elliott for a rendition of This is For My Girls and later Elliott’s hit Get Ur Freak On.
First lady to Single Ladies: Michelle Obama sings Beyoncé with James Corden
Brexit ‘impossible’ to achieve
As new UK prime minister Theresa May signals her plan to go slow on Brexit, Philip Oltermann uncovers what may prove to be the strongest argument for the UK remaining in the European Union: after 40 years on integration, Brexit may be economically impossible for Britain. A recent German study found that 58% of German business and political leaders surveyed said they believed an exit from the EU would do “massive damage” to the UK economy. Meanwhile, Frankfurt tempts UK bankers.
Why untangling UK industry from Europe may be ‘impossible’
FBI arrests senior HSBC banker
Mark Johnson, HSBC’s global head of foreign exchange trading, was arrested by the FBI as he attempted to board a transatlantic flight and charged him with fraudulently rigging a multibillion-dollar currency exchange deal. The bankers are the first people to be charged in connection with the US government’s long-running investigation into bankers’ alleged rigging of the $5.3tn per day forex market.
FBI arrests senior HSBC banker accused of rigging multibillion-dollar deal
Hank Williams: tortured soul and … joker
As a 15-CD set called The Complete Mother’s Best Collection … Plus! featuring 142 lost performances by the country music star is reissued, Mark Guarino finds a striking contradiction in Williams’s image of a doomed and self-destructive country singer known for harrowing fare like I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, Your Cheatin’ Heart, and I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.
Hank Williams: the lighter side of the godfather of country
In case you missed it …
Pressure is mounting on Facebook to do more for low-income workers near the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park. Sam Levin meets Tameeka Bennett, 29, who had to move away from the Silicon Valley city where she grew up, a consequence of the region’s housing crisis exacerbated by the location of the Facebook headquarters. This week, Bennett and other northern California advocates are pressuring Facebook to make substantial investments in affordable housing.
Facebook’s neighbors are losing their homes. What’s being done about it?
