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China’s economy lost more momentum in June as manufacturing activity contracted again and the services and construction sectors

Navajo Nation police officers are searching for Native Americans who have been victimized by what the state of Arizona calls "fraudulent Medicaid providers."

Robert F Kennedy Jr., the longshot presidential candidate and latest scion of the storied Kennedy political dynasty, appears to be leaning in to the “Democrat in name only” label that is beginning to follow his campaign. The 2024 hopeful appeared on cable news network NewsNation on Wednesday, where he offered a revealing look at his strategy up until this point and appeared to offer an olive branch to former President Donald Trump. "I'm proud that President Trump likes me, even though I don't agree with him on most of these issues," said Mr Kennedy. "Because I don't want to alienate people, I want to bring people together. I'm proud that all these people like me and that I have independent supporters and Democratic supporters." Mr Trump previously had called him “a very smart guy” who had been “very nice to [him]” in comments to reporters on Monday. "Every Democrat says, 'I want to end the polarization. But how do you do that without talking to people who don't agree with you? How do you do that without appealing to people? My purpose is to find the issues, the values that we have in common other than focus on the issues and the personalities that keep us all apart,” Mr Kennedy went on to claim. At the same time, he declined to agree to support the eventual winner of the 2024 Democratic primary, suggesting that party loyalty is low on his list of priorities. Mr Kennedy spoke with moderator Elizabeth Vargas and members of an audience selected with help from a nonpartisan organisation; Democratic voters peppered him with questions on numerous topics including his well-reported support for conspiracy theories and misinformation about vaccines. Mr Kennedy has long insisted that he is not “anti-vaccine”, but at Wednesday’s event insisted repeatedly that the FDA and other medical authorities were lying about the safety of many vaccinations. For that reason, as well as the fact that the incumbent Democratic president is running for re-election and heavily favoured to win, mainstream media networks and reporting outfits have struggled internally with how best (if at all) to cover Mr Kennedy’s campaign. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has scheduled no primary debates for the 2024 season, and is not likely to do so, much to the chagrin of Mr Kennedy and fellow 2024 Democratic hopeful Marianne Williamson. Mr Biden, 80. is the oldest president to ever hold office and will be 86 when he finally leaves office should he win and serve for a full second term. Many polls have shown that a sizeable chunk of the Democratic Party — not to mention independents — would prefer that the Democratic Party nominate a younger successor, just as most Americans would prefer that the 2024 GOP nominee be someone other than Donald Trump. He remains the heavy favourite to win a Democratic primary, however, and polls showing Mr Kennedy and Ms Williamson with signficant support do not take into consideration the fact that other, more well-known Democrats with stronger national political operations would quickly jump into the presidential field should Mr Biden bow out. Among those other Democrats thought to be eyeing national ambitions in 2024 and beyond include Mr Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris, as well as others like governors Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom. Read More Trump demanded to get ‘my boxes’ back from feds as indictment loomed Meet Jesse Watters, the Fox News host helming Tucker Carlson’s primetime slot Judge rejects Donald Trump's request to toss out defamation claims by columnist Accused Jan 6 rioter arrested near Obama’s home after making threats towards ‘public figure’ Editor apologises for publishing RFK Jr anti-vaxx screed: ‘I should have been fired’ YouTube removes Robert F Kennedy Jr video featuring bizarre claim that polluted water makes children transgender

Former Donald Trump campaign official Mike Roman is cooperating with prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith's team in the ongoing criminal probe related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

President Joe Biden said he “strongly, strongly disagreed” with a Supreme Court decision to strike down the decades-long use of affirmative action in college admissions. The court’s conservative majority overturned admissions plans at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, saying race can no longer be considered as a factor in universaity admissions. The landmark ruling overturns generations of affirmative action, which began in the 1960s as a way to increase diversity after the hard-won success of the civil rights movement. Chief Justice John Roberts said that, for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”Justice Clarence Thomas — the nation’s second Black justice, who had long called for an end to affirmative action — wrote that the decision “sees the universities’ admissions policies for what they are: rudderless, race-based preferences designed to ensure a particular racial mix in their entering classes.” However, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent that the decision “rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress.” President Biden urged colleges not to let the ruling “be the last word” as he praised Justice Sotomayor and the other dissenting judges, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. “Discrimination still exists in America. Today’s decision does not change that,” Mr Biden said. “I believe our colleges are stronger when they’re racially diverse. Our nation is stronger because we are tapping into the full range of talent in this nation. We cannot let this decision be the last word.” The rulings come from two consolidated cases, Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College. Both were brought by anti-affirmative action organisation, Students for Fair Admissions, headed by conservative legal strategist Edward Blum. While the court upheld such programmes in a decision nearly two decades ago, the newly-emboldened conservative majority swept away any legal justification for them in Thursday’s opinions. In a 6-3 and 6-2 decision, it claimed the use of race-conscious admissions was a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Now, higher education institutions will no longer be allowed to consider race as a factor in admissions. Instead, students who wish to have their race or culture considered in their application will have to volunteer the information in their personal essay. Asked about the court’s decision to strike down a long-standing precedent, Mr Biden remarked: “This is not a normal court.” Leaders from Harvard said in a letter that they would “comply” with the court’s decision but emphasised that “deep and transformative teaching, learning, and research depend upon a community comprising people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences”. Mr Biden said he will direct the Department of Education to find ways to improve diversity without using race as a conscious factor in admissions and recruiting. The Harvard Black Students Association called the court’s decision “detrimental”, adding that it “poses a significant threat to the future of the Black community on and beyond our campus”. “It is evident that the college application system cannot maintain holistic evaluation without taking into consideration how race profoundly influences our experiences, perspectives, and identities in multifaceted ways,” it wrote. Derrick Johnson, president and chief executive of the NAACP, said in a statement: “In a society still scarred by the wounds of racial disparities, the Supreme Court has displayed a wilful ignorance of our reality.” Discussions around affirmative action have generated debate among Republicans and Democrats for years. Those in support of it believe it is necessary to create fair and equal opportunity for students of color because higher education institutions have failed at creating diverse student bodies. Those against affirmative action believe it puts other students, such as white or Asian American students, at a disadvantage. Donald Trump celebrated the ruling, saying it was the result “everyone was waiting for” in a post on Truth Social. “We’re going back to all merit-based – and that’s the way it should be!” the former president wrote. Mr Trump appointed three of the six conservative justices on the Court while president: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. His former vice president, Mike Pence, also expressed support for the court’s decision, tweeting: “I am honored to have played a role in appointing three of the Justices that ensured today’s welcomed decision.” He added: “There is no place for discrimination based on race in the United States, and I am pleased that the Supreme Court has put an end to this egregious violation of civil and constitutional rights in admissions processes, which only served to perpetuate racism.” The ruling could have repercussions beyond higher education institutions, extending to elementary, middle and high schools as well as workplaces and more as it opens a door for challenges to racial diversity programs. Read More US judge temporarily blocks Mississippi law on state police permits for some protests In the Supreme Court chamber, the subject was race, the mood was somber, the criticism harsh Affirmative action is out in higher education. What comes next for college admissions? Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson delivers searing civil rights lesson in dissent to affirmative action ruling How the government that promised to ‘stop the boats’ has lost control of its immigration policy Clarence Thomas says he doesn’t have a ‘clue’ what diversity means as Supreme Court takes aim at affirmative action One year after the anti-abortion ruling, the White House keeps a spotlight on the issue

A man with numerous firearms and materials to make an explosive was arrested Thursday in former President Barack Obama's Washington, DC, neighborhood after claiming on an internet livestream that he had a detonator, law enforcement officials told CNN.

The West Virginia State Police is being accused of fostering a "culture of misconduct toward women" in its ranks, including the placement of a hidden video camera inside a women's locker and shower room, according to a civil lawsuit filed Thursday.

Asian stocks were set for a mixed open to the last day of the quarter on Friday following

China is falling into a “balance-sheet recession” and needs to ramp up fiscal stimulus quickly to address the

As Donald Trump’s lawyers began preparing for a federal indictment, the ex-president was allegedly still hoping to get the documents and boxes seized from Mar-a-Lago back, according to a report. Mr Trump referred to the classified material as “my boxes” and “my documents” and asked his lawyers to retrieve the material, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Rolling Stone. The Independent has reached out to Mr Trump for comment. Throughout special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Mr Trump’s alleged mishandling of the material and after his indictment, the ex-president has maintained his innocence and claimed ownership over the documents under the Presidential Records Act. “Under the Presidential Records Act — which is civil, not criminal — I had every right to have these documents,” Mr Trump said in a speech at his New Jersey golf club following his arraignment on federal charges. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized multiple boxes of documents, of which 21 were labelled “Top Secret” and some contained information related to nuclear weaponry of the United States Mr Trump was indicted on 37 counts related to willful retention of national defence information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheme to conceal and making false statements and representations. The FBI forcibly seized the classified material after discovering Mr Trump had allegedly not turned over documents from his time in office. “In addition to having every right under the Presidential Records Act, is that these boxes were containing all types of personal belongings — many, many things, shirts and shoes, everything,” Mr Trump added. Under the Presidential Records Act, Mr Trump was required to turn over all records to the National Archives or go through the proper steps to dispose of records that no longer held administrative, historical, informational or evidentiary value. To do so, Mr Trump would have had to seek the views of the Archivist of the United States. Over and over again on Truth Social and in speeches, Mr Trump has cited this law, incorrectly, to assert his ownership. Even in the indictment, which was unsealed earlier this month, one of Mr Trump’s attorneys testified to federal investigators that the former president did not want to hand over the classified material when the federal government requested it. The attorney alleged that Mr Trump told him “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes” and allegedly suggested they “just don’t respond at all” to investigators requesting Mr Trump return the boxes. Mr Trump was arraigned on his indictment earlier this month in Miami, Florida. Read More Prosecutors are prepared to hit Trump and his allies with new charges, sources say Top Trump aide revealed as individual he allegedly showed classified map, report says Trump news - live: DoJ prepared for more charges as insider trading scheme uncovered at Trump Media SPAC New ad mocks Trump’s excuse that he was too ‘busy’ to hand back boxes of secret government intel Is Donald Trump going to prison? Trump fumes about ‘illegally leaked’ CNN tape of him boasting about classified documents

A shocking scene played out in the wealthy Washington DC neighborhood of Kalorama on Thursday as a man was chased by police and Secret Service while he ran towards the home of former President Barack Obama — and as the man warned authorities that he had an explosive device. According to the DC Metropolitan Police Department, 37-year-old Taylor Taranto was arrested near Mr Obama’s home on Thursday. CBS News reported that he fled after being spotted by Secret Service, who had apparently been alerted to his intentions after Mr Taranto made “threats during recent livestreams on social media”. Mr Taranto had an active arrest warrant related to the attack on the Capitol when he was captured near the former president’s home, according to CBS. DC police confirmed to The Independent that Mr Taranto had been charged with being a fugitive from justice pursuant to another arrest warrant, and that officers had conducted an explosives sweep of his vehicle. “This afternoon, MPD and our federal law enforcement partners arrested 37-year-old Taylor Taranto, of no fixed address, in the 2400 block of Kalorama Road, Northwest. He has been charged with Fugitive from Justice, pursuant to an arrest warrant. Arresting officers requested MPD's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team to perform a vehicle sweep of the individual's van near the location of the arrest. There is no active threat to the community and this incident remains under investigation,” wrote an MPD spokesperson. It wasn’t immediately clear if Mr Obama or any members of his family were home at the time of the incident. The former president was in DC just two days ago for lunch with his former VP, incumbent President Joe Biden, as the latter begins the long work of running for re-election. The Independent has reached out to US Secret Service for further details. Read More Biden’s economy pitch: Campaign like Reagan while refuting Reagan’s policies Affirmative action is out in higher education. What comes next for college admissions? DeSantis accused of breaking the law with Texas border trip

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's bid to dismiss the first of