US public health groups urge firing of EPA boss Zeldin, saying he ‘brazenly betrayed’ agency 24. March 2026 (17:18) Advocates say Lee Zeldin’s EPA has rolled back protections and cut staff and funding, putting health at riskSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxMore than 160 environmental and public health organizations on Tuesday called for Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, to resign or be fired.“No [EPA] administrator in history – Democratic or Republican – has so brazenly betrayed the agency’s core mission,” the groups wrote in an open letter. “EPA’s foremost purpose is to protect human health and the environment. With Administrator Lee Zeldin at the helm, EPA has abandoned its mission, creating damage that will take decades to address.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pentagon correspondents push back on ‘unconstitutional’ press restrictions 24. March 2026 (17:07) New York Times says it ‘will be going back to court’ after defense department hastily announces new arrangementSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxJournalists who cover the Pentagon are pushing back against a new press access arrangement hastily announced by the Pentagon, calling it “an end run” around a federal judge’s ruling to restore their access.Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, announced on Monday night that the department would permanently close a designated work space for journalists known as “correspondents’ corridor” and create a “new and improved press workspace” in an annex facility outside the building. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Whale stranded in Baltic will die unless helped to move soon, say experts 24. March 2026 (16:42) German rescue teams have been trying to ease the humpback’s path back into deeper waters without successA 10-metre-long humpback whale stranded on a sandbar in the Baltic Sea is in danger of dying if rescue workers do not manage to help it move into deeper waters soon, experts have said.Believed to be a young male, the mammal was spotted by guests of a hotel in Niendorf in Lübeck Bay, northern Germany, on Monday after they heard its deep moans and alerted police. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Guardian Essential poll: only a quarter of Australians approve of US-Israel war on Iran 24. March 2026 (15:00) Poll also finds Australians keener for government to forge closer ties with ‘middle powers’ such as Canada and JapanGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOnly one in four Australians approve of the US-Israel war on Iran, and just a third have backed the federal government’s actions in sending a military plane and troops to the region, according to a new poll.The latest Guardian Essential poll found Australians are keener for the government to forge closer ties with so-called “middle powers” such as Canada and Japan, with about a third wanting to distance from the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle: ‘Vulnerable’ evacuees from Katherine aged care homes housed in open-sided basketball court 24. March 2026 (15:00) Some residents moved amid threat of flooding are under public guardianship due to reduced mental capacity. NT public guardian says they ‘would have been very frightened’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFrail aged care residents were forced to shelter in an open-sided basketball court in Katherine, sleeping in makeshift conditions as authorities scrambled to prepare for major river flooding triggered by ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle.Residents from Rocky Ridge and Katherine Hostel aged care facilities were evacuated to MacFarlane primary school where many spent the night at a covered basketball court, with rain blowing into the open-sided shelter, as the deep tropical-low swept through the region. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump reportedly open to deal on DHS funding as shutdown sees ICE agents deployed to US airports – US politics live 24. March 2026 (14:46) Senate Republicans believe president signaled shift from earlier refusal to negotiate, according to media reportsSign up for the Breaking News US emailGregory Bovino, the customs and border protection (CBP) commander who led the agency’s aggressive anti-immigration push in Minneapolis before being sidelined by the White House, has decided to go out with a bang it would seem.Having announced his forthcoming retirement from the CBP, the publicity-hungry Bovino – known for his florid statements – has given an interview to the New York Times that stresses defiance over contrition. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Russia launches fresh wave of strikes on civilian areas across Ukraine 24. March 2026 (14:41) Moscow appears to step up spring offensive amid concerns international focus on Iran war leaves Kyiv more vulnerableRussia has launched a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes on civilian areas across Ukraine, killing at least five people, as Moscow appears to be stepping up a spring offensive intended to break Ukrainian resistance along the front.Moscow fired nearly 400 long-range drones and 23 cruise missiles overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, marking one of the largest attacks in weeks after a relative lull. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Texas residents feel homes shake miles away from oil refinery explosion 24. March 2026 (14:38) Images and videos online showed large plume of smoke and flames billowing out from refinery, but no one was injuredSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxAn oil refinery fire near the Texas coast was put out on Tuesday and a temporary shelter-in-place order was lifted, hours after a large explosion at the complex shot plumes of smoke into the air, officials said.No one was injured in Monday’s explosion at the Valero refinery in Port Arthur, about 90 miles (145km) east of Houston, said Charlotte M Moses. The Port Arthur mayor had urged residents in parts of the west side of the city to stay put. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
LaGuardia pilots raised safety alarms months before deadly runway crash 24. March 2026 (14:33) Nasa reports show repeated warnings of close calls before crash that killed two pilots and injured 41 othersSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxPilot safety concerns about New York’s LaGuardia airport were filed to aviation officials months before Sunday’s collision between an airplane and a firetruck left two pilots dead and 41 other people hospitalized.According to the aviation safety reporting system administered by the US space agency Nasa, a pilot using the airport in the summer wrote, “Please do something,” after air traffic controllers failed to provide appropriate guidance about multiple nearby aircraft. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK medical council overhaul may mean more doctors struck off for racism and antisemitism 24. March 2026 (13:50) Health department says ‘too many’ doctors have been using racist language, particularly on social media, without swift actionAn overhaul of the General Medical Council is expected to lead to more doctors that face accusations of racism and antisemitism on social media being struck off.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a consultation on changes to the legislation governing the regulation of doctors, saying the move will lead to the biggest reform of the medical regulator, the GMC, in four decades. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
