US authorities take custody of more than 20 kids as surrogate mothers claim couple misled them 16. July 2025 (23:12) Children removed from California home of couple who were arrested in May and had said they ‘wanted a large family’More than 20 children are in the custody of a California child-welfare agency while authorities investigate a Los Angeles-area couple and whether they misled surrogate mothers around the country.Fifteen children were removed from the couple’s opulent home in Arcadia after an abuse allegation in May, and another six living elsewhere were also located, said Arcadia’s police lieutenant, Kollin Cieadlo. They range in age from two months to 13 years, with most between one and three. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Half of New Orleans clergy abuse claims could be tossed in US bankruptcy court 16. July 2025 (23:06) Outcome could have major effects on whether the Catholic archdiocese settles its expensive, five-year-old caseAs New Orleans’s bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese finalizes a plan to settle 633 clergy abuse claims filed against it, the church’s investors are arguing in US bankruptcy court that about half of those survivors could have their claims thrown out.Church officials said on Wednesday they would not necessarily seek that, though the eligibility of claims will be determined by a court-appointed examiner. If the investors’ arguments prevail, it could have major effects on whether the US’s second-oldest Catholic archdiocese settles its expensive, five-year-old bankruptcy case – or if victims of abuse by its clergy will pursue their claims individually in civil court. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Eight healthy babies born after IVF using DNA from three people 16. July 2025 (23:00) Genetic material from mother and father transferred to healthy donor egg to reduce risk of life-threatening diseases‘We’d never heard of it’: a woman tells of her daughter’s death of mitochondrial diseaseDoctors in the UK have announced the birth of eight healthy babies after performing a groundbreaking procedure that creates IVF embryos with DNA from three people to prevent the children from inheriting incurable genetic disorders.The mothers were all high risk for passing on life-threatening diseases to their babies due to mutations in their mitochondria, the tiny structures that sit inside cells and provide the power they need to function. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘We’d never heard of it’: a woman tells of daughter’s death from mitochondrial disease 16. July 2025 (23:00) Liz Curtis describes how the loss of Lily drove her to set up a foundation that funded a gene test for the conditionEight healthy babies born after IVF using DNA from three peopleWhen I had my 20-week scan, Lily had a strange heartbeat. It would beat and then stop and then start beating again. The sonographer had never seen it before. I was referred by my local hospital to St George’s to see a specialist and it happened again. I went back every day for a week, and then every other day for another week, but they never saw it again.I had another scan nearer Lily’s due date and that time there was no blood flow between the placenta and the baby. I had to have an emergency caesarean. That was at 35 weeks. She was so tiny, 3lb 8oz, but they couldn’t find anything wrong with her. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Grant Shapps pushed for MoD Afghan superinjunction to remain in place 16. July 2025 (22:42) Ex-Tory defence secretary wanted data breach affecting those at risk from Taliban to be secret for as long as possible, say MoD sourcesFormer defence secretary Grant Shapps insisted that the Ministry of Defence press for the continuation of an extraordinary superinjunction to prevent reporting of an embarrassing leak of personal data belonging to 18,700 Afghans.Two sources present in the MoD at the time say that Shapps wanted to mount an aggressive legal defence in the hope that the data breach affecting would-be Afghan refugees to the UK would remain secret for as long as possible. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Small Canadian town reels after teen boy allegedly assaults eight-year-old girl 16. July 2025 (21:19) Police initially thought the girl was attacked by an animal due her injuries, but later arrested a 17-year-old boyA small rural community in Canada is reeling after police said the horrific attack of an eight-year-old girl was not caused by an animal, as they had suspected, but allegedly by a teenage boy who they have now charged with attempted murder.The residents of Quadeville, a town of a few hundred people in southern Ontario, are questioning local law enforcement’s handling of the case after officials initially told them to keep their children indoors to protect them against a possible offending animal. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Meta shareholders sue Zuckerberg, Thiel and Sandberg for $8bn over FTC fines 16. July 2025 (21:14) Trade commission fined Facebook for violating 2012 data-protection agreement after Cambridge Analytica scandalAn $8bn trial brought by Meta Platforms shareholders against Mark Zuckerberg and other current and former company leaders kicked off on Wednesday over claims they illegally harvested the data of Facebook users in violation of a 2012 agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC).The trial started with a privacy expert for the plaintiffs, Neil Richards of Washington University School of Law, who testified about Facebook’s data policies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Louisiana police officials charged with taking bribes in alleged visa fraud plot 16. July 2025 (20:51) Trio allegedly took cash to file false reports that would allow noncitizens to qualify for special visa to let them stay in USFederal authorities have charged three current or former Louisiana police chiefs with taking bribes in exchange for filing false police reports that would allow noncitizens to seek a visa that lets certain crime victims stay in the US.The false police reports would indicate that the immigrant was a victim of a crime that would qualify them to apply for a so-called U visa, US attorney Alexander C Van Hook said Wednesday at a news conference in Lafayette, Louisiana. He said the police officials were paid $5,000 for each name they provided falsified reports for – and that there were hundreds of names. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump administration sued by 20 states for cutting disaster prevention grants 16. July 2025 (20:32) Lawsuit claims Fema lacks power to cancel multibillion-dollar Bric program after it was approved by CongressA group of 20 mostly Democratic-led US states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to block the Trump administration from terminating a multibillion-dollar grant program that funds infrastructure upgrades to protect against natural disasters.The lawsuit filed in Boston federal court claims that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) lacked the power to cancel the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program in April after it was approved and funded by Congress. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Jane’s Addiction members sue singer Perry Farrell over onstage altercation 16. July 2025 (20:31) US rock band claim reunion tour and new album derailed by Farrell’s ‘repeated and unprovoked attack’ in 2024Members of Jane’s Addiction have sued the alt-rock band’s lead singer, Perry Farrell, after an on-stage altercation last fall that they claim derailed their North American tour and forthcoming album. Dave Navarro, Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins are seeking $10m from the 66-year-old singer.Guitarist Navarro is also suing Farrell for assault and battery for the onstage altercation at a Boston gig in September last year. Footage from the concert showed Farrell punching and shoving Navarro before he was restrained by crew members. He was then escorted off the stage. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
