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A document describing a foreign government’s nuclear capabilities was recovered by the FBI during its search of Mar-a-Lago, the Washington Post reported yesterday.
The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, did not identify the government named in the document, which described the country’s military defenses.
The content of the more than 11,000 government documents and photographs that FBI agents recovered from Donald Trump’s Florida estate last month has not been revealed, but previous reporting from the Post indicated classified documents about nuclear weapons were among the items federal authorities were looking for.
Some of the documents seized from were typically closely guarded, the newspaper reported, and had “a designated control officer” to monitor their location.
What was found in the documents? Among the records recovered by the FBI were documents detailing top-secret US operations that require special clearances “on a need-to-know basis”, beyond a top-secret clearance, according to the Post. Some of the Biden administration’s most senior national security officials were not authorized to review some of the documents because they were so restricted, the Post said.
Why did a judge grant Trump’s request for a “special master”? Critics say the decision to stop reviewing documents seized from Mar-a-Lago until a special master is appointed is “unprecedented” and “insane”.
California heatwave enters intense phase bringing blackouts and wildfires
California’s power grid faces a major stress test on Tuesday, as a record heatwave enters its most brutal phase. With temperatures in parts of the state predicted to hit 115F (46C), officials are asking residents to prepare for possible rolling blackouts.
Controlled power interruptions could help maintain reliability and avoid cascading blackouts, as people across the state cranked up their air conditioners, California’s grid operator said.
“We have now entered the most intense phase of this heatwave,” said Elliot Mainzer, the president of the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which runs the state’s electrical grid. “Forecasted demand for Monday and Tuesday is at all-time record levels and the potential for rotating outages has increased significantly.”
Mainzer said the state’s power supply could fall more than 5,000MW short of its peak demand yesterday, predicted to be about 5.30pm. Demand could exceed 51,000MW – surpassing the record 50,270MW set in 2006.
What’s going to happen? The California ISO is expected to request an elevated emergency alert, one step away from ordering rotating power outages. Losing power and access to fans and air conditioning could be disastrous for vulnerable populations, as well as for disabled residents using powered medical devices.
Steve Bannon to be indicted on fresh fraud charges over border wall – sources
Trump’s former top strategist Steve Bannon is expected to be indicted tomorrow on state fraud charges connected to his role in a fundraising scheme to build a border wall, according to two sources familiar with the matter, years after he received a presidential pardon in the federal case.
The expected move by the Manhattan district attorney’s office was quietly communicated to Bannon in recent days, the sources said of the sealed indictment, and they indicated the state charges would probably mirror the federal case in which he was pardoned.
Bannon and three others were charged in that case by federal prosecutors in Manhattan with falsely claiming that they would not take compensation in the private We Build the Wall fundraising effort to underwrite part of the construction of the wall on the US-Mexico border.
The architect of Trump’s 2016 election campaign, and later White House adviser, was accused of taking more than $1m of donations to the campaign, which sought to secure funding for the completion of the border wall.
Why doesn’t the pardon apply to this charge? Bannon received a last-minute pardon in the final days of the Trump administration that expunged the federal indictment. But presidential pardons do not apply to state-level charges.
In other news …
Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing global energy crisis have emerged as leading foreign policy priorities for Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, as she and Joe Biden promised during their first phone call to strengthen their relationship amid Vladimir Putin’s incursion.
Fear, confusion and desperation have run high in western Canada as police widen the search for the remaining suspect in a series of stabbings that left 11 people dead. The search for Myles Sanderson, 30, entered its third day, with police scouring Regina for the suspect, who was believed to be injured.
A US senator has dismissed an Israeli army report that claims a soldier accidentally killed the Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh during a gun battle, saying it is unsupported by the evidence. Chris Van Hollen repeated his call for an independent US investigation into her death.
A trial over Elon Musk’s attempts to end his $44bn deal for Twitter should be delayed by several weeks to allow him to investigate a whistleblower’s claims about security on the social media platform, the tycoon’s lawyer told a judge yesterday. “Doesn’t justice demand a few weeks to look into this?” he said.
Elizabeth Holmes requested a new trial on Tuesday, asserting in a court filing that a key witness for the prosecution now regretted the role he played in her conviction for investor fraud and conspiracy related to Theranos, her failed blood testing startup.
Stat of the day: Toxic arsenic levels make tap water unsafe for thousands in New York City
Dangerous levels of arsenic were found in a New York City Public Housing Authority (NYCHA) complex, leaving thousands of residents without safe tap water. Tap water in the complex, which contains 19 buildings and has more than 3,700 residents, was first tested by NYCHA in August after several complaints from residents. The crisis plays out as people in the predominantly Black city of Jackson, Mississippi, have gone without clean drinking water for more than a month, with residents using bottled water for everyday needs such as cooking and brushing teeth.
Don’t miss this: Could you get ripped in your 50s?
Could Nicole Kidman possibly be real? That was the question prompted by her photoshoot for Perfect magazine, in which the 55-year-old adopts a power victory pose, flexing arms like a bodybuilder, her biceps taut, huge, extremely detailed. She looks like an anatomical drawing, and as if she could pull a truck out of a swamp, writes Zoe Williams. On magazine covers, billboards and TV screens, middle-aged celebrities are flaunting their fat-free, perfectly toned muscles. How hard is it for the average fiftysomething to measure up? And what will it do to the rest of your life?
Climate check: Dutch city becomes world’s first to ban meat adverts in public
A Dutch city will become the first in the world to ban meat adverts from public spaces in an effort to reduce consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Haarlem, west of Amsterdam with a population of about 160,000, will enact the prohibition from 2024 after meat was added to a list of products deemed to contribute to the climate crisis. Recent studies suggest global food production is responsible for one-third of all planet-heating emissions, with the use of animals for meat accounting for twice the pollution of producing plant-based foods.
Last Thing: Don’t dribble, darling: did Harry Styles really spit at Chris Pine?
If you have TikTok or Twitter or any social media at all, there is a strong chance you have been subjected to the same clip all day. If it is real, it is one of the most bizarre clips that has made it to the internet. It is footage that appears to show Harry Styles spitting at Chris Pine at the Don’t Worry Darling premiere in Venice – which sources have denied happened. The internet was already frothing at the mouth over the backstage wrangles on Olivia Wilde’s new film. And then its stars started opening their mouths.
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