Latest from Saqr Aljidyan
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Barack Obama takes brazen dig at Donald Trump in catty 4th of July message
Barack Obama appeared to get a dig in at Donald Trump for the third time this week in a sniping Fourth of July message to America. After the 44th president ripped into his successor's signature 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' on Thursday, he spent his holiday suggesting that the U.S. is 'under attack.' 'Independence Day is a reminder that America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word 'We.' 'We The People.' 'We Shall Overcome.' 'Yes We Can.' America is owned by no one. It belongs to all citizens,' he wrote to social media. He then seemed to suggest that the United States under its current president was in deep trouble. 'And at this moment in history—when core democratic principles seem to be continuously under attack, when too many people around the world have become cynical and disengaged—now is precisely the time to ask ourselves tough questions about how we can build our democracies and make them work in meaningful and practical ways for ordinary people.' Obama - who was last seen with Trump at the inauguration and before that, sharing a laugh at Jimmy Carter's funeral - has hit out at his Republican rival three times this week without ever naming him. On Wednesday, the Democrat made a post opposing Trump's massive spending bill, which was eventually passed and signed into law Friday afternoon. 'More than 16 million Americans are at risk of losing their health care because Republicans in Congress are rushing to pass a bill that would cut federal funding for Medicaid and weaken the Affordable Care Act,' he wrote. The Affordable Care Act - more commonly known as 'Obamacare' - is perhaps Obama's signature piece of legislation. 'If the House passes this bill, it will increase costs and hurt working class families for generations to come. Call your representative today and tell them to vote no on this bill,' he added. On Monday, Obama reunited with his predecessor, Republican George W. Bush, along with rock star and activist Bono to criticize the Trump administration's ending of USAID. Monday was the last day of independence for the six-decade-old humanitarian and development organization, created by President John F. Kennedy as a peaceful way of promoting U.S. national security by boosting goodwill and prosperity abroad. Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered USAID - which Trump infamously called a 'left-wing scam' - absorbed into the State Department on Tuesday. The former presidents and the U2 singer spoke with thousands in the USAID community in a videoconference, which was billed as a closed-press event to allow political leaders and others privacy for sometimes angry and often teary remarks. They expressed their appreciation for the thousands of USAID staffers who have lost their jobs and life's work. On Wednesday, the Democrat made a post opposing Trump's massive spending bill, which was eventually passed and signed into law Friday afternoon Their agency was one of the first and most fiercely targeted for government-cutting by the president and his billionaire ally Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency, with staffers abruptly locked out of systems and offices and terminated by mass emailing. Trump claimed the agency was run by 'radical left lunatics' and rife with 'tremendous fraud.' Musk called it 'a criminal organization.' Obama, speaking in a recorded statement, offered assurances to the aid and development workers, some listening from overseas. 'Your work has mattered and will matter for generations to come,' he told them. Obama has largely kept a low public profile during Trump´s second term and refrained from criticizing the monumental changes that Trump has made to U.S. programs and priorities at home and abroad. 'Gutting USAID is a travesty, and it´s a tragedy. Because it´s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,' Obama said. He credited USAID with not only saving lives, but being a main factor in global economic growth that has turned some aid-receiving countries into U.S. markets and trade partners. The former Democratic president predicted that 'sooner or later, leaders on both sides of the aisle will realize how much you are needed.' Asked for comment, the State Department said it would be introducing the department´s foreign assistance successor to USAID, to be called America First, this week. 'The new process will ensure there is proper oversight and that every tax dollar spent will help advance our national interests,' the department said. USAID had provided over 40 per cent of global humanitarian funding until Trump returned to the White House in January.
Time of India
5 minutes ago
- Climate
- Time of India
13 dead; over 20 girls missing from summer camp; officials share latest updates
Months' worth of heavy rain fell in a matter of hours on the Texas Hill Country, killing at least 13 people and leaving more than 20 girls attending a summer camp unaccounted for Friday as search teams conducted boat and helicopter rescues in the fast-moving flood water. Desperate pleas flooded social media as loved ones sought any available information about those caught in the flood zone. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said somewhere between 6 and 10 bodies had been found so far in the frantic search for victims. Meanwhile, during a news conference held simultaneously with Patrick's update, Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha reported that 13 deaths had resulted from the flooding. Show more Show less
Glasgow Times
5 minutes ago
- Sport
- Glasgow Times
Emma Raducanu tipped for a top-10 return after running Aryna Sabalenka close
Raducanu reminded the tennis world what a special talent she is to push the top seed in a 7-6 (6) 6-4 defeat under the roof in a raucous atmosphere. The first set alone took 74 minutes, with Raducanu saving seven set points and creating one of her own, while she led 4-1 in the second before Sabalenka recovered to set up a fourth-round clash with Elise Mertens. Emma Raducanu produced an impressive display but could not down Aryna Sabalenka (Adam Davy/PA) Raducanu will now drop to British number three behind Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who is the last home woman left in singles, but that will not be the case for long if she can maintain this level. The former US Open champion has made it her goal to close the gap to the world's best and, having lost twice heavily to Iga Swiatek in the other two grand slams this year, she can feel very differently after her performance here. 'She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,' said Sabalenka. 'I fight for every point like crazy. 'I'm super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I'm pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon.' SABALENKA SHINES ✨ The world No.1 beats Emma Raducanu 7-6(6), 6-4 in a thrilling Centre Court battle#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2025 For the second time in just over 24 hours, a leading British hope came into the press room with eyes red from tears, but, unlike Jack Draper, Raducanu will leave Wimbledon feeling she is closer to the very top rather than further away. 'It's hard to take a loss like that,' said Raducanu, who revealed she had sought solace in a locker room KitKat. 'At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is number one in the world, a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today. 'It's nice of her to say that, but I think it was pretty clear the difference. In the big moments, she was able to convert, she was able to hit some incredible shots. I just need to keep working and get back to the drawing board and improve a lot more. 'It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top. Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence.' Emma Raducanu had Centre Court fired up (Adam Davy/PA) Unlike Draper, Raducanu is naturally at home on grass, with her exceptional ability to take the ball early, particularly on return, mitigating her lack of pure power. She gave Sabalenka a decent run for her money in their only previous meeting, in Indian Wells last spring, and a clean return winner off a second serve in the opening game showed the Belarusian that she very much meant business. Raducanu broke to lead 4-2 before ceding her advantage in a rush of errors – something she later blamed on problems with string tension in the indoor conditions. A remarkable 10th game saw Sabalenka fail to take seven set points, six of them through backhand errors, and the home crowd were on their feet when Raducanu broke to lead 6-5. Aryna Sabalenka overcame a battling Emma Raducanu (John Walton/PA) But Sabalenka is a much stronger mental competitor these days and she played a classy game to break back before saving a set point in the tie-break with the coolest of drop shots. Raducanu dealt with the disappointment of losing the set extremely well and hit a purple patch to move into a 4-1 lead. She played her best tennis of the match to create a chance for the double break but just missed a forehand long, giving Sabalenka the chink of light she needed to power through to the next round. 'I don't think I could have made different choices, I think I should have just executed better,' added Raducanu, who will now turn her attention to the North American hard court swing. 'I'll probably find it tough to sleep tonight, or I'll be so exhausted and crash, I don't know. It's going to take me a few days to process that. But at the same time it really motivates me.'
North Wales Chronicle
6 minutes ago
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Emma Raducanu tipped for a top-10 return after running Aryna Sabalenka close
Raducanu reminded the tennis world what a special talent she is to push the top seed in a 7-6 (6) 6-4 defeat under the roof in a raucous atmosphere. The first set alone took 74 minutes, with Raducanu saving seven set points and creating one of her own, while she led 4-1 in the second before Sabalenka recovered to set up a fourth-round clash with Elise Mertens. Raducanu will now drop to British number three behind Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who is the last home woman left in singles, but that will not be the case for long if she can maintain this level. The former US Open champion has made it her goal to close the gap to the world's best and, having lost twice heavily to Iga Swiatek in the other two grand slams this year, she can feel very differently after her performance here. 'She played such incredible tennis and she pushed me really hard to get this win,' said Sabalenka. 'I fight for every point like crazy. 'I'm super happy to see her healthy and back on track. I'm pretty sure that she will be back in the top 10 soon.' SABALENKA SHINES ✨ The world No.1 beats Emma Raducanu 7-6(6), 6-4 in a thrilling Centre Court battle#Wimbledon — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2025 For the second time in just over 24 hours, a leading British hope came into the press room with eyes red from tears, but, unlike Jack Draper, Raducanu will leave Wimbledon feeling she is closer to the very top rather than further away. 'It's hard to take a loss like that,' said Raducanu, who revealed she had sought solace in a locker room KitKat. 'At the same time, I'm playing Aryna, who is number one in the world, a great champion. I have to be proud of my effort today. 'It's nice of her to say that, but I think it was pretty clear the difference. In the big moments, she was able to convert, she was able to hit some incredible shots. I just need to keep working and get back to the drawing board and improve a lot more. 'It does give me confidence because I think the problem before was that I felt like I was gulfs away from the very top. Having a match like that where I had chances in both sets, it does give me confidence.' Unlike Draper, Raducanu is naturally at home on grass, with her exceptional ability to take the ball early, particularly on return, mitigating her lack of pure power. She gave Sabalenka a decent run for her money in their only previous meeting, in Indian Wells last spring, and a clean return winner off a second serve in the opening game showed the Belarusian that she very much meant business. Raducanu broke to lead 4-2 before ceding her advantage in a rush of errors – something she later blamed on problems with string tension in the indoor conditions. A remarkable 10th game saw Sabalenka fail to take seven set points, six of them through backhand errors, and the home crowd were on their feet when Raducanu broke to lead 6-5. But Sabalenka is a much stronger mental competitor these days and she played a classy game to break back before saving a set point in the tie-break with the coolest of drop shots. Raducanu dealt with the disappointment of losing the set extremely well and hit a purple patch to move into a 4-1 lead. She played her best tennis of the match to create a chance for the double break but just missed a forehand long, giving Sabalenka the chink of light she needed to power through to the next round. 'I don't think I could have made different choices, I think I should have just executed better,' added Raducanu, who will now turn her attention to the North American hard court swing. 'I'll probably find it tough to sleep tonight, or I'll be so exhausted and crash, I don't know. It's going to take me a few days to process that. But at the same time it really motivates me.'
North Wales Chronicle
6 minutes ago
- Climate
- North Wales Chronicle
Third heatwave could hit parts of UK by mid-July, Met Office says
The second weekend of July could see increasing heat and humidity and the potential for another period of hot weather which could last into the following week. Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said: 'Whilst it is difficult this far ahead to determine exactly how hot things could get next week and weekend, there is the potential that some parts of the country could reach heatwave criteria.' This follows two weekends of heatwave conditions for much of the country in the final weeks of June, which was the hottest on record across England, with Faversham, Kent, hitting nearly 36C last Tuesday. Looking for a weather forecast for Saturday? We've got all the details here in the 4cast 👇 — Met Office (@metoffice) July 4, 2025 To qualify as a heatwave, a location must reach or exceed a certain temperature for three consecutive days, 25C in the west and north and 28C in London and the surrounding counties. Ms Hutin said temperatures were expected to reach the high 20s in the South East on July 9, with the potential for low 30s on July 10. She said hot conditions were expected to continue into the weekend because of an area of high pressure building from the West then stretching across the South and drawing in warm air from the Atlantic and Azores. She said: 'Most likely it will be the South and East that see prolonged heat and thus could have another heatwave, but it is too soon to say exactly how high temperatures could get.' This weekend and the start of next week will be cooler than recent days, Ms Hutin added, with 'cloudier skies prevailing and bringing spells of rain at times, especially for western areas'. Following verification, temperatures peaked at 35.8 °C at Faversham on 1 July, making this the highest temperature reached so far this year. This surpasses the previous figure of 34.7 °C recorded at St James's Park, which was reported on the same day. — Met Office (@metoffice) July 4, 2025 'It will be drier overall in the East, though some drizzly outbreaks are still possible on Saturday, with showers on Sunday,' she said. Temperatures could reach 25C in the South East on Saturday, 24C on Sunday and 23C on Monday. Meanwhile, a yellow weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for rain across parts of Argyll and Bute, in Scotland, the south Highlands, Mull and Skye until Saturday afternoon, with up to 60mm of rain predicted and more than 100mm in mountain areas. The Environment Agency has issued flood alerts in Cumbria after heavy rain on Friday for the rivers Duddon, Crake and Mill Beck, and other watercourses, from Coniston to Barrow-in-Furness, including low lying areas around Ulpha, Duddon Bridge, Broughton-in-Furness, Kirkby-in-Furness, Dalton-in-Furness and Ulverston. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has a further six flood alerts in Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire and Arran, Easter Ross and Great Glen, Skye and Lochaber, west central Scotland and Wester Ross.
