About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023, according to a new Gallup poll.

Acceptance of same-sex marriage and relationships in the U.S. has flattened after more than two decades of steadily increasing support, with an ongoing decline among Republicans, according to a new Gallup poll.

About 65% of U.S. adults believe same-sex marriage should be legal, down slightly from 71% in 2022 and 2023.

Most of the change is due to dropping acceptance among Republicans. In the new survey, which was conducted in May, only 37% of Republicans say same-sex marriage should be legally valid, while 35% say gay and lesbian relations are “morally acceptable.”

The views of Democrats and independents are largely stable in the findings released Wednesday, with most in both groups saying same-sex marriage should be legal and that gay or lesbian relations are moral.

Idaho health officials are investigating how nearly 60 people got sick after drinking raw milk in the past two weeks.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced in a news release on Wednesday that most of the people reported being sick after drinking raw milk from two different milking operations in North Idaho and southern Idaho. The infections were reported starting May 19.

The state health agency didn't disclose the names of the dairies, but said they are collaborating with health officials "to identify and fix any potential sources of contamination."

Defense secretary’s latest interposition resulted in all-male, overwhelmingly white picks for promotion to admiralty

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, stripped nine navy officers including women and Black service members from a promotion list last month, according to a person familiar with the matter, resulting in an all-male, overwhelmingly white slate of 22 advancing as nominees to become one-star admirals.

Hegseth’s unusual intervention violated promotion rules designed to be merit-based and apolitical, the New York Times said on Tuesday, and extended the Trump administration’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the military.

The original promotion list included three women and two Black officers in addition to the two who remained, the newspaper said.

The United States is planning to impose a 12.5 per cent tariff on goods from Australia, alleging the country has failed to take action to prevent slavery and forced labour.

Anthony Albanese says any tariff on Australian exports to the US is "unjustified and inconsistent" with the free trade agreements between the two allies.

Former Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey says Donald Trump is convinced that tariffs are beneficial to the US.

Beijing says it is barring a group of New Zealand lawmakers from entering China for having visited Taiwan in May. It is the first time such a ban has been imposed on politicians from New Zealand.

The American investor and son-in-law of Donald Trump has sparked a major backlash in Tirana thanks to his proposed mega building project.

The flamingo has become an unlikely mascot of intensifying protests in Albania against a proposed resort backed by Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, which would encroach on the birds’ breeding ground.

On Tirana’s main boulevard, thousands of protesters gathered Wednesday for the fourth night of large-scale protests against the development. The crowd brandished Albanian flags, placards with quirky slogans and large, flamingo-shaped cardboard cut-outs on sticks.

“Albania is not for sale,” one sign said. “Where will they live now?” another read, accompanied by an image of the pink wading bird.

Now, eight years after Donald Trump’s forcible border separations came to an official halt following global outrage, an Associated Press investigation has found that the government has re-separated dozens of children from their families, despite a landmark legal settlement meant to keep them together.

Some of their parents have been locked in immigration detention facilities for months, others deported back to their home countries after being taken from their families once again.

In some cases, immigration officials conducting interior arrests deported people despite discovering they were legally off limits for removal, according to emails obtained by AP.

When Trump makes the nomination official, it will end Blanche’s two months serving in the role in an acting capacity since his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was fired. Since then, Blanche, Trump’s firebrand former personal attorney, has taken great pains to prove to the president that he is up for the job.

Over the past several weeks, Blanche has only garnered more favor at the White House. He secured indictments against some of the president’s personal foes like former FBI Director James Comey, rolled back gun control measures and issued subpoenas to journalists for their sources. He’s also announced sweeping fraud initiatives across the country, which work hand-in-hand with the White House’s “war on fraud.”

But critics, citing those same efforts, say that Blanche has effectuated the president’s personal and political agenda to use the Justice Department as his own attack mechanism.

Fears that push for ballroom spending could jeopardize $70bn funding for immigration enforcement

Senate Republicans on Wednesday formally dropped their attempt to spend $1bn on security improvements for Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, as it became clear the president’s demand for the money could jeopardize long-term funding for immigration enforcement.

The Senate judiciary committee had last month included funding for security improvements related to the new ballroom in a broader measure that would authorize $70bn in spending for agencies involved in Trump’s mass deportation campaign through the duration of his term.

On Wednesday, the committee released a revised text that no longer mentioned the money, which was included in legislation dubbed the Secure America Act that advanced on a party-line vote of 53-46 later that afternoon.

Stunning rebuke to president as lawmakers vote 215-208 for measure forcing him to seek congressional approval

The US House of Representatives delivered a stunning rebuke to Donald Trump over his war on Iran on Wednesday, as representatives backed a move to force him to seek approval from Congress or withdraw US forces.

The House voted 215 to 208 in favor of the war powers resolution, as four Republicans voted with Democrats.

Wednesday’s vote came nearly two weeks after House Republicans cancelled an earlier scheduled vote, on the grounds that they lacked the votes to defeat it.

Veteran journalist says executives pushed unverified claims and gave politicians a say in interviews

Pelley criticized the new leadership at CBS, adding: “Last month, 60 Minutes lost its DNA when our entire senior leadership and two of our best on-air correspondents were cruelly fired without cause. Good people were silenced because they stood up for our audience. They stood for fairness against the forces of political bias; they stood for professionalism against chaos.”

He continued: “For my part, new management has instructed me to inject falsehoods and bias into a politically sensitive story. I’ve been told to include assertions that are unverified. To date, in every case, I have managed to ignore these instructions or refuse them.

“Recently, politicians have been invited to choose correspondents for interviews on the broadcast. Giving politicians control over 60 Minutes interviews is not how this is done. Finally, incompetence and unprofessionalism in the new management have wreaked havoc. In a case involving one of my stories, the entire program came within 19 minutes of not getting on the air at all.”

Alarm after Elias Irizarry is hired to position in office that manages highly classified military operations

The Pentagon has appointed a rioter convicted for his role in 6 January, 2021 insurrection to a sensitive national security role dealing with counterterrorism, overriding insiders’ concerns about his past record.

Elias Irizarry, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in connection with the storming of the US Capitol, has been appointed to a position in the US Department of Defense’s special operations and low intensity conflict office which manages highly classified military operations, causing alarm among Pentagon officials.

The story was first reported by the Washington Post, which published a picture of Irizzary – holding what appeared to be a metal pole and wearing a pro-Donald Trump Make America Great Again (Maga) hat – looking over a wall on the day of the riot.