First Thing: Leavitt departs White House press secretary role with Trump’s ratings at historic low
Youngest White House press secretary in history says she wants more time to ‘be the best mom’. Plus, are we losing the battle against AI slop music?
Good morning. A familiar face in Donald Trump’s administration is departing, as the US president announced that Karoline Leavitt was stepping down to spend more time with her family. The president said Leavitt, who became the youngest person to serve as White House press secretary on his return to office in January 2025, “will now be one of my top outside advisers”.
Trump’s most prominent spokesperson is departing while his approval rating is at a historic low, as voters express discontent over rising prices and a war in Iran that has no end in sight.
Why did Leavitt say she was stepping away? Leavitt wrote: “The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy and attention required of the White House press secretary – and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life.”
How will Leavitt’s time in the role be remembered? At 27 when she was appointed, Leavitt was the youngest White House press secretary in history. And when she announced she was pregnant in December last year, she became the first ever expectant press secretary. She has faced criticism for saying “Gen Z and those younger than me have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths”, and for attacking reporters trying to hold the White House to account.
Reports USS Abraham Lincoln sailors have tried to jump overboard during extended deployment
Military families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran.
Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard, as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land – a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times.
What are conditions said to be like onboard? In April, there was a flurry of public criticism about dire conditions onboard the carrier. Photos emerged of poor-quality and rationed food, and there were reports of water shortages, moldy showers and broken laundry machines. Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, dismissed the accounts as “more fake news”.
How long has the ship been at sea? The warship left San Diego on 21 November and was originally intended for the Pacific but was redirected to the Middle East once the US-Israel war with Iran began. Since then, the 5,000-plus crew has had only two days on land. The deployment was scheduled to end in May but has been extended amid Trump’s ongoing war.
Greenland forces Trump-linked US oil firm to delay drilling
Greenland authorities have forced a US oil company connected to Donald Trump, Greenland Energy, to postpone drilling wells in the Arctic territory, defying claims by the US president’s envoy that Americans could be extracting crude by next year.
After Trump’s imperialist threats, tensions have been rising on Greenland’s eastern coast. The oil company brought drilling equipment onshore in July without permission, drawing a “strong warning” from the government. Just a week before Greenland Energy intended to sink its first wells into the tundra, the government said on Thursday: “The necessary regulatory process cannot be completed.”
In other news …
An army Apache helicopter has crashed in a central Texas field, killing both people onboard and sparking a wildfire that forced several homes to be evacuated.
Donald Trump has been sued over plans to offer a subscription service charging up to $100,000 a month for early access to his Truth Social posts.
A grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner on first-degree murder charges in the deaths of his parents, the director and actor Rob Reiner and the photographer Michele Singer Reiner.
Clacton byelection polls are open in England, with the Trump ally Nigel Farage up against a record slew of fringe and novelty candidates. Major parties have boycotted the contest, which was sparked when the Reform UK leader resigned in an attempt to address complaints over a deepening scandal about gifts he received.
Israeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror.
Stat of the day: San Francisco-area estate sells for $70m in sign of AI-fueled wealth explosion
A luxury Lake Como-inspired estate in the San Francisco Bay area has sold to a buyer “in the AI world” for a record $70m, in the latest sign of a new tech wealth boom that is pushing home prices to extraordinary heights in the region.
The Filter Recommends: The five best portable coolers in the US
Tim Gee tested 15 top-rated coolers from Yeti, Oyster, REI and more to find the options that offer plenty of chill for your next beach day, camping trip or afternoon in the back yard.
Don’t miss this: Are we losing the battle against machine-made music?
It seems incredible now, but in the UK in the 1980s the Musicians’ Union tried to ban drum machines and synthesizers, now an integral part of any music production suite. As Jason Lamphier explores, the current tech landscape is again making huge changes to the ways we make and listen to music, as AI slop is creeping into the charts and record labels scramble to adapt to a new normal in which hits can be made at the click of a button.
… or this: A bungled bomb plot in Poland exposed a spy – but whose spy was he?
When the exiled Russian opposition campaigner Igor Rogov was accused of working for the Kremlin, his friends were shocked. Could this young activist have really been an undercover agent? Shaun Walker investigates.
Climate check: Trump administration pulls support for annual Arctic environmental report
The Trump administration has pulled its support for an annual report on environmental changes across the Arctic, a region that is heating up four times faster than the global average due to the climate crisis.
Last Thing: Pet goose alerts sleeping Texas family to fire
A pet goose is being credited with helping save a Texas family’s animals after sounding a honking alarm as a fire tore through their barn. The family say they are “extremely grateful” to four-month-old “Goosey”.
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