An MSP has had his Holyrood pass deactivated amid reports he placed a camera in a Scottish Parliament toilet.
Colin Smyth was suspended by Labour after being charged with possessing indecent images of children earlier this month. He is due to appear at Dumfries Sheriff Court at a later date.
The PA news agency understands that the South Scotland MSP is now facing a further charge from the police in relation to the allegations, first reported by the The Daily Record newspaper.
Ahead of Holyrood returning from recess next week, the parliament’s chief executive David McGill has informed members that Smyth’s pass has been deactivated “given the ongoing criminal investigation”. Smyth previously said he was co-operating with inquiries.
BBC Scotland has been told by a number of senior political figures that the Daily Record report is accurate.
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “Given the ongoing criminal investigation, the SPCB (Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body) took the decision this evening to deactivate Colin Smyth’s parliamentary pass.
“We have informed all building users at Holyrood.”
In an email sent to Holyrood staff, the Scottish Parliament’s chief Executive David McGill said: “We recognise the nature of the criminal charges and the ongoing investigation may be upsetting for colleagues and cause distress.
“We would therefore like to remind everyone who works at Holyrood or in constituency offices of the confidential support services that are available.”
Smyth has held several frontbench roles, most recently in April 2023, and previously served as Scottish Labour’s general secretary.
A Scottish Labour Party spokesperson said: “Swift action was taken after we became aware of these serious allegations. Colin Smyth MSP is an independent MSP.
“We cannot comment further on these deeply concerning developments while legal proceedings are ongoing.”
In a statement after his arrest, Smyth said: “These events have come as a shock and this is a deeply stressful time.”
South Carolina is asking the Supreme Court to let it enforce a ban on transgender students using restrooms at school aligned with their gender identity.
In an emergency appeal Thursday, the state asked the justices to lift a federal appeals court’s ruling blocking it from putting into effect a budget proviso that requires the state Department of Education to withhold some funding from districts that violate the policy.
South Carolina Solicitor General Thomas Hydrick acknowledged that the case implicates a question “fraught with emotions and differing perspectives.”
“That is all the more reason to defer to state lawmakers pending appeal,” he argued in the filing. “The decision was the South Carolina legislature’s to make. The end of this litigation will confirm that it made a valid one.”
The restriction was included in a spending bill for fiscal year 2024 to 2025, which expired in June. State lawmakers included it again in the 2025 to 2026 fiscal year spending bill, which went into effect July 1.
A transgender teenager, identified in court papers as John Doe, and his parents challenged the ban after he was suspended for using the boys’ bathroom at school. Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled in favor of the student, allowing him to use the school’s boys bathrooms as the lawsuit proceeds.
Hydrick said that the bathroom policy is “designed to protect the privacy and safety of all students in a space that has historically been recognized as intimate and vulnerable.”
The request comes as the Supreme Court has dealt several blows to LGBTQ issues in recent months.
In June, the justices ruled 6-3 along ideological lines to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The court also allowed the Trump administration to begin enforcing a ban on transgender troops serving openly in the military in May.
Next term, the justices are set to weigh a pair of cases regarding state laws banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s school sports teams.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner beat world number 36 Alexei Popyrin in straight sets to secure a safe passage through to round three of the US Open.
The world number one, 24, had lost just four games in a dominant first-round victory over Vit Kopriva.
And Sinner produced another efficient display against Australian Popyrin, who upset Novak Djokovic in the third round of last year’s tournament but did not threaten a repeat here.
The Italian broke Popyrin’s serve early in each of the three sets and wrapped up a clinical 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium in just over two hours.
“I felt like we both didn’t serve great but I was returning very well, especially on the second serve,” said Sinner, who progressed despite only landing 51% of his first serves in.
“I’m very happy about today. Obviously I’m aiming to improve the serve but, about the rest, I feel quite comfortable.”
Sinner will face Denis Shapovalov, the 27th seed from Canada, in the third round.
President Trump is lifting a tariff exemption for small packages, subjecting billions of dollars in foreign products to import taxes after months of delay.
The White House is canceling the de minimis trade exemption starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, a move that significantly increases the scale of Trump’s trade reforms.
The new tariffs will apply to all countries, extending them from China and Hong Kong, where they’ve been in effect since May, to all U.S. trading partners.
The tariffs will apply to millions of commercial packages sent to the U.S. each month that are valued at or below $800.
U.S. senior administration officials told reporters Thursday afternoon the move will help combat drug trafficking, piracy and counterfeit goods and will generate significant revenues.
“President Trump’s ending of the deadly de minimis loophole will save thousands of American lives by restricting the flow of narcotics and other dangerous and prohibited items, add up to $10 billion a year in tariff revenues to our Treasury, create thousands of jobs, and defend against billions of dollar more in losses in counterfeiting, piracy, and intellectual property theft,” Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro said.
ESPN’s 2025 Summer Forecast has answered some of the league’s biggest questions heading into the NBA’s 80th season and gave its predictions for the league’s biggest questions and awards, as well as the East and West standings. They will now round out the forecast with conference champion and Finals winners.
This season, the Oklahoma City Thunder will look to become the first back-to-back champions since 2018 and break the streak of seven straight different champions, but there will be plenty of challengers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, after boasting the second-best regular-season record last season, only behind the Thunder, will be battling in an injury-riddled Eastern Conference. However, the New York Knicks, after hiring Mike Brown as their new coach this offseason, also have plenty of postseason experience to push even further.
We asked our experts to rank their top choices for the East and West — and the eventual NBA champion — with a first-place vote receiving five points, a second-place vote receiving three and a third-place vote receiving one.
The Cavs aren’t exactly starting the season with momentum, with starters Darius Garland and Max Strus out for extended periods following offseason foot surgeries. But the conference finals are a long way off, and if they are healthy, their full roster should put them as favorites.
One thing that must be considered in the current era is that the Knicks — unlike the Cavs — are currently under the second apron, which gives them significantly more flexibility to add to or adjust their roster during the season. The Knicks are somewhat settled with this current roster, but are in a position to go after a big name if one becomes available before the February deadline. That could be a factor down the line.
After years of staying on the sidelines when it comes to trades, the Magic’s uber-aggressive four-first-rounder deal to get Desmond Bane was quite a gambit. It only makes sense if this Orlando roster is good enough to compete for a conference finals berth. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t — we’ll have to see in seven months. — Brian Windhorst
It’s somewhat of a surprise that the Rockets aren’t the favorite here to stop Oklahoma City in its bid to become the NBA’s first repeat champions since the Warriors. Considering a strong offseason that brought aboard arguably the league’s best scorer in Kevin Durant to play on a roster already teeming with young talent, the Rockets should put up a challenge to the defending champions, who ran away with the votes this summer.
The Nuggets earned the No. 2 spot in this poll based on how they took the eventual champions to seven games in last season’s Western Conference semifinals, not necessarily on their active offseason. They traded Michael Porter Jr. for Cameron Johnson in addition to acquiring Jonas Valanciunas, Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr.
But there’s something to be said about continuity.
The Thunder made it a priority this offseason to lock up their uber-talented trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. In fact, OKC is set to bring back 14 players off last season’s 15-man roster, making the Thunder high favorites to repeat as Western Conference champions. — Michael C. Wright
According to our panel, the probability is high that the Thunder will end the league’s streak of seven straight seasons with a different champion. It’s reasonable to believe that Oklahoma City will be an improved team after its title run, based purely on the natural development of its young core’s talent that complements 27-year-old reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
However, the 2023 champion Nuggets are seen as the biggest challenger to the Thunder’s repeat. After pushing Oklahoma City to seven games in the West semifinals, Denver maneuvered this summer to provide Nikola Jokic the deepest supporting cast of his career. The Thunder proved last season that previous experience of a deep playoff run is not a prerequisite to win a championship. The Cavaliers hope to make a similar breakthrough for the East, having kept their core four together despite a disappointing second-round exit following their 64-win regular season.
The Rockets haven’t been out of the first round since trading James Harden five years ago. But adding future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant to the core of a franchise that has made double-digit jumps in the wins category in each of the past two seasons has put Houston into the contenders conversation. — Tim MacMahon
Newcastle United are closing in on the signing of Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade in a move that could have a huge impact on Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander Isak.
The Germany international, 23, is understood to be en route to Tyneside after a deal was struck with the Bundesliga side.
Woltemade, who has also attracted interest from Bayern Munich this summer, will undergo a medical ahead of completing a move to St James’ Park.
There is no confirmation of the fee, but a source suggested it would constitute a club record after Newcastle previously spent £63m to make Isak the most expensive player in their history three years ago when he arrived from Real Sociedad.
Isak, of course, remains determined to join Liverpool and Woltemade’s move could yet give the champions encouragement to return to the table in the final days of the window after having a £110m bid rejected last month.
In a statement last week, Newcastle did not foresee the conditions of sale being met for the Swede – namely securing two quality strikers – as well as receiving an offer from Liverpool that actually gave the club a decision to make.
However, the Magpies have since struck a deal for Woltemade, who would be viewed as a centre-forward capable of leading the line right now, as well as a player with immense potential to develop further, which feels like a significant first step.
The move caps a remarkable 12 months for the Bremen-born frontman, who has two caps for his country.
Woltemade was not even a regular starter at first for Stuttgart after joining the club on a free transfer from Werder Bremen last summer. But the 6ft 6in striker went on to score 17 goals in 33 games, including the opener in the German Cup final as he won the first major trophy of his career.
He then lit up the Under-21 Euros last month and finished the tournament as top scorer with six goals as Germany reached the final, where they lost 3-2 to England.
With qualities likened to Jamal Musiala and Lionel Messi, the towering Woltemade was called a “two-metre Messi-Musiala” by Stuttgart captain Atakan Karazor in an interview back in February, external
“He can control the ball, but at the same time he can also dribble like a 1.6 metre dribbler,” he said of his club team-mate. “He’s a player who is two metres tall but he has technique like Messi.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) former chief medical officer on Thursday said her resignation was spurred by the Trump administration’s decision to oust Director Susan Monarez, describing it as a last straw.
Debra Houry, the chief medical center, also said three other CDC officials who resigned on Wednesday did so after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. pushed out Monarez.
“We were going to see if she was able to weather the storm. And when she was not, we were done,” Debra Houry told The Associated Press.
She and the other senior officials announced their exit from CDC leadership roles as the Trump administration grapples with mass firings and widespread criticism over misinformation tied to vaccines.
Kennedy on Thursday said the agency needed to be fixed as he defended his role in the resignations. He also said the CDC, which has been at the center of a battle over vaccines, needed to get on board with the Trump administration’s policies.
During a Thursday interview on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” Kennedy said he would take a deeper look at possible “malaise” at the CDC agency.
He told the outlet, “we need strong leadership that will go in there and that will be able to execute on President Trump’s broad ambitions.”
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the former head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases who was among the officials who resigned on Wednesday, said the secretary is challenging factual scientific narratives.
“I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health,” he wrote in his resignation letter, which was posted to X.
“The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people,” he added.
Daskalakis also noted that, “major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense. “
