Photos show the rain on Day 3 after the Wimbledon heatwave
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Powys County Times
8 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
MP demands answers over travel chaos at Wimbledon
Wimbledon's local MP has demanded urgent action over travel chaos that left fans facing cancellations, delays and overcrowding. Paul Kohler, the Labour MP for Wimbledon, posted a letter to X on Wednesday addressed to the Commissioner of Transport for London, raising concerns about repeated issues on the District Line, including signal failures and a fire alert at Southfields – the station closest to the All England Club. He said the problems had severely affected the journeys of residents, commuters and visitors, warning: 'Attendees are now being caught up in cancellations and delays.' I'm acutely aware of ongoing issues with District Line services, affecting both my constituents & visitors during this busy period. I've contacted TfL for urgent updates on recent issues & requested a meeting to discuss improving reliability of services in short & longer term. — Paul Kohler🔶MP for Wimbledon (@PaulKohlerSW19) July 2, 2025 Mr Kohler said he had been told Wimbledon station was 'very crowded' on Tuesday and called on TfL to outline what extra support is in place to keep services running smoothly during the rest of the tournament. On Thursday, Campaign group Save Wimbledon Park, which opposes the All England Club's expansion plans onto nearby parkland, said the tournament's impact on the local area goes beyond the grounds themselves. 'We love the tennis – we do,' the group posted on X. 'But there is a real cost to being taken over, even for just two weeks a year. 'Streets are closed, bus routes diverted, parking a nightmare, tube travel ridiculous and traffic at gridlock.' We love the tennis – we do. But there is a real cost to being taken over, even for just two weeks a year. Streets are closed, bus routes diverted, parking a nightmare, tube travel ridiculous and traffic at gridlock. — Save Wimbledon Park (@SaveWimbldnPark) July 3, 2025 A TfL spokesperson said: 'We apologise to customers affected by the disruption on the District line, which is due to a track fault at Tower Hill. 'Our engineers are working hard to rectify the fault as soon as possible and restore a good service. 'District line customers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys and to check before they travel using TfL Journey Planner or the TfL Go app.' Despite the travel disruption earlier in the week, conditions have brightened up for day four of the Championships. Sunshine and 24C temperatures returned to south-west London on Thursday, after rain caused delays and sent fans scrambling for umbrellas on Wednesday. On Centre Court, Novak Djokovic continues his bid for an eighth Wimbledon title as he faces British number three Dan Evans in the second round. World number eight Iga Swiatek also returns to action, taking on American qualifier Caty McNally. Number One Court hosts men's top seed Jannik Sinner against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic, before teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva plays Italy's Lucia Bronzetti.
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
US supreme court to weigh transgender student sports bans in key rights case
The US supreme court announced on Thursday that it will consider a bid by West Virginia and Idaho to enforce their state laws banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public sector schools. The decision means the court is prepared to take up another civil rights challenge to Republican-backed restrictions on transgender people. The justices took up the state appeals of lower court decisions siding with a transgender students who sued. The students argued that the laws discriminate based on sex and transgender status in violation of the US constitution's 14th amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law as well as the Title IX civil rights law that bars sex-based discrimination in education. The supreme court is expected to hear arguments in the matter during its next term, which begins in October. A total of 27 states, most of them Republican-governed, have passed laws in recent years restricting participation in sports by transgender people. The Idaho and West Virginia laws designate sports teams at public schools according to 'biological sex' and bar 'students of the male sex' from female athletic teams. The issue of transgender rights is a flashpoint in what has become a culture war in the US. Donald Trump, upon taking back the White House, has signed executive orders declaring that the federal government will officially recognize only two sexes: male and female, as well as attempting to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports. Trump also rescinded orders by his predecessor, Joe Biden, combating discrimination against gay and transgender people. The supreme court in a major ruling in June upheld a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors. The 6-3 ruling powered by the court's conservative majority found that the ban does not violate the US constitution's 14th amendment promise of equal protection, as challengers to the law had argued. The challengers had argued that the measure unlawfully discriminated against these adolescents based on their sex or transgender status. The supreme court's three liberal justices dissented. The supreme court in May also allowed Trump's ban on transgender people serving in the military to take effect. The challenge to the West Virginia law was brought by Becky Pepper-Jackson and the student's mother in 2021 after Jackson's middle school barred Pepper-Jackson from joining the girls' cross country and track teams due to the state's ban. A federal judge ruled in Jackson's favor at an early stage of the case, but later reversed course and sided with the state. The supreme court in 2023 refused the state's bid to enforce the law as litigation proceeded. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US circuit court of appeals in April threw out the judge's decision, ruling that the law's exclusion of Jackson from girls' teams violates the Title IX law. The state law treats transgender girls differently from other girls, 'which is - literally - the definition of gender identity discrimination,' the 4th circuit ruling stated, adding that this is also discrimination on the basis of sex under Title IX. The Idaho challenge was brought by Lindsay Hecox, a transgender Boise State University student who had sought to join the women's track and cross-country teams, but failed to qualify. Hecox has instead participated in sports clubs, including soccer and running, at the public university. A federal judge blocked Idaho's law in 2020, finding that Idaho's law likely violates the constitutional equal protection guarantee. The San Francisco-based 9th US circuit court of appeals upheld the judge's action in 2023 and, in an amended ruling, in 2024. The measure unlawfully discriminates based on sex and transgender status, the 9th circuit concluded. Reuters contributed reporting.
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gavin Newsom meekly accepts Trump's offer to 'bail him out' of LA riot damage
California Gov. Gavin Newsom swallowed his pride and officially applied for disaster relief assistance from President Donald Trump. In a statement on the approval for aid, Trump's Small Business Administration (SBA) said it took weeks for Newsom to ask for federal disaster relief in the midst of violent and destructive pro-illegal immigration riots in Los Angeles last week. SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler approved $2 million in an Economic Injury Disaster Loan for businesses to apply for in order to support their normal operating expenses like payroll, rent and utilities. Newsom spoke disparagingly about Trump and his administration's reaction to the riots as leaders in the state sought to downplay the violence and bump up the reason for unrest – mass deportation policies and crack down on illegal immigration. Loeffler said the California Democrat finally asked for the administration to 'bail him out.' 'After weeks of no real solutions and inflammatory social media statements, Governor Newsom finally requested federal disaster relief to bail him out – again,' reads a Tuesday statement from the SBA. The statement claims that normal expenses could 'not be met' by California businesses 'due to the destruction enabled by Newsom's failed governance.' 'Unlike Gavin Newsom, the Trump Administration will always put the American people above partisan political stunts,' the statement concludes. Newsom's office did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment Thursday morning. Storefronts and businesses in Los Angeles were ransacked, robbed, mobbed and faced with vandalism and destruction by thousands of rioters who took to the streets last month in protest against Trump's anti-illegal immigration policies and specifically the growing number of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Rioters threw rocks and other weapons at law enforcement and set fires while waving Mexican flags. It's estimated that they caused $1 billion in damages to downtown Los Angeles. Loeffler said on her X account on Tuesday that Newsom last week requested federal aid to help small businesses recover from the 'migrant riots.' Pro-immigration rioters took to the streets of Los Angeles engaged in violent clashes with law enforcement last month Small businesses impacted by the riots can apply from EIDL loans up to $2 million. 'Governor Newsom allowed a mob to rampage Los Angeles – standing with violent rioters, paid protestors, and criminal illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens,' Loeffler wrote in a statement on the approved relief request. 'Despite an estimated $1 billion in damage, he refused federal relief for weeks, insisting that the riots were peaceful even as small business owners stood in the rubble,' said Loeffler. She insisted that while the SBA is sending aid to 'innocent victims,' Newsom should be held accountable for his 'state-sanctioned crisis.'
