Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigned Sunday over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the U.K. ambassador to the U.S., citing the former's ties to Jeffrey Epstein as the reason for the controversy. Meanwhile, political tensions continue to rise in the U.S., with a Republican representative condemning a post by Donald Trump as racist and a Democratic senator accusing Trump of intending to subvert the upcoming midterm elections.
Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff, took responsibility for advising Prime Minister Starmer to appoint Mandelson, 72, to the diplomatic post in 2024, according to CBS News. "The decision to appoint Peter Mandelson was wrong. He has damaged our party, our country and trust in politics itself," McSweeney said in a statement.
In the U.S., Republican Rep. Mike Lawler criticized a post from Donald Trump that included a racist animation of Barack and Michelle Obama. "I think sometimes in our public discourse it is best to just say, 'I'm sorry,'" Lawler told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. Lawler added that he was taking the White House at its word that the post was a "mistake" made by a staffer, according to ABC News.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff also weighed in on the political climate, stating that Trump intends to take action to overturn the results of the 2026 midterm elections should Republicans lose seats in Congress. "I think Trump intends to try to subvert the elections," Schiff told ABC News. "And if he loses the vote ... he's prepared to try to take some kind of action to overturn the result, and we really shouldn't question that."
In other news, Fox News reported that North Korean authorities executed teenagers for watching the South Korean television series "Squid Game" and listening to K-pop, according to Amnesty International. The organization cited testimony from an escapee who said people, including schoolchildren, were executed for watching the popular survival drama series. The report also documented accounts of forced labor sentences and public humiliation for consuming South Korean media elsewhere in the country.
Additionally, Fox News reported on the mixed signals for Trump and the GOP in rural Virginia. President Donald Trump's poll numbers are varied, with some surveys showing him down as much as 19 points, while others show him up one point.
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