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The Future of the UK
Leaders join forces – seek to leave the UK

The leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have launched a joint campaign for independence from the UK following a historic meeting in Cardiff, the BBC reports. The three nations—all governed by nationalist administrations—state that they wish to leave the British union and instead seek EU membership.

However, the three leaders acknowledge that the process faces challenges; among other things, a number of constitutional issues must be resolved. The aim of Monday's meeting was to determine how to move the process forward.

"The citizens of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland have a right to self-government," said John Swinney, the leader of Scotland.

The leaders' position is set to be presented to Prime Minister Andy Burnham in London next month.

Trump’s USA  The President’s Team
Donald Trump holds off on appointing new press secretary


The White House press secretary’s chair remains empty, and according to President Donald Trump, it may stay that way for some time. The position has been vacant since Karoline Leavitt stepped down at the end of the summer. Instead, other members of the president's staff—such as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio—have been conducting press briefings.

On Sunday, Trump told reporters that this arrangement would continue.

"Do you know what we’re going to do for a while? We’re going to let cabinet secretaries from various departments handle the press conferences." 

The Climate Threat  El Niño
El Niño may be behind the lack of hurricanes in the Atlantic

Although it is normally peak hurricane season in the Atlantic, no such hurricanes have formed yet. The reason may be the weather phenomenon El Niño, AP reports.

El Niño causes dry air and a type of wind that makes it very difficult for a hurricane to form. Furthermore, the ocean has not warmed up as rapidly as the air above it.

In the Pacific, however, the effect is the opposite. So far, twice as many storms as normal have been recorded in the Pacific, and the hurricanes have lasted much longer than usual.