LONDON (AP) — A woman who drove a Land Rover into a tea party outside a London primary school celebrating the last day of classes in 2023, killing two 8-year-old girls and injuring several other people, was charged Friday with dangerous driving, authorities said.
Prosecutors said they decided to charge Claire Freemantle, 49, with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and seven counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after the Metropolitan Police reopened its investigation and discovered new evidence.
The London police force apologized for how it initially treated the crash and said it had referred its own officers to a watchdog agency looking into police misconduct.
Freemantle was originally not charged after prosecutors said she had an epileptic seizure. She had issued a statement expressing her “deepest sorrow” but said she had no recollection of what occurred.
Defense lawyers questioned why prosecutors reversed their original decision not to charge Freemantle and said she will plead not guilty when she makes her first court appearance June 16 in Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
It's not clear what new evidence police found, but the reinvestigation came after complaints by the parents of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau, who were killed in the crash outside the private Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon, south London, on July 6, 2023.
The driver plowed through a fence and into the side of the school building. More than a dozen people were treated for injuries at the scene and 10, including several pupils, were taken to the hospital for treatment.
A Land Rover Defender inside the grounds of The Study Preparatory School in Camp Road, Wimbledon, south London, on July 6, 2023. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)
President Donald Trump's administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate on Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran’s oil tankers from getting out to sea.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent winces at the allure of easy money — whether it’s lottery tickets, buy now, pay later loans or the promise of a crypto windfall — warning that the get-rich-quick mindset often leads Americans farther from financial stability, not closer to it.
“There are a lot of young people, mostly young men, going to blue-collar construction jobs, playing the lottery. It drives me crazy,” Bessent said in an interview.
”The best thing you can do is not play the lottery,” he said — rather, people should invest and “then watch it grow.”
Bessent spoke about the basics of building a workable budget and saving for the future at the tail end of Financial Literacy Month, an initiative the billionaire hedge fund manager has made a priority since joining Trump’s administration, driven by a childhood marred by poverty.
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President Trump sang the praises of King Charles III after the monarch’s state visit this week. He even lifted some tariffs on Scotch whisky as a favor to the British monarch.
The king delivered a diplomatic master-class on the trip, mixing praise for his host with subtle criticism. It’s unclear, though, whether it will make a major difference to a trans-Atlantic relationship troubled by divisions over issues including the Iran war.
“In the short term probably yes, in the long term probably no,” said Kristofer Allerfeldt, a University of Exeter professor specializing in American history. But he said Charles had “definitely clawed back some of the prestige of the monarchy” in his homeland with his assured performance.
“He’s done us proud,” Allerfeldt said.
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The former Democratic president is wading into the midterms, making his first political endorsement of the 2026 cycle by backing Keisha Lance Bottoms for the state’s top job.
Bottoms served as Biden’s senior adviser for public engagement after her tenure as Atlanta mayor.
In a one-minute video promoting her candidacy, Biden praised her track record as mayor and said “those same qualities that made her a great mayor made her invaluable to our administration — smart, focused, gets things done.”
“She handled it all with steady and thoughtful leadership,” Biden said in the video. “That’s the definition of battle-tested.”
When Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was questioned by senators during his confirmation hearing about his vision for implementing President Trump’s mass deportation agenda, he said his goal was to keep his department off the front pages of the news.
To some degree, he has. Gone are the social media video clips of now-retired Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino clashing with protesters. Mullin’s predecessor, Kristi Noem, made her first trip as secretary to New York City to make arrests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In contrast, Mullin went to North Carolina to review hurricane recovery efforts.
The Republican administration appears to be recalibrating its approach to a centerpiece policy that helped bring Trump back to the White House, moving in many ways away from aggressive, public-facing tactics toward a quieter approach to enforcement. Despite that shift, the administration insists it’s not backing down from its lofty deportation goals.
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Many Republicans who have been uneasy with Trump’s war in Iran emphasized that there would be a May 1 deadline for Congress to intervene. But the date is now set to pass with no action from GOP lawmakers who continue to defer to the White House.
Under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize the use of force within 60 days — a deadline that falls on Friday — or within 90 days if the president asks for an extension. But Congress made no attempt at enforcing that requirement, leaving town for a week on Thursday after the Senate rejected a Democratic attempt to halt the war for a sixth time.
The Trump administration has shown no interest in seeking congressional approval at all. It is arguing that the deadlines set by the law don’t apply because the war in Iran effectively ended when a ceasefire began in early April.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Thursday he doesn’t plan on a vote to authorize force in Iran or otherwise weigh in.
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President Donald Trump granted a key approval Thursday for a major new oil pipeline from Canada into the U.S. that’s been dubbed “Keystone Light” over its similarities to a contentious project blocked by the Biden administration.
The three-foot-wide (1 meter) Bridger Pipeline Expansion would carry up to 550,000 barrels (87,400 cubic meters) of oil a day from Canada through Montana and Wyoming, where it would link with another pipeline.
The pipeline needs additional state and federal environmental approvals before construction, which company officials expect to start next year. Environmentalists hope to stop the project over worries that the pipeline could break and spill.
At peak volume, the 650-mile (1,050-kilometer) pipeline would move two-thirds as much oil as the better-known Keystone XL pipeline that got partially built before President Joe Biden, citing climate change, canceled its permit on the day he took office in 2021.
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Federal prosecutors released a video Thursday showing the moment authorities say a man armed with guns and knives tried to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and attempt to kill Trump.
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, posted the video on social media amid questions over whose bullet struck a Secret Service officer as Cole Tomas Allen ran through security with a long gun toward the hotel ballroom packed with journalists, administration officials and others.
Prosecutors had previously claimed the agent was shot in the bullet-resistant vest during the melee, but had not confirmed it was Allen who shot the agent. Pirro, however, said Thursday that there is no evidence that the officer was hit by friendly fire.
Allen was injured but was not shot during the Saturday night attack at the Washington Hilton, which disrupted one of the highest-profile annual events in the nation’s capital.
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The Trump administration is arguing that the war in Iran has already ended because of the ceasefire that began in early April, an interpretation that would allow the White House to avoid the need to seek congressional approval.
The statement furthers an argument laid out by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during testimony in the Senate earlier Thursday, when he said the ceasefire effectively paused the war. Under that rationale, the administration has not yet met the requirement mandated by a 1973 law to seek formal approval from Congress for military action that extends beyond 60 days.
A senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the administration’s position, said for purposes of that law, “the hostilities that began on Saturday, Feb. 28 have terminated.” The official said the U.S. military and Iran have not exchanged fire since the two-week ceasefire that began April 7.
While the ceasefire has since been extended, Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. Navy is maintaining a blockade to prevent Iran’s oil tankers from getting out to sea.
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President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump signs a presidential permit regarding pipeline construction in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
