A recent study showed that tests for sick newborns that look at their full genetic blueprints are nearly twice as good at finding genetic problems as narrower, more commonly used tests

Louisiana's Republican-led legislature Tuesday passed a ban on gender-affirming care for most minors in the state, sending the bill to a Democratic governor who has signaled opposition to the legislation but faces a GOP supermajority with the numbers to override his veto power.

The president of the Paris Olympic organizing committee says the operating budget for the 2024 Games is “under control.”

High street fashion retailer H&M has joined other companies in charging shoppers who return items purchased online. Customers must now pay £1.99 to return parcels either in store or online, with the cost of the return being deducted from their refund. Rival high street stores including Zara, Boohoo, Uniqlo and Next already charge for online returns, with retail experts predicting that even more are likely to follow suit. During the pandemic, when online shopping inevitably soared in popularity, customers became increasingly more reliant on returning items when they did not fit. However, this also led to a rise in people buying items in bulk and returning almost all those items, some of them worn. While most online and high street retailers do not formally announce the move to charge for returns, many have introduced the change under the radar, with H&M implementing the return fee this summer. Business analysts have told the BBC that other retailers are likely to do the same. "It’s interesting that companies seem to be doing it by stealth, but it’s a sensible thing to be doing," retail expert Jonathan De Mello told the outlet. "It makes economic sense, as it discourages shoppers from bulk buying online products and then returning the majority of them. That’s been a real problem for companies." While H&M shoppers might be disappointed in the extra returns fee, added De Mello, most might understand why a company would need to make this decision, especially when it comes to the environment. Many shoppers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of deliveries and returns, from courier vans to wasted packaging. Retail expert and analyst Natalie Berg wrote on Twitter/X that retailers have “created a monster” with free returns. “​​H&M charging for returns. Retailers have created a monster with free returns. It makes financial and environmental sense to put an end to this ‘buy to try’ mentality.” But Berg pointed out that customers who have signed up to H&M membership would be exempt from the extra fee for returning items. “This is actually a really delicate way to tier your customers,” Berg said of the membership scheme. “Slowly climb down from costly promises by limiting those benefits to loyalty members. Retailers have become too generous over the past decade. Save that generosity for your most valuable customers.” Read More Inside London’s first Vogue World: Thong leotards and Anna Wintour’s VIP assembly line Voguewashing London Fashion Week won’t pay the wages of Britain’s young fashion designers Bridesmaid who “didn’t love” her dress spends 35 years wearing it around the world Meghan Markle praised for mixing high-fashion with affordable pieces Vogue World wowed but won’t pay the wages of young fashion designers Ukrainian designers prove beauty can come from darkness at London Fashion Week

When United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visits the White House on Thursday, he hopes a shared perspective on Ukraine and a new push for economic partnership can reinforce what has been a steady, if rather business-like, working relationship.

Donald Trump has moved to sever Georgia case from the defendants seeking a speedy trial, arguing that it would violate his right to a fair process. “President Trump moves the Court to sever his case from those of his co-defendants who have demanded a speedy trial ... and who have a scheduled trial date of October 23, 2023,” lawyer Steven Sadow wrote in a filing on Thursday. The filing states that the timeline wouldn’t allow for the counsel to “have sufficient time to prepare President Trump’s case”. “Requiring less than two months preparation time to defend a 98-page indictment, charging 19 defendants, with 41 various charges including a RICO conspiracy charge with 161 Overt Acts, Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, False Statements and Writings, Forgery, Influencing Witnesses, Computer Crimes, Conspiracy to Defraud the State, and other offenses would violate President Trump’s federal and state constitutional rights to a fair trial and due process of law,” Mr Sadow adds. Mr Trump’s motion comes after two of his codefendants in the election subversion case have asked the judge to sever their trials from the rest of the accused – including the former president. Lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro have both requested speedy trials in the case. On Wednesday, they each formally requested that their cases be separated from the wider indictment, something that – if granted – would prevent Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from holding one trial for all 19 defendants at once. DA Willis previously revealed her plans to hold one trial for all the accused this October. In requesting speedy trials, Georgia state law now requires Ms Powell and Mr Chesebro’s trials to begin before early November. Judge Scott McAfee has already ordered Mr Chesebro’s trial to start on 23 October, while Ms Powell’s request is pending. Mr Trump is against such a hasty timeline, employing his longtime legal tactic of attempting to slow things down and drag out the process until after the 2024 election. But now, if the cases are severed, this could lead to delays in a wider trial for the remaining defendants, including Mr Trump. The requests from Ms Powell and Mr Chesebro mark the first attempts from the defendants to try to break up the massive case into smaller individual trials. Their respective motions were filed on Wednesday as the defendants and the prosecution work to set the framework for the process. Ms Powell and Mr Chesebro both deny all wrongdoing in the case. In her filing, lawyers for Ms Powell said that she “did not represent President Trump or the Trump campaign” in connection to the 2020 election and didn’t have an “engagement agreement” with Mr Trump or his campaign. “She appears on no pleadings for Trump or the Campaign,” the lawyers wrote. “She appeared in no courtrooms or hearings for Trump or the Campaign. She had no contact with most of her purported conspirators and rarely agreed with those she knew or spoke with.” Her insistence comes despite Mr Trump saying in the middle of November 2020, shortly after he lost the election, that he had “added” Ms Powell to his “great team” of attorneys working on legal challenges to the election results. When Ms Powell subsequently shared bizarre conspiracy theories that millions of votes had been flipped in an international plot to take down Mr Trump, his campaign removed her from the legal team and announced that she was “practising law on her own”. Now, her lawyers have also tried to distance herself from the other attorneys charged in the Georgia case, saying that she “went her own way” following the 2020 election and that “many of her purported coconspirators publicly shunned and disparaged Ms Powell beginning in November 2020”. The filing also argued that her legal career had shown her adherence to “integrity” and “the rule of law” while pushing the baseless claim amplified by many on the right that retired General Michael Flynn was the subject of “charges completely concocted against him by a politicized FBI”. Also on Wednesday, Mr Chesebro’s lawyers requested that the judge push Ms Willis to “disclose” the names of the 30 unindicted co-conspirators included in the indictment. Mr Chesebro was behind Mr Trump’s plan to put forward fake electors to win the electoral college and he argued that he needs the identities of the individuals in order to prepare his defence in the case. On Wednesday morning, Ms Willis filed a motion requesting that Judge McAfee advise the defendants in the case of the consequences of requesting a speedy trial, noting the demands on their procedural and evidentiary rights. “By filing their speedy trial demands in this case, the Defendants have personally, willfully and deliberately narrowed numerous options that would otherwise be available to them under Georgia law,” the filing states. Read More Trump moves to ditch Georgia co-defendants and dodge televised court appearance after not guilty plea - live Why Biden is taking the short stairs on Air Force One Proud Boy Joe Biggs sentenced to 17 years in prison for Jan 6 seditious conspiracy

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday on optimism that a deal to avoid a catastrophic U.S.

Joey Votto had a very emotional day during what could be his final game with the Reds. But before leaving, he made sure to show the fans his love for all of their support through the years.

Even skilled cooks rely on shortcuts from time to time. Shop-bought sun-dried tomato sauce is the secret weapon in this speedy seafood supper, ready in just 40 minutes. Using frozen prawns also minimises on food waste and ensures you always have the ingredients to hand. King prawn pappardelle Recipe by: Aldi Serves: 2 Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 180g pack frozen king prawns 8 sheets lasagne pasta 1 small red onion 1 courgette 1 clove garlic 1 lemon 150g tub stir-in sun-dried tomato sauce 60g lighter creme fraiche ½ tsp dried oregano ½ tsp chilli powder 1 heaped tsp paprika 60ml white wine 30ml olive oil Sea salt To garnish: Black pepper Basil leaves Method: Defrost the prawns, then drain and pat dry. Half fill a large roasting tin with boiling water and add 15ml olive oil. Soak the sheets of pasta for 10 minutes to soften. Remove them and cut each sheet into 3 strips lengthways. Put the pasta to one side. Don’t overlap the strips, as they will stick together. Peel and finely chop the red onion. Peel and mince the garlic. Grate the courgette. Cut the lemon in half. Juice one half and use the other half as a garnish. In a large frying pan, sauté the onion and garlic gently in the olive oil for 4 minutes. Add the prawns and sauté for another 4 minutes. Add the white wine, chilli powder, paprika, oregano and the lemon juice and gently cook for 4 minutes. Add the stir-in sauce and the grated courgette, cooking for another 4 minutes. Add the crème fraîche and stir through. Cook the pasta strips in some salted boiling water with a splash of olive oil for 5 to 6 minutes until just cooked, then drain carefully. Divide the pasta between 2 plates and spoon over the sauce. Garnish with some lemon, fresh basil and black pepper. For more recipe inspiration, visit www.aldi.co.uk/recipes Read More World Pasta Day: Nigella Lawson’s spaghetti with Marmite Midweek meals: Baked pasta Siciliana with meatballs How to make a classic lasagne Dear Pret, this is what a £7 sandwich should look like Jack Stein’s Cornish mussels with spinach and cider Pub grub: Three recipes from Tom Kerridge’s new cookbook

The Clemson Tigers reign in the ACC may be over after the loss to Florida State. Blame has to land somewhere.

Apple has announced the ‘Vision Pro’, a headset it hopes will be its most important product since the iPhone. The new virtual reality tool will allow people to see apps projected on top of the room around them, allowing apps to be “freed from the confines of a display”, Apple said. Users will be able to sit in their living room and see their apps – messages, phone calls, web browsing and more – projected on top of their coffee table, for instance. As such, it is the first Apple product “you look through, not at”, said Tim Cook as he introduced it during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. Other apps, such as games, will take over the full view, Apple said. But even then the goggles had been made to ensure that users were never cut off from the world around them. :: Follow The Independent’s live coverage of Apple’s event here That includes a feature that means that if someone comes into the room, the headset will spot them and superimpose them. But the headset also has a feature called “EyeSight” – a display on the outside of the goggles, which shows people’s eyes, and gives an indication of what they are doing inside the headset. Read More Apple just added loads of new features to your iPhone Apple reveals big version of its smallest laptop Apple is about to update all its products – and release a very big new one

By Sabrina Valle and David French HOUSTON/NEW YORK Exxon Mobil Corp's resurgence under CEO Darren Woods and the