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The House surpassed legislation Wednesday that would make June 19, or Juneteenth — the date commemorating the day news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Texas —a federal holiday. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act moved thru each chambers quickly, with the House passing it simply one day after the Senate, after it had been stalled in the upper chamber. Now that is has exceeded through Congress, it will quickly be sent to President Joe Biden's desk, just days before the Juneteenth holiday Saturday. The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act would grant each and every federal worker a day off to commemorate June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, discovered President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved African Americans in rebel states 2½ years earlier. The day is additionally acknowledged as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. The legislation passed in the House 415-14 Wednesday evening, mostly on a bipartisan basis. All

  Large components of the UK are below yellow climate warnings as a “plume of thunderstorms” strikes into the country from throughout the English Channel, with parts of Kent seeing flash floods on Wednesday night. The Met Office stated a month’s worth of rain could fall within hours in the storms, which are predicted to carry hail and torrential downpours, with the hazard of flash flooding in some components of the east and southeast of England. Forecasters stated there was a possibility that Wednesday would be the hottest day of the year but the sun did not deliver. The Met Office advised The Independent a high of 29.2C was recorded at Heathrow in London, 0.5C short of the temperature recorded at Teddington on Tuesay. The much-anticipated Euro 2020 clash between England and Scotland at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening could be hit with bands of “heavy thundery showers”, according to forecasters. Meteorologists are looking forward to thunderstorms to continue till the weekend, with a

  Boris Johnson has vowed to maintain Matt Hancock as health secretary notwithstanding the release of messages apparently displaying that he branded him “totally f****** hopeless” at the peak of the first wave of coronavirus last spring. The brutal putdown was covered in screenshots of WhatsApp exchanges published by former No 10 adviser Dominic Cummings as he fought back towards government tries to undermine his account of disarray in Downing Street and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) as Covid-19 swept throughout the UK. Mr Cummings accused the PM and Mr Hancock of attempting to “rewrite history” to cowl up their preliminary “herd immunity” strategy and their failings on the provision of private defensive equipment (PPE), the protection of care homes and the introduction of testing in the spring of 2020. And he accused Mr Johnson of delaying a public inquiry into the government’s performance for long enough to make sure its potentially damning findings are launched af

  The man, named locally as Reza, dived into the River Erme in Ivybridge, Devon, to save the 19-month-old during this week's heatwave. But after getting into hassle himself he later died on Tuesday. Police stated later the baby was uninjured. The tragedy came as the UK swelters in scorching heat with Brits warned of the "extreme dangers" of swimming in open water. Cold water can cause hyperventilation or lead to seizures, police have cautioned. A police spokesman said: “Police were called at round 7.10pm yesterday evening, Tuesday 15 June, with a report of concern for a man by the River Erme, close to Station Road, Ivybridge. “It was stated that he went into the water to help a baby in difficulty. “Emergency services attended. Sadly a man was declared deceased at the scene. His next-of-kin are aware. "His demise is not being handled as suspicious and a file is being organized for the coroner.” Devon and Cornwall Police verified that the man's next of kin has been

  Kym Marsh’s dad Dave has got incurable prostate cancer after delaying a check-up due to the pandemic. Covid lockdowns have led to 50,000 fewer hospital referrals for cure on the life-threatening condition. Kym, who hosts BBC1 daytime hit Morning Live, told how her dad delayed getting checked, and has now been diagnosed with aggressive and advanced prostate cancer. She said: “Speed is essential — it can make all the difference. Prostate cancer is treatable, when it’s caught early.” After months of putting off a check-up, fearing he was adding to the burden of an over-stretched NHS, 76-year-old Dave has been told his situation is incurable, inflicting pain among his family. Kym explained: “It has been a very challenging time, I can’t deny that, but we have always been very close as a family and so we have been capable to discuss collectively and plan for the future which is important. “But the fact is that in Dad’s case it has now spread to his pelvis, spine, ribs and left leg, which i

 British travellers who have had two Covid vaccines ought to be allowed quarantine-free entry into England under plans being considered via ministers. As the government grapples with permitting more trips overseas whilst making an attempt to forestall the importation of new variants, adjustments are being considered to the traffic light system under which locations are graded in accordance to their Covid case and jab rate, deciding whether and how people coming from them need to isolate. Only a handful of countries feature on the isolation-free green list, with 50 territories on the red list – which means arrivals should continue to be in a quarantine hotel for 14 days. The amber list, which features the large majority of countries and to which Portugal was lately added, has prompted much extra confusion. Official government recommendation urges people not to travel to these places, but there are no laws in place to stop people arriving from them and quarantining at home for up to 10 d