EVERY EVENING, TheJournal.ie brings you a round-up of the day’s biggest news stories, as well as the bits and pieces you may have missed.

• Some key members of Senator David Norris’ campaign staff have resigned, according to reports this morning. Several other staff members confirmed via Twitter that they had left the campaign, but have not yet issued an explanation. Speaking on RTÉ Radio One today, Dr Elaine Byrne said that leaked letters show that the senator used official Seanad paper to appeal for clemency for a former partner. The newspaper Byrne claimed would publish those letters tomorrow has since issued a statement saying her comments are “categorically untrue”. As of the time of writing, Senator Norris had not released a statement on the issue.
• The United Nations has warned that the famine affecting parts of southern Somalia is at risk of spreading. Somali militants have been impeding aid agencies’ work in providing emergency supplies, but GOAL’s John O’Shea has been asking why the UN aren’t squaring up to the rebels to support aid workers.
• Meanwhile, economist Ronan Lyons writes that while the developed world is dominated by fears over too much public spending, elsewhere not enough is being spent, and questions why the functioning breakaway Somali state Somaliland is not being recognised.
• According to a report from the Department of Finance, the government is considering increasing tax revenues by €1.5bn, while cutting public spending by €2.1bn in the next Budget.
• And staying on the issue of economics, here’s the first half of our two-part feature by Stephen Kinsella explaining the economic factors shaping our present and future. Finally, an explanation for why Big Macs are a different price in every country…
• Meanwhile, the US is inching closer to its default deadline, but its Republican and Democratic parties don’t seem any closer to reaching a deal. The situation has inspired a number of video explainers, including this Debt Ceiling Rap (via @channel4news):

• Check out this alternative history of the Troubles, as documented by photos and mementos kept by people across Northern Ireland.
• Clown conventions, bee beards and Taliban street art – these and more in the Week in Photos.
• Rio Ferdinand was upset to discover that a third party had hacked into his phone and deleted some of the photos he took during a tour of the White House.
• Twitter is planning to add a new element to the social network to filter sensitive posts from users’ feeds. Could be handy for those NSFW moments…
• Looking for ways to pass the time during the bank holiday weekend’s rainy patches? Then look no further than these eight websites (AND TheJournal.ie, of course…)
• The weather; the Eurovision; Imogen Thomas: Here’s what we’ve been googling this summer.

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