The Defence Investment Plan was published! Some doubted the day would ever dawn. But just as when Odysseus’s mast was spotted from Ithaca on the wine-dark horizon, an epic journey was finally complete.

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis made a Commons statement on the long-delayed Plan’s arrival. Rachel Reeves, beside him on the front bench, looked tearful. It must have been pride. Unless the poor sausage is having another of her wobbles.

The Plan was 80 pages carved from political bone and gristle, complete with an introduction by, and photograph of, Mr Jarvis.

He has been in office for only two weeks. In that photograph he was sitting at an empty table, looking impatient, like a man about to say ‘bring me my dinnah’. Or perhaps ‘bring me my Plan’.

Before his Commons statement Mr Jarvis could be seen behind the Speaker’s Chair having an animated discussion (pretty sticky) with John Healey, his predecessor.

Mr Healey resigned a fortnight ago in protest against Ms Reeves’s bloody-minded refusal to cough up adequately for the defence of our realm.

Now all the behind-the-scenes wrangling was over and the blasted thing was out, available free online for any devotees of Victorian melodrama.

The publishing delay called to mind the case of an Illinois-born writer, Harold Brodkey, who for ages was said to be penning the definitive American novel entitled A Party of Animals.

When, after 19 years, he finally delivered the 2,000-page manuscript to the Manhattan offices of Messrs Farrar, Straus & Giroux, that development was a sensation worthy of a June 1976 story in the New York Times. The headline: Brodkey Delivers.

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis seen making his Commons statement today on the long-delayed Plan’s arrival

After Rachel Reeves' speech where she praised the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer walked onstage and hurled himself into her arms

The Plan’s arrival was greeted with scarcely less acclaim. Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Jarvis and Ms Reeves legged it to a drone manufacturing firm in Maidenhead for a midday announcement. Ms Reeves made a distinctly odd speech in which, with stretched grins, she boasted about her hapless stint as Chancellor.

She concluded by hailing ‘my friend, our prime minister, Keir Starmer’. He bumbled up on stage and she hurled herself into his arms. Their embrace lasted almost as long as the one he got from Lady Starmer after making his weepy resignation speech last week.

As with much modern fiction the Plan was prey to jargon, among it ‘tactical casualty care’, ‘collaborative combat’ and ‘lethality’, which is today’s preferred term for things that can turn the able bodies of enemy troops into little more than a pink mist. As far as political lethality goes, few weapons have recently matched the Plan.

It not only vaporised the ministerial careers of Mr Healey and his thick-necked sidekick Al Carns but also pretty much finished off the Starmer-Reeves government. Furthermore, it created intense grief for some of Whitehall and the Armed Forces’ most assiduously oily careerists.

Your problem now, Andy! Demob happy Starmer and Reeves leave Burnham with £5bn defence black hole

Dignitaries at the Maidenhead drone factory included Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the Defence Staff. Front row for him. At the end of the event he gave the Prime Minister a pat on the arm and a double mwaw-mwaw kiss to Ms Reeves. On the whole I preferred it when defence chiefs greeted a PM with a salute rather than an arm-squeeze.

Mind you, Sir Richard’s martial bravery is plainly not to be doubted. No one, at present, lightly moves in on Ms Reeves for un bisou. She could end up biting yer ear off.

The Commons was underwhelmed by the Plan. Too little, too late: that was the general view, not just from the Opposition but also from some Labour MPs.

Ms Reeves, v pop-eyed and droopy-jawed, endured the debate only so long before she drifted away. As she left she waggled little finger waves to a few Labour friends and the deputy Speaker.

We will close with Harold Brodkey. Despite the excitement engendered by his manuscript’s delivery, A Party of Animals never made it into print. The few extracts that saw the light of day received mixed notices.

All that anticipation for a few bum reviews.

Border Patrol makes huge bust of illegals hiding in plain sight

Southern California Border Patrol busts 2 human smuggling ops

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Border Patrol makes huge bust of illegals hiding in plain sight

By Nina Joudeh Published June 30, 2026, 5:45 p.m. ET

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Border Patrol agents intercepted two separate human smuggling operations in Southern California after uncovering dozens of undocumented immigrants being transported in vehicles, including nearly 30 people hidden inside a dump trailer.

The two incidents unfolded in Westmorland within the El Centro Sector, where agents first stopped a Chevy Tahoe carrying seven undocumented immigrants.

An aerial view of people sitting in a line along a dirt canal with law enforcement officers and vehicles nearby. — California Border Control gents discovered 27 undocumented migrants concealed inside a mini bottom dump trailer.

In a separate bust, agents discovered 27 undocumented migrants concealed inside a mini bottom dump trailer in what officials described as a dangerous smuggling attempt.

In total, Border Patrol agents apprehended 34 illegal immigrants across the two operations and halted both smuggling attempts.

Border Patrol agents stop a dump truck concealing people and a Chevrolet Tahoe during a smuggling event. — Agents first stopped a Chevy Tahoe carrying seven undocumented migrants in Westmorland. Facebook/@USBPChiefELC

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Officials said the back-to-back busts marked “another bad day for smugglers” in the El Centro Sector. Getty Images

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection building entrance. — In total, Border Patrol agents apprehended 34 undocumented migrants across the two operations. Getty Images

Officials said the back-to-back busts marked “another bad day for smugglers” in the El Centro Sector, adding that the operations highlight ongoing efforts to combat human smuggling along the southern border.

No injuries were reported.

At the same time, Border Patrol took to Instagram, sending out a public warning for all to see:

“If you are here illegally, we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will remove you from the United States. It is not a matter of if, but when.”

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California Border Control gents discovered 27 undocumented migrants concealed inside a mini bottom dump trailer.

Agents first stopped a Chevy Tahoe carrying seven undocumented migrants in Westmorland. Facebook/@USBPChiefELC

Officials said the back-to-back busts marked “another bad day for smugglers” in the El Centro Sector. Getty Images

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Massive NYC pool shuttered for repairs – for second year in a row – amid extreme heat wave

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Massive NYC pool shuttered for repairs – for second year in a row – amid extreme heat wave

By Georgett Roberts and Nicole Rosenthal Published June 30, 2026, 5:33 p.m. ET

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One of the city’s largest pools will be closed during this week’s scorching heat wave and for most of next month because of “unforeseen” mechanical issues – the second straight year the aging community “lifeline” has suffered a shutdown.

The popular Red Hook Pool, among five Olympic-sized tubs in Brooklyn, did not open to the public during the citywide outdoor pool opening day Saturday “due to the sudden, unforeseen failure of mechanical equipment,” city Parks Department reps said.

The front entrance of the Sol Goldman Recreation Center &amp;amp; Pool at Red Hook Park. — Red Hook Pool remains closed “due to the sudden, unforeseen failure of mechanical equipment,” NYC Parks said. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

The nearly century-old summer oasis won’t be open for most of July, either, joining several pools citywide that remain closed at the onset of the season, the department said.

Among the other shut city pools is the supposed back-up that Red Hook families are being directed to on the NYC Parks’ website as an alternative to their own closed site.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Red Hook mom Karin-Jolie Rosado. “We waited all year for this.

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“It was closed last summer, and then this summer there are still issues,” she said of the local pool. “They should have resolved the issues by now.”

Her 8-year-old daughter Loretta said, “It’s really sad because we don’t have anywhere else to swim.”

The opening of Red Hook’s 90-year-old pool complex was delayed until August last year because of a broken decades-old pipe, according to The City Reporter.

This year’s delay was blamed on a flooded filter plant beneath the pool, which damaged motors and other equipment, a Parks rep said — adding that the discovery was only made four days before opening day.

A woman and three children, including a baby in a stroller, pose outdoors. — “It’s very disappointing,” said Red Hook mom Karin-Jolie Rosado, here with children Loretta, 8, Eleanor, 6, and Amir, 4. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

“This could’ve been avoided,” said Adam Ganser, executive director of the advocacy group New Yorkers For Parks, who called the matter “at its purest form, a staffing issue.”

The policy group noted that an estimated 50 plumbers on Parks’ payroll is far below the number needed to maintain the city’s 1,700 parks and playgrounds.

The group is now renewing calls for the agency to fund an additional 150 tradespeople to keep up with its aging infrastructure.

Ganser called the pool a “lifeline” for city dwellers, especially ahead of the summer’s first “heat dome” situation and triple-digit temperatures expected later this week.

“The water is something that gives the kids a safe activity to do during a heat wave,” Rosado said. “Otherwise, they are stuck at home.”

A security guard stands outside the closed Red Hook Pool, where signs explain the temporary closure due to mechanical failure. — “The water is something that gives the kids a safe activity to do during a heat wave,” Rosado said. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

The pool is one of several sites closed for unplanned maintenance as of Tuesday afternoon, Parks said, while two other pools are under construction for long-term capital improvements.

Claremont Pool in The Bronx is shuttered because of mechanical issues, and the Doulgass and DeGraw Pool in Gowanus – the city-touted Red Hook Pool alternative – is also closed because of a “category 2 water quality issue.”

“Pools generally experience temporary closures for a variety of reasons: mechanical, sanitary, weather, etc.,” a Parks rep told The Post.

“Many of our pools are celebrating their 90th year in use this season, including Red Hook Pool,” the rep said, noting that, “to ensure that Red Hook Pool can continue to serve New Yorkers for generations,” the site has been earmarked for a $122 million renovation project set to begin in 2028.

A partially filled empty swimming pool with yellow bottom and blue walls with stairs and railings. — The opening of the 90-year-old Red Hook Pool complex was also delayed last year because of a broken decades-old pipe. Gregory P. Mango for NY Post

Aside from 53 free outdoor pools, the Parks system also touts an array of splash pads to beat the summer heat.

But the cooling features are facing “outages” in record numbers, a Post investigation recently found, with Parks reps blaming last winter’s severe weather combined with “very few staff resources for repairs.”

The news comes as the city’s new budget paves the way for a new Parks “Renew Crew” pilot program — which is funded through 2027 — set to make “quick targeted improvements” for playgrounds, courts, fields and other green spaces.

Still, Ganser argues the city must still invest in full-time tradespeople to keep the city’s green spaces up and running.

“A lot of this is highly sophisticated mechanical equipment or plumbing, and you need professionals on staff to ensure that everything is is is in good, operable condition,” Ganser said.

“This begs a larger question, which is why doesn’t the agency have the staffing it needs to take care of these issues, which are occurring every single year.”

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