Friday briefing: How a doping scandal could overshadow the Olympics

In today’s newsletter: As Paris gears up for the Games, the excitement is palpable, but concern about performance-enhancing drugs threatens the reputation of one of its sports

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Good morning.

The Olympics is here! Get ready for some truly awe-inspiring displays of athleticism. But there is also a scandal hovering over the Games in Paris that threatens to move focus away from the athletes.

Health | Wes Streeting has called England’s healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), “not fit for purpose” after an interim report found significant failings were hampering its ability to identify poor performance at hospitals, care homes and GP practices.

Budget | Rachel Reeves is expected to reveal a £20bn hole in government spending for essential public services on Monday, paving the way for potential tax rises in the autumn budget.

Israel-Gaza war | Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has pressed Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu on the “dire” humanitarian situation in Gaza in talks that she described as frank, adding “I will not be silent.”

Assisted dying | Keir Starmer is under pressure to fulfil a promise to allow a parliamentary vote on legalising assisted dying, as a bill is to be introduced into the House of Lords on Friday.

Police | A teenager who was kicked in the face by an armed police officer while lying prone on the ground is “traumatised” and receiving hospital treatment after the “barbaric” assault, his solicitor has said. Akhmed Yakoob said 19-year-old Muhammed Fahir was a victim of “police brutality” after footage showed an officer stamping on his head during an arrest at Manchester airport on Tuesday.