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Politics
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Enter the Zachbot: Trump’s new press secretary malfunctions on podium debut
Katie Zacharia’s maiden briefing was excruciating – at least her predecessor had delivered her propaganda hot Well, that was weird. Katie Zacharia , the new White House press secretary, made her debut on the podium on Tuesday with all the warmth, wisdom and political dexterity of an AI avatar. Zacharia was all stilted delivery, nervous tics and lack of eye contact. With an eerie lack of emotion, she served up pro-Trump talking points, took only three questions and vanished after 14 minutes. It was like the West Wing had turned into uncanny valley . Continue reading...
Duane Keith Davis sentenced to 40 years over 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur
‘You don’t get to take a man from his family … and just walk away from it,’ judge says as former gang leader sentenced Tupac trial spotlights decades of US police failures in solving the case Duane “Keffe D” Davis, the former California gang leader convicted of murder for orchestrating the 1996 fatal shooting of rapper Tupac Shakur , has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. “For three years, I’ve heard you say some variation of the same thing … ‘Yeah, I was involved in this. But I’m different. I’ve moved on. I got out of Compton. I’m a grandfather now,” Judge Carli Kierny said Tuesday as she delivered the sentence. Continue reading...
Judge orders Trump administration to halt work on historic DC golf course
District judge Ana Reyes halts tree-cutting at the East Potomac golf course until 26 October, and now requires advance notice before making course changes US district judge Ana Reyes on Tuesday ordered a halt to tree-cutting at the East Potomac golf course until 26 October, putting a further pause on work at the historic Washington DC course that has been part of Donald Trump’s plans to remake the country'’s capital city. Reyes issued the order one day after a tense three-hour hearing in which she harshly criticized the government for having deceived her with its actions over the holiday weekend. Continue reading...
‘There was a chance to stop him’: Parents react with fury to paedophile nursery worker revelations
More than 50 families call for investigation into how Vincent Chan was allowed to return to job after inquiry by nursery The parents of the victims of paedophile nursery worker Vincent Chan have reacted with fury to the news that he was cleared to return to work after “significant concerns” were raised by the parent of a young girl. As first revealed in the Guardian , Chan was reported to his employer, the nursery chain Bright Horizons, by a concerned parent in 2021. After being investigated by Bright Horizons, with the knowledge of Camden council, Chan was cleared to return to work at the nursery on the Finchley Road in north-west London. A year later, in 2022, Chan filmed himself abusing three-year-old girls in his care. Continue reading...
California coastal homes battered and bruised after weekend of intense waves and flooding
Boardwalk destroyed in Long Beach and homes damaged, while Baja California in Mexico and Las Vegas also affected Southern California coastal communities are picking up the pieces after a weekend of extreme weather brought flooding that overtook city streets and intense waves battered beachside homes. The remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel hit Mexico’s Baja California over the weekend as well as southern California and Las Vegas. While meteorologists noted that Rachel weakened into a post-tropical cyclone as it approached California, it still left a trail of destruction. Continue reading...
Trump speaks on Kimberly Guilfoyle resignation: 'We didn't like what we were reading' – video
When asked about the decision to request US ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle's resignation, Donald Trump told the press she 'was doing a good job' but that the administration 'didn't like what we were reading', referring to allegations that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor to pay her credit card bills. Guilfoyle, who was once engaged to Trump’s son, Donald Jr, was a longstanding political ally Kimberly Guilfoyle steps down as US ambassador to Greece after alleged misconduct Continue reading...
Far-right and Iran add to mix of terror threats UK faces – not to mention AI
Annual update from MI5 chief highlighted a complex cocktail that could have real-life consequences for Britain MI5’s annual threat update covers so much ground it is easy to feel anxious. The terror threat has become more diverse, with far-right anti-migrant threats on the rise; while Iran has now firmly emerged alongside Russia as a country seeking to undertake violent and deadly plots in the UK. “There is no law of physics dictating that rising state threats will be accompanied by diminishing terrorist threats,” MI5’s director general, Ken McCallum, said , although one of his core messages was that people and the country at large needed to focus on being more resilient. “In this new world, we should expect to be tested.” Continue reading...
UK high street bosses urge chancellor to cut cost of employing young people
Retailers call on John Healey to reduce national insurance contributions threshold in his first budget Some of the UK’s biggest retailers and hospitality businesses, including Tesco, Costa Coffee and the Co-op, have met John Healey to urge him to cut the cost of employing young people in his first budget. At the No 11 event on Tuesday morning, the chancellor heard from sector leaders – including the boss of M&S, Stuart Machin, and Sainsbury’s chief executive, Simon Roberts – about the impact of the rise in employers’ national insurance contributions (Nics). Continue reading...
Wes Streeting might be an unlikely defence secretary – but he’s still a better bet than Penny Mordaunt
For the first time in his life, Wes is enjoying keeping secrets – though he did admit he isn’t ‘keen on fighting a war’ When Andy Burnham announced his first cabinet in July, few would have had Wes Streeting marked down as a likely defence secretary. Not even Wes. And no one is more bullish about Wes’s life chances than Wes. It just didn’t seem a natural fit. Defence secretaries tend to be more the unsmiling types who operate in the shadows. Politicians like John Healey, with the pallor of someone who has spent too long in underground bunkers with military chief of staffs. People who slide in and out of rooms without making a fuss. Wes has always been someone who likes to be noticed. Enjoys the theatre of Westminster. The first to arrive at a party and the last to leave. A natural gossip. “Psst – you’ll never guess what Zelenskyy just said to Trump.” Continue reading...
Florida carries out execution amid scrutiny over botched Tennessee attempt
James Robertson was the state’s 17th execution this year, amid scrutiny over Tennessee’s failed lethal injection of Christa Pike US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation Florida put to death a convicted murderer in the state’s first execution since September’s botched attempt involving Christa Pike in Tennessee, on Tuesday. Officials said James Robertson, 63, was pronounced dead after he received a three-shot series of lethal injections at a Florida state prison in Raiford. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on Burnham’s Brexit reset: overdue, but proceed with care | Editorial
The prime minister is correct to judge the time is right to push for closer links with the EU. The political risk is far outweighed by the potential rewards The German philosopher GWF Hegel famously evoked the owl of Minerva when discussing the historical wisdom that comes through hindsight. This autumn, she has flown tirelessly over the landscape of British politics. Party conference season was dominated by conflicting Labour and Conservative accounts of the 1970s and 80s. And a decade after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, Andy Burnham this week abandoned all equivocation over the damage – economic but also strategic – that resulted from that decision. Having declared that it is time to “face up to the reality that Brexit has done more harm than good”, Mr Burnham told the House of Commons on Monday that it would be a “dereliction of duty” not to explore all options for closer relations with Brussels. Though he confirmed that in this parliament he will honour the red lines in Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour manifesto, all bets will subsequently be off. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on probation: overcrowded prisons need an outlet | Editorial
To win support for early releases, the government will have to show that community supervision works The early release of thousands of prisoners was bound to be awkward for a new prime minister. Politically speaking, Andy Burnham’s decision to exclude those convicted of manslaughter and some other offences made sense. But with about 2,000 offenders being freed this month, the risk is that by cutting the numbers, he has added to overcrowding problems inside. With the prison and probation services under huge pressure, and a ballot on industrial action expected, there is an urgent need for moves from the government to strengthen both. Shielded from view as prisons are, and despite the efforts of campaigners and writers such as Jimmy McGovern to draw attention to them, conditions have been allowed to deteriorate to a shocking extent. The latest annual report from the prisons watchdog drew a dismal picture of rampant drug use , organised crime and governors wasting time on form-filling. It warned that the Prison Service’s managers appear to favour crisis management over improvement. Continue reading...
Saudi Arabia strikes strategic oil depots near Yemen capital
Civilians warned to evacuate outskirts of Sana’a ahead of biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructure Saudi Arabia has launched a series of strikes on a strategic oil depot on the outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sana’a, in a fresh escalation of the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthi forces. Before the attack on Tuesday, a Saudi spokesperson warned civilians to leave the target area, in an apparent attempt to strike fear into the local population ahead of the biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructure. Continue reading...
Elon Musk becomes biggest political donor of US midterms cycle with $366m spent
Musk’s midterm donations, mostly for rightwing candidates and causes, surpass his contributions to Trump in 2024 Elon Musk has become the biggest political donor of the 2026 US midterm elections cycle, funneling about $366m into political groups and campaigns as he backs conservative candidates and rightwing causes. The world’s richest person has poured more than $276m into politics since July alone, some of the most rapid political spending in US history. He’s targeting key races that will determine which party controls the US Senate. The New York Times first reported the spending numbers, which will be released in a federal filing on Thursday. Musk’s spending outpaces his 2024 presidential election contributions, in which he sunk nearly $300m into Donald Trump’s re-election campaign. Continue reading...
FTC and seven states seek contempt ruling against Shkreli over pharma ban
Martin Shkreli’s 2022 release conditions bar him from participating in the pharmaceutical industry, including ownership stakes or business decisions The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven US states have alleged that pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli repeatedly violated a lifetime ban on participating in the pharmaceutical industry, and they are asking a judge to hold him in contempt. In a motion filed on Tuesday in US district court in New York City, the FTC and its state co-plaintiffs allege that 43-year-old Shkreli – nicknamed the “Pharma Bro” – has traded stocks in at least 60 pharmaceutical companies and publicly commented on their businesses since his release from prison in May 2022. Continue reading...
‘I will not be silenced’: Trump critic Ilhan Omar defiant after home raided - The Latest
Democrats have described a raid on the home of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar as “deeply disturbing” and a “rogue abuse of power” by the Trump administration. The Democratic representative for Minnesota has long been a target of highly personal attacks by Donald Trump, who claims he was not involved in ordering the Justice Department raid. Omar criticised the raid as an attempt to “weaponize law enforcement” as part of a “campaign of political intimidation” against her. Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian US political reporter Shrai Popat – watch on YouTube Continue reading...
British and Irish governments ‘should negotiate paramilitary disbandment in Northern Ireland’
Report finds ‘window of opportunity’ for formal process involving loyalist and republican groups The British and Irish governments should engage with paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland to negotiate their disbandment, according to a report. A “window of opportunity” exists to establish a formal transition mechanism for loyalist and republican groups, provided certain conditions are met, it said. Continue reading...
Loves Trump, lies and conspiracies: Katie Zacharia is the perfect presidential press secretary | Arwa Mahdawi
The Maga member believes the 2020 election was stolen and seemingly her new boss is saving the world from a cabal of satanic paedophiles. She’ll fit right in then Poor Donald Trump. His (third) wife seemingly can’t bear to be near him and his (fifth) press secretary recently abandoned him to be with a baby she had only recently met. “She decided she loved her children more than she loved Donald Trump,” the president lamented in August when Karoline Leavitt decided to step down a few months after giving birth. “I’m very upset about this. She has to go home and spend time with her children. That does happen on occasion with some people – when they love their children.” Continue reading...
Texas man run over by ICE has never met the person agents were allegedly chasing
Miguel Parra-Hernandez suffers from serious hip and leg injuries in Houston and remains in ICE custody, according to his representatives US man shoots off-duty ICE agent who allegedly attacked him and daughter A Texas man whose leg was broken in multiple places after being struck by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle during a weekend traffic stop has never met the person the federal agents were allegedly pursuing, according to his representatives. Miguel Parra-Hernandez, 48, suffered serious injuries including a shattered ankle and hip when he was run over in Houston, Texas, on Saturday by an SUV driven by an officer chasing two men who ran from a pickup truck. Continue reading...
Hundreds of early-release prisoners in England and Wales not being tagged, say MPs
Clive Efford says Serco has failed to source enough tags, as police and probation struggle with influx of newly released offenders UK politics live – latest updates Hundreds of prisoners released early across England and Wales, including stalkers and violent offenders, are not being tagged by Serco, MPs have said, despite pledges for the “toughest supervision in British history”. As the government begins to discharge a second tranche of 650 offenders to relieve the prison overcrowding crisis, police and probation officers have said that they are struggling to cope with a new influx of offenders who are supposed to be monitored in the community. Continue reading...
Britons travelling to Europe told not to apply for delayed Etias visa waiver
Abta advice comes as more than more than 150 websites offer service of securing entry to Schengen zone Britons travelling to Europe have told not to apply for an Etias visa waiver, with more than 150 websites touting the service despite its introduction being delayed. Non-EU citizens, including UK travellers and those from other visa-exempt countries including the US, Australia and Canada, will soon need to pay €20 (£17) for an electronic waiver to enter the Schengen zone under the European travel information and authorisation system (Etias). Continue reading...
Brexiters can’t cope with the fact that Putin was cheering them on | Rafael Behr
Russian meddling probably didn’t affect the referendum result – but the Kremlin’s motives for wanting to undermine the EU still matter Russian territorial aggression against Ukraine didn’t feature much in the Brexit referendum campaign. It made headlines briefly when Boris Johnson blamed Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea on the European Union . According to the Vote Leave frontman, Vladimir Putin’s land grab was a consequence of Brussels making foreign policy “on the hoof” and having “pretensions to running a defence policy”. Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Russia did try to interfere in Brexit referendum, head of MI5 confirms
Spy chief Ken McCallum said Kremlin had attempted to influence 2016 vote through social media and TV reports Russia did try to interfere in the Brexit referendum through social media and television reports, the head of MI5 said today, but he added that did not mean the Kremlin had any impact on the result. Ken McCallum endorsed comments made by Andy Burnham , who raised the issue over the past two days, though he said continuing to debate it had given the Kremlin a needless propaganda victory. Continue reading...
‘Shocking and sobering’: UK bird populations fall to lowest level on record
Nearly half of species are in decline, with farmland birds and seabirds the worst hit, conservation bodies have said Wild bird populations in the UK have fallen to their lowest level since records began, figures show, with nearly half of species in decline. Figures produced by leading nature conservation bodies for the government show that average populations across 132 native breeding species fell by 19% between 1970 and 2025, with farmland birds and seabirds the worst hit in recent years. Continue reading...