section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
3012 stories archived
A super el Niño threatens our food system. Here’s how farms can prepare | Liz Carlisle
Planting cover crops or perennial plants can protect soil amid potential flooding. Congress must act to protect these practices As forecasters warn that this year’s El Niño could become the strongest on record , concerns are growing about its effect on agriculture and food security. The United States will not be hit nearly as hard as Central and South America, the Caribbean, and southern Africa , but severe weather could cause significant crop loss in some parts of the country. Liz Carlisle is associate professor of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara. She is the author of Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming and co-editor of Living Roots: The Promise of Perennial Foods Continue reading...
NAZA: Netanyahu orders identification and prosecution of film’s interviewees
Israeli PM calls for criminal investigation into soldiers and officers interviewed in Guardian-produced documentary The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered the country’s attorney general and the head of the Shin Bet security service to reveal the identities of soldiers and officers interviewed in the investigative documentary NAZA and prosecute them for causing “harm to Israel’s diplomatic and security interests”. The award-winning documentary, directed by the Oscar-winning film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and produced by the Guardian, details Israel’s mass killing of civilians in Gaza. The film is in cinemas, including in the UK and the US, and will be shown in more than 50 countries. Continue reading...
Digger on course for $245m loss after box office collapse
Estimates suggest the eco satire starring Tom Cruise could join the list of top turkeys, including Cutthroat Island and The Marvels Digger, the ambitious eco-fable starring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu, is heading for an even worse financial outcome than previously thought , with reports suggesting it will lose around $245m (£185m), placing it among the biggest disasters in movie history. According to a report in Variety , Digger’s estimated second weekend revenue in North America of $3.2m is a 60% drop on its opening weekend figure of $8m, meaning its current domestic gross is $14.4m, for a global total of $35.3m , with a projected final box office total of around $50m worldwide. Continue reading...
Federal agents search Ilhan Omar’s home as part of fraud investigation – reports
Video posted by Fox showed what appears to be law enforcement in HSI jackets at Omar’s DC residence Federal agents searched Representative Ilhan Omar’s home Monday morning as part of a criminal fraud investigation, according to reports in the Associated Press and Fox News that cited a statement from the department of justice. A video posted by Fox showed what appeared to be law enforcement in HSI jackets at what Fox News said was Omar’s Washington DC residence. Continue reading...
Nobel Prize for economics awarded to Hall and Woodford for work on ‘smoothing’ crises
US economists developed models that help central bankers and finance ministers to stabilise their economies Business live – latest updates Two US economists have won the 2026 Nobel economics prize for their work developing models that help central bankers and finance ministers to stabilise their countries, avoiding long recessions and runaway inflation. Robert Hall of Stanford University, California, and Michael Woodford of Columbia University, New York, were recognised for developing the “microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation” , giving policymakers better tools to smooth out the peaks and troughs of their economies. Continue reading...
As US medical debt grows, AI will be used more to collect it
The debt-collection ecosystem will change as AI takes notes in exam rooms, codes visits and sends billing messages Medical debt is expected to grow in coming years as Republican-led health cuts come into force this winter. As it does, a changing world of medical billing and debt collection awaits patients: one where artificial intelligence increasingly listens, codes, bills and collects. Artificial intelligence takes notes in exam rooms, codes visits, sends out billing messages and powers AI agents who text patients in billing portals – all changing the debt-collection ecosystem. Continue reading...
Anti-vaxxers target Texas measles doctors to cast doubt on deaths amid outbreak
Children’s Health Defense and RFK Jr publicly dispute recent measles deaths to ‘distract’ from damage caused and question vaccines, experts say The six-year-old girl at the children’s hospital in Lubbock, Texas , burned with fever and struggled to breathe. Doctors soon put her on a ventilator, snaking a thick tube down the child’s throat so a machine could breathe for her; they placed IVs to rehydrate her tiny body and they prescribed antibiotics for any bacterial infections that may have taken hold in the weeks she had spent at home battling measles . But it was too late. Within a day of being ventilated, the child went into shock, her blood pressure crashed and she went into cardiac arrest. She could not be resuscitated. Her family, and the nation, mourned: she was the first child to die of measles in the US in a decade. Continue reading...
One essential ingredient for AI safety? Democracy | Matthew Botvinick
The rise of AI makes the preservation of democracy even more urgent – especially as the technology threatens institutions AI safety is having a moment. After years as a topic for techies and futurists, the potential risks from artificial intelligence systems – from cyberattacks to hyper-persuasion to rogue behavior – are suddenly under discussion both in the corridors of power and around kitchen tables. In fact, the conversation now reaches beyond classical safety concerns, getting into AI’s impact on economic life and the environment, as well as possible responses, from alignment research to government regulation. Continue reading...
Saudi Arabia further suspends flights after latest deadly Houthi attack on airport
Energy minister says ‘fear has no place in the Saudi lexicon’ as paramilitary group again breach stretched defences Saudi Arabia was forced to extend the suspension of all flights to and from its main international airport in Riyadh on Monday after a further round of Houthi missile attacks caused more damage and left one dead. The Gulf nation said it was taking the step after Houthi missiles killed 13 people on Saturday and left more than 300 injured. Saudi state TV broadcast CCTV footage that showed passengers deluged in smoke and falling masonry as they queued at the airport terminal to board a plane just as the Houthi missile struck. Continue reading...
Zelenskyy blindsided after Trump announces ‘energy ceasefire’ in Ukraine war | First Thing
Ukrainian president says the deal is ‘news to me’ and that Russia is still attacking energy infrastructure. Plus, investigation into continuing mystery of Havana syndrome Good morning. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said it was “news to me” after Donald Trump announced a partial ceasefire deal in the Ukraine war. The US president had posted to social media to say: “Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed.” There was no sign that the Kremlin was observing Trump’s ceasefire. According to Zelenskyy, Russian drones took to the sky “throughout the day” on Sunday and there were several airstrikes, including on energy infrastructure. He said Russia hit a power station in Kharkiv – the latest of more than 200 strikes during the past week against electricity generation and transmission facilities in Ukraine. How has the prospect of a deal been welcomed? Despite the unconventional nature of the announcement, the ceasefire appeared to garner support from Ukraine’s key western allies. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said Paris supported a “real energy ceasefire” and the UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, said a sustained energy ceasefire was “the best route to get energy and fuel back into world markets”. Will Trump’s deal with Putin bring down gas prices? The agreement to temporarily lift sanctions on US imports of Russian diesel will have little “meaningful” effect on motorists and businesses in the US and overseas, energy and foreign policy analysts have predicted . Continue reading...
BBC defends editing out trans rights slogan on Strictly contestant’s T-shirt
Bethany Antonia wore a T-shirt with the slogan ‘Protect the Dolls’ in rehearsals, but the words were edited out on Saturday’s show The BBC has defended its decision to edit out a transgender rights slogan from a T-shirt worn by a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing, stating it was standard practice to avoid “overt branding or slogans”. The actor Bethany Antonia was filmed wearing the T-shirt, which bore the slogan “Protect the Dolls”, during rehearsals before her live performance on Saturday night . Continue reading...
This Georgia county is one of the US’s most diverse – and that could flip multiple elections
Gwinnett county is home to many immigrants and other newcomers, and how it votes could be decisive for Congress Johanna Park might just be an ambassador for Gwinnett county, Georgia, one of the 10 most ethnically diverse counties in the United States. Park owns Cafe Amico at Suwanee Town Center, one of her three Italian coffee shops in the area just north of Atlanta. She was born in Korea and lived much of her life in Argentina and Peru. She’s been in Gwinnett for more than 20 years, part of an early wave of Korean immigration that’s built Korean American car dealerships, banks, insurance agencies, supermarkets and restaurants like her own. It’s also a population that’s increasing in influence and not just numbers . Continue reading...
How immigration is molding the US midterms: ‘Trump has gone too far’
From restaurants to farms to healthcare, the US president’s hardline policies have reshaped Americans’ daily lives If there is one campaign promise that Donald Trump has kept, it is his pledge to deliver “mass deportations”. Two years later, voters are living uneasily with the consequences. Continue reading...
Fraternities are the most likely place for US campus rapes. Should they be shut down?
As an alleged 2024 gang-rape at Cornell comes to light, universities are grappling with a choice: student safety or alumni donations Daniel R Schwarz, an 85-year-old English literature emeritus professor, still works at Cornell University after 59 years because he loves teaching and “watching young people grow”, he said. Most of his students, he also said, have not been part of fraternities at Cornell in Ithaca, New York, where seven men allegedly gang-raped a woman in 2024. Continue reading...
Balkan temperatures swing as heavy rain heads for Greece
Clear skies bring warm days and cold nights to Montenegro, while a low-pressure system moves towards Aegean Sea Europe live – latest updates Temperatures fluctuated dramatically in the Balkans last week, with unusually large differences between daytime highs and overnight lows – known as the diurnal range. An area of high pressure over the region brought prolonged sunshine during the day, while clear skies at night allowed temperatures to drop rapidly as heat escaped into the atmosphere without cloud cover to slow the cooling. Continue reading...
Zelenskyy vows to retaliate if Russian strikes on Ukraine’s power grid continue
Ukrainian president says at Warsaw summit Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’ post, as Kyiv struck by Russian drones, ‘surprised’ him Europe live – latest updates Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to respond to Russia’s continuing attacks on the Ukrainian power grid as European leaders rallied around Kyiv amid a feud with Donald Trump over Ukraine’s strikes on oil refineries. Speaking to a gathering of European security officials in Warsaw on Monday, the Ukrainian president vowed to retaliate if strikes on Ukraine’s power grid continued: “If Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire this winter, we will respond.” Continue reading...
EU deal with China limits imports of hybrid electric vehicles
Brussels uses WTO rules to quickly impose 350,000 vehicle-a-year quota, which will halve Chinese market share to 3% Business live – latest updates VW boss backs EU plan to bolster domestic industry The EU is to limit the number of hybrid electrical vehicles imported from China to 350,000 cars a year, the European Commission has confirmed. Imports have been soaring in the last two years with about 800,000 battery and plug-in hybrids likely to be sold this year. Continue reading...
Row over Paris opera house ceiling reignites with lawsuit threat
Descendant of 19-century artist demands removal of Marc Chagall’s 1960s canvases that cover original fresco In 1962, the then French culture minister, André Malraux, reportedly bored by the ballet he was watching at Paris’s opera house, raised his eyes to the classical ceiling and determined it needed a makeover. In his ennui, Malraux decided his friend and artist Marc Chagall, sitting next to him at the Palais Garnier at the time, was the man for the job and commissioned him to make a new ceiling. Continue reading...
Marco Rubio is promoting troubling ideas about ‘Western civilization’ | Ted Widmer
In a recent visit to Greece, the secretary of state suggested that Europe must rediscover the values of conquest and expansion They had obviously worked hard on the backdrop – and it was magnificent. On 7 October, the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio , delivered a major speech in Athens, outdoors, with the Acropolis behind him. The sun was setting, bathing the ancient scene, including the Parthenon, in the light of the golden hour. The golden hour, but yet not quite the golden age. This was not Pericles defending democracy. Instead, Rubio offered a haunting vision of the choices facing the west, arguing that the US and Europe must rediscover the values of exploration and conquest that once drove centuries of expansion, or face decline and irrelevance. Continue reading...
Republican US senator facing re-election settles six-year bakery debt
Roger Marshall says he has ‘no idea how this happened’ and repaid bill double for 2020 election watch party treats The Republican US senator Roger Marshall says he has finally paid off a bakery debt – after six years and repeated collection attempts reported by a Kansas business that had supplied a large order of treats for a 2020 election watch party. “We have absolutely no idea how this happened”, the Kansas senator wrote in a social media post containing a screenshot of the payment on a $678.75 invoice from Holly’s Sweet Treats as well as his $1,300 payment. “And we have repaid the bill … double.” Continue reading...
French centre left must wage ‘existential battle’ to prevent far right winning presidency
French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann issues call after becoming the social democrat candidate for 2027 presidential run The European lawmaker Raphaël Glucksmann has urged the French centre left to wage an “existential battle” to prevent Marine Le Pen ’s far right winning the 2027 presidential election after he was chosen as the social democrat candidate for the presidency. “We’ve got to rid our hearts of the spirit of defeat,” Glucksmann, the founder of the small party Place Publique, said on Monday morning after his decisive win in a centre-left primary race held by the Socialist party. Continue reading...
Former Grenfell Tower housing boss leaves £150,000 council property role after backlash
Survivors had criticised ‘outrageous’ appointment of Laura Johnson, who oversaw cost-cutting measures before fire, to Barnet Group A housing director who oversaw cost cutting at Grenfell Tower before the fatal fire has left a £150,000-a-year senior council housing role after a backlash from bereaved families and survivors. Laura Johnson was the director of housing at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) at the time of the 2017 Grenfell fire which killed 72 people;p, and was criticised in the subsequent inquiry for her role in budget-cutting decisions prior to the blaze. Continue reading...
UK politics live: Tories accuse Burnham of being ‘dangerous and divisive’ after he confirms Russian interference in Brexit campaign
PM to give speech calling for ‘calm, clear-eyed look’ at possibility of new deal with EU as he says Brexit has done more harm than good Burnham to urge MPs to embrace closer ties with EU Good morning. The last time Andy Burnham gave a statement to MPs after a recess, it went on for more than three hours . This prompted Kemi Badenoch to make a lewd joke later about the PM’s stamina (which she repeated at a party conference reception with an additional line about how she just had to “sit back and lie there” .) Today we are getting another post-recess, potentially wide-ranging statement from the PM, but the mood might not be so cordial. Quite a lot has happened since MPs were last in the chamber almost a month ago, and they will want to ask the PM about issues like the cost of living, North Sea oil and gas, the Iran war and Ukraine. We have not been told yet exactly what Burnham’s statement will cover. But, as Aletha Adu reports, Burnham will talk about Brexit, restating what he told Labour’s conference about how he thinks it has done more harm than good and making the case for trying to find a better, closer relationship with the EU. The result is the result, and I think the prime minister has been very clear that he’s talking about attempts to interfere. The security minister has spoken about this before. I’m confident that both the British people and the British state are able to respond to and defend against these types of threats, but we need to be very honest that those threats exist. That Brexit referendum was a legitimate vote. People voted in this country in record numbers to leave the European Union. And I actually think it’s very dangerous and divisive of the prime minister to reopen this debate in such an explosive fashion. Continue reading...
ABC reporter could face disciplinary action over opinion piece, journalists’ union says
Opinion piece by head of union Michael Slezak sparks disagreement with new ABC director of news, Simon Robinson Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter here ABC management has refused to rule out disciplinary action against a journalist and union office-holder for writing an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Review, according to the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA). The award-winning ABC climate journalist, Michael Slezak, had an article published last week in Nine’s financial newspaper in his capacity as federal president of MEAA. Continue reading...