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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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US supreme court blocks Missouri’s new congressional map backed by Trump
Decision marks setback for president and Republicans, who set in motion national redistricting battle last year The US supreme court refused an emergency appeal by Missouri officials to use a newly drawn congressional map backed by Donald Trump in the November midterm election, letting stand a ruling by the state’s highest state court that blocked the new lines from taking effect. Last week the Missouri supreme court ruled that the map must go before voters to approve or reject the new districts, meaning it cannot be used in the November election. Trump and Republicans fumed over the decision, with the president calling it “horrible, ridiculous, and unConstitutional”. Continue reading...
Two more people arrested over ‘mountain of illegal waste’ dumped in Oxfordshire
A total of six people apprehended as clean-up of rubbish stacked 10 metres high cost about £6m Two men have been arrested after fly-tippers dumped a “mountain of illegal waste”, stacked 10 metres high, in Oxfordshire . Hundreds of tonnes of rubbish appeared in a field between the River Cherwell and the A34 near Kidlington in November last year. The waste tip was so large that removing it could cost more than the local council’s annual budget, the area’s MP said. Continue reading...
LIV Golf files for bankruptcy protection as it looks to ‘begin the next chapter’
Saudi investors stopped backing LIV this year Rahm and DeChambeau may still be involved LIV Golf, the breakaway tour that spent billions luring top players away from the PGA Tour, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, it announced on Tuesday. Launched in 2022, free-spending LIV caused shockwaves and bitter divisions in the golf world, before losing the backing of its deep-pocketed Saudi investors this year, prompting a scramble to stay afloat. Continue reading...
California hails rare sighting of gray wolf in Mendocino national forest
Officials say sighting a sign species – driven to extinction in state before reintroduction in 2011 – expanding its range A gray wolf has recently been seen in California’s Mendocino national forest for the first time since the species returned to the state 15 years ago, state wildlife officials confirmed. Officials in Lake county, which is about two hours north of San Francisco, said last week the California department of fish and wildlife (CDFW) had received reports of sightings in the forest in late August. The agency verified the presence of a wolf in the far north end of the county, county supervisor Brad Rasmussen said in a statement on social media. Continue reading...
Former lab analyst sentenced to 10 years in prison for manipulating DNA data
Authorities accused Missy Woods of altering years worth of data in cases involving homicide, sexual assault and robbery A judge sentenced a former forensic analyst for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to 10 years in prison on Tuesday after authorities said her manipulation of DNA data had raised questions about the validity of hundreds of criminal cases. Yvonne “Missy” Woods pleaded guilty in June to perjury, attempting to influence a public servant, forgery and committing a cybercrime. Dozens of other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Continue reading...
Australia politics live: Victorian energy bills may rise by $100 a year under Coalition; Chalmers says One Nation would ‘destroy’ super
Follow the day’s news live Digital duty of care bill risks ‘malicious compliance’, say Greens Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says the government’s digital duty of care legislation is too vague on whether it allows users to opt-in or opt-out of algorithms, and says that risks manipulation or malicious compliance by the platforms. It’s neither opt-in nor opt-out. And what I’m concerned about is how the tech platforms will manipulate that. Unless the rules are tight, unless there’s no gaps, big tech is going to spend a lot of money fighting these laws in the first place and finding every which way to get around them. Malicious compliance at best. I think the fines element is one of those areas that I think is just not good enough … you need to hit them really where it hurts, and that’s their revenue. So it should be a percentage of global revenue. I don’t know whether this is deliberate misinformation by the opposition leader or he just doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He hasn’t really spent much time engaging on these issues. Either way, it’s wrong. Continue reading...
Ex-60 Minutes managing editor says fired staffers ‘refused to be accomplices’ in show’s ‘destruction’
Guy Campanile addresses ouster in Facebook post and says ‘we were told to leave because we insisted on doing our jobs’ The former managing editor at 60 Minutes, who was fired in May with several other top correspondents, has spoken out about the ouster, saying he and his colleagues, were dismissed because they “would not compromise our principles or reputations by jamming unverifiable notions or White House talking points into our reporting”. Guy Campanile, who worked at CBS News for 34 years, said in a private Facebook post obtained by the Guardian on Tuesday that he had held off on commenting about his dismissal right away, having decided it was “wise to remain quiet when emotions are raw”. Continue reading...
Iran claims to have seized American drone US says had ‘malfunctioned’
Centcom says ‘defective’ drone was surveilling regional waters and was not collecting sensitive data Iranian forces claimed to have seized an American underwater drone in the strait of Hormuz that the US military said had “malfunctioned” more than a day earlier. US Navy Capt Tim Hawkins, a United States Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement the drone was surveilling regional waters when it malfunctioned “more than a day ago”. Continue reading...
Erik and Lyle Menendez eligible to face parole board early next year
Brothers, convicted of parents’ killings and denied parole last year, permitted to apply for another hearing earlier than expected Erik and Lyle Menendez will be before a parole board again in March, about 17 months earlier than expected. The brothers were originally sentenced in 1996 to life in prison for the 1989 fatal shootings of their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion. A Los Angeles judge reduced their sentences to 50 years to life in May 2025, making them eligible for parole because they were under age 26 when they committed their crimes. Continue reading...
Burning Man deaths this year triple the average as attendee age at Nevada’s desert festival ticks upward
More attendees are in their 40s and 50s, with fewer festival-goers in their 20s Three people died at Burning Man this year, tripling the average number of deaths in connection with the annual festival that brings tens of thousands of people to build a temporary utopian community in the brutal conditions of the Nevada desert. The increase in fatalities comes as news reports have highlighted that the average age of Burning Man attendees is increasing, with fewer participants in their 20s, and more in their 40s and 50s. Continue reading...
Far-right port protests: police told to improve intelligence gathering
Whitehall officials also ask why laws meant to clamp down on the wearing of masks at demonstrations were not used Police have been told by the government they expect better intelligence gathering after masked far-right groups took to the streets at the weekend, the Guardian has learned, as the Kent force admitted mishandling warnings of potential trouble. Police in Kent on Saturday and then Portsmouth, Hampshire, on Sunday said they were taken by surprise when hundreds massed to oppose what they say is illegal immigration via small boats. Continue reading...
Ed Miliband has overturned decades of Foreign Office inertia on illegal Israeli settlements
Foreign secretary ends UK’s feigned helplessness with sanctions and description of Israel’s actions as ethnic cleansing The indefatigable ability of UK Foreign Office ministers over decades to issue boilerplate statements of concern about the extension of illegal settlements in Israel has long been a matter of ridicule. Even some of the Conservative ministers who issued them, notably Alan Duncan and Alistair Burt, have agreed. Duncan described the UK stance towards settlements as weak and naive, while Burt wondered at the ability of the Foreign Office to find new forms of diplomatic condemnation that never amounted to any specific action. Margaret Thatcher, often torn as prime minister between her natural sympathy for Israel and her fear of the Gulf states falling under the sway of the Soviet Union, similarly expressed her anger at the settlements. Continue reading...
Iowa marching band member taken off life support after collapse in extreme heat
Derek Phillips suffered cardiac arrest at football game Temperatures reached 94F in Iowa City on Saturday University has not said whether heat caused collapse A University of Iowa marching band member has been taken off life support after collapsing during extreme heat at the Hawkeyes’ season-opening football game on Saturday, his family said. Derek Phillips, a third-year student from Dubuque, Iowa, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest shortly before the band was scheduled to perform its half-time show against Northern Illinois at Kinnick Stadium, according to a message posted to his Instagram account by his family. Continue reading...
UK to force Apple and Google to block explicit images on children’s smartphones
Lisa Nandy says government will introduce legislation after talks deadline ends without breakthrough Apple and Google will be forced to block explicit images on children’s smartphones by law in the UK after talks failed to produce a breakthrough, the government has said. The legislation commitment puts ministers on a collision course with two of the biggest players in Silicon Valley, months after the government announced a social media ban for under-16s. Continue reading...
South Park changes name to South America in response to Trump changes
Satirical program’s new title is ‘inspired by bravery and patriotism’ of Apple and Google, who capitulated to Trump’s requests to change Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ In light of Donald Trump ’s attempts to rename a gulf, lakes and even states after “America”, South Park , the animated satirical program that has long skewered those in power, has announced an official name change. For its 29th season, the Comedy Central series will be known as “South America”. “Inspired by the bravery and patriotism of Apple and Google, we are changing the name of South Park to SOUTH AMERICA,” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker said in a statement. “We especially want to thank our parent company Paramount – a Skydance Capitulation.” The show’s parent company, Paramount Skydance, owned by Trump ally David Ellison, is poised to become one of the biggest media conglomerates in the US after the Trump administration approved its $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), drawing much creative industry backlash . The 29th season of “South America” will premiere on 16 September, and stream globally on Paramount+. Continue reading...
Will UK sanctions have any impact on Israel’s ‘settler terrorists’ in West Bank?
A look at whether Ed Miliband’s plans will be effective and what they signal for future Israel-UK relations The British foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has announced plans for an import ban on goods for illegal settlements in occupied Palestine and sanctions for companies that “finance or facilitate” the construction, infrastructure and marketing of illegal settlements. He also said “settler terrorists” were perpetrating ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank, while the government turned a blind eye and some members of the government supported it. Continue reading...
United Utilities fined £1m after discharging raw sewage into Lancashire coast
Sewage plume reached seven bathing waters and significantly affected water quality in June 2023 United Utilities has been fined nearly £1m after illegally discharging raw sewage into the Lancashire coastline and polluting seaside holiday locations including Blackpool. The water company pleaded guilty to five environmental permit offences relating to a pollution incident along the Fylde coast in June 2023, and was ordered by Preston magistrates court on Tuesday to pay £964,225 in fines and costs. Continue reading...
UK government pays highest interest rate on 30-year bond since 1998
High yields threaten to wipe out at least half of the £24bn headroom John Healey was expecting to have for his budget The UK government was forced to pay the highest interest rate for a 30-year bond since 1998 on Tuesday, underlining the fiscal challenges facing the chancellor, John Healey. Echoing the global bond market sell-off that has driven up yields, or interest rates, on government borrowing across major markets, the Treasury paid 5.82% to borrow £4bn. Continue reading...
Smithsonian Institution secretary to retire amid Trump attacks on museum independence
‘I have to be honest, it has been stressful,’ Lonnie Bunch III says The Smithsonian Institution’s secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, will retire at the end of the year amid Donald Trump ’s attacks on the museum’s content and independence. Bunch, who was appointed in 2019 as the first African American to lead the museums, cited personal reasons for departing, while acknowledging the pressure that the president’s attacks on the Smithsonian’s depictions of US history had taken. Continue reading...
Commons breathes a sigh of relief as UK finally takes a moral stance of Israeli settlements | John Crace
Opposition to Miliband’s announcement of sanctions rings hollow – helped by fewer than 10 Tory backbenchers turning up to debate Nobody can say they weren’t warned. The Andy Burnham government might have looked like Continuity Keir with more positive vibes for the first six weeks or so, but on Tuesday a new line was drawn. When Burnham said he felt Labour had not done enough on Palestine and Gaza, he had meant it. His decision to impose trade sanctions on illegal settlements in the West Bank was to be his first break with the past. Some opponents chose to get their retaliation in early, before Ed Miliband had even stood up to make the announcement in the Commons on Tuesday. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador, declared on Sunday that Ed was guilty of “hating Jews”. Which rather implied he thought Ed hated himself. Continue reading...
US federal court says no constitutional right to clean water in Mississippi case
Appeals court dismisses lawsuit from Jackson residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their rights A US appellate court has decided that the federal constitution does not guarantee a right to clean water. That legal opinion came in the form of a decision on Friday from the fifth circuit court of appeals to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a 2022 lawsuit from several Jackson, Mississippi, residents claiming that tainted drinking water violated their constitutional rights. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on Britain’s new Middle East policy: an unlawful occupation must carry a price | Editorial
Ed Miliband has delivered Britain’s toughest indictment of Israeli conduct in Palestinian lands - and rightly says this has economic consequences Rarely in recent years has the Commons felt like the cockpit of history. On Tuesday it did. The foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, placed Britain at the head of a 12-country coalition considering economic restrictions on Israel’s illegal settlements, with the UK, France and Canada committing to national trade bans. The move comes after escalating numbers of attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the West Bank. International opinion seemed to shift decisively after Israel gave the go-ahead for 1,200 homes in the E1 settlement that would cleave the West Bank into two – using illegal settlements to bury Palestinian statehood for good. Mr Miliband added that evidence of war crimes in Gaza was mounting, making the overdue case for Britain to recast its economic and military relationship with Israel. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
The Guardian view on English schools: teachers and pupils should be proud of bucking a downward trend | Editorial
International comparisons suggest that some things are being done right in England’s classrooms Teachers, headteachers, children, parents and politicians should all feel proud of England’s schools, which have bucked a disappointing international trend . Results from 15-year-olds in reading, maths and science have held up well compared with 90 other countries, according to the programme for international student assessment (Pisa). Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland did not match England’s success in reading and maths, although all four UK nations scored well in science. Worries about children reading fewer books than in the past should be dispelled to some degree by England’s results, which show no decline in capability since 2022, when the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last published results. The decision to place more emphasis on science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem), both at primary and secondary levels, has seemingly borne fruit. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here . Continue reading...
Glastonbury tickets break £400 for first time as on-sale date is announced
Tickets set to cost £408 at return for Somerset festival after a fallow year, a jump from £378.50 in 2025 After a fallow year in 2026, Glastonbury festival fans can start to get excited – and nervous – about tickets for 2027’s event going on sale. The price breaks £400 for the first time, at £408 including a £5 booking fee, a rise from the 2025 cost of £378.50. The usual scramble to acquire them – with all the attendant frantic spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups – will begin at 9am on Sunday 4 October. Continue reading...