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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Lions’ Jack Campbell remains hospitalized after ‘scary’ neck injury but initial signs are positive
Team say they will not release further information 26-year-old will remain in hospital for time being The Detroit Lions have said the initial signs for Jack Campbell are “positive” after the linebacker was carted off the field and taken to hospital when he suffered a neck injury during Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings. The 26-year-old was treated for nine minutes on the field after making a tackle during Sunday’s game. Players from both teams were visibly distraught as Campbell received medical attention before he was taken for further treatment at a nearby facility. Continue reading...
Ex-FBI chief in Chicago sues DoJ, claiming he was pressured to investigate Trump’s foes
Douglas DePodesta says he was made ‘scapegoat’ after collapse of case against Broadview Six anti-ICE protesters The former head of the FBI in Chicago has accused the Trump administration of pressuring him to investigate the president’s political opponents and making him a “scapegoat” after a major federal case against anti-ICE protesters fell apart. Douglas DePodesta, who served as FBI special agent in charge from 2024 until July 2026, alleged in a federal lawsuit filed on Monday that the Department of Justice (DoJ) had engaged in “misconduct” and “malfeasance” in its pursuit of unjust prosecutions – and that he was wrongly blamed for the DoJ’s missteps and unlawfully forced out of his job. Continue reading...
Trump unveils results of $14m reflecting pool makeover in final appeal before midterms
US president shares delayed results of chaotic renovation on DC site as Americans prepare to head to the polls Donald Trump unveiled the delayed results of his $14m renovation of Washington DC’s Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in what is expected to be his final press conference before voters head to the polls for the midterm elections. On the eve of a consequential election day, with polls indicating that most voters feel the US president has grown too focused on building projects in the nation’s capital, he stood in front of the newly opened reflecting pool to discuss – in detail – changes to the pool’s pipe, the grass surrounding the area and granite. Continue reading...
Migration is a moral issue for Burnham – but he also wants to tell a positive story
While PM is keen to support those making a contribution his backing of Shabana Mahmood’s hard line is no surprise While out on the campaign trail in Makerfield, Andy Burnham gave a glimpse into where he might land on Labour’s plans for immigration reform, which had already been decried by the left of the party as unfair and the right as electorally necessary. Asked by the Guardian what he thought of Reform’s attack on “open borders Andy” – Nigel Farage’s early attempt to define him as soft on migration – the then Manchester mayor dismissed the charge as “ridiculous” and went on the defensive. Continue reading...
Fossilised red blood cells found in 115m-year-old dinosaur’s bone, say scientists
Chemical tests on Aratasaurus bone identify presence of heme, the organic compound that allows haemoglobin in blood to carry oxygen around body It could be the opening of a Jurassic Park rip-off: scientists examining ancient dinosaur bones find what appear to be fossilised red blood cells, and traces of the molecule that gives the beast’s blood its distinctive crimson hue. But that is what researchers are claiming to have discovered after analysing the hind leg bones of a small, meat-eating dinosaur called an Aratasaurus that lived and died in what is now north-eastern Brazil 115m years ago. Continue reading...
‘We cannot move forward’: Savannah Guthrie shares new post seeking information in mother’s disappearance
Her latest plea comes three months after urging ‘someone to come forward’ with details about Nancy Guthrie Savannah Guthrie has issued a new plea for help on the whereabouts of her 84-year-old mother, who authorities believe was abducted in February. On Sunday, the Today show co-host shared a photo of an old drawing made by her daughter featuring an umbrella and the words: “I know it might not seem like it but I really need my mommy.” Continue reading...
Longtime host Michael Wilbon steps away from ESPN due to ‘health issues’
Pardon the Interruption co-host to take leave of absence Wilbon did not go into detail but cited ‘worrisome signs’ Michael Wilbon is taking a break. The longtime ESPN commentator and co-host of the network’s popular Pardon the Interruption talkshow alongside good friend Tony Kornheiser announced Monday he is taking a leave of absence because of what he described as “multiple health issues”. Continue reading...
How will UK immigration rules change under Shabana Mahmood’s latest plans?
Home secretary has softened on some proposals but still hardening rules for those wishing to settle permanently Shabana Mahmood has watered down some of last year’s immigration plans after a backlash from enraged backbench Labour MPs and some of her cabinet colleagues. But the package of proposals, outlined on Thursday , is still a radical hardening of the rules for those wishing to settle permanently in the UK. They will make people on lower incomes wait longer before achieving indefinite leave to remain in the UK, while people on higher salaries will find it easier. Continue reading...
Half-witted at best, a people-pleaser at worst: step forward, Chris Philp
Responding to Shabana Mahmood’s changes to indefinite leave to remain, the shadow home secretary was detached from reality Better late than never. It had seemed as if some apologies from the prime minister were more sincere than others. The one that he has planned to deliver for Britain’s role in the slave trade at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua fell on the right side of genuine. There had been no need to make one at that time. Indeed Kemi Badenoch saw it as a sign of weakness. There again, she would refuse to apologise for running someone over on a pedestrian crossing. Somehow it would have turned out to be the victim’s fault. Andy Burnham’s apology for not being able to turn up in the Commons to lend support to his home secretary might rather fall into the “sorry, not sorry” category. Making life more difficult for migrants was more one for Keir Starmer’s legacy than part of the new government’s agenda. Andy couldn’t have been more thrilled to be on a plane as Shabana Mahmood stood up to make her statement on ‘earned settlement’. It was almost as if the statement had been timed for when Burnham was away. At the very least, it was the perfect coincidence. If not divine intervention. Continue reading...
How Israel is at the heart of Haley Stevens’s extraordinary reversal
The issue runs through almost every twist and turn and has come to define the congresswoman’s political persona For Haley Stevens, the road from Democratic Senate candidate to campaigning alongside a Republican she once called a rubber stamp for Donald Trump has been remarkably short – and the issue running through almost every twist and turn has been Israel. Having failed to stop Abdul El-Sayed in the primary, Stevens chose to back Republican Mike Rogers on Sunday, a candidate who she previously warned would enable Trump’s agenda – apparently because the Democrat who won refuses to share her position on Israel. Continue reading...
Who is hacking Europe’s supermarket fridges and freezers, and why?
After a second apparent cyber-attack in as many weeks, we examine possible culprits and their motives Shop fridges and freezers across Europe hit by fresh suspected cyber-attack Supermarket fridges and freezers in seven European countries have malfunctioned , their thermostats remotely cranked up in some cases to 50C (122F). The EU has condemned what it said was “a deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain and undermine consumers’ confidence in it”. Continue reading...
The Guardian view on a migration U-turn: it still leaves unfair changes intact | Editorial
Britain needs migrant workers, yet ministers would make many wait longer for secure settlement because their essential work commands low wages Shabana Mahmood has made a partial retreat on her policy to lengthen the wait for some foreign workers who were soon to be eligible for settlement in the UK. But while the home secretary lost the argument in cabinet on a particularly damaging aspect of her proposals, she has won the larger battle that settlement ought to be based not just on residency but also on how much tax has been paid, English language proficiency and the “character” of applicants. Significantly, she has also won the “full support” of the prime minister for this approach. The home secretary plans to double the standard qualifying period for settlement from five to 10 years for most workers. Importantly, she dropped the proposed 15-year qualifying period for some workers in occupations below graduate level. That is a good thing. Differences in pay, however, should not determine how soon people can put down secure roots. The Home Office’s own figures suggest that a person earning £41,700 makes a similarly positive lifetime fiscal contribution as someone earning £50,271. But the former has to wait five years longer to qualify for settlement than the latter. It is only three years for foreign workers who make enough to be in the top 2% of earners – about £125,000. Continue reading...
Why did a Democrat endorse a rival Republican in Michigan? - The Latest
Democratic congresswoman Haley Stevens has endorsed the Republican candidate for the Senate after a spat with her party’s own candidate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed. The endorsement stunned Stevens’s Democrat colleagues, with one calling it a ‘despicable betrayal’ on the eve of the midterm elections. So what will it mean for the race? Lucy Hough speaks to US southern bureau chief and host of Anywhere but Washington Oliver Laughland Continue reading...
French pupils resume school blockades as country braces for more protests
Minister warns weeks without lessons are putting exams at risk as unions plan nationwide strike on Thursday Dozens of high schools across France were blockaded again on Monday as the government braced for another tense week of protests over school conditions and the high cost of living. The protests come amid warnings that weeks without lessons are putting some pupils’ school year and final exams at risk. Continue reading...
Trial of nine men accused of abusing woman drugged and raped by husband begins
The husband, who cannot be named to protect his victim, has already pleaded guilty to a number of offences carried out at the couple’s Stockport home Nine men have gone on trial accused of being involved in the abuse of a woman who was drugged, raped and sexually assaulted by her husband while he “lived a double life masked in respectability”. The husband, who cannot be named in order to protect the anonymity of his victim, has already pleaded guilty to a number of offences against his wife spanning more than two decades. Continue reading...
What are the races to watch in the US midterm elections and why do they matter?
US voters will decide whether Republicans will retain control of Congress or whether Democrats will rise up to stymie Trump’s agenda Donald Trump will still be US president on the morning of 4 November. But he could be facing a very different political landscape, depending on the results of the US midterm elections held the previous day. As the name implies, midterm elections fall nearly halfway through a president’s term. They are often a telling referendum on the sitting president’s performance, something Trump is actively encouraging by telling voters “pretend I’m on the ballot”. In this case, voters will decide whether Trump’s Republican party can retain its grip on Congress. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans are defending a narrow majority, with Democrats needing a net gain of four seats to take control. 35 seats in the Senate. Thirty-three seats are up in regular elections, along with two special elections in Florida and Ohio to fill the remainder of terms that were vacated early. Republicans currently hold 53 seats, against 47 held by Democrats and independents who caucus with them. Democrats need to gain four seats to secure a majority. 39 governorships. Voters will choose governors in 36 states and three US territories. Thousands of state legislative seats , as well as local offices, judicial contests and ballot measures on issues including taxes, abortion rights and voting rules. Continue reading...
Judge tosses case against two officials accused of lying about Hunter Biden
The two FBI agents were charged with making false statements to Congress while testifying about the bureau’s role in investigating Biden’s laptop A federal judge dismissed criminal charges against two former FBI officials who were accused of lying about their involvement in the investigation into Hunter Biden , the son of former president Joe Biden, on Monday. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said prosecutors failed to show probable cause that the two former officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, had knowingly made false statements. Continue reading...
Oil price falls amid hope of a breakthrough to end Iran war
Brent crude drops by more than 6% to $105.55 a barrel, the lowest level in more than two weeks The oil price has fallen to its lowest level in more two weeks amid new hopes of a breakthrough to end the Iran war. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped by more than 6.5% to as low as $105.55 a barrel on Monday, the lowest since 16 October, sending shares in airline companies higher and pushing down government borrowing costs. Continue reading...
A decade of magical thinking since Brexit has taught me that it’s always OK to hope for better | Zoe Williams
The world has changed enormously since 2016, yet the pro-Brexiters believe remainers like me have no chance of achieving a closer relationship with the EU. I’m choosing to ignore them However sunny your disposition, it wears you down, 10 straight years of being asked to accept facts about Brexit that aren’t true: 52% as an “overwhelming majority”; a flaky, half-baked referendum as the endpoint of purest democracy; the severance of a complicated trading and geopolitical relationship that took decades to build as the dawn of a new prosperity. All such nonsense, all delivered with such conviction, by such a wide variety of sources, many of them self-describing as impartial, that in the end you just surrender to it. None of it magically becomes true, don’t be silly. It’s more that you come to accept that everyone else talks nonsense now. Nobody get too excited – just because Andy Burnham has reopened a debate that upside-down world said couldn’t be reopened, it doesn’t mean the UK is on the brink of coming to its senses. I have no idea what’s going to happen; all I can say for certain is that times have changed more than I realised. The pro-Brexit crew have updated their arguments. They no longer say leaving the EU will bring untold riches, and they never even namecheck all the control we were meant to have taken back. They rarely mention any immigration benefits because that unwieldy issue now has a life of its own – or, to put that more simply, it turns out that in or out of the European Union, we can still fight about our borders like rats in a sack. Continue reading...
Trump promised a steel mill in this rural Iowa region. But is it all a midterm election ploy?
Residents would welcome the development, but the president’s past false promises cast doubt on the proposal On a Monday afternoon in late September, Donald Trump gathered Iowa Republicans in the Oval Office to make a big announcement: the firm Mesabi Metallics would invest $15bn to make the midwestern state the site of the largest steel mill in the country. One month later, and just days before the midterm election, word has spread in the small town of Wever, population 142, that the mill will be built somewhere nearby. And that’s been about it – no shovels in the dirt, workers on a job site or machinery on the dirt roads leading down towards the Mississippi River. Continue reading...
Defendant tells court he believed he had consent of woman drugged by her husband
Connor Sanderson-Doyle is one of four men accused of sexually abusing Joanne Young, who was repeatedly assaulted by her husband, Philip Young A man has told a court he believed a woman who was repeatedly raped and drugged by her husband had consented when he answered an advert to have sex with her. Former Tory councillor Philip Young has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of drugging and sexually abusing his wife, Joanne Young, during a 13-year period at their home in Swindon, Wiltshire. Continue reading...
Rachel Reeves and the Starmerites are back – and they’re pointing out how little has changed | Gaby Hinsliff
Labour’s recently departed grandees are keen to defend their legacies. Is Andy Burnham really offering Britain something new? Rachel Reeves wants you to know she thinks Britain’s future belongs in Europe. She would also like to mention that she “absolutely” got all the big calls right as chancellor, even if there were a few things she would have done differently, and that John Healey’s budget last week would have been far harder for him if she hadn’t put in so much of the groundwork. The gist of her argument in last weekend’s Sunday papers – previewing a lecture at Harvard University today, reflecting on her time in power – was essentially that if anyone imagines Andy Burnham somehow invented pro-Europeanism and putting more money in people’s pockets, they can think again. Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
E Jean Carroll fights Trump’s last-ditch push to dismiss $83m damages verdict
Lawyers file opposition to Trump’s request, telling supreme court justices they do not need ‘to bail out this president’ E Jean Carroll’s lawyers are fighting Donald Trump’s efforts to toss her $83m damages verdict in the US supreme court, telling the justices that they do not need “to bail out this president from the consequences of his repeated litigation choices”. Jurors delivered Carroll the huge award on 26 January 2024, less than one year after the journalist and author won $5m in her sexual abuse and defamation case against Trump. The president has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in relation to Carroll. Continue reading...
Newcastle hospital told woman whose unborn baby had died to go home and ‘book a slot to give birth’
Trust admits Danielle Brown’s baby would have survived had she not been sent home from RVI days earlier A seven-months-pregnant woman whose unborn baby had died was sent home from hospital with a booklet for bereaved parents and told to book a slot to give birth. Danielle Brown, 31, had been discharged from hospital with pre-eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication. She returned to hospital days later where scans revealed that her daughter, Maisie, had died at about 29 weeks. Continue reading...