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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Nigel Farage accused of shoving female Lib Dem MP in parliament
Liberal Democrats deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, claims Reform UK leader ‘physically shoved’ colleague in May • UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage has been accused of having shoved a female Liberal Democrat MP earlier this year, after he spoke about missing this week’s budget because of a previous altercation about seating. The Reform leader said on Wednesday that he skipped John Healey’s speech in the House of Commons due to his seat reservation having been moved. Continue reading...
Cornell faculty press ahead with no-confidence vote in handling of gang-rape case
A recording of a closed-door meeting revealed some faculty sought to delay the vote, but others urged immediacy Faculty members at Cornell University are pressing ahead with a no-confidence vote in campus leadership over its handling of a gang-rape scandal involving students at a fraternity at the Ivy League institution. Cornell professors on Wednesday discussed, at an emotional faculty meeting, how the school’s leadership tackled a woman’s report that she was raped by at least seven male students at a fraternity house in 2024. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
The low-budget Brewers won the World Series – and exposed baseball’s biggest lie
Milwaukee’s first World Series championship is a rebuke to baseball’s oligarch class, whose insistence that small-market teams cannot compete has been laid bare as fiction For the entirety of the 2026 baseball season, the overlords of the game have stood on the single position that what has now happened could not happen, and the result was a year that has been treated like an appetizer for the main course of the offseason: the shutting down of the game until the players, after 40 years of resistance, finally agree to a salary cap. The insistence that the game had been predetermined undermined the Milwaukee Brewers, who spent 149 days this season atop the standings. Baseball dismissed Milwaukee’s 22-0 demolition of Seattle on 18 August, the 20-0 waxing of Cincinnati a month later, and the comprehensive dusting of their division – their fourth consecutive National League Central title and fifth in six years – by 14 games. Baseball’s owners, at their persuasive best, would have their paying customers believe that the Brewers’ franchise-record 103 regular-season wins also were an illusion, or worse, the dreaded outlier, even though Milwaukee have won 770 games since 2018, the fourth-most in all of baseball. Even when Milwaukee exhaled and made the Dodgers look old in a stirring four-game sweep, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the owners’ position remained unchanged. Continue reading...
Volcanic eruption and Obama on the midterm campaign trail: photos of the day – Thursday
The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...
Study of 100,000 Australians seeks causes of mental health disorders and early onset cancer
Sax Institute is recruiting for 18 and Up, an intergenerational study of wellbeing and ageing which follows its landmark 45 and Up study Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Researchers hope to better understand the drivers of major health challenges facing younger people, such as mental illness and rising cancer rates, through the recruitment of 100,000 people for Australia’s largest intergenerational study of wellbeing and ageing. The independent and not-for-profit research institute the Sax Institute, on Thursday launched the 18 and Up study, which will follow the health of those aged 18 to 45 throughout their lives. Continue reading...
Erin Patterson prepares for mushroom murders appeal ruling to learn if she could face retrial or longer jail term
Victorian court to hand down decision on Friday on two appeals regarding Patterson’s triple murder case Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Erin Patterson is set to find out if she could face a longer prison sentence or a new trial, as Victoria’s highest court hands down its decision on two appeals regarding her triple murder case . The court of appeal is set to rule on the two appeals from 10am on Friday, after justices Lesley Taylor, Stephen McLeish and Peter Kidd heard arguments from her legal team and prosecutors in August. Continue reading...
Lawyers for Marist Brothers face questions over advice to keep serial offender out of ‘legal arena’
A once-confidential letter says child sexual abuser might implicate senior church officials if allowed near ‘the legal arena’ upon his release from jail Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Lawyers from a leading law firm for the Marist Brothers have been subpoenaed to explain a once-confidential document showing they advised the Catholic order to keep a serial offender out of “the legal arena”, suggesting he was too honest and might implicate senior church officials. The offender was “regrettably up front” about his interactions with senior leadership, and could not be trusted to heed “suggestions” about “not dumping on others excessively”, the document says. Continue reading...
Healey’s budget paves way for ‘brutal’ spending review next year, warns IFS
Thinktank says chancellor has given himself a mountain to climb after ducking big decisions in low-key speech John Healey has paved the way for a “brutal” spending review next year after his budget failed to cover a £28bn shortfall in the public finances needed to avoid a return to austerity, according to Britain’s leading tax and spending experts. A day after his address to the Commons , the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned the chancellor had left himself a mountain to climb after ducking several big decisions in his debut tax and spending statement. Continue reading...
UK social media ban may lock out more than 100,000 teenagers without ID
Watchdog says under-16 ban may affect older teenagers without passport or licence, and that ‘motivated children’ will skirt restrictions More than 100,000 British teenagers risk being locked out of social media in the UK if they do not have a passport or driving licence when an under-16 ban is introduced next year. Ofcom, the UK’s online watchdog, said about 150,000 16 to 17-year-olds do not own a passport or driving licence, which are likely to be needed to access age-restricted platforms. Continue reading...
DoorDash to buy Instacart for $17bn in major grocery delivery consolidation
Acquisition will supercharge DoorDash’s grocery delivery, ‘one of the hardest things to get right online’, CEO says DoorDash is gobbling up Instacart in a $17bn acquisition that will supercharge its grocery delivery business. DoorDash said the Instacart brand name and app will remain, and Instacart shoppers can continue fulfilling orders for Instacart. Grocers can also choose to work with Instacart or DoorDash. Instacart customers will now have access to 50,000 additional stores covered by DoorDash, the company said. Continue reading...
Russell Brand’s wife tells court he is ‘amazingly attentive husband’
Giving evidence at her husband’s rape trial, Laura Brand says couple previously split up over his promiscuity Russell Brand’s wife has told a court that they previously split up over his promiscuity but that he was a “wonderful father” and an “amazingly attentive husband”. Giving evidence at her husband’s rape trial, Laura Brand, 39, said they fell in love after meeting in 2006 but that the comedian found monogamy difficult. Continue reading...
Alaska governor orders investigation into Democrat Mary Peltola’s Senate campaign
Republican Mike Dunleavy plans search after Peltola accused of recruiting Dan Sullivan to confuse voters The Republican governor of Alaska announced plans to launch a criminal investigation after a report accused the campaign of Democratic senate candidate Mary Peltola of trying to confuse voters by recruiting a candidate with the same name as her opponent. Governor Mike Dunleavy wrote on social media that he was “directing the Department of Public Safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska’s laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted ”. Continue reading...
US economy grows faster than expected in report out just ahead of elections
Growth is in sharp contrast to households’ assessment, reflected in Trump’s record-low approval ratings The US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter as resilient consumer spending and AI -driven business investment more than offset the impact of higher oil prices stemming from the conflict in the Middle East . Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 3.4% annualized rate last quarter, the commerce department’s bureau of economic analysis said in its advance estimate of the third quarter GDP on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP advancing at a 3.2% pace. Continue reading...
‘Mississippi matters’: Scott Colom aims to turn Mississippi blue
The Democrat is challenging incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith for US Senate On Tuesday, with just one week until the election, Scott Colom’s headquarters was buzzing. Volunteers arrived for phone-banking, while staffers prepared for another day of campaigning. Colom, a Democrat who is challenging incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith for US Senate, had just held a press conference in Corinth, Mississippi. Trump campaigned for Hyde-Smith in Corinth, a small city near the Tennessee border that typically leans Republican on Tuesday, too. He told attendees that he was there “because Cindy’s doing great, but I just got to make sure. I can’t take a chance.” Continue reading...
‘Algorithms make everything predictable’: why the CD is making a comeback
As John Lewis reports a 96% rise in searches for CD players, music fans share their reasons for ditching streaming CDs appear to be having a resurgence . John Lewis said searches for CD players are up 96% since July, while another report on trends in music and film this year found that CD sales are up 16%. With this in mind, we asked music fans why they favour discs over other formats, and if it is a new preference or a lifetime habit. Continue reading...
Could Abdul El-Sayed’s plan for AI companies stave off catastrophe? | Jerel Ezell
The Michigan Senate candidate is calling for public ownership and other reforms, offering a potential antidote to ideological gridlock The Michigan senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, occupies a strange but increasingly common place in modern American politics. He’s praised by progressives, begrudgingly tolerated by moderate Democrats and largely demonized by Republicans. He’s also uniquely positioned to forge an all-too-elusive thread of political kinship between these perpetually-at-odds groups with his bold but contentious plan for reining in AI, called AI Under Democracy . Continue reading...
Two Colorado college students found dead after going missing during hike
Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon were on a trip in Rocky Mountains last weekend when heavy snowstorm hit Two Colorado college students have been found dead after going missing during a hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains last weekend when a heavy snowstorm hit, authorities said. The bodies of Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado , and Jackson Donlon, 20, of New York, were found on Wednesday afternoon in a basin of West Apostle Mountain, about 100 miles (160km) south-east of Aspen, the Chaffee county sheriff’s office said in a statement posted on social media. Continue reading...
Pragmatic or pointless? Europe’s rift over whether to pick up the phone to Putin
With no single European representative negotiating directly with Moscow, some leaders are establishing their own channels – with messy results The Nordic countries rarely fall out in public over foreign policy, least of all over Russia. But a 90-minute phone call this week to Vladimir Putin by the leaders of Finland and Norway drew an unusual rebuke from their Danish and Swedish neighbours. Continue reading...
HMRC puts 200 billionaires on UK tax crackdown hitlist
‘Compliance managers’ to have discussions with authority’s wealthiest customers in aim to raise tax revenues Business live – latest updates The UK’s tax authority is assigning dedicated “customer compliance managers” to more than 200 billionaires as part of a crackdown meant to raise £500m for the public purse. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it had for the first time compiled a list of billionaires who are required to pay tax in the UK, regardless of whether they formally live in the country, to tackle a “wealthy tax gap” caused by those who do not pay what they ought. Continue reading...
John Healey faces questions over budget leak that moved bank share prices
Treasury select committee asks FCA to investigate whether tax surcharge leak led to ‘improper release of inside information’ John Healey is facing pressure to clarify whether he permitted a market-sensitive budget leak ahead of his statement, which moved bank share prices. The chair of the influential Commons Treasury select committe, Meg Hillier, has written to the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority watchdog (FCA) to assess whether a story leaked to Bloomberg, and published more than an hour before the budget was revealed, led to an “improper release of inside information”. Continue reading...
Cruise residents stranded in Cambodia after fuel crisis halts operations – video
A luxury cruise ship on a years-long voyage around the world was forced to suspend its operations because of high fuel prices, stranding passengers in Cambodia. The ship, which began its journey in 2024, had been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, and 156 crew. It is one of only a handful of ships that rent or sell long-term, or even permanent, accommodation onboard. Passengers stranded in Cambodia after cruise halted Continue reading...
Is this play-safe budget a sign that the prime minister is planning an early election? | Larry Elliott
There’s no real strategy behind this hotchpotch of measures. Andy Burnham may be parking the big decisions until he has a true mandate Continue reading...
Explosive book targets Jared Kushner’s role in US foreign policy | First Thing
President’s son-in-law denies ‘completely insane’ claims he profited from unofficial position. Plus, the battle between psychics and AI Good morning. A book that contains incendiary claims about Jared Kushner’s financial dealings during Donald Trump’s first term has ignited a political and media storm . The book, by the author Matthew Cole, drew a furious response from Kushner, who called its claims “completely insane”. It contains numerous allegations about Kushner, who has served as one of Donald Trump’s top diplomatic envoys in the Middle East. The most explosive are claims linking him to huge bank accounts allegedly funded by Gulf states. Kushner continues to steer US foreign policy despite having no official role. The Guardian contacted Kushner’s legal counsel and received no response. Barack Obama offered a closing argument for Democrats in the final week of the campaign. “These are not serious people,” he said of Trump and the Republican party. “And we’re all paying the price for their lack of seriousness.” The campaign of the Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola was behind an effort to recruit a challenger with almost the same name as the Republican US senator Dan Sullivan . Both men will appear on the ballot in next week’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement with the other Dan Sullivan, who will be listed on the ballot as “Sullivan, Daniel J Jr”. Two rightwing influencers have been charged with felonies in Minneapolis over attempts in the state’s election primary to disguise themselves in what they called “Muslim garb” and claim they were local voters. If you are having trouble keeping track of all the ways Trump and his administration have been attempting to disrupt the midterms, this four-minute video explainer has you covered. And the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, has this analysis piece looking at Trump’s midterm rally bigotry , with the president’s repeated attacks on Muslims and his strange obsession with people’s bodies. Continue reading...
How Laura Loomer and Trump allies amplified ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ lie dogging Abdul El-Sayed
Michigan US Senate candidate signaled support for Egypt’s pro-democracy movement in 2012, not Islamist group The Republican campaign to defeat Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate race by casting him as an Islamic extremist is based on a false claim first made by the conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer eight years ago, a Guardian review of the evidence reveals. Loomer, an influential outside adviser to Donald Trump who calls herself “ a proud Islamophobe ”, has claimed since El-Sayed entered politics in 2018 that an open letter he signed in support of democracy in Egypt in 2012 was a public endorsement of the Muslim Brotherhood . The text of the letter, however, does not even mention the Muslim Brotherhood, and is not, as Loomer maintains, “a pledge” of support for the Egyptian Islamist group. Continue reading...