section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
4976 stories archived
Deadlocked jury in Lindsay Clancy trial resumes deliberations after dispute
Jury starts seven day of deliberations after foreperson told judge juror won’t follow instruction about reasonable doubt The deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy trial started a seventh day of deliberations Friday, a day after the jury’s foreperson told the judge a single juror won’t follow the court’s instructions about reasonable doubt. The extraordinary disclosure made in the form of a note delivered to the judge offered the clearest glimpse yet of what may be keeping jurors from reaching a verdict on whether the Massachusetts mother is criminally responsible for killing her three children. Continue reading...
Has Reform UK donations exposé caused a split in Nigel Farage’s party?
Senior party figures do not appear united, but Farage may be more concerned about impact on performance in polls UK politics live – latest updates Midway through an event at Reform’s annual conference on Friday there was question for the audience: who was worried about a Channel 4 News exposé of potential wrongdoing by party officials over donations? Almost no hands went up. The faithful might be sanguine. But make no mistake, Nigel Farage faces yet another problem. Careful plans have been again upset. After months of answering – or primarily dodging – questions about his own finances, Farage had planned to use Reform UK’s biggest conference yet to make a blitz of policy announcements. Continue reading...
Texas man sentenced to 20 years in prison over death of teen in 1980s
James Elmore Jr sentenced in death of Laura Miller, whose body was found in 1986 in notorious ‘Texas Killing Fields’ A man found guilty in the death of teenager Laura Miller, whose body was recovered in 1986 in the notorious so-called “Texas Killing Fields”, was given a 20-year prison sentence on Thursday. James Elmore Jr received that punishment from a Galveston county jury that a day earlier had convicted him of manslaughter in connection with Laura Miller’s death, which inspired her father, Tim Miller , to launch Texas EquuSearch, a non-profit organization specializing in searching for missing people. Continue reading...
Australia’s housing prices are trending down. See which suburbs have had the biggest falls
Cotality says prices have declined in most capital cities over winter. Search the data to see how they have changed in your area Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australia’s property market is facing a rare price correction, as rising interest rates and less favourable tax settings for investors accelerate a downturn. Most capital cities recorded winter price falls, according to Cotality data, with Sydney leading the decline. That weakness is expected to continue, as higher inflation could lead to further interest rate hikes , denting demand. Continue reading...
North Carolina becomes first state to send out mail-in ballots for US midterms
State decides to proceed hours after Trump administration asks supreme court to let it carry out proposed crackdown North Carolina became the first state to start sending out mail-in ballots for November’s US midterm elections on Friday, as Donald Trump’s administration fights to impose sweeping restrictions on the practice before millions of Americans cast their votes. The state’s decision to proceed – hours after Trump’s officials asked the supreme court to let the administration press ahead with its proposed crackdown – comes amid deep uncertainty over whether new federal rules governing mail ballots will be allowed to take effect, and whether the US Postal Service can implement the changes in time. Continue reading...
What is the latest finance scandal facing Reform UK?
Nigel Farage’s party has been referred to the police by Labour and the Lib Dems for potential breaches of the law UK politics live – latest updates Nigel Farage is facing yet another finance scandal following a n undercover investigation into how the party is funded . The potential wrongdoing – denied by the party – appears serious enough to have been immediately referred to the police by Labour and the Liberal Democrats. These are the main legal issues for Reform and what any investigation will have to consider. Continue reading...
Deadly escalation in Black Sea attacks prompts fears of even higher food prices
Russian and Ukrainian strikes in July killed more crew than in whole war to that month, preventing grain exports A summer of hostilities in the Black Sea proved deadly for seafarers, as Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s ships and port infrastructure, preventing vital grain exports and prompting concerns that the conflict will push global food prices even higher. More crew were killed in the Black Sea in July than during the entirety of the war before that month as the conflict has intensified , making the body of water the most dangerous in the world for commercial shipping. This is despite the conflict between the US and Iran, with vessels still being targeted in the strait of Hormuz , Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Continue reading...
US Open tennis: Sabalenka, Alcaraz, Pegula and Medvedev in action on day six – live
The latest third-round updates from Flushing Meadows You can mail Niall and follow us on TikTok and Bluesky The third round gets under way today in New York, pitting seeded players against each other for the first time. The draw is about to really take shape, and there are some intriguing matches coming up. Here’s the order of play this afternoon. Arthur Ashe Stadium (from 11.30am local/4.30pm BST) (3) Jessica Pegula v Leylah Fernandez (31) Yibing Wu v Carlos Alcaraz (2) Continue reading...
Woman, 45, killed in Florence in seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August
Lorena Isceri was thrown off a motorway bridge, allegedly by ex-boyfriend Federico Vella A 45-year-old woman has been killed and thrown off a motorway bridge near Florence, in the seventh alleged femicide in Italy since mid-August. Lorena Isceri was abducted on Thursday afternoon, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, Federico Vella, in the Rifredi area of Florence, before being forced into the boot of his car and driven towards the bridge on the A1 motorway. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...
Nigel Farage meeting a 'shadowy foreign donor'? It can only be another establishment stitch-up | Marina Hyde
The only thing more dodgy than Reform’s financial dealings is the egregious lunchtime combination of oysters, Guinness and champagne How many sarcastic air quotes is too many for quoting Nigel Farage’s suggestion that Reform have been ““““““““hoaxed”””””””” by some undercover investigators into appearing to seek to get round electoral law to bag a £500k donation from a foreigner, as well as commissioning off-the-books polling and failing to identify it to newspapers? I don’t feel eight was too many. I could run to nine. Amazing, really, that it’s been as long as a few weeks since Farage had a crash-out and forced a byelection. All any of us wants is for Nigel to once again resign after a staged shitfit and ask a few thousand members of the public to judge him. For whatever reason, though, the law of our country does not amount to an “ONLY THE PEOPLE OF CLACTON CAN JUDGE ME” tattoo, and so it is that as Reform’s conference gets under way today, the party has been reported to the police for allegedly using foreign money to fund its activities. It’s all based on a covert sting carried out by Verbatim – an investigative group founded by journalists from the non-profit Centre for Climate Reporting – and broadcast last night on Channel 4 News. Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Colombian president posts video purporting to show 23 ‘neutralised’ guerrillas in body bags
Footage provokes outrage, as bellicose and performative far-right politics continue to spread across Americas Colombia’s hardline president, Abelardo De La Espriella, has provoked outrage after posting a video on social media in which he strides through rows of white body bags that he says contained the corpses of 23 “neutralised” guerrillas. De La Espriella took power last month vowing “all-out war” against illegal armed groups and he published the footage on Thursday in an apparent attempt to show he was fulfilling that pledge. Continue reading...
Populism poses serious challenge to independent central banks, Bailey says
Bank of England governor says central bankers must explain decisions or risk being seen as ‘unrepresentative elite’ The governor of the Bank of England has said the rise of populist politicians presents a serious challenge to independent central banks. As Nigel Farage’s Reform UK gathered for its annual conference in Birmingham , Andrew Bailey said central bankers must be prepared to explain their decisions to the public, or risk being attacked as an “unrepresentative elite”. Continue reading...
Latcho Drom director Tony Gatlif dies aged 77
Film-maker acclaimed for his celebrations of Roma culture had been working on a ‘historical film project’ in Provence Tony Gatlif, the French director of more than 20 films that mostly concentrated on celebrating Roma culture across the world, has died aged 77. His family said in a statement to AFP that Gatlif died on Wednesday of “a health issue” while working on a “historical film project” in Arles in Provence, France. “The beauty of his films, his generosity, his joy, his poetry, and his love of music will remain with us forever.” Continue reading...
Man jumps out of first-floor window to escape kidnappers in Lincoln
Five jailed after targeting victim and subjecting him to ordeal linked to past relationship breakdown Dramatic footage shows a kidnapped man jumping from a first-floor window into a tree before running into the street and, by chance, coming across a police car. Lincolnshire police said the ordeal of the unnamed man had been “horrifying” and the presence of a marked police vehicle “may have saved his life”. Continue reading...
Russell Howard announces ‘devastating’ death of baby son
Comedian and his wife, Cerys Morgan, set up charitable foundation in memory of Felix, who died shortly after birth Russell Howard has announced the death of his baby son, in what he described as the “most devastating time of our lives”. The 46-year-old comedian said his family had been “changed for ever” after their “beautiful baby boy”, Felix, died shortly after birth. Continue reading...
US added 162,000 jobs in August, with unemployment rate holding steady
Number of new jobs being added has been fluctuating, with private companies adding 38,000 jobs in August The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, an uptick after a sluggish summer for the labor market. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, still down from its most recent peak of 4.5% last November, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Despite the relative stability of the unemployment rate, the number of new jobs added to the economy has been fluctuating, going from 214,000 in March down to a 21,000 gain in July and then back up in August. Continue reading...
Seeds of hope: how a local farming project is offering a lifeline to Gaza
Family-run Al-Qarara Seed Bank is striving to help Palestinians gain sovereignty over their food security Salama Ayesh Muhanna still remembers the first seeds he planted on his family’s land in al-Qarara, Gaza. At just 17, Muhanna had proudly sprouted cucumbers. “I was very happy because I saw the results,” Muhanna says. “We were farmers at heart.” Continue reading...
US military disables ad trackers on troops’ phones amid security fears
Senator releases letters from armed forces after reports of location data being used to track US troops in Middle East US military officials say they have disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers, according to letters released on Friday by the US senator Ron Wyden and statements given to Reuters. The development follows reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East. Continue reading...
Tennessee is about to execute its first woman since 1819. Her case raises troubling questions | Austin Sarat
Christa Pike’s planned execution is emblematic of America’s broken death penalty system On 30 September, the state of Tennessee plans to put Christa Pike to death. She would be the third person brought to the death chamber in the Volunteer state this year, one of which was stopped after it was botched. She would join 17 others who have been put to death there since 1960. None of them were women. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham presents his new government as more leftwing. In reality, it’s barely moved at all | Owen Jones
The prime minister talks the talk about reversing decades of privatisation and austerity, but we’re yet to see any policies to this end If Starmerism sought to present the Labour government as more rightwing than it is, Burnhamism seeks to do the opposite. The change in rhetoric is certainly stark. Unlike his sulking predecessor, the new prime minister offers both an analysis and a vision. British stagnation and decline, Andy Burnham correctly told the House of Commons, can be explained by a series of “wrong turns” taken from the 1980s onwards: the privatisation of economic power, the deindustrialisation of the country and the ruinous austerity that followed the 2008 crash. Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Digested week: Tom Tugendhat is a serious politician. What’s he doing in a Reform-lite Tory frontbench? | John Crace
Want to see how small the gene pool of Tory talent is? I give you Andrew Griffith as shadow chancellor. Also this week: Starmer’s Fomo, and telly wars It’s the end of summer and Kemi Badenoch chose to mark the occasion with a reshuffle of her shadow cabinet. Her aim is apparently to get the Tories match fit in case Andy Burnham calls an early general election, but the vibes are much more rearranging the deckchairs on a sinking ship. After all, when the gene pool of talent is that small, there’s not much you can do. James Cleverly got the ball rolling by announcing he was planning to be the Conservative candidate for London mayor in two years’ time. He may have his work cut out. London is a liberal, multicultural city and unlikely to be won over by a party giving up on net zero and the European convention on human rights. Continue reading...
Wallace’s dog Gromit was nearly a cat, reveals creator as Aardman turns 50
Nick Park began modelling the character as a feline, before finding it too difficult and changing him to a dog The creator of Wallace and Gromit has revealed that the world’s most famous stop-motion animated dog was nearly a cat. As Aardman Animations marks its 50th anniversary, Nick Park, who joined the studio in 1985, told the BBC he originally modelled Gromit as a feline companion for Wallace. Continue reading...
‘They disturb the game’: how betting fans are taking over tennis courts
Jeering and heckling are increasingly commonplace, even at grand slams, as spectators try to influence matches Midway through the first week of the US Open a couple of years ago, Jiri Lehecka’s attempts to find his form were disrupted by incessant taunting from a spectator close by. “There was a guy who sat just behind my bench on a smaller court, court four, and he was talking to me basically for the first three sets, like non-stop,” Lehecka says. “He was talking to me like: ‘You can’t do it. You are tired. He’s better than you are.’” Lehecka maintained his composure and closed out the match, but even as he focused on navigating the intense stress of competition, he believed he understood this spectator’s motivations. The spectator, he thinks, was not there just to cheer for his favourite player: he was a bettor who had put money on Lehecka to lose. He had entered court four solely to influence the outcome of the match. Continue reading...
ICE bans hugging inside California’s largest detention center. Families are fighting back
In the California City facility, ‘contact visits’ are strictly forbidden – but detained residents aren’t staying quiet. Are officials listening? Teresa Reyes drove 300 miles to be with her son on his 32nd birthday in May, but she couldn’t give him a gift, share a meal with him or give him a hug. She couldn’t even touch him. Her son, Guillermo, a tattoo artist from San Jose, is locked up in the California City immigration detention center, California’s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, and the only way he can see his mother is behind a thick pane of glass. Continue reading...