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Politics
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Barack Obama to rally for Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan ahead of key US Senate race – US politics live
The former Democratic president is showing major support in Detroit for the progressive Michigan candidate in final days before US midterm elections Sign up for Breaking News US email Good afternoon and welcome to a rare weekend edition of the Guardian’s US politics live blog. We are coming to you live as US midterm elections draw closer and candidates are jockeying fiercely to win the hearts, minds and votes of the American people. Continue reading...
Six Flags to reopen Goliath rollercoaster – but now with seatbelts after recent rider death
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem fell from ride earlier this month, spurring amusement park to temporarily shut it down Six Flags will install seatbelts on its Goliath rollercoaster in Georgia , after a rider plummeted to his death earlier this month. Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem, a 42-year-old father and educator, was thrown from his seat on the Goliath, a coaster that plunges riders down 165ft, before a second drop of 180ft. On his way down, he collided with the ride’s other cars. Continue reading...
Tens of thousands of Lula supporters rally on eve of Brazilian election runoff
Nearly 159 million people to head to polls on Sunday in battle between leftwing incumbent and Flávio Bolsonaro Tens of thousands of supporters of Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have streamed on to Rio’s most famous beach for a giant protest they hope will propel him towards a historic election fightback against his far-right rival, Flávio Bolsonaro . Nearly 159m Brazilians will vote in the election’s runoff on Sunday, with the pair tied in the polls after Bolsonaro won the first round on 4 October by 47% to 45%. Continue reading...
Manhunt under way to find prisoner who absconded from medical facility
Met police say Anthony Lloyd, 38, was last seen on Friday in south London, and ‘poses a risk to himself and the public’ A manhunt is under way to locate a prisoner who police say “poses a risk both to himself and the public” after he absconded from a medical facility in London. Anthony Lloyd forced his way out of a health unit in Lewisham, in south-east London, shortly after 4pm on Friday, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...
Hundreds of thousands march across France in protests over schools and policing
Government estimates at least 400,000 people took part, but trade unions say the number is double that Hundreds of thousands marched in cities across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests to support schoolchildren’s demands for more teachers and repairs to dilapidated buildings, as Emmanuel Macron faces a social and political crisis in his final months as president. In Paris, at least 110,000 people marched along the eastern edge of the city, according to government estimates. They supported high schoolers but also complained of the high cost of living and the government’s heavy policing, saying riot police had been sent to target school protesters over the past month, instead of the government offering political solutions. Continue reading...
Ukraine’s military says Starlink satellite connection stable after recent restrictions
Volodymyr Zelenskyy offers thanks to US allies for restoring system key to air defence and ‘frontline logistics’ Ukraine’s military has a “stable connection to Starlink”, the Ukrainian government said on Saturday, 10 days after its ability to use the satellite communications system was suddenly restricted . The Starlink satellite terminals, which are produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government, are a key component of Ukraine’s military operations. Sudden speed restrictions on the terminals, which capped operations at speeds of 160km/h (99mph), led to the failure of several Ukrainian combat missions earlier this month. Continue reading...
Sam Fender tells fans high ticket prices for Proper Massive tour are ‘getting changed’
Fender criticises stadium pricing, calling it ‘bollocks’ and says it ‘won’t be happening’ on his tour Sam Fender has responded to criticism by fans about ticket prices for his 2027 stadium tour by promising he would lower the cost, telling followers on Instagram: “They’re getting changed.” The 32-year-old musician announced his Proper Massive stadium tour earlier this week. Continue reading...
Northern Olympics campaign to get £7m in Healey’s budget
Fund will support feasibility study for potential bid to host Games in the 2040s, backed by northern mayors and top athletes John Healey is to announce a £7m fund to examine a potential future bid to host the Olympics in northern England in his first budget as chancellor. The fund will be used to carry out a full feasibility study for a northern Games, which, if successful, would be held in the north of England in the 2040s. Continue reading...
The World Series of the have-nots is here. But baseball’s money problem isn’t going away | Tom Dart
Baseball’s two best regular-season teams are also among its lowest spenders. But their unlikely World Series comes with a warning about the sport’s future The best pitcher in baseball led the best team to victory over the second-best team? Weird. A World Series that makes the logical feel novel began on Friday as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Game 1 . Of course the Brewers, with their MLB-topping 103 regular-season victories, should be facing the 98-win Rays on the grandest stage. But of course, since these are two of the smallest and lowest-budget franchises in the sport, they shouldn’t. Continue reading...
Rising US star Fred Richard wins first world gymnastics title with floor gold
American, 22, edges Britain’s Jake Jarman by 0.033 Richard is first US man to win floor gold since 2003 Simone Biles watches as American claims world title American Frederick Richard won the floor exercise title at the world gymnastics championships in Rotterdam on Saturday, finishing ahead of Britain’s Jake Jarman and Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat. With US gymnastics great Simone Biles looking on as a spectator in the Netherlands, the 22-year-old Richard secured his first world title, edging out Jarman by just 0.033 points after scoring 14.633. Jarman, the defending world champion, was among a field that included the last two Olympic gold medallists. Continue reading...
‘It feels like a fairy tale’: American Paula Moltzan wins first World Cup race by 0.01sec
American, 32, wins season-opening giant slalom Moltzan edges Albania’s Lara Colturi by 0.01sec Mikaela Shiffrin drops from first to seventh place American Paula Moltzan became the oldest woman to claim her first Alpine skiing World Cup victory on Saturday, edging Albania’s Lara Colturi by just one-hundredth of a second in a thrilling season-opening giant slalom at Sölden, Austria. Moltzan, who was fifth after the opening run, produced a superb second descent to finish with a combined time of 2min 14.82sec, narrowly denying Colturi, who finished in 2min 14.83sec. Germany’s Emma Aicher completed the podium, 0.52sec behind the Minnesota native. Continue reading...
Met police confirm giving Duchess of Sussex letter about father’s alleged offending
Scotland Yard says it shared information about Thomas Markle Sr allegations in 2019 but did not pass claims to other agencies The Metropolitan police have confirmed they gave a letter to the Duchess of Sussex in 2019 concerning “alleged offending” involving her father, after accusations arose on Friday about Thomas Markle Sr having child sexual abuse images. Scotland Yard said it had received a letter in January 2019 making a number of allegations about offending outside Britain. Continue reading...
Israeli soldiers raze neighbourhood in Hebron, driving families from homes
PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows ‘to destroy this place’ in retaliation for militant attack on army checkpoint Israeli troops have levelled a neighbourhood in Hebron, driving out hundreds of families, in collective punishment for a militant attack on an army checkpoint outside the West Bank city, local Palestinian authorities said. The Hebron municipality estimated that 35 hectares (86 acres) had been destroyed or marked for destruction and about 1,500 people had been evicted from their homes by Saturday afternoon in the district of Ein Deir Baha. The whole city of 250,000 people was sealed off by checkpoints on every point of entry. Continue reading...
Additional 178 cases of measles reported by US health authorities amid outbreak
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 4,588 cases across the country, more than double the tally in 2025 Federal health authorities reported an additional 178 cases of measles in the US this week, as the vaccine-preventable illness continues to sicken people across at least 43 outbreaks. The new data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) comes as experts criticize the agency for lack of transparency, and as health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr takes steps to further upend US vaccine infrastructure. Continue reading...
Epstein files take back seat in midterms but experts say issue has not gone away
Other voter concerns have prevailed but return of Congress likely to see renewed focus on late sex offender’s activities As US voters head to the polls for crucial and fraught midterm elections, some survivors’ advocates in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation have expressed concern that the scandal could recede into the background. Political experts believe, however, the Epstein issue is not going away permanently and that many voters can balance day-to-day concerns such as affordability and AI with the scandal involving the late financier and accused sex trafficker whose social circle was widespread among America’s elite. Continue reading...
Attention LaMelo Ball: only losers boast about avoiding diaper duty | Arwa Mahdawi
The basketball star seems proud to leave the job to his partner. That’s so last century Nobody can accuse the basketball star LaMelo Ball of being bad at his job. That said, the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of dribbling . Ball has a nine-month-old son, LaOne, with his partner Ana Montana (real name: Analicia Chaves) and is apparently uninterested in dealing with all the body fluids that come with a baby. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
ICC prosecutor says court making ‘significant progress’ despite US sanctions
Nazhat Shameem Khan claims some staff are facing ‘banking difficulties’ but their work is unaffected The deputy prosecutor of the international criminal court has said that new US sanctions are already beginning to take effect on its staff but insisted they have not hindered the court’s work. US secretary of state Marco Rubio announced the sanctions earlier this month , accusing the ICC – a frequent Trump administration target – of being a “rogue court” and declaring: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.” Continue reading...
Storm Boelo to bring gusts of up to 80mph and heavy rain to parts of UK
Second named storm in as many days will hit northern parts of UK as thousands remain without power after Friday’s Storm Austen The UK is bracing for a second storm this weekend, as strong winds and heavy rain are expected to disrupt travel and cause further power cuts in the north. Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the season, is expected to bring heavy, frequent showers and winds potentially exceeding 80mph to northern parts of the UK. Continue reading...
New Trump rule allows hunters to bait bears in Alaska with doughnuts, bacon and more
Critics decry Trump administration rule that lets hunters lure bears with human foods on federal lands in Alaska A new Trump administration rule allows hunters to bait bears on federal lands in Alaska with bacon, doughnuts, meat scraps or other human foods typically used to help kill the trophy animals at close range. Opponents say the practice will cause bears to be more aggressive around humans, and allege that the rule change is a political gift to largely rightwing trophy hunters. The rule replaces a 2024 Biden administration rule that banned the practice, and environmental groups criticized the move as “indefensible and inexcusable”. Continue reading...
Is London really the most-taxed city? Banks accused of cherrypicking data
Lobby group’s figures, shared with John Healey, are misleading as they do not include major rival Paris, say campaigners A banking lobby group has been accused of cherrypicking data and trying to mislead the British government by claiming a tax rise for banks at next week’s budget would leave London less competitive than rival financial hubs. UK Finance, which represents banks including Lloyds, JP Morgan and Revolut, commissions an annual report tallying up all the taxes shouldered by a large bank, including corporation tax, social security, VAT and bank-specific levies. Continue reading...
No unions, low taxes: why some of Britain’s top chefs are opening outposts in Gulf states
Leading restaurateur says Gulf countries actively help businesses set up, while east Asia has a better work ethic Some of London’s top restaurants are opening branches in Dubai because of a “tax tsunami” in the UK and better work ethic abroad, according to a leading restaurateur. James Robson, a co-owner of Fallow in St James’s Market, regarded as the capital’s hottest restaurant, serving 1,000 people a day, has just signed a deal to open an outpost in the Gulf. Continue reading...
Andy Burnham has come for the headphone-dodgers. But is there any evidence fines work?
UK leaders past and present love to nudge us towards good or bad behaviour. Social scientists, though, say £100 on-the-spot fines may not prove an effective deterrent It’s a very modern phenomenon, the nuisance of people on public transport using their phones for flagrantly loud things – conference calls, TV shows, music – without headphones. I remember a time when the most annoying thing you could do with a phone was play a game with an irritating beep; a time when having a loud conversation was so verboten that comedians could get whole careers out of it. So why does Andy Burnham’s campaign , “Share the carriage, not the noise,” introducing fines of up to £100 for miscreants, feel so nostalgic? And crucially, will the fines work? Burnham is on to something, because it is insufferable. I could lose hours debating the finer points of whether it’s worse to listen to an episode of Paw Patrol, a crux point in a Pretty Little Liars plot, some really mid-80s disco or a high-level discussion about marketing strategy. (In fact, there is no hierarchy; they’re all intolerable in their own special ways.) Continue reading...
Medical experts shocked by Tennessee team’s ‘malpractice’ in Christa Pike’s failed execution
New details of IV team’s attempts to find a vein shared by Pike’s lawyer ‘shocked and disturbed’ practitioners Medical experts have expressed shock at the apparent incompetence shown by Tennessee’s execution team during the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike, the prisoner who survived a normally fatal dose of pentobarbital, which they say would be considered medical malpractice in any other setting. New details emerged on Thursday of how Tennessee’s intravenous (IV) team struggled for almost an hour to set up a line into Pike’s arms through which she would be administered the fatal dose of sedative. A blow-by-blow account was released in legal proceedings from Pike’s lawyer, Randy Spivey, who was present inside the death chamber at her 30 September failed execution. Continue reading...
Tom Kean had everything going for him. Then the Republican New Jersey congressman disappeared
Even with a multimillion-dollar war chest, the US representative faces a stiff fight for his seat from Democrat Rebecca Bennett The stars above New Jersey seemed aligned for Tom Kean Jr. The Republican congressman had a war chest of more than $2.4m in February, an endorsement from Donald Trump and a district whose lines were redrawn in 2022 to benefit his party. He was an established political figure with widespread name recognition, thanks to his father’s stint as a well-regarded governor of New Jersey . Continue reading...