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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Michigan residents fight potential $6.4bn datacenter bill: ‘That is insanity’
DTE Energy, among the US’s biggest utilities, is requesting approval to build two new gas plants to meet datacenter demand Michigan utility customers may pay $6.4bn for two new gas plants to meet datacenter demand, drawing outrage from residents. The potential burden on ratepayers, especially residential customers, is a microcosm of similar tensions nationwide, highlighting how the utility industry benefits from unchecked datacenter growth. Continue reading...
As fans reject AI-generated music, even boosters are drawing the line
Enthusiasts like Grimes and A$AP Rocky may embrace AI-generated content, but they won’t produce it themselves Streaming services, notable musicians and fans are confronting the growing presence of AI-generated music and drawing lines in the sand. On Tuesday, Spotify announced it had removed some 50m songs considered AI slop from its recommendations to users over the past year. Continue reading...
Putin orders release of jailed American as he meets Trump envoy for Ukraine talks
Russia unilaterally frees Stephen Hubbard after US request while Steve Witkoff praises Putin as a ‘humanitarian’ Europe live – latest updates US politics live – latest updates Vladimir Putin ordered the release of an American from a Russian jail as he met Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for fresh talks on ending the war in Ukraine, amid increasingly close relations between Moscow and Washington. Trump had previously asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine . Continue reading...
The night watch: the YouTubers who were guardians of a shark stuck in a South Korean canal
Wearing hi-vis and carrying selfie sticks, livestreamers watched over an animal that was trapped for a month and drew more than 1.6m visitors before being guided out In South Korea , they call them jagyeongdan , a word whose meaning sits somewhere between vigilante group and neighbourhood watch. Each night they put on hi-vis vests, picked up their selfie sticks and gathered around the harbour in Busan to keep watch over an unlikely charge: a stranded shark affectionately known as Bukang-i. On Wednesday, after more than a month in the canal and at the third attempt, the shark was successfully guided out, South Korea’s oceans ministry said. Officials expect her to move into open water in time. Continue reading...
Bereaved civil service families could face ‘unjust’ tax bills due to pension scheme delays
MPs say ‘chaos’ at Capita-run scheme could mean some claims miss tax-free time limit on lump sum payments Bereaved families could face “unconscionable” tax bills because of “chaos” in the civil service pension scheme, the government has been warned. Some lump sum pension payments to families are only tax-free if made within two years of a scheme being told of the member’s death. Continue reading...
Stratford International finally to have international trains in budget boost
Sadiq Khan says upgrade will unlock station’s true potential and allow it to live up to its name Business live – latest updates Stratford International train station in east London will receive funding in next week’s budget, according to reports, putting it on track to live up to its name and become a hub for cross-Channel services. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been making a case to ministers for funding to upgrade the current station to allow it to start running international rail services. Continue reading...
Race for crucial midterms attracting vast sums of money on both sides | First Thing
Billionaire Michael Bloomberg is spending $80m to help Democratic candidates, while Trump has promised Republicans $400m. Plus a vital investigation into justice in Louisiana Good morning. Vast sums of money are being ploughed into November’s midterms , with the billionaire Michael Bloomberg spending $80m to help Democratic candidates, and Donald Trump announcing he intends to spend $400m to aid Republican candidates, with $300m already disbursed. Bloomberg made the contributions in September and October, particularly focused on Democrats running to flip the US House of Representatives. Democrats believe they are favored to take back the House, though they’ve acknowledged trailing Republicans in fundraising. Republicans are also being aided by the president’s ally Elon Musk, who has spent $366m so far. What are the main issues for voters in the midterms? In this explainer , Robert Tait looks at six key issues swaying how people might vote – the economy, Iran, immigration, Trump’s use of power, AI and datacenters and the state of democracy and voter rights in the US. What is happening between the DoJ and California over voter rolls? The justice department’s list of suspected non-citizens in California includes a “high percentage” of people born in the US, Los Angeles election officials said . The statement, made in court papers, raises further questions about the reliability of the list of 20,000 people the DoJ is demanding be investigated. What was strange about how the ADL reminded people about an antisemitic slur? The Anti-Defamation League ADL has denounced the use of the term “shylock” as antisemitic, without explaining that the slur had been used a day earlier by Trump in a speech in Kansas. Continue reading...
Reader Q&A: What’s next for France after a weekend of riots? Ask our Europe columnists
At 3pm BST / 4pm CEST Friday 23 Oct , Guardian Europe columnists Rokhaya Diallo and Alexander Hurst will be live taking questions from our readers about the riots and protests in France. Send your questions by email now to conversations@theguardian.com , or join the discussion on Friday After weeks of protests and a weekend of riots in which a town hall was set ablaze, 2,000-plus shops were looted, 2,300 people were arrested and 1,000 police injured, the repercussions for France – for its society and its economy – continue. Allegations of police brutality surfaced, and the violent protests unnerved investors, resulting in a debt sell-off , with borrowing costs rising higher than for Greece. All of this ahead of a hotly contested presidential election that’s now just six months away. The French government’s escalating financial problems were covered by the Guardian’s Europe correspondent Jon Henley who wrote: “France’s national debt, at 119% of GDP, is at its highest level since 1946 . Its budget deficit, at 5.1%, is also among the highest in the EU. There is just no money in the bank to ease the cost of living squeeze that brought 550,000 people on to the streets on Saturday.” Continue reading...
Giant tunnel proposed to tackle Windermere sewage discharges
United Utilities, Environment Agency and local campaigners say 12-mile tunnel could take sewage away from England’s largest lake Plans are under way for a new giant tunnel to transport sewage away from Windermere, England’s largest lake. Windermere, in the Lake District, has suffered from widespread raw sewage and bacterial pollution driven by discharges from United Utilities . Campaigners say this pollution has caused more frequent toxic blue-green algal blooms, with the public advised to avoid swimming in the lake. Continue reading...
Trump calls for data center ‘dividends’ in bid to win over midterm voters – US politics live
President’s social media post says sites should pay the communities where they will be located and comes amid growing unpopularity of facilities Sign up for Breaking News US email Good morning and welcome to our coverage of US politics. With 14 days until the mid-terms, we’re heading into the final straight. President Donald Trump attended a rally last night in North Carolina , where Democrat Roy Cooper is leading Trump’s pick Michael Whatley by a considerable margin. Continue reading...
Cabinet split widens as minister refuses to back Shabana Mahmood 15-year policy
Miatta Fahnbulleh avoids explicitly expressing support for longer path to permanent residency for foreign workers UK politics live – latest updates A cabinet split over Shabana Mahmood’s immigration policy has deepened after the energy secretary refused to say she backed plans to make foreign workers wait 15 years to claim permanent residency in the UK. Miatta Fahnbulleh said in an interview with Sky News that changes to the immigration system were needed and that they should be “based on the principle of compassion” and recognising contribution. Continue reading...
‘Jackdaw means we pay our mortgages’: relief in Aberdeen over gasfield approval
Few believe decision will bring back city’s boom years, but workers hope it will keep as many North Sea jobs for now UK approves Jackdaw gasfield in North Sea What does the UK’s approval of the Jackdaw gasfield mean? As recently as 2012, Aberdeen boasted the highest concentration of millionaires in the UK. An ATM reportedly had the highest withdrawal rate in Europe in the 90s, as oil and gas wealth flowed through the city. House prices skyrocketed in the scramble for space as fossil fuel firms transformed the city’s grand granite houses into company offices. But that was then. Today, “for sale” and “to let” signs punctuate the city’s main thoroughfares. Disposable income in Aberdeen has fallen by nearly 20% between 2013 and 2023 – more than any other large UK city – after a 2014 oil price shock sparked a brutal reversal in Aberdeen’s fortunes. Continue reading...
‘What are you implying?’: El-Sayed confronts critics head-on as attacks ramp up
Against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia, Michigan Senate hopeful has challenged premise of repeated questions on Muslim Brotherhood, Israel and faith As a candidate positioned at the center of what researchers say are the worst Islamophobic attacks seen since the aftermath of 9/11, many would expect Abdul El-Sayed to simply defend himself and move on. Instead, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan has repeatedly demanded those who question his positions on Israel, the Muslim Brotherhood, and his faith, explain the premise of their enquiry. Rather than let others put his loyalties on trial, he has tried to put their assumptions on trial. Continue reading...
‘Hunted like animals’: inside Trump’s war on the people who build America
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was a house framer before he was killed by ICE agents. Countless other Latino builders in Texas live in fear of a similar fate Every morning long before dawn, while America sleeps, legions of Texas construction workers grab their fluorescent vests and hard hats, sling ladders and tools into their trucks, and head down the highway for another day of grueling labour under the blistering sun. Elsewhere, before the first flush of daylight settles over Texas’s concrete sprawl, a separate army gets on the move in a fleet of shiny unmarked SUVs. They hover at gas stations, prowl around bodegas, pounce on the highways. Continue reading...
US extreme weather survivors are a growing group – now they want to be a political force
At a gathering in Texas, near where floods killed 136 people last year, survivors are united on the need for urgent action It may be a club none of its members actually want to be in, but the growing number of people in the US affected by extreme weather disasters are starting to organize into a political force. Severe wildfires, floods storms and other calamities now touch the lives of huge numbers of Americans – about half of all people in the US by one estimate – as the climate crisis supercharges extreme events. Some survivors are now coalescing to push for improved disaster response and even action on the politically contentious issue of global heating. Continue reading...
Usha Vance is a closed book – but her Goodreads account is surprisingly revealing | Arwa Mahdawi
From Roman-era political potboilers to stories of Catholic priests struggling to impose their authority, what could the reading list of vice-president JD Vance’s wife be trying to tell us? Usha Vance, a very clever woman with dubious taste in men, likes to keep herself busy. While lesser mortals (me) waste their one wild and precious life watching Love Is Blind, the second lady has various self-improvement projects on the go. She’s brushing up on her German ! She’s hosting a literacy podcast! She’s rereading the classics! And, of course, she’s juggling four young children and the demands of being the vice-president’s spouse. How does she do it all? With the help of taxpayer dollars, I suspect. Easier to get some reading done when you’re being helicoptered everywhere and, as JD Vance has boasted: “People go to the grocery store for me.” Continue reading...
Jackdaw approval is a step towards a grownup North Sea policy
Government decision is about how much oil and gas is sensible for UK to produce on the way to net zero Business live – latest updates Andy Burnham hit the nail on the (well)head in his first fortnight as prime minister when he said : “The question isn’t whether Britain will still be using oil and gas, the question is, where does it come from?” It was a nod towards several awkward energy facts. First, oil and gas provided 75% of the UK’s energy in 2025, government data shows. Second, even with the rollout of domestic renewables for generating electricity, about 43% of overall energy was imported last year. Continue reading...
UK inflation rises by more than expected to 3.5% as war drives up fuel prices
Increase in annual price growth in September comes amid fears rate will breach 4% next year Business live – latest updates UK inflation climbed by more than expected in September to 3.5% after a surge in prices from the conflict in the Middle East that has pushed up the cost of diesel to record levels. In a blow to John Healey before his first budget as chancellor in a week’s time, the Office for National Statistics said annual inflation rose from 3.1% in August . Economists had forecast an increase in the consumer prices index (CPI) to 3.4%. Continue reading...
Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and the doping tensions dividing sprinting
As women’s sprinting enters a golden era in the run-up to LA 2028, controversy surrounding a top coach threaten to overshadow the sport’s biggest stars When Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas came second at the recent track and field World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, she tried her best to be diplomatic: “I am an equal-opportunity doping hater,” she said. “If you are actively doping in sport, I do take issue with that. I’m not saying any names, no names are mentioned. But if you look at yourself and you think that’s what you’re doing, then so be it.” Thomas then went out of her way to congratulate her compatriot Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who finished ahead of her that day, aware of the territory into which she was straying. Continue reading...
Florida gambling helpline director sentenced to nearly 10 years over $1.4m theft to fund addiction
Philip Sullivan, who sought to rebuild his life after gambling addiction, convicted of stealing from real-estate employer A Florida man who stole more than $1m from his employer to bankroll a gambling problem – before becoming the director of his state’s gambling addiction helpline in trying to make amends – was recently sentenced to nearly a decade in prison. Bay county, Florida, authorities charged Philip Sullivan in March 2024 with stealing $1.4m from the Panama City Beach real-estate company for which he was the chief financial officer, Royal American, as local news outlets WMBB and WJHG had previously reported. Continue reading...
‘A powerful warning’: will Europe’s angry protests lead to real political change?
Hamstrung governments seem to have no answer to the public’s furious demands, making further discontent likely Europe live – latest updates In France, it was the piles of wheelie bins stacked up against school entrances that first hinted at the scale of student anger over crumbling classrooms and teacher shortages. In Spain, it was a tent camp that steadily grew in the heart of the capital as residents railed against soaring housing costs. Similar scenes have since sprung up in Belgium, Italy and Portugal, and clashes have convulsed Albania’s capital of Tirana, hinting at an autumn of protests across Europe. Continue reading...
Troy Aikman and Joe Buck: what next for the NFL’s $165m TV power couple as they head for a split?
The duo have carved out lucrative and successful careers as TV audiences elsewhere are falling. It seems they won’t be together for much longer Troy Aikman knew when it was time to go. His aching body made the decision for him when he ended his NFL career in 2001. A quarter of a century later, with one of the top quarterbacks of the 1990s established as half of the pre-eminent broadcasting duo in American sports, his potential exit from the booth is not so clearcut. Aikman clearly feels his voice remains in fine working order, but his bosses at ESPN may not agree. The color commentator’s Monday Night Football play-by-play partner, Joe Buck, is reported to have agreed a new deal with the network worth $108m over six seasons (his previous deal was for five years at $15m a season), yet Aikman has claimed ESPN does not want to renew his contract. Continue reading...
Climate campaigners condemn ‘maddening’ decision to approve Jackdaw gasfield
Critics say move will jeopardise climate targets, fail to cut cost of living and distract from need to decarbonise energy UK politics live – latest updates Climate campaigners and green experts have condemned the government’s decision to allow the drilling of the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea. They said approval for the site would jeopardise the UK’s climate targets , fail to reduce the cost of living , and distract from the need to decarbonise the UK’s energy sector. Continue reading...
Soft-spoken David Pocock has big ambitions – but first he wants politicians to ‘double down’ on kindness
Independent senator’s goals ‘much bigger’ than prime ministership, he reveals in first speech to national press club Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast He’s six foot tall and full of muscle, but David Pocock’s real strength is often sounding like the most sensible, commonsense voice in the room. At his first speech to the national press club on Wednesday, he said he wasn’t launching a bid for prime minister – no matter how much some people might like the softly spoken senator to have more say in federal politics. A 25% tax on gas exports, which he said could fund anything from boosting welfare to health reforms and aged care. A 5% levy on datacentres to capture more benefits from the AI boom. Transparency reforms to shine a light on lobbyists, secret meetings with politicians and vested interests. Continue reading...