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Schmoozing the super-rich to fund a $300m ballroom while cutting food aid for those on low incomes threw the president's architectural folly into sharp reliefIt was a feast fit for a king - and any billionaire willing to be his subject. From gold-rimmed plates on gold-patterned tablecloths decorated with gold candlestick holders, they gorged on heirloom tomato panzanella salad, beef wellington and a dessert of roasted Anjou pears, cinnamon crumble and butterscotch ice-cream.On 15 October, Donald Trump welcomed nearly 130 deep-pocketed donors, allies and representatives of major companies for a dinner at the White House to reward them for their pledged contributions to a vast new ballroom now expected to cost $300m. That the federal government had shut down two weeks earlier scarcely seemed to matter. Continue reading...

Georgia Republican lawmaker also claims she didn't know Rothschild family, of her space laser' theory, was JewishRepublican US House member Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she believes in demons, surmising that they might be aliens who fell from heaven, and claims to have been unaware that key figures in the antisemitic space lasers conspiracy she floated were Jewish.She made those bizarre remarks as a guest on Friday on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher after winning some fans among Democrats who once loathed her - yet had come to appreciate how the far-right Georgia representative had recently broken with Republicans on various issues. Those include healthcare, Gaza, the federal government shutdown that began on 1 October and the handling of documents pertaining to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was friends with Donald Trump before the latter man won two presidencies. Continue reading...

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in a pulse-pounding Game 7 of the World Series in the early hours of Sunday morning, setting off celebrations (and commiserations) around the world

Defense secretary announces a new strike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea, bringing total killed in US strikes to at least 64 peopleThe US military has carried out another lethal strike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said.Hegseth said on Saturday the vessel was operated by a US-designated terrorist organization but did not name which group was targeted. He said three people were killed in the strike. Continue reading...

It's currently a two-horse race - and the next US leader is guaranteed to be a careerist who knows nothing of statesmanshipMillions of Americans yearn for 7 November 2028, the scheduled date of the next presidential election. That's the day the Trump era effectively ends. Probably. That's the day the Democrats will atone for Kamala Harris's calamitous 2024 failure. Possibly. That's the day US democracy is reborn. Hopefully. Succession talk is tantalising Washington. Gavin Newsom, California's governor, has given the clearest sign yet that he'll run and glossing over past blunders, Harris reckons she deserves a second chance.Yet most attention is focused on the Republicans, after Trump, 79, again threatened to defy the constitution and seek a third term. I would love to do it," he said this week. He rowed back later, albeit unconvincingly. We'll see what happens," he teased. This undignified narcissist's electoral fan dance will drag on interminably. Of greater practical interest are the two names Trump picked out as his most likely successors: JD Vance and Marco Rubio, vice-president and secretary of state respectively.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

President says he has instructed the newly named department of war to prepare for possible action" in the West African country. Key US politics stories from Saturday 1 November at a glanceIn describing his foreign policy agenda, Donald Trump has proclaimed an America First" policy.But on Saturday the US president threatened to launch attacks in Nigeria in response to alleged violence against Christians, saying he had instructed his newly named department of war to prepare for possible action". Continue reading...

The 28-1 success of Ethical Diamond for Willie Mullins was the highlight of a memorable afternoon at Del MarSplendora paid $7.80 to a $2 stake - a shade under 3-1.Hope Road cruised through the race until the final turn and eased to the front just over a furlong out, but Splendora rocketed past soon afterwards and the race was as good as over. That's a 20th Breeders' Cup winner for Bob Baffert, who is now just one behind Aidan O'Brien, the winning-most trainer in Breeders' Cup history since about 18 hours ago, when Gstaad took the Juvenile Turf. Continue reading...

The wit and wisdom of the superstar ex-US president make him the best candidate - too bad he can't runIt's not as if we didn't see some of this coming," said Barack Obama, a note of bleak humour in his voice. I will admit it's worse than even I expected, but I did warn y'all!"The crowd at a sports arena in Norfolk, Virginia, half-laughed and half-groaned. I did," Obama added. You can run the tape." Continue reading...

Former US president headlines event for Democratic candidate for Virginia governor, who leads in pollsBarack Obama headlined a rally Saturday in Virginia to try to secure a victory for the state's Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who leads in polls days before the election.Obama moved between criticizing Donald Trump and Republican policy and rhetoric - with a bit of humor - while also explaining how Abigail Spanberger could help counter what Democrats see as the country's downward trajectory. Continue reading...

US president says he ordered Pentagon to begin planning for action, without mentioning Muslim persecutionDonald Trump on Saturday said he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the government was failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the west African country.If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing,' to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities," Trump posted on social media. I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!" Continue reading...

Nearly 50% of 30 busiest airports facing absences as staff are forced to work without pay and shutdown hits 31st dayNearly 50% of the 30 busiest US airports faced shortages of air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday, leading to flight delays nationwide as a federal government shutdown hit its 31st day.The absence of controllers on Friday is by far the most widespread since the shutdown began, with one of the worst-hit regions being New York, where 80% of air traffic controllers were out, the agency said. Continue reading...

US vice-president announces to 10,000 attenders of Turning Point USA that he prefers wife, who is Hindu, to be ChristianJD Vance is doubling down on comments he made about wanting his wife, Usha Vance, to convert to Christianity - remarks that drew political backlash from some quarters.At an event with Turning Point USA at the University of Mississippi to honor the conservative group's slain founder Charlie Kirk, an audience member questioned the US vice-president about how he sees the links between American patriotism and Christianity. Continue reading...

The government shutdown is not an accident. Trump's budget would push millions into poverty and must be stoppedDemocrats in the US Senate must stand with the working families of our country and in opposition to Donald Trump's authoritarianism. They must not cave in to the president's attacks on the working class during this ongoing government shutdown. If they do, the consequences will be catastrophic for our country.This may be the most consequential moment in American history since the civil war. We have a megalomaniacal president who, consumed by his quest for more and more power, is undermining our constitution and the rule of law. Further, we have an administration that is waging war against the working class of our country and our most vulnerable people. Continue reading...

Race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli is drawing attention as preview of 2026 midtermsAfter last year's election, when Republicans made significant inroads in the state, New Jersey voters will cast ballots in an off-year, unpredictable gubernatorial race that voters and experts say feels different from any in recent memory.Democrat Mikie Sherrill, a former navy pilot and federal prosecutor who represents New Jersey's 11th congressional District, is facing Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a businessman and former state lawmaker, who is making his third bid for governor, this time with Donald Trump's endorsement. Continue reading...

Clint Curtis is overseeing a 4 November ballot that could add five Democratic seats and reshape US politicsWhen Clint Curtis was appointed to oversee voting in California's Shasta county earlier this year, the Florida-based lawyer and election skeptic pledged to fix" the voting process.Curtis had never before administered an election and didn't live in this rural northern California region. But he was well-known to followers of the US election denialism movement, who believe the voting system is not secure and that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election. Curtis, a former congressional candidate, described himself as an expert in elections law and had long argued that voting machines could be hacked and that the government could manipulate the results of elections. Continue reading...

Thomas Jacob Sanford, who also lit church on fire, was killed by police who responded to September shootingThe former US marine who opened fire in a Michigan church and set it ablaze in September was motivated by anti-religious beliefs" against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the FBI said on Friday.While friends of the gunman in the deadly shooting have said he harbored hatred for what is widely known as the Mormon church, the FBI had previously declined to specify the motivation behind the attack that left four people dead and the church burned to the ground, except to say it was a targeted" act of violence. Continue reading...

In Colorado, the end of subsidies means some daycares have open slots they can't fill - even as demand remains highOn an early fall day, toddlers played at Westwood Academy, a highly rated Denver childcare center serving children aged six weeks to five years. The room glowed with natural wood and light while preschoolers settled onto colorful floor circles to hear a book read aloud. Where's your circle?" one of the children asked the teacher.Westwood is located in west Denver, a lower-income part of the city; median family income in the surrounding area is less than $43,000 a year, according to census data. Continue reading...

Threatening to deport your critics, even those with US citizenship, seems to have become Maga policySome couples bond over shared hobbies; others over shared values. The Maga bigwigs Stephen and Katie Miller, on the other hand, appear to have connected over their shared love of terrorizing immigrant children.Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

The state has killed 15 people this year with two more scheduled this month as death penalty in decline across USDeath penalty opponents have decried an unprecedented surge in executions ordered by Florida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, after the state maintained a record pace with last week's killing of a military veteran.Norman Mearle Grim, who was convicted of the 1998 murder and rape of a neighbor, became the 15th person put to death this year, by lethal injection, at the Florida state prison in Starke on Wednesday. Continue reading...

The political differences between the two main candidates could have major implications for next year's midtermsNew Yorkers will find out the identity of their next mayor on Tuesday, in a race that will decide who will run, and defend, the US's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops there.Against that backdrop, New York has seen a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against one another. The race has become an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with alleged racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main candidates that could have major implications for how the Democratic party performs in next year's midterm elections. Continue reading...

Food insecurity for millions of Americans set to increase with Trump officials saying Snap benefits will cease as government shutdown enters second monthWaves of hungry Angelenos gathered outside Community Space food bank's storefront on a recent afternoon, grabbing dry goods like pastries, bagels, lentils and pasta along with refrigerated salads and frozen bags of brisket.The crowd ebbs and flows all day, said founder Gaines Newborn, but as news spread last week that the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) would cease on Saturday, he braced for the need to dramatically increase. Continue reading...

The question is not whether we will reshape our institutions to manage climate impacts, but howFor decades, stopping climate change" has been the singular goal of climate politics. Across the political spectrum, from grassroots climate campaigners to elite UN negotiators, reducing carbon emissions to avoid future catastrophe has been the organizing logic of climate policies.Yet climate change has arrived and its material impacts are already being felt. This means that climate politics can no longer focus only on preventing future catastrophes. It must now also encompass struggles over how society manages climate impacts already reshaping economic and social life. Insurance markets, housing, water and land use policies, national labor markets, and local economies - all will need to be radically remade as we adapt to a changed and increasingly volatile climate.Leah Aronowsky is a historian of science and assistant professor at the Columbia Climate School Continue reading...

Richard Hooker Jr is running to replace Trump ally Sean O'Brien as president of the Teamsters International unionThe Teamsters International president, Sean O'Brien, is putting the working class in jeopardy" by allying with Donald Trump, according to a prominent labor activist challenging his leadership of the powerful union.O'Brien has no business being a labor leader" and shouldn't be trusted", Richard Hooker Jr - who is running against O'Brien's re-election next year - told the Guardian. Continue reading...

San Antonio's French phenom has led the Spurs to a franchise-best 5-0 start, announcing the dawn of basketball's next dynastyA spectre is haunting the NBA - the spectre of Victor Wembanyama.All the powers of the old guard have entered into a tenuous alliance to contain this unicorn: rivals Luka Doni and Anthony Edwards, the Oklahoma City radicals, and the one with the most to lose, Nikola Joki. Everyone senses the shift, from the veterans of past champions to the new faces of the league. The Spurs are a basketball dynasty-in-waiting. Continue reading...

Olympic champions Sifan Hassan and Eliud Kipchoge make their NYC debuts on Sunday, where rolling bridges, loud crowds and marathon chaos awaitThe New York City Marathon, like the city it takes over each fall, is as vast as it is vibrant; as loud as it is chaotic; and more than a little daunting, too.No marathon is easy. But an air of unpredictability lingers over the five boroughs, with hopefuls humbled, and favorites frustrated, as they embark on a challenging 26.2-mile tour of the city. Continue reading...

Carney said he had made the apology privately to Trump when they both attended a dinner hosted by South Korea's president on WednesdayThe Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said he had apologised to the US president, Donald Trump, over an anti-tariff political advertisement and had told the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, not to run it.Carney, speaking to reporters on Saturday after attending an Asia-Pacific summit in South Korea, said he had made the apology privately to Trump when they both attended a dinner hosted by South Korea's president on Wednesday. Continue reading...

President Trump received a trio of legal setbacks - key US politics stories from 31 October at a glancePresident Trump received a trio of legal setbacks Friday related to the government shutdown and his attempts to tweak voting access in US elections.First, two federal judges issued back-to-back rulings in separate cases ordering the administration to use contingency funds to continue paying for food stamps under the Snap program. Continue reading...

Gstaad emerged victorious in the Juvenile Turf, completing an excellent day for the O'Brien family1. CY FAIR, 2. Brussels, 3. Aspect Island.Cy Fair is finishing with a wet sail, so too Aspect Island but it's going to be Cy Fair's day, he beats Brussels and Aspect Island Continue reading...

One judge issued temporary restraining order while another judge ruled the government must continue to fund program that helps low-income households

Verdict delivered in favor of Lyndsey Sutherland over death of daughter Jazzy' after doctors failed to identify conditionA civil jury in Maine has awarded $25m to a woman whose teenage daughter died from leukemia after being misdiagnosed with a condition linked to steroid-using men.The hefty verdict delivered in favor of Lyndsey Sutherland on Thursday called for her to receive $10m for the wrongful 2021 death of 15-year-old Jasmine Jazzy" Vincent as well as $15m for pain and suffering, said her attorney, Meryl Poulin. Continue reading...

Request to Fulton county underscores determination to revive president's falsehoods about election he lostThe justice department on Thursday asked election officials in Fulton county, Georgia, to turn over records related to the 2020 election, a request that underscores how the administration is trying to revive one of the president's biggest falsehoods about the election he lost five years ago.Investigators have cleared Fulton county of malfeasance in 2020. Nonetheless, a Republican majority on the board voted to reopen the investigation last year. On the night of the 2024 presidential election, the board voted to subpoena a slew of documents. This summer, the board passed a resolution asking the justice department to intervene and help them get the documents. The subpoenas issued last year seek records related to voter lists, chain of custody forms, ballot images, security seals and ballot scanner paperwork. Continue reading...

A Times associate editor reportedly addressed situation in an email to staff, saying: We should have been on our guard'It was humiliating" for a Times reporter to have quoted someone the journalist erroneously believed was former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, an editor for the London outlet reportedly said in an email to staff.We should have been on our guard. We should have tried much harder to speak to the people concerned," Ian Brunskill , the Times associate editor, told the company, according to an email obtained by Deadline. He went on to acknowledge the serious damage" done to the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper. Continue reading...

Ro Khanna, member of the House oversight panel, said Mountbatten Windsor should provide informationA Democratic congressman on Friday called for the former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to testify before the US House of Representatives committee that is conducting an inquiry into the government's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.The statement from Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative, who serves on the investigative House oversight committee, comes after the UK trade minister, Chris Bryant, suggested that since Mountbatten Windsor had been stripped of his royal titles, he should answer demands for information about his dealings with Epstein, an alleged sex trafficker who died by suicide while in federal custody six years ago. Continue reading...

The world said never again' after Darfur's genocide. Yet it stood by as catastrophe loomedNo one can claim they did not know what would happen in El Fasher. An 18-month siege had already seen war crimes by the Rapid Support Forces, including the execution of civilians and sexual violence. Warnings of the massacres that would follow when the city in Darfur fell - as it did on Sunday - were widespread.The reality was an even darker hell, in the words of UN officials. The World Health Organization says that the RSF killed 460 people in one hospital. Satellite images appear to capture bloodstains on the ground. Footage showed fighters executing unarmed men. Other captives were taken for ransom. The UN says hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters were raped or killed while trying to flee the city, with clear evidence of ethnically targeted violence. The horrors continue. Continue reading...

Elections across the US next week should be easy pickings for the opposition. But they're finding it hard to beat a player who breaks all the rulesEvery year is election year in the US, but the contests of 2025, which reach their climax on Tuesday, will be especially revealing. These off-year" battles - a smattering of governors' races, statewide referendums and the election of a new mayor in the country's biggest city - will tell us much about the national mood 12 months after Americans returned Donald Trump to the White House and one year before midterm contests that could reshape the US political landscape. Above all, though, they will reveal the division, the confusion and sheer discombobulation Trump has induced in the US's party of opposition.The verdict on Trump's first 10 months in office will be delivered most clearly in the two states set to choose a new governor: New Jersey and Virginia. By rights, these should be relatively easy wins for the Democrats. Both states voted for Kamala Harris a year ago, and the current polls are grim for Trump. This week, an Economist/YouGov survey registered Trump's lowest rating of his second term - 39% of Americans approve of him, while 58% disapprove - the lowest number they'd recorded for him bar one poll in his first term. Trump's handling of the economy gets especially low marks, and a plurality of voters blame the continuing government shutdown, now in its second month, on Trump and his party. If an off-year election offers an opportunity to kick an unpopular incumbent, then Tuesday should be plain sailing for Democrats. Continue reading...

Heritage Foundation defended former Fox News host, others slammed him for platforming white supremacistConservatives are fighting among themselves over the far-right commentator Tucker Carlson's decision to interview the antisemitic white supremacist Nick Fuentes on his podcast, where the two men decried conservatives who support Israel.Kevin Roberts, the head of the conservative Heritage Foundation thinktank, defended Carlson after the episode, saying Carlson remains and, as I have said before, always will be a close friend of the Heritage Foundation". Continue reading...

Top figures and controversial policies from Donald Trump's administration are being sharply satirized this year through Halloween displays across Washington DC.Among the most popular subjects targeted are the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has drawn criticism for cutting funding for vaccine research; Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, widely viewed as the chief architect of the administration's hardline immigration agenda; Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary accused by critics of theatrical posturing' in her handling of prison operations and ICE raids; and Tulsi Gabbard, the national intelligence director who sparked controversy after revoking 37 security clearances without notifying the White House. Policies and agendas under attack include Project 2025 and trade tariffs Continue reading...

Calling Democrats stone cold crazy', president says nuclear option' is necessary to end government shutdown

About 43% of tickets for typical productions remained unsold this fall as people pledge to boycott the institutionTicket sales for the Kennedy Center's three largest performance spaces have reportedly fallen to their lowest level in years after Donald Trump's takeover of the performing arts institution earlier this year, according to a new analysis from the Washington Post.The Post reported on Friday that it collected and analyzed ticket sales data from 3 September to 19 October and found that about 43% of tickets for typical productions remained unsold. In comparison, the Post reported that about 93% of tickets were sold or issued on a complimentary basis in the fall of 2024 and 80% in the fall of 2023. Continue reading...

US president suggested ending the filibuster to conclude the federal government shutdown. Here is what to know

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Agents allegedly denied people held at Broadview private calls with attorneys and blocked lawmakers and journalists