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The mixed martial arts organization has had links to the US president for years. Now it could be involved in training federal agentsIn the lead-up to UFC Freedom 250 - the cagefighting spectacle that took place on the South Lawn of the White House to mark Donald Trump's 80th birthday this past summer - the FBI announced that a handful of UFC fighters would visit the bureau for an exclusive training seminar for federal agents.Taking place at the FBI Special Agent Academy in Quantico, Virginia, the March seminar put roughly 300 federal agents and academy students through specialized hand-to-hand combat training with seven past and current UFC fighters, including former middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who was pictured giving attendees advice on warding off attackers. Continue reading...

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Largest blaze the Henderson fire near San Diego as strong winds and severe heat could fuel rapid spreadMultiple wildfires ignited across California on Thursday as the state braced for more strong winds and high temperatures that could fuel rapid fire growth over the next several days.The largest blaze, dubbed the Henderson fire, erupted in Camp Pendleton, a San Diego Marine Corps training base, and quickly consumed more than 1,000 acres. Evacuations have been issued and officials briefly closed part of the Interstate 5, a major highway in the region. Continue reading...

Election officers in Louisiana and Oklahoma receive a powdery substance, prompting evacuationsThe FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service are investigating letters sent to state officials and election offices across the country containing an unknown substance".Just weeks before November's US midterm elections, election officers in Louisiana and Oklahoma received envelopes containing a powdery substance, leading to evacuations. A similar package containing white powder was also sent to the Ohio secretary of state, but the US Postal Service intercepted the package. Continue reading...

Katie Zacharia tells Guardian her first, widely panned, press briefing followed whirlwind sprint to appoint her to key roleDonald Trump's new White House press secretary says it is unknown" how much she will engage with the press or hold briefings with reporters, as she faces mounting questions over her legal credentials.In a brief interview with the Guardian on Thursday, Katie Zacharia detailed the whirlwind sprint to replace her predecessor Karoline Leavitt as the US president's chief spokesperson. Continue reading...

El Nino will likely shift weather patterns to bring more rain, but much snow still isn't forecast for the northern satesWinter in the United States looks like it will generally be wetter and warmer, but not necessarily snowier, according to the federal government's seasonal outlook and other meteorologists' forecasts. You can thank or blame El Nino.El Nino is likely to shift weather patterns to bring more moisture, but with it higher temperatures. That should help erase persistent western drought, but it is unlikely to make northern snow-lovers happy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday. Continue reading...

DoJ had demanded that LA county confirm citizenship of people on list in thumb drive, but officials refused

Voting registration organizations accuse Texas officials of failing to ensure eligible voters can register properlyTexas election officials are struggling to process a massive backlog of nearly 600,000 voter registration applications after a major state computer system failure, just days before early voting is set to open on Monday and amid concerns about widespread voter suppression.The disruption has raised serious concerns about the state's voter registration system, with voting rights organizations accusing Texas officials of failing to ensure that eligible voters could properly register. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say Adan Manzano was victim of Danette Colbert's operation targeting New Orleans touristsA woman involved in a New Orleans criminal enterprise that targeted tourists and led to the death of a reporter has been resentenced to life.On Wednesday, a Jefferson Parish judge resentenced 49-year old Danette Colbert to life in prison plus 75 years under Louisiana's habitual offender law. In September, Colbert was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison, 50 years for racketeering and a consecutive 10 years for negligent homicide in the death of Adan Manzano, a journalist for the Spanish-language news outlet Telemundo Kansas City. Continue reading...

Jane Does allege ex-congressman and two others coordinated payments, drugs and travel' for sexual actsThe Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz has been accused of participating in the sex trafficking of two young women in a civil lawsuit filed on Thursday in district court in Florida.The allegations, which Gaetz denied in a statement to the Guardian, are the latest developments in a long-running sexual abuse scandal involving the politician who resigned from Congress in November 2024. Continue reading...

Soldier who killed 13 people in 2009 will still be executed, but president said people would rather not watch him die'Donald Trump has shelved a widely condemned plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.In a social media post on Thursday, Trump argued that broadcasting such an execution might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan" but said that many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device". Continue reading...

We'd like to hear about whether you feel like the US is in a recession and what you think signals such a downturnNearly two-thirds of Americans think the US is experiencing a recession, according to a new Harris Poll conducted for the Guardian. By the typical definition of a recession - when a country's economic growth is in the negative for two consecutive quarters - the US is not experiencing one. Still, Americans are facing higher prices and a stagnant job market, which for many feels like a downturn.We want to hear from Americans: do you feel like the US is experiencing a recession? What is your so-called personal recession indicator", or a signal in your everyday life that points to an incoming economic slump? It could be seen in your job or at your local grocery store, something you notice at your children's school or out in your community. Tell us about it below. Continue reading...

Leader of CREC church - whose pastors have advocated death penalty - says he prefers public executions to private'Donald Trump announced on Thursday he was cancelling Pete Hegseth's recently announced plans to livestream a military execution - because many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die". But there were some fans of Hegseth's now-scotched idea: the rightwing religious figures who have long backed his career.Hegseth announced last week that the US public would be able to see the execution of Nidal Hasan, which is set for 3 December at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan, a former army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood in 2009. A military court sentenced him to death in August 2013. Continue reading...

Join our final live Q&A before the midterm elections, on 22 October at noon ET on the Guardian US siteSince Donald Trump started his second term in January 2025, immigration enforcement has remained a major issue for US voters, with arrests reaching record highs, operations becoming deadly and immigration raids hitting politicians' homes. Our reporting has documented the experiences of those directly affected by the harsh conditions in detention centers and resistance to ICE agents on the ground.Immigration will be a defining issue in the final weeks of campaigning for the 2026 US midterm elections.The makeup of the Democratic party, plus key races to watchWho are the groups financially backing the candidates in the midterms?Will the Iran war cost Trump in the US midterm elections? Your questions answered Continue reading...

Maine senator refutes claim from ex-Navatek CEO that he funded Collins's Super Pac in exchange for naval contracts

Rising costs and threatened healthcare benefits are testing voters' loyalty to Trump as Democrat Randy Villegas challenges David ValadaoVanessa Martinez used to work two jobs to make ends meet. Now she works three.In another era, the 26-year-old from California's hardscrabble Central valley could have been a poster child for the American Dream, the sort of ambitious, up-by-her-bootstraps personality that politicians of both major parties like to highlight. Continue reading...

Michael Desronvil tells Fox News he never had reasonable doubt Clancy was guilty but didn't back up his claimsMichael Desronvil, the sole holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial has spoken in his first interview since a mistrial was declared.Desronvil spoke of tense deliberations" in the jury room, and about how his strong Christian faith helped prepare him for those discussions. Continue reading...

Move comes as Senator Elizabeth Warren condemns Barclays response to questions over ex-boss's ties to sex offenderUS lawmakers have unveiled a new bill to hold Wall Street's Epstein-connected" bosses to account for helping finance the late sex offender's crimes.It came as top Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren condemned the UK bank Barclays for dodging responsibility" over its failure to vet former boss Jes Staley and his ties to the once well-connected billionaire. Continue reading...

Discovery of grenades prompted a neighborhood lockdown and a visit from the Austin police department's bomb squadA buyer at a Texas estate sale discovered several second world war-era grenades in a box of newly bought items, prompting a neighborhood lockdown and a visit from the Austin police department's bomb squad.The grenades, which were described as live and active" in a social media post by the Austin police association, were removed and disarmed. Continue reading...

Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans' needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken PaxtonJames Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with skeptical Republicans and independents voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel's military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall co-hosted by the Jubilee Media digital platform on Wednesday.One voter, a young Republican activist who volunteered at the party's midterm convention in Dallas last month and recently appeared on Fox News as a supporter of Talarico's opponent, questioned the authenticity of Talarico's faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary. Continue reading...

Authorities say suspect, 19, was allegedly planning a mass shooting and had shared a white supremacist manifestoA man arrested in a Chicago suburb had shared a document expressing white supremacist views and outlined an alleged plan to carry out a mass shooting, potentially targeting a Hindu place of worship, police said on Wednesday.Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested on Sunday after an individual reported receiving concerning electronic communications from him, Palatine police said. It was not immediately clear if he had legal representation. Continue reading...

Voters' opposition to the state of Trump's economy is well established - despite his desperate attempts to deflect

President Zelenskyy accused Donald Trump of taking Russia's side after access to the vital system was throttled. Plus, a happy ending for a dog that was missing for a monthGood morning. Ukraine's president has said he feels betrayed" by Donald Trump over a throttling of Starlink access. Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the US president of picking the other side after more than four years of war, risking a breakdown in US-Ukraine relations.Ukraine's military reported that the communications system, produced by Elon Musk's SpaceX but managed by the US government, was no longer working on terminals moving at speeds greater than 100mph. That effectively rendered most of the drones used by Ukraine to strike behind the frontlines inoperable and affected the country's best air defence system to stop Russian jet-powered attack drones bombing Kyiv.What is the likely impact of the loss of Starlink? The Ukrainian human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk said: Without that protection, Russian drones will strike residential buildings, hospitals and schools like targets in a shooting gallery." However, Starlink is not required for long-range Ukrainian missions that target Russian oil refineries, which Trump has been concerned because of their impact on world energy prices.How is Israel blocking Trump's plans for Gaza? Israel is refusing to allow a key project for Donald Trump's Board of Peace to proceed. In early August, it issued its first construction contract, for a military outpost to host 150 international troops as a vanguard of an international stabilization force. Two months later, Israel has still not allowed the contract to move forward. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Trump has falsely claimed Afrikaners are facing white genocide', but very few have applied to live in USThe US government could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a media campaign in South Africa to figure out why more white Afrikaners are not applying to become refugees to the US, as Donald Trump had hoped.State department officials, according to an August proposal seen by the Guardian, outlined a roughly $335,000 research and advertising effort after applications to the refugee program trended lower than expected" since Afrikaners were allowed to apply directly online in November 2025. The document, written by the US mission in South Africa with a department research unit for the embassy in Pretoria, admits officials know little about why. Continue reading...

Kimberly Guilfoyle's departure has renewed scrutiny of the president's picks for diplomatic posts, from France to JamaicaDonald Trump has appointed family members, friends and loyal political allies to represent the US on the world stage, dispatching an extraordinary array of characters to embassies across the world.While presidents of both parties have long rewarded donors and allies with plum ambassadorships, Trump has chosen loyalists willing to go to bat for him regardless of the implications for US-foreign relationships. Continue reading...

Claims that James Talarico suffered a mental health crisis spread across rightwing media, offering a warning about disinformation ahead of the US midterm electionWhere is James Talarico? The question ricocheted around rightwing echo chambers before metastasising into a conspiracy theory - and a reminder of the persistent danger of disinformation in the US midterm elections.The smear campaign began when Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Texas, was not seen in public for nine days. His campaign was slow to explain why. While nature abhors a vacuum, Donald Trump and social media seize on one and weaponise it. Continue reading...

The public broadcaster has often spoken truth to power, and can more than match the president's prized unpredictabilityFor the greatest account of the BBC's finest hour, one must turn to Penelope Fitzgerald's novel, Human Voices, written in 1980 and set 40 years earlier, at the corporation's Portland Place wartime HQ. Flanked by sandbags and infused with a smell of cooking from the deep hold that suggested more strongly than ever a cruise on the Queen Mary", the organisation that Fitzgerald describes is at once noble and deeply eccentric. Broadcasting House stood headed on a fixed course south," she writes. With the best engineers in the world, and a crew varying between the intensely respectable and barely sane, it looked ready to scorn any disaster."In other words, a formidable foe, one that in the spring of 1940, in the face of anticipated Nazi invasion, decided without prompting, that truth was more important than consolation, and, in the long run, would be more effective". I bring this up in respect to the gathering storm of Donald Trump versus the BBC, a fight triggered by the US president's $10bn defamation lawsuit - $10bn! It's a wonder he didn't go for $10 gazillion - brought against the corporation at the end of last year in response to a poorly edited episode of Panorama. The BBC was at fault, editing together comments made by the US president at a rally on 6 January 2021 to give, as the corporation's apology put it, the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action". But it is fighting the lawsuit.Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

The vast majority of Americans say they are struggling to pay for gas and groceries, and are cutting back on luxuries. But what or who is actually behind these price rises? We asked you to tell us what's gotten too expensive in your own life. Now, Kai Wright and Carter Sherman enlist Guardian columnist and former labor secretary Robert Reich to explain why you're feeling the pinch. From breaking down the market factors behind the cost of a $16 cheesesteak, to explaining why AI is playing into the price of a Nintendo Switch 2, Reich reveals who you should point the finger at in this economy. Additional music by Epidemic Sound

As the midterm elections loom, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to rural West Virginia, a Republican party stronghold, to explore how soaring gas prices, war in the Middle East and datacenter expansion are affecting Donald Trump's popularity among his base. Although the state remains staunchly Republican, there are signs of a new politics emerging - and local Democrats are looking to capitalize on it Continue reading...

The lack of cohesion in the center of the park is evident for the US, with Emma Hayes continuing to try different combinationsThe discourse around the US women's national team may have been a harsh one if not for a fourth-half surge against Spain.In the latest of their back-to-back bookings, where Emma Hayes' team plays the same opponent twice, Spain looked far more confident and effective than the four-time champions. Both teams were missing a handful of crucial players; Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey headlining the US's absentees, while Aitana Bonmati, Mariona Caldentey and Claudia Pina were among Spain's. Continue reading...

With the season approaching its climax, we look at the players who have perfected the art of smack talking through the yearsToday, even the most casual of WNBA fans have watched some of the league's biggest stars talking trash on the court. But while the snarling convos look heated, most of the time, they are good-natured, competitive fun.Still, we wondered, who are the best trash talkers in the game? Which players over the years have turned talking smack into an art form? Let's explore. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: As Russia resists a ceasefire and Trump's shifting priorities unsettle allies, an end to the conflict isn't getting any closerGood morning. In his usual asinine unconventional approach to international relations, Donald Trump announced on Sunday (via Truth Social, how else) an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine", apparently without checking with either side. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said any such deal was news to me," nonetheless declared he was ready and we will accept it". Vladimir Putin responded by blowing up some Ukrainian power plants.This has been the tenor of much diplomacy during Trump's tenure: false starts, U-turns, incoherent positions (and some playful flirting with Vlad). Meanwhile fighting continues, and America's allies attempt to manage the fallout. Andy Burnham hosted Zelenskyy at Downing Street yesterday, stating the UK is doubling down on its support for Ukraine, and pointedly calling on others to follow suit".UK | Sally Rooney has said she is being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK because of her support for the banned organisation Palestine Action.Gaza | Israel is refusing to allow a key military outpost project for Donald Trump's Board of Peace to proceed in Gaza, the Guardian has learned.EU | Britain will benefit from much closer trading relations with the EU even if that means giving up its ability to negotiate free trade agreements, the Scotland secretary has said.Ukraine | Ukraine's military has suddenly had its access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the Trump administration has increased pressure on Ukraine to immediately halt long-range strikes on Russia's oil industry.Vaccine | Guinea-Bissau has not approved the controversial hepatitis B study in newborns that would be funded by the US government and private partners, the African country's minister of health said. Continue reading...

Finance ministers gathering for the IMF annual meeting know the need for multilateral cooperation to deal with many crises. There is little chance of thatNot much has gone right for the global economy this year, and plenty has gone wrong. Two big regional wars are destabilising prices and supply chains everywhere. Businesses and consumers are feeling the effects of a serious energy shock. Rising inflation has made it a lot more expensive for governments to finance their debts. China and the US are at loggerheads over trade.Yet, so far, the impact has been modest. It is something of a miracle that the finance ministers and central bank governors gathered for this year's annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok are not having to deal with a full-blown crisis. This is not like the autumn of 2008, when the meetings took place during the worst of the global banking meltdown.Larry Elliott is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

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Alleged assault follows report of gang-rape at frat house at Cornell, which ignited national uproar and criticism onlineA 21-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted last weekend at a fraternity house near the University of Chicago, as Greek life nationwide faces renewed scrutiny for recurrent misconduct.The incident allegedly took place on Sunday at about 1.50am at the off-campus Alpha Epsilon Pi residence, according to a university daily crime log. Continue reading...

Account by Oscar Belgal differs sharply from that of DHS agents, who fired into vehicle with young boy in back seatLawyers for a man wounded by an immigration officer while driving with his young son in New York City said in a court filing Wednesday that the agent who shot him never identified himself before he ran up to the car, smashed one of its windows, then fired several shots into the vehicle.The account by lawyers for Oscar Belgal contrasted sharply with the version of events outlined by Department of Homeland Security officials. They have said officers opened fire only after Belgal smashed his car into two government vehicles and accelerated toward other officers". Continue reading...

Federal authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas in inquiry into potential immigration fraud

Image of state flag incorporating KKK hoods was sent to other schools participating in regional tennis tournamentThe University of Maryland (UMD) has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a graphic featuring Ku Klux Klan imagery was circulated to other universities before a regional tournament, prompting widespread condemnation.The controversy erupted after Toni Rachal, president of Howard University's club tennis team, spotted the offensive material in a shared Google document sent to participating schools before last weekend's tournament, WUSA9 reported. Continue reading...

Police arrested Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, after reports of a distressed female' at the Great Wolf Lodge resortA Pennsylvania woman allegedly killed her husband and her three-year-old son at a resort in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania this week before attempting suicide, according to local officials.Pocono Township police responded to reports of a distressed female" at the Great Wolf Lodge resort, with the woman identified as 27-year old Metallica Rose Harrison of Towanda, Pennsylvania, by police. Continue reading...

Sabrina German, a poll official in Chatham county, details a typical election day, the pressure election workers face, and fallout from 2020 disputesIt's not that Sabrina German doesn't have political views. But as the director of voter registration for Chatham county, Georgia, talking politics is like breakdancing in traffic. I don't talk politics with anyone," says German; she knows better.America's partisan minefield has trained much of the country - aside from that one uncle you avoid at weddings and funerals - to get pretty good at the art of political diplomacy in polite company. Continue reading...

Republican representative described the assault in a nearly hourlong speech in February 2025 that named the menNancy Mace's former fiance and two of his business associates were charged with sex crimes and voyeurism on Wednesday over an episode the South Carolina representative described in detail during a speech last year on the House floor, about how crimes against women are not investigated thoroughly.John Douglas Osborne committed sex acts on a 23-year-old incapacitated and intoxicated woman while Mace's ex-fiance Patrick Bryant and Eric Bernard Bowman watched, according to sworn statements by agents from the state law enforcement division, which brought the charges. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Israel has not permitted US-led project to house 150 international troops to move forwardIsrael is refusing to allow a key military outpost project for Donald Trump's Board of Peace to proceed in Gaza, the Guardian has learned.In early August, the Board of Peace, the international organization authorized in 2025 by the UN and chaired by the US president, issued its first construction contract for Gaza: Louisiana-based Arkel International would construct a military outpost for 150 international troops that would be the vanguard of an international stabilization force. Continue reading...

Katie Zacharia describes herself as a lawyer but no public record shows she has been licensed in the US states where she residedDonald Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer. But when asked after her inaugural press briefing on Tuesday to name the state where she passed the bar exam, she replied curiously: when I moved to China".No public record shows she has ever been licensed to practice law in the US states where she resided, and her answer to reporters' questions on Tuesday only deepened scrutiny. Continue reading...

The one I worry about most is voter anger - which both parties are not taking seriously enoughThat chill in the air you are feeling is not the weather, it is the Republicans freaking out about the 2026 midterm elections. Midterms are always referendums on the incumbent, though the party in power usually would rather they weren't.This midterm feels less like a referendum on Trumpism than a dirge. It's easy to see how Republicans got here, lulled into thinking that their guy, Donald Trump, could once again defy political gravity. Trump certainly thought he could.Molly Jong-Fast is the host of the Fast Politics pod, contributing writer for the times and an analyst for MS Now Continue reading...