Nearly 500 men are detained at the T Don Hutto detention facility, and many have risked sharing their experiences in a unique wayWhat goes on inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers across the US happens behind closed doors and high fences.Personal accounts of lengthy detention, misery and sickness and allegations of abuse rarely reach the public directly while people are still behind bars. Continue reading...
The unprecedented measure has enormous potential nationwide. The clash exposes the party's corporate-progressive divideMidway through this summer, a high-quality poll found that Democrats in California were overwhelmingly in favor of the upcoming ballot measure for a one-time 5% tax on billionaire wealth.The ratio was more than 4 to 1. But the state's most powerful Democrats - including the governor Gavin Newsom, his near-certain successor Xavier Becerra and the Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass - have lined up with Silicon Valley billionaires who've raised upward of $340m to defeat the initiative. Continue reading...
Once among the NFL's most punishing running backs, Larry Johnson opens up about memory loss, intrusive thoughts and his fears over football's lasting tollIn his heyday, Larry Johnson was the NFL tailback you'd least want to line up against, the steamroller in pads who had defensive players and coaches questioning their life choices on every down. But since Johnson walked away from pro football in 2011, after seven seasons in the league and an All-Pro run with the Kansas City Chiefs, he's the one doing the soul-searching, grappling with the toll all that gridiron glory has taken on his brain.Johnson, who still cuts a fit and formidable figure at age 46, can scarcely recall his glittering career, much less its highlights. I go up to maybe 2006, 2007," he tells me. Anything before or three years after, I really don't remember." Continue reading...
Amid the chaos, havoc and war caused by a capricious and amoral US president, countries are waking up to the dangers of being excluded and abused by AmericaNever has there been a time when the world has been more interconnected than now. What happens in the secretive inner councils in Tehran, the mountains of south-west Yemen, the steppe of the Donbas, the still bloody wasteland that is Gaza and even the elegant boulevards of Paris and Milan have a common thread.One cannot understand one set of conflicts without weaving them into another, and it is this very interdependence that is making each problem so contagious, layered and difficult to resolve, leaving the world to live as if trapped inside a pressure cooker on the brink of an explosion. Continue reading...
Mangione pleaded guilty in August in federal case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian ThompsonLuigi Mangione's lawyers filed paperwork on Friday once again pushing for dismissal of his state-level case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson following his federal guilty plea.Mangione pleaded guilty on 14 August to federal charges in Thompson's grisly death outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December 2024. The shocking plea came less than a month before his state murder and weapons trial, which had been scheduled for 8 September. Continue reading...
Marco Rubio pulls plug on traditional photo op at meeting of foreign ministers after about one-third of countries threaten boycottThe traditional family photo" to open the G20 foreign ministers' meeting has been abruptly cancelled in the US after a host of nations - including Australia and the UK - refused to appear beside the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov.The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, pulled the plug after several European officials, the UK and Australia made it known they would boycott or walk out of the snapshot that often kicks off such international gatherings. Continue reading...
Stephen Hubbard said that only when he was being taken from Moscow to St Petersburg did he believe he was going somewhere'In his first comments since recently being released from a Russian prison, a retired Michigan teacher said he only believed he would be freed when he got new clothes.Stephen Hubbard, 74, remarked on Friday that he had heard many times previously that he would be released - but never really trusted what he was told, adopting a philosophy of seeing is believing" and actions speak louder than words". Continue reading...
Demand comes after Guardian investigation found ICE failed to record data on miscarriages suffered by immigrants in its custody between October 2025 and June 2026US lawmakers are urgently demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) disclose how many pregnant immigrants have experienced miscarriages, stillbirths and pregnancy-related hospitalizations while in the its custody, after the agency admitted it lost count last year.US representatives sent the request following a recent Guardian investigation revealing that the Trump administration is detaining a record number of pregnant women and teens, and at the same has lost track of how many suffered miscarriages. Continue reading...
Javits Frimpong, 15, was being bullied at school before he was shot and killed in the Bronx on Thursday, his father saysA teenage boy from Ghana was chased down and fatally shot Thursday morning on his way to school in the Bronx.The New York City police department (NYPD) received a report on Thursday morning about a shooting near Corona Park in the Bronx, a police spokesperson said on Friday. At about 9.24am, responding officers found Javits Frimpong, 15, with a gunshot wound to his stomach. Continue reading...
European-trained runners completed a second successive clean sweep of the juvenile events on turf at a Keeneland Breeders' CupOFF AND RUNNING IN THE BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE TURF SPRINT!They are down at the start before the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Libertango remains a solid favourite at 2-1. And they're loading now ... Continue reading...
The Department of Homeland Security asked an Icelandic hosting company to take down data obtained through hackThe US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asked an Icelandic hosting company on Thursday to take down or limit access to data related to thousands of agency personnel, saying the content put them at risk, according to the request posted online by hosting company FlokiNET.The database places more than 40,000 identifiable individuals at risk of harassment, stalking and physical harm", the request said. Continue reading...
Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign allegedly collaborated with party operatives to confuse voters in midtermsThe US justice department on Thursday is reported to have issued subpoenas in response to a report that the Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign collaborated with party operatives to get a challenger with the same name as the Republican senator Dan Sullivan on the midterm ballot.ABC News reported the subpoenas, citing sources familiar with the matter. The federal investigation comes a day after the New York Times found that the effort to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan in the Senate race set to be decided on Tuesday was led by Peltola's campaign, which had for months denied involvement. Continue reading...
US vice-president writes to top Iranian security official in sign Washington has not abandoned diplomacyHopes of averting a major new conflagration between Iran and the US soon after Tuesday's midterm elections could rest on Iran's response to a personal letter from the US vice-president, JD Vance, offering to restart diplomacy.The letter, written after predominantly Qatari mediation, was sent to the secretary of Iran's supreme national security council, Mohsen Rezaei on Sunday. It requires Tehran to agree to make commitments on its nuclear programme at the start of a process that would lead to the opening of the strait of Hormuz within seven days in return for US sanctions relief. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#79DH8)
Tankers, tracked by Greenpeace, are first phase of Trump-Putin deal - but there is uncertainty over whether they will unloadSeven oil tankers carrying an estimated 288,000 tonnes of Russian diesel are now sailing towards the US, though it is uncertain if the vessels will be able to unload amid a political row about the legality of the shipments.The transport, tracked by the pressure group Greenpeace, is the first phase of a contentious supply deal negotiated between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin earlier this month, reversing years of sanctions on Russia oil. Continue reading...
Musician wrote a love letter' to Canada with a new album - and some pointed commentary about the US presidentLake Ontario, the vast body of water that straddles the US-Canada border, has gone by many names over the centuries: Lac Saint-Louis, Lacus Ontarius, Skaniadorio, Cataraqui Lake. But one thing it will never be called, says the Canadian rock star Bryan Adams, is Lake America.In his new song Lake Ontario, Adams takes aim at the US president, Donald Trump, accusing him of breaking the peace" between the people who live on the lake's shores.The lake of shining waters' is what the Iroquois called herIt's a First Nations name - not an executive order.But things weren't going his way in IranSo like a baby tossing the toys from the pramYou can push us to the brinkBut where the open road divides Continue reading...
It makes sense that sports teams want to keep influencers out of their games. The battle some clubs are waging with their fans, however, is a different dilemmaBy all appearances, things on the Yellow Wall seemed as they always had been. The stadium announcer hollered out the first names of Borussia Dortmund's starting lineup and the supporters responded with their last names, tens of thousands of voices bellowing as one. Dozens of black and yellow flags waved over Europe's largest standing terrace, a mass of faces fixed on the field beneath them.And then Signal Iduna Park, sold out with 81,365 fans, roared when Max Beier's lone goal led Dortmund to victory over Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday, putting the home side even on points with Bayern Munich atop the Bundesliga standings. Continue reading...
Kaden Matsuda and Jackson Donlon were on a trip in Rocky Mountains last weekend when heavy snowstorm hitTwo Colorado college students have been found dead after going missing during a hiking trip in the Rocky Mountains last weekend when a heavy snowstorm hit, authorities said.The bodies of Kaden Matsuda, 19, of Ridgway, Colorado, and Jackson Donlon, 20, of New York, were found on Wednesday afternoon in a basin of West Apostle Mountain, about 100 miles (160km) south-east of Aspen, the Chaffee county sheriff's office said in a statement posted on social media. Continue reading...
by Cecilia Nowell in Albuquerque, New Mexico on (#79DBH)
Ex-congresswoman is connecting with young people and Native voters with promise to expand the social safety netThe road to Isleta Pueblo, a Native American tribal community just 20 minutes south of downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico, is peppered with campaign signs. Among the many names of candidates running in next week's midterm elections and tribal elections later in November, there's one that is poised to make history.Deb Haaland is set to become the first Native American female governor in the US when voters cast their ballots on 3 November. Recent polling shows her with a comfortable lead over her opponent, Republican Gregg Hull, a businessman and the longtime mayor of the city of Rio Rancho. Her bid for office also signals the growing power of the Democratic party in the state, where Democrats control the legislature, hold all top offices and have enacted progressive policies, such as universal childcare, that have been heralded across the country. Continue reading...
Gone are the eight criteria to be a High Impact Player so clubs can spend their money on whomever they want - and the solution makes senseWhen Washington plays Chicago this Sunday in DC, Rowdy Audi" will probably be full. It will also be full when the post-season starts, should they lock up their top-four position with a positive result on Decision Day. Equipped with an accessible stadium in a big city, a proud fanbase and a formidable roster rife with players qualifying for the High Impact Player (HIP) rule's initial criteria (including Trinity Rodman, who gave the rule its moniker), the Spirit hold sway in the attendance charts.But starting next season, everyone on the Spirit will qualify for the Rodman Rule". So will every player in NWSL. Announced Friday, NWSL settled a grievance with the league's Players Association, who argued that the initial criteria violated federal labor law. Continue reading...
Milwaukee's first World Series championship is a rebuke to baseball's oligarch class, whose insistence that small-market teams cannot compete has been laid bare as fictionFor the entirety of the 2026 baseball season, the overlords of the game have stood on the single position that what has now happened could not happen, and the result was a year that has been treated like an appetizer for the main course of the offseason: the shutting down of the game until the players, after 40 years of resistance, finally agree to a salary cap. The insistence that the game had been predetermined undermined the Milwaukee Brewers, who spent 149 days this season atop the standings.Baseball dismissed Milwaukee's 22-0 demolition of Seattle on 18 August, the 20-0 waxing of Cincinnati a month later, and the comprehensive dusting of their division - their fourth consecutive National League Central title and fifth in six years - by 14 games. Baseball's owners, at their persuasive best, would have their paying customers believe that the Brewers' franchise-record 103 regular-season wins also were an illusion, or worse, the dreaded outlier, even though Milwaukee have won 770 games since 2018, the fourth-most in all of baseball. Even when Milwaukee exhaled and made the Dodgers look old in a stirring four-game sweep, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the owners' position remained unchanged. Continue reading...
Acquisition will supercharge DoorDash's grocery delivery, one of the hardest things to get right online', CEO saysDoorDash is gobbling up Instacart in a $17bn acquisition that will supercharge its grocery delivery business.DoorDash said the Instacart brand name and app will remain, and Instacart shoppers can continue fulfilling orders for Instacart. Grocers can also choose to work with Instacart or DoorDash. Instacart customers will now have access to 50,000 additional stores covered by DoorDash, the company said. Continue reading...
Republican Mike Dunleavy plans search after Peltola accused of recruiting Dan Sullivan to confuse votersThe Republican governor of Alaska announced plans to launch a criminal investigation after a report accused the campaign of the Democratic Senate candidate Mary Peltola of trying to confuse voters by recruiting a candidate with the same name as her opponent.Governor Mike Dunleavy wrote on social media that he was directing the department of public safety to investigate whether this scheme violated Alaska's laws and whether criminal charges or civil action are warranted". Continue reading...
Growth is in sharp contrast to households' assessment, reflected in Trump's record-low approval ratingsThe US economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter as resilient consumer spending and AI-driven business investment more than offset the impact of higher oil prices stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.Gross domestic product (GDP) increased at a 3.4% annualized rate last quarter, the commerce department's bureau of economic analysis said in its advance estimate of the third quarter GDP on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast GDP advancing at a 3.2% pace. Continue reading...
The Michigan Senate candidate is calling for public ownership and other reforms, offering a potential antidote to ideological gridlockThe Michigan senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, occupies a strange but increasingly common place in modern American politics. He's praised by progressives, begrudgingly tolerated by moderate Democrats and largely demonized by Republicans.He's also uniquely positioned to forge an all-too-elusive thread of political kinship between these perpetually-at-odds groups with his bold but contentious plan for reining in AI, called AI Under Democracy. Continue reading...
The Democrat is challenging incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith for US SenateOn Tuesday, with just one week until the election, Scott Colom's headquarters was buzzing. Volunteers arrived for phone-banking, while staffers prepared for another day of campaigning. Colom, a Democrat who is challenging incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith for US Senate, had just held a press conference in Corinth, Mississippi.Trump campaigned for Hyde-Smith in Corinth, a small city near the Tennessee border that typically leans Republican on Tuesday, too. He told attendees that he was there because Cindy's doing great, but I just got to make sure. I can't take a chance." Continue reading...
A luxury cruise ship on a years-long voyage around the world was forced to suspend its operations because of high fuel prices, stranding passengers in Cambodia. The ship, which began its journey in 2024, had been carrying 203 passengers, mostly Americans, and 156 crew. It is one of only a handful of ships that rent or sell long-term, or even permanent, accommodation onboard.
President's son-in-law denies completely insane' claims he profited from unofficial position. Plus, the battle between psychics and AI Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning. A book that contains incendiary claims about Jared Kushner's financial dealings during Donald Trump's first term has ignited a political and media storm. The book, by the author Matthew Cole, drew a furious response from Kushner, who called its claims completely insane".It contains numerous allegations about Kushner, who has served as one of Donald Trump's top diplomatic envoys in the Middle East. The most explosive are claims linking him to huge bank accounts allegedly funded by Gulf states. Kushner continues to steer US foreign policy despite having no official role. The Guardian contacted Kushner's legal counsel and received no response.Barack Obama offered a closing argument for Democrats in the final week of the campaign. These are not serious people," he said of Trump and the Republican party. And we're all paying the price for their lack of seriousness."The campaign of the Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola was behind an effort to recruit a challenger with almost the same name as the Republican US senator Dan Sullivan. Both men will appear on the ballot in next week's midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Peltola's campaign has denied involvement with the other Dan Sullivan, who will be listed on the ballot as Sullivan, Daniel J Jr".Two rightwing influencers have been charged with felonies in Minneapolis over attempts in the state's election primary to disguise themselves in what they called Muslim garb" and claim they were local voters.If you are having trouble keeping track of all the ways Trump and his administration have been attempting to disrupt the midterms, this four-minute video explainer has you covered. And the Guardian's Washington bureau chief, David Smith, has this analysis piece looking at Trump's midterm rally bigotry, with the president's repeated attacks on Muslims and his strange obsession with people's bodies. Continue reading...
Despite structural differences between countries, protests are a reminder of what makes demonstrations so powerfulSince mid-September, students in metropolitan France have been mobilizing against poor conditions in public high schools. The mouvement lyceen has spread from a single campus in a Parisian suburb to include high schoolers and university students nationwide, with public sector workers, climate activists, labor unions and everyday people joining in solidarity. The unifying concerns have largely centered on the climbing costs of daily life, shrinking funds for social services and general anxiety about the future.For two weekends running, France has seen hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets: first on 17 October, when a day of largely peaceful gatherings ended in looting and vandalism; then on 24 October, as the state met the movement with aggressive policing and protest bans intended to keep people at home. Continue reading...
With his poll numbers tanking and his behavior getting odder, the remark seems more appealing to himself than to votersAs he criss-crosses the nation, stumping for Republican candidates, Donald Trump keeps asking voters to use their imaginations.In this election, I'm asking you to pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot. Just pretend," he urged at a Kansas rally as he campaigned for the incumbent senator Roger Marshall and gubernatorial challenger Ty Masterson last month. Continue reading...
Elizabeth Warren and others joined by unions and industry experts in warning against the weakening of regulationsThe senator Elizabeth Warren, the congresswoman Ilhan Omar and several other Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha) to abandon a rollback of respirator mask regulations, a change the lawmakers say would weaken worker protections against hazardous substances.Under the proposed rules, employers would face fewer requirements to provide workers with respirators masks when working with substances including lead, asbestos, formaldehyde and inorganic arsenic, among other chemicals", the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the Osha assistant secretary, David Keeling, a former UPS and Amazon executive. Continue reading...
Regulator demands companies explain how and why they charge different prices for the same product or serviceThe Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is demanding some of the US's biggest airlines, ride-share companies and retailers divulge how they are using algorithms and loyalty programs to target customers and drivers with different prices and wages.Nine companies - Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart - were named in the inquiry, which comes after investigations and lawsuits alleging consumers are charged different prices based on their buying histories and drivers paid different fares based on their personal histories. Continue reading...
Legacy Church's endorsements violate law banning tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidatesA megachurch in New Mexico has endorsed two Republican candidates running in this year's midterms, including a Donald Trump-backed candidate running in one of the blue state's few competitive races. The church's endorsements, which violate federal law banning tax-exempt nonprofits from endorsing political candidates, come as the Trump administration is challenging that ban in federal court.In mid-August, pastor Steve Smothermon of Legacy Church, a nondenominational church with nine locations across the state, told his congregation about one of the candidates: Greg Cunningham has faithfully served our church for 14 years and shares our biblical values. Let's pray for him, support his campaign, get registered, and vote to flip this seat for someone who will stand for God, our Constitution, and a better New Mexico!" Continue reading...
Marilyn Hampton, who regularly bought supplies for and gave rides to children, was honored at public meetingUS schools are often named after presidents, historical figures and civil rights leaders. And soon joining those ranks is a retired longtime Texas school custodian known for going above and beyond her duties by buying classroom supplies for children in need and helping students with their assignments.That heartwarming story centers on Marilyn Hampton, whose former employer of 39 years - the Aubrey independent school district (AISD) - recently moved to rename its new elementary school No 5 in her honor. Continue reading...
Really change things for the working class,' the ex-presidential candidate saysA corporate plutocracy. A broken healthcare system. Massive and widening inequality. Cash-soaked elections. Angry people struggling to pay their bills and disgusted with lawmakers in Washington DC.Nearly everything that pushed famed consumer-rights advocate Ralph Nader to launch the 2000 presidential run that made him a political pariah in Washington is front and center as the US gears up for the 2026 midterm elections. But this time, things are much, much worse. Continue reading...
Pat McAfee's reaction to a few mild jokes shows how the ubiquitous ESPN personality is happy to whip up a crowd into a hostile frenzy but is terrified of any criticismIt was all shaping up to be a golden year for Pat McAfee. The man who landed a five-year, $85m deal in 2023 to take The Pat McAfee Show to ESPN had cemented himself as the star attraction of the sports broadcaster's bold new era of stunts, stupidity and memebrain swill. His persistently honking presence on the set of ESPN's College GameDay had helped push ratings to new heights. ESPN executives were so impressed with McAfee they were reportedly in negotiations to award him a new contract worth between $60m and $65m a year; one even went so far as to describe him as a generational" media talent.Then, over the weekend, disaster struck. A handful of college kids attacked him online ahead of his appearance with College GameDay at the University of Utah. Well, attacked" is maybe overstating things: they made a few mild jokes at his expense. But it was all too much for ESPN's brightest blimp. Suddenly, McAfee's world came crashing down. His initial reaction, to be fair, was mild: The university's Instagram account posted something talking a little trash about me last night, which I certainly love," he said ahead of the Utes' clash with the Houston Cougars last week. Continue reading...
Quarterbacks in 2026 have a series of dazzling weapons at their disposal. We rank the best of the receivers in the NFL at the momentNB: We have restricted the list below to players in their prime years, so excellent, older receivers such as Mike Evans and Davante Adams have been left out. Continue reading...
From Ms Rachel to Roc Nation, the internet embraced a Florida toddler. Police records reviewed by the Guardian complicate the story - and raise troubling questionsThere is real tragedy in this week's story of the three-year-old Florida boy whose parents claimed he was so good at soccer that police were called to do what opposing defenders couldn't. But it doesn't lie where the outrage cycle wants you to think. It's broader, implicates more people, and to me, is far more depressing.You may have seen the video by now. Here was a toddler with fabulous soccer talent, running end-to-end and scoring goal after goal against opponents who have seemingly just found their feet. The cameraman, later identified as the child's father, loudly and proudly cheers his son on. Way to go, kid. Continue reading...
Former US president comes to Georgia to support Jon Ossoff for US Senate and Keisha Lance Bottoms for governorBarack Obama, speaking at a Wednesday campaign rally in suburban Atlanta, offered a closing argument for Democrats in the final week of the midterm election campaign.These are not serious people," he said of Donald Trump and the Republican party. And we're all paying the price for their lack of seriousness." Continue reading...
Firm calls charges, which include violating state gambling ban and profiting from illegal activity, crazy overreach'Utah on Wednesday filed criminal charges against prediction market operator Kalshi and two of its executives, months after a federal judge rejected Kalshi's effort to prevent Utah from enforcing its strict anti-gambling laws against the activity.The felony charges could represent a new tactic in how states try to assert regulatory authority over the fast-expanding activity, a clash that appears headed to a showdown at the US supreme court. Continue reading...
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