Her abrupt firing after just five days reopened the contest for one of the Trump administration's most prominent rolesThe White House is without a press secretary again after the ousting of Katie Zacharia, just five days into her appointment as Donald Trump's spokesperson.Zacharia's departure comes just months after Karoline Leavitt unexpectedly resigned as the White House press secretary to focus on her family. Continue reading...
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem died after reportedly passing out' and falling off Goliath rollercoaster in GeorgiaThe family of a man who was ejected from a rollercoaster at a Six Flags amusement park in Georgia and died has publicly questioned whether the death could have been prevented.Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem was riding the Goliath rollercoaster at Six Flags Over Georgia near Atlanta alongside his niece during a family trip to celebrate her birthday when he was thrown from the ride. His niece witnessed her uncle's death, a relative told the Atlanta ABC News affiliate WSB-TV. Continue reading...
Zacharia hosted widely panned first briefing on Tuesday and faced scrutiny after admitting she didn't pass bar examDonald Trump's new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired on Friday, just five days after she assumed the role, according to a White House official.The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the personnel decision that had not yet been formally announced. Zacharia, a little-known conservative political commentator prior to her selection as the president's chief spokesperson, came under immediate scrutiny after a widely panned inaugural briefing on Tuesday. The 14-minute exchange was soon followed by a barrage of questions over her legal credentials after she admitted she did not pass the bar exam. Continue reading...
In civil suit, Jane Doe' alleged billionaire raped her after being handed off' by Jeffrey Epstein. Black denied the allegations and called claims a fabricationA federal judge has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit brought against Leon Black after the plaintiff in the case, who had accused the private equity billionaire of rape, said she was medically incapable of continuing" and at risk of acute psychiatric crisis", including suicide.The woman known only as Jane Doe", who claimed in a lawsuit that was first filed in July 2023 that she had been handed off" to Black by his associate Jeffrey Epstein and then sexually assaulted by him, had been acting without a lawyer in the case. Doe has alleged that the assault occurred in 2002, when she was a teenager. Continue reading...
Guyger, convicted of murder of Botham Jean in Dallas in 2018, served seven years of 10-year sentenceThe former Dallas police officer who was convicted of murdering Botham Jean after entering his apartment and shooting him in 2018 was released from prison on Friday morning after spending seven years in prison.Amber Guyger, 38, regained her freedom a little more than two weeks after the Texas board of pardons and paroles approved her release, despite opposition from Jean's family. Continue reading...
In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, admitted that she did not pass the bar exam, after facing scrutiny about her legal career before becoming the top spokesperson for Trump. Zacharia had previously said she practiced law before entering politics, and Trump had described her as an attorney. Zacharia earned a law degree from Pepperdine University in 2011, according to the school. Nearly all licensed US lawyers first obtain a law degree, but law school graduates cannot legally practice law in the US without being admitted to a state bar. In China, the law requires practicing lawyers to be Chinese nationals. Foreign staff can advise and consult on legal matters but not practice law. Continue reading...
Newly released video by the Park City police department shows the moment K-9 dog Bruno jumped from a freeway overpass while inspecting a suspicious package on 15 September. An independent review found that the handler, officer Wayne Henderson, deployed Bruno in line with standard K-9 tactics. Bruno was air-lifted to a veterinary hospital after the incident and has been released to recover at home.
The old certainties have gone. We will have to spend whatever it takes to protect ourselves in this new and dangerous worldDonald Trump must find it oddly frustrating. He keeps showing the world exactly who he is, and yet the world keeps refusing to believe it. As clearly as he can, he is announcing that he is not the leader of the free world, that he is not even a reliable member of the democratic west, that he is in fact an ally of its enemies - but the west, including Britain, either doesn't fully get the message or can't quite bring itself to draw the obvious conclusion.Trump had another go this week, finding multiple ways to declare that in the war between Russia and Ukraine, he is no mediator or peace broker but a partner of Vladimir Putin. In fairness to him, the US president had loudly issued that declaration within weeks of his return to the White House when, in February 2025, he delivered an on-camera dressing down of Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, seeking to humiliate the Ukrainian leader by telling him you don't have the cards", even as JD Vance demanded their visitor show gratitude. That should have made Trump's position sufficiently plain, but in the past few days he has all but put it up in lights.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnistUS midterms: Trump, war and America's future
Polls show that Democrats and Republicans in battleground states want to hear more from candidates about the climate crisisMost Americans feel unease or alarm about the climate crisis and, in both red and blue states, want to know how political leaders are going to fix it. But in midterm election campaigns across the US, candidates have responded to this desire with near silence.People in the US have this year endured a record hot summer as well as soaring costs, equating to roughly $2,000 per household, in extra energy and mortgage payments, due to the country's dependence on a fossil fuel supply scrambled by Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran. Continue reading...
Bomb-sniffing dog Bruno is recovering after surgery having broken several bones while responding to suspect packageVideo of the moment a police dog named Bruno leapt from a freeway overpass and received serious injuries has been released by authorities in Utah, as the animal continues to recover at home.Bruno, a bomb-sniffing dog, suffered two broken legs and a fractured jaw in the September incident as he helped Utah state troopers investigate a suspicious package found abandoned on the roadside in Summit county. Continue reading...
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was asked by Sky News at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, if he felt he was being made a 'scapegoat' by his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for domestic problems including high diesel prices before midterm elections. Zelenskyy paused for 15 seconds, before he eventually smiled and said: 'This is my answer.'
Hot, windy weather stokes fires in southern California as utilities shut off power to 150,000 customers as precautionSeveral brushfires stoked by hot, windy weather forced evacuations in southern California, and tens of thousands of people woke up in the dark after their electricity was turned off.A rapidly spreading blaze in Malibu, west of Los Angeles, prompted evacuation orders and warnings for a large swathe of the Santa Monica Mountains. Firefighters also worked to contain fires in the city of Azusa, north of LA, and Camp Pendleton, the large military base north of San Diego. Continue reading...
The Brewers turned LA's stars into ghosts during their four-game NLCS sweep, destroying the team that destroyed baseball' and revealing the sport's hard truthMilwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy had just watched his club dismantle Los Angeles for a fourth straight National League Championship Series game. Standing with his team in the Dodger Stadium clubhouse, he was ready to celebrate. But before popping his champagne and setting off a stream of celebratory suds, Murphy had a message.They got a bunch of Hall of Famers. We got a bunch of gamers." Continue reading...
A teenage gunman opened fire in the city of Bend, killing four people and leaving two more in critical condition, before he was shot and killed by a bystanderA 16-year-old gunman opened fire at the Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, authorities said, killing three children and a teacher.The student victims are aged five, eight and 11. Their names have not yet been released, and authorities said their families had been notified.The 16-year-old shooter was found dead at the scene. Police said that an armed bystander pursued the suspect and shot him inside the school shortly before officers arrived.Two other victims, a seven-year-old and a 54-year-old, have been hospitalized. As of Friday morning they remained in critical condition, according to police.Police arrived at the school at 1.02pm local time after receiving multiple reports of a shooting. One 911 caller reported an individual armed with a long gun firing upon their car. Police said the gunman forced entry into the building by shooting at locked doors, but did not identify the make of the firearm they used.The teenage shooter was a resident of the town, police said, but their name has not been released. Police have yet to provide a motive for the shooting and said they were still investigating if he had ties to the school.The attack has rocked the small city of Bend, which is home to 100,000 residents and is located on the Deschutes River, about 170 miles south-east of Portland. All public schools in the district, and campuses of Oregon State University-Cascades and Central Oregon Community College, will be closed on Friday.Hundreds gathered at nearby Drake Park on Thursday night at a somber candlelight ceremony to remember the victims. Some attenders called on authorities to harden gun laws in Oregon, already some of the tightest in the nation.Officials have praised the swift actions of law enforcement officers and of the community member who intervened. The Oregon governor, Tina Kotek, praised the intervention as heroic and extended her thoughts to the bystander. Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden," she said on Thursday evening.The FBI is helping local authorities investigate the shooting, according to the agency's director, Kash Patel. Continue reading...
by Presented by Jonathan Freedland with Arwa Mahdawi on (#793CG)
The US vice-president is following the Donald Trump playbook, attacking the Democrats, attempting to make jokes and even swearing more. Jonathan Freedland talks to Arwa Mahdawi about why Vance is making such an effort to court voters Continue reading...
With his war in Iran and siding with Russia, it's hard to think of someone who has done more to make the world a safer placeIt might have been more, shall we say, diplomatic if Donald Trump had taken some deep breaths after finding out he had been overlooked for the Nobel peace prize for the second year running before virtually declaring war on Norway. But maybe we should just be grateful he refrained from rubbishing the South African human rights activist Navi Pillay, who picked up the award, and shelved his plans to livestream the execution of the Norwegian prize committee. There again, you can understand his frustration. It's hard to think of someone who has done more to make the world a safer place. Where would we be had not The Donald started a war with Iran which he shows no sign of knowing how to finish and which has forced up the price of global energy? And it was so good to see him intervening so positively in Russia's war with Ukraine by appearing to side with the aggressor. These are just the things everyone is looking for in a Nobel peace laureate. The president is also put out that no one has noticed he has personally ended eight global conflicts; though it would be helpful if he could let us know which ones. Are they ones he has personally started - Trump appears disappointed that Argentina hasn't invaded the Falklands again - or ones that only he knows about. During a press conference at Chequers in 2025, he claimed to have brought about a lasting peace between Albania and Azerbaijan. Maybe there are other wars going on we just don't know about. Perhaps Australia and New Zealand have been bombing each other for years with neither side noticing. And perhaps the border between France and Italy has been a no-go zone ever since the fight between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. Still, Trump looks a cert to retain Gianni Infantino's Fifa peace prize - if only because it seems likely to be scrapped, making him the only winner. Continue reading...
Coalition has planned more than 3,000 events on Saturday to encourage voting before election dayThe coalition that has drawn millions of Americans into the streets to fight for democracy over the past two years is shifting its strategy this weekend.On Saturday, No Kings organizers and partners will hold thousands of events across all 50 states and Washington DC to get people to the polls early for the US midterm elections. With high-stakes races that will determine control of Congress, organizers say getting out the vote before election day can ease burdens on election workers and build confidence in voters, allowing them to avoid hiccups such as long lines and potential election threats. Continue reading...
Thousands of vetted and approved refugees are suffering as Trump restricts quotas and prioritizes white South AfricansDonald Trump plans to once more severely restrict the number of refugees admitted to the US, announcing a limit of just 17,500 people in fiscal year 2027 - and that, again, those let in will be primarily" white South Africans.Refugee rights groups are alarmed and infuriated at the decision last month by the US president to exclude almost every other demographic. Continue reading...
The media-savvy Democratic senator is defying predictions of a tight re-election battle. But he insists he has zero interest' in a presidential run in 2028Jon Ossoff has zero interest" in running for president in 2028, he declared during a debate this week. Jon Ossoff has zero interest" in running for president in 2028, he told a local TV station last month. Jon Ossoff has zero interest" in running for president in 2028, he told MS Now - twice - in August.The Democratic US senator for Georgia said as much to CNN. And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And MS Now, again. And in his second Senate debate on Tuesday night. Continue reading...
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...
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...
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...
by Richard Luscombe in Miami and Anna Betts in New Yo on (#792WS)
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...
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...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#792PR)
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...
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...
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