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Mike Rogers isn't merely campaigning alongside a controversial supporter. His campaign put an extremist on its faith leadership teamHasan Piker.Turn on cable news. Pick up a newspaper. Log on to Twitter. It doesn't seem to matter where you get your political news: for the past month, the leftist Twitch streamer has become one of the dominant subjects of coverage, conversation and controversy surrounding the crucial Michigan Senate race between the Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and the Republican Mike Rogers. Continue reading...

Inquiry come after conservative thinktanks claim unions are using member dues to support Democratic causesHouse Republicans are investigating several US labor unions based on claims from far-right nonprofits alleging union dues are being used for illegal political funding.Republicans on the House's education and workforce committee opened the investigation this summer after multiple reports from the conservative thinktanks targeted unions and their spending, claiming that unions are using member dues to support Democratic causes. Continue reading...

Age on the agenda in Massachusetts but octogenarian leftwinger leads younger rival Seth Moulton in primary pollDemocrats have spent the summer ousting long-serving incumbents in primaries across the country. On Tuesday, Massachusetts voters will decide whether that generational revolt extends to the 80-year-old Ed Markey, whose younger Democratic rival has argued that the incumbent is simply too old to serve another term.But the Senate primary in this heavily Democratic state flips a central dynamic of previous contests, where youthful progressive insurgents have targeted - and in several cases, toppled - older incumbents they derided as avatars of an outmoded cautious establishment. Continue reading...

The deluge capped a summer of extreme climate events, from deadly heatwaves to wildfires. We must take action nowFor millennia, the high peaks of the Himalayas were held together by an invisible, frozen cement - permafrost and glacial ice that bound ancient rock into seemingly unshakable fortresses. But as the planet continues to warm, this alpine glue is liquefying.The glacial collapse and deluge in Nepal and Tibet was not a freak weather event; it was the structural failure of a mountain itself, nature's latest commentary on the deadly consequences of human-caused planetary warming. And it was the exclamation point on a summer of extremes, illustrating with a sole unnatural disaster the apocalyptic future that lies in store if we fail to take dramatic climate action. Continue reading...

The non-profit Leaving Maga is built on the premise that abandoning the Trump-built movement is like fighting a disease or breaking an addictionStephania Messina kept birthing boys. In the Quiverfull conservative Christian church she belonged to outside Detroit, Michigan, that made her a community celebrity. Your quiver, as the church taught it, is your womb, meant to be filled with as many arrows - a metaphor for children - as you can shoot unto the Lord. She shot five. They treated me like I was Mother Mary, like I was this gift to the church," she said.But while she was quickly pushed into leading worship and Bible study groups for women and children, she wasn't permitted to talk about politics. Continue reading...

Alex Eala has become the Philippines' biggest sporting star since Manny Pacquiao. Now the 21-year-old's traveling army of fans have descended on Flushing MeadowsThe crowd began to swell in Louis Armstrong Stadium a half hour before 2pm. A fair number of fans were probably there to see Taylor Fritz and Terence Atmane practice, but it was the session after theirs that was the headline attraction on the Friday of the US Open's fan week. The blue, red and white throughout the stands, spotted on bucket hats and posters and basketball jerseys and flags, signaled who these people were here to see.This has been the year of Alex Eala, the 21-year-old sensation who has taken the tennis world by storm. At No 18, she is the Philippines' highest-ranked player ever, its biggest sports celebrity since Manny Pacquiao. The country's president hosted a reception to celebrate her success, and called for a national celebration after she won her first tour-level title this month at the DC Open. Forbes estimates Eala's off-court earnings for the past year to exceed $5m, plus $1.7m in prize money, and her agent predicts she will be the world's second-highest-paid female athlete by 2027. Continue reading...

Comments signal president prepared to use dispute to push UK to raise defence spending and Nato contributionsDonald Trump has suggested he is reconsidering US support for Britain's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, in a move likely to strain the special relationship" between Washington and London.I always review every position - that's just one of many," the US president told reporters in the White House, in response to a question about whether he was reviewing the US's position over the South Atlantic islands, an archipelago whose status has long been disputed by Argentina, which claims sovereignty. Continue reading...

A decade after Kaepernick's quiet protest shook the NFL, his exile looks less like an aberration than a blueprint for the culture war that followedAmerica likes nice round numbers, perfect for anniversaries and reflections, and it has, suddenly, been 10 years since Colin Kaepernick first protested police killings - more accurately, police killings of Black people that went unpunished either internally or by the courts - by taking a knee during the national anthem for the entirety of the 2016 NFL regular season. He never played in the league again.Ten years covers a lot of ground, especially in these years of American darkness, and many of the important details surrounding Kaepernick, his banishment and significance have disappeared, time replaced by more time and more darkness - time moving faster than ever, at internet speed, where nothing matters, where nothing sticks. We consume by clip, by click, by meme, and knowledge by meme is not knowledge at all. Continue reading...

A year on from the purge, with thousands of jobs cut and billions in foreign aid lost, a former leader reflects on the sorry saga - and why it would never happen to NasaA year has passed since I and thousands of colleagues lost our jobs at USAID. Asking myself Why us?" I have come to the conclusion that the American public had very little idea of what we were doing and why.Doge, the department of government efficiency", began its work in January 2025, with USAID as its first target, in a reckless campaign that even Elon Musk has said he would not repeat. At that moment of chaos, Americans lacked the knowledge that could contradict the false narrative presented by Musk, who called the agency a criminal organisation" and a viper's nest of radical left-marxists who hate America". Continue reading...

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A Las Vegas jury on Monday found Duane Keffe D' Davis guilty in the 1996 murder of the hip-hop icon

Phantom Ranch, set up by Teddy Roosevelt, has welcomed exhausted hikers to its famed cabins for over a century

Flash flooding in Arizona tourist destination was likely triggered by compounding climate factors, such as drought and warming in Pacific Ocean

Officials say one person still unaccounted for as forecast heavy rain and thunderstorms threaten further floodingA second death was confirmed by National Park Service officials on Monday after a flash flood sent a surge of water and debris through an area of the Grand Canyon over the weekend.Dozens of visitors had to be evacuated by helicopter during the deluge, which consumed trails and infrastructure. Nearly 80 people were rescued and one person is still unaccounted for, as more heavy rain and thunderstorms in the forecasts threaten additional debris flows, flash floods or rock falls, the NPS said in a statement. Continue reading...

Pamela Cisneros, 49, was wielding two knives when she stabbed a woman, who died in the hospital, and a manNew York City police shot and killed a woman Monday after she stabbed two people in Times Square, city authorities said during a press conference.Jessica Tisch, the New York City police commissioner, described the stabbings as random and unprovoked" acts carried out by a woman with previous mental health problems. Continue reading...

Company is offering cash reward for 40,000lb stolen cargo, and turns theft into lighthearted social media promotionPabst is offering a reward after tens of thousands of cans of its Blue Ribbon beer were stolen from the company's southern California warehouse two weeks ago - if it is all safely returned.In Instagram posts, Pabst put the weight of the stolen cargo at 40,000lb (18,000kg) and started a countdown seeking its return. Continue reading...

Justices' 5-4 ruling permits Trump administration appeal to block lower court order halting above-ground workA divided US supreme court has permitted Donald Trump to continue building his controversial $400m White House ballroom despite legal challenges, raising the likelihood it will be completed.In a 5-4 ruling, the justices permitted the Trump administration's request to block a lower court order that had halted above-ground construction of the project while a lawsuit by a historic preservation group seeks to block it. Continue reading...

Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka began their title defences with comfortable victories on Arthur AsheSabalenka eases through on her serve, advancing to the net to secure her first game of the tournament with a forehand volley. It's 1-1 in the opening set against Osorio.Sabalenka and Osorio are underway on Arthur Ashe, with the Colombian serving. She records two double-faults before Sabalenka seizes upon the second serve, whipping a blistering forehand to make it deuce. But the defending champion finds the net and the stratosphere, too, as Osorio holds to go 1-0 up. Continue reading...

Letter from chair of joint chiefs of staff addresses concerns over Trump officials using military to interfere with voteThe highestranking US military officer says there are no plans to deploy troops to polling places during the November midterm elections - responding to Senator Elissa Slotkin's request for information amid concerns about whether the Trump administration might send service members to election sites.In a letter obtained by the Guardian, first reported by the Associated Press, Gen Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, told Slotkin the Joint Force has no plans to send Federal military personnel or Federalized members of the National Guard to polling places during the 2026 elections". He added that there are also no plans to use such personnel to seize ballots, voting machines, or other electionrelated material". Continue reading...

Response seeks to discredit Washington Post story that four generals and admirals advised against prolonging Iran warPete Hegseth regularly receives formal objections from senior commanders and proceeds anyway, the Pentagon's top spokesman has said, as he tried to discredit a Washington Post report that four generals and admirals had advised against prolonging the war in Iran.Of course, we demand candid military advice," Sean Parnell wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Non-concurs are standard. The Secretary sees them constantly. That's how you run a real military." Continue reading...

After Lindsey Graham's death, Democrat Annie Andrews finds herself in a closely watched race as she seeks to flip his Republican seatAnnie Andrews was a dark horse Democrat challenging a five-term Republican in the US Senate when 314 Action, a political action fund devoted to electing scientists and doctors, first backed her.Now, after the unexpected death of Senator Lindsey Graham, Andrews finds herself in a closely watched race. Donald Trump persuaded South Carolina voters last week to select Graham's sister, Darline, as the new Republican candidate. They will face off in November in an election still heavily favored to keep the seat in Republican hands in the conservative state. Continue reading...

Donkey named HeeHaw was shot and killed as authorities reportedly looked on property in search of a missing personA police officer in the US state of Georgia was placed on leave after a family's pet baby donkey was shot and killed during an early-morning search on their property.The animal's owner, Hannah Israel, said officers were at her pasture without notification or permission at about 12.45am on Sunday, reportedly looking for a missing person when they encountered the small male donkey named HeeHaw. Continue reading...

The technology can help candidates listen more deeply to voters, as examples from Japan and Scotland showThere are plenty of signs that AI will make all of our experiences of the US midterm elections worse. Voters have anxiety about AI's impacts on the country. Politicos are using AI deepfakes to spread lies. The White House is posting slopaganda.Meanwhile, candidates are missing a real opportunity to use AI to make campaigning better. The technology can help candidates listen more deeply to voters' concerns, engage constituents more inclusively, and formulate policy platforms that are more responsive to our input. There are vanishingly few examples of this in US politics, but groups in Japan, Scotland and the US's own academic and private institutions show how that could change. Continue reading...

Director Mark Mori followed coffee chain workers' struggle to unionize: These young kids are so inspirational'As the food service industry was pushed on to the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, workers at Starbucks stores in the Buffalo region of New York went public to announce their union-organizing campaign.Their efforts, and Starbucks' responses, have culminated in one of the most expansive union-organizing campaigns - and one of the most aggressive union-busting campaigns - in modern US history. Continue reading...

War on Gaza and violence in West Bank is playing out in the streets of Toledo, Ohio, where the Arab American community has flourishedFrom his office outside Toledo, Ohio, Thamin Tim Ridi opens his phone to livestream the scene outside the besieged house of his brother, Loui, thousands of miles away in the occupied West Bank.This month, with his property at risk of being destroyed by Israeli settlers, Loui traveled from Ohio to his ancestral home in Qusra, south of Nablus, where his mother and other family members have been living in constant fear of attack. Continue reading...

Death toll from unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris now stands at more than 900. Plus, was it a mistake to take away Pluto's planet status?

The space industry treats the sky as a place to dump what it no longer wants. We must develop a new model of accountabilityOn 5 August, a piece of a derelict SpaceX rocket traveling at 5,400 miles an hour met with the moon and punched a fresh hole into it near Einstein Crater. Astronomers were thrilled. The European Southern Observatory caught sodium and lithium flaring in the debris plume and called it a bonus. The media called it a light show. Nobody was physically hurt, so nobody is responsible, and within a week the story was gone.I have spent 20 years tracking the junk humanity leaves behind in space for a living, and I want to tell you plainly what that crater actually is: a receipt. It's what you get when an entire industry treats the sky, and now the moon, as a place to dump what it no longer wants, and calls the dumping normal operations" or space exploration". Continue reading...

US trade representative Jamieson Greer has a level-headed reputation but commerce secretary Howard Lutnick and White House adviser Peter Navarro also have key rolesHaving reportedly read Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, in French, during a military tour of duty in Iraq, Jamieson Greer considered himself an unlikely target for accusations of francophobia.But Donald Trump's US trade representative, hitherto one of the president's less high-profile cabinet members, found himself in that uncomfortable position amid the acrimonious collapse of bilateral trade talks with Canada that now threatens to degenerate into an all-out trade war between the two close trading partners whose economies are tightly intertwined. Continue reading...

Public lands belong to all of us. Noone should plunder those lands for profitDo people still say a car was sold for parts"? Because the US is being sold for parts or just handed over to the oligarchy. It's a fire sale, a bankruptcy auction, it's a planned dismantling of everything from its military to its institutions of higher education to its scientific research to its public lands.And while the threat to sell off part of Yosemite National Park is about a quarter-mile parcel on the park's edge, Yosemite is a crown jewel in the national park system and, arguably, the world's first national park.Rebecca Solnit is a Guardian US columnist. She is the author of Orwell's Roses and co-editor with Thelma Young Lutunatabua of the climate anthology Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility Continue reading...

Dozens evacuated after flash-flood event near Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch, officials sayOne person died and about 15 people were missing or unaccounted for after a major flash flood swept through the Grand Canyon national park in Arizona on Saturday afternoon, according to the National Park Service.The flash-flood event occurred in the area of Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch, where park staff and the Arizona department of public safety had evacuated more than 60 people as of Sunday morning. Continue reading...

Richer countries might have more resources to deal with catastrophe, but this problem grips the entire planet, however much leaders may want to deny itClimate breakdown is happening on one Earth, but two different worlds. In one, its impacts increasingly encroach on everyday life; longer periods of discomfort and shorter periods of sharp pain. Endless, hotter summers, and within them sudden wildfires, evacuations, homes burned to cinders in a matter of hours. In another, catastrophe. This summer has been a snapshot of that split-screen. The hottest day on record in parts of Europe, and a wave of water, mud and ice in Nepal that so far has claimed more than 750 lives. Thousands of people are still missing.The difference is also one of resources. The climate crisis has an economic cost, but some places can absorb it better than others. Responses to this summer of wildfires in Europe included a rapid scrambling by the French government to provide everything from tax breaks for businesses affected by the fires to relocation costs and aid to rebuild homes. The UK government had deployed almost 100m before the summer to strengthen wildfire resilience. Continue reading...

Jessica Pegula, the American third seed, began her campaign at Flushing Meadows with a straight-sets winKrejcikova gets in a muddle after squandering a 40-0 lead on serve. Deuce. She fights back though. Wins the game with a lovely serve down the T. All square at 2-2.Paolini delivers a dominant effort on serve to change ends at 3-2 up. Continue reading...

Trump officials shuttering three projects on foodborne parasite, two defunded by Congress, Politico reportsThe Trump administration is shuttering two of the three US Department of Agriculture research projects studying cyclospora after the foodborne parasite has sickened tens of thousands of Americans during the summer, Politico reported on Sunday.The two projects were defunded by Congress earlier in the year, while the third is due to be moved in coming months from Maryland to Iowa as part of a broader USDA reorganization, according to the report. Continue reading...

Dawn is champion after public voting of eight yellow-bellied marmots as they fattened up for long winter aheadA marmot contest started by researchers who turned to OnlyFans to help save a decades-long research project has chosen its champion in its inaugural Fat Marmot Week.Dawn was crowned the winner of Fat Marmot Week 2026 after securing back-to-back victories in both the mass-gain and popular-vote competitions, according to the organizers of the marmot project at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Continue reading...

Tom Homan denies British far-right commentator, who was deported one day after arrest, got preferential treatmentThe White House border czar," Tom Homan, denied on Sunday that deporting British far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos just a day after being arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amounted to preferential treatment.Homan said it was his understanding that Yiannopoulos, 41, had overstayed what he believed to be a visitor visa, had not appeared at an immigration hearing and was issued a final order of removal on 22 July. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, Trump posts video of himself kicking over a Lake Ontario sign and replacing it with Lake America signDonald Trump and Canada continued a verbal duel on Saturday over the US government's administrative renaming of Lake Ontario, with the Ontario premier erecting a giant sign saying Lake Ontario. Now and Always" - and the American president posting a video of him tearing down an avatar of that sign, erecting a replacement saying Lake America, and dancing to YMCA.Rhetoric over the naming of Lake Ontario is the public face of an escalating trade dispute between the US and its northern neighbor involving a 50% US tariff on Canadian steel and retaliatory tariffs from Ottawa. Continue reading...

Alt-right' agitator and former Trump backer deported from US is said also to be too extreme for ReformAs he arrives back in the UK after being deported from the US by the Trump administration, the far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos may be wondering what lies ahead for him in his native country.The alt-right" agitator, 41, made his name in the US by promoting Donald Trump and associating with his allies before the 2016 election. Continue reading...

Democratic Senate nominee is eager to push past series of controversies involving allegations of antisemitismMichigan's Democratic US senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed apologized to the state's Jewish Democratic Caucus on Saturday for comments he made after an attack on a synagogue in March, which he tied to Israel's actions in the Middle East.My comments may have been misconstrued to justify something I did not mean to justify," El-Sayed told reporters after he addressed the caucus at a party convention in Lansing. To anyone who feels like my comments might have been hurtful, I'm really sorry. That was not my intention." Continue reading...

US republicans are tarnishing their plant-eating opponents at every opportunity. Yet vegans are perfectly suited to hold power - let me count the waysCool news, fellow soy boys and girls - we've been promoted from feeble, tofu-eating wokerati to dangerous radicals unfit for public office. Politico reports that US Republicans have started throwing vegan" around as a tactic to tarnish their political opponents. He's a vegan," Trump warned of Democratic Texas senatorial candidate James Talarico in May, while Talarico's opponent, state attorney-general Ken Paxton, is trying to get the nickname Tofu Talarico" to stick. Paxton also called him a vegan who thinks God is non-binary", which I find hilarious as a political put-down - give the man a Netflix special. (Sidenote: I investigated, and according to the Catholic catechism, God is neither man nor woman".)Republicans have also been digging up past pro-plant-based statements from Colorado congressional candidate Manny Rutinel: a campaign committee press secretary described him on X as a far-left vegan activist who wants to end animal agriculture", posting an old pic of Rutinel bare-chested and wearing a Peta anti-meat banner. Other Dems have also been accused of, erm, liking animals and eating plants: Arizona congressional candidate Amish Shah has been attacked for his wacky liberal agenda pushing vegan policies" and Lindsay James in Iowa drew heat for merely supporting the idea of meatless May". Continue reading...

Widely used chemical TBBPA may present a danger to US public, and especially children, independent research findsThe Environmental Protection Agency is manipulating safety data around a highly toxic flame retardant deployed across the US economy, public health advocates allege.The chemical, TBBPA, has been found in dust in US homes and in consumer goods at combined levels that independent research has found may present a danger to the public, and especially small children. Continue reading...

The Canadian province's premier, Doug Ford, installed a billboard-sized sign on the lake's shoreline after the US president signed an executive order on Thursday directing US federal agencies to change the lake's name on US maps, documents and databases to 'Lake America'. Ford told reporters that the lake's name, which is more than 400 years old, would remain unchanged. Trade talks between the US and Canada collapsed last week, with each side blaming the other for derailing three days of intensive negotiations

Record inundations wrecked homes and took seven lives but Trump has not approved emergency aid and the state has cut funds for environmental agenciesIt's been 10 days since the floodwater receded from Cambridge City's main street and yet signs of disaster are all around.Abandoned cars, toilets and bathtubs are strewn across parks and side streets on a recent visit to the city. Garages have been lifted from their foundations and moved by the rushing water. Dumpsters up and down the street are overflowing with people's belongings, with red paint sprayed on homes indicating which houses have been cleared by water rescue teams. Continue reading...

The move sends the right signal. While we're at it, can we ban using ringtones and scooting on the sidewalk?Imagine driving in Italy, with its narrow, cobblestone streets and scooter enthusiasts. I find it hard enough to drive in Los Angeles, a city designed specifically with the automobile in mind. I'd probably squash a pedestrian or two trying to navigate Italian roads.The modern world is just too hectic for the ancient streets of Europe, so Italy is considering doing the only sensible thing it can: outlawing texting in crosswalks. The Italian government's updated draft of its highway code proposes fines of 75 or more for anyone caught sending a DM, updating their LinkedIn, finishing Wordle on the fifth guess, or anything else phone-related that might make them miss an oncoming metal projectile. I'm sure most people will risk the slap on wrist to get that message off, but it at least sends a signal to the Italian people that paying attention to traffic is actually kind of important.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading...

As Americans face an affordability crisis and war with Iran, the president is focused on ... changing the names of thingsIs it a key policy move which will recognize the extraordinary contributions of the American people"? Or real foolishness"?Whatever the impact of Donald Trump unusual decision to retitle Lake Ontario as Lake America, days after Canada's prime minister refused to be cowed by Trump's punitive tariffs, it has certainly divided opinion - but perhaps it shouldn't have come as a surprise. Continue reading...

Angie Nixon won one of the biggest upsets in US midterm primaries - and if elected, the Democrat would be the first African American senator in Florida historyThe Democratic establishment had the money, the machinery and the candidate with national name recognition. Angie Nixon had a bookshop called Cafe Resistance and a grassroots campaign for the Senate. On primary election night in Florida, Nixon won in arguably the biggest upset of the primary season. But at least one person was not shocked: Angie Nixon herself. We weren't surprised," the 42-year-old reflects after overcoming a vast fundraising disadvantage to defeat Alex Vindman, a combat veteran who testified against Donald Trump during his first impeachment. We actually knew we were going to win; we just didn't know that we were going to win by that much. We put in the work and so super excited about the outcome. It shows that good old-fashioned grassroots organising will beat big money each and every day."Nixon won 56.1% of the vote to Vindman's 43.9%. The result stirred tensions within the Democratic party in a year defined by the struggle between moderates and economic populists. In Florida - a state that has trended increasingly Republican in recent years and is now Trump's home state - Democrats have now nominated a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) who speaks openly about class war. Continue reading...

Inside the US state department, critics are still attacking a shuttered office established to counter foreign propaganda. Now, some of its work is also being resumedA botched leak of purportedly explosive government files to a prominent conservative online personality was supposed to offer proof of what the Trump administration and its allies have long alleged: that a little-known office inside the US state department, created to fight foreign propaganda, had secretly become a tool for domestic censorship.Two former high-ranking officials at the Global Engagement Center (GEC), a target of Republican ire that lost its funding in 2024 and was disbanded after Donald Trump's return to office in 2025, say the documents show nothing of the kind. Continue reading...

As with its approach to Hormuz, the US has mistaken applying pressure for an actual strategy. But Tehran has chips of its own to playDonald Trump has found a new way to promise victory over Iran. After months of war have failed to force Iran's capitulation or collapse, his administration has unveiled what the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, calls Operation Economic Outcast: an effort to cut it off from what remains of the global economy and threaten foreign governments, banks and companies with sanctions if they continue doing business with Tehran.There is no question that Iran is vulnerable. Its economy has been battered by years of sanctions, war and a months-long US naval blockade. Iranian officials acknowledge that oil exports and access to foreign currency have been severely constrained. Ordinary Iranians are already enduring high inflation, currency depreciation and worsening living standards. Further economic strangulation will inflict significant additional hardship.Sina Toossi is a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International Policy, where his work focuses on US-Iran relations, US policy toward the Middle East and nuclear issues Continue reading...