Competing bills fail to pass 60-vote threshold, while Trump hints at possible deal with Democrats over health subsidiesThe US government shutdown entered its second week as the Senate again rejected rival bills to restart funding and Donald Trump suggested he might be open to negotiating with Democrats over the healthcare subsidies they have put at the heart of the stalemate.A fifth Senate vote to advance a Republican-written bill that would reopen the government failed on a 52-42 tally - well below the 60-vote threshold needed for advancement. The Democrats' proposal was defeated in a 50-45 party-line vote. No lawmakers changed their votes from recent days, though there were a handful of absences. Continue reading...

US president has faced backlash from judges and governors for deploying troops amid escalating campaign in PortlandA federal judge on Monday declined to immediately block the Trump administration from deploying national guard troops to Chicago, Illinois, after the state became the latest to try to use the courts to stop Donald Trump from sending in the military.The decision was the most recent turn in a three-day whirlwind of legal developments over Trump's efforts to send federal troops to Democratic-led cities. Continue reading...

Prosecutor reportedly does not believe there is probable cause to file charges against the New York attorney generalA career federal prosecutor in Virginia has told colleagues she does not believe there is probable cause to file criminal mortgage fraud charges against New York attorney general Letitia James, according to a person familiar with the matter.The prosecutor, Elizabeth Yusi, oversees major criminal cases in the Norfolk office for the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia and plans to soon present her conclusion to Lindsey Halligan, a Trump ally, who was installed as the US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia last month. Yusi's thinking was first reported by MSNBC on Monday. Continue reading...

Authorities say federal aviation agency to investigate incident after also rescuing instructor's student from treeA 35-year-old skydiving instructor was found dead in a wooded area near Nashville over the weekend after being presumed to have fallen without a parachute, and a student of his was rescued out of a tree, authorities said.Officials added that the pair had become separated ... from a tandem rig" while on the airplane from which they were diving. Continue reading...

Essential Air Service program, popular with Republican lawmakers, faces funding cut because of US shutdownThe Trump administration has said that funds from a US government program that subsidizes commercial air service to rural airports are set to expire as soon as Sunday because of the government shutdown.The US transportation department said the subsidies in the Essential Air Service program are expected to expire as soon as Sunday after the department transferred unrelated funding from the Federal Aviation Administration as an advance.Every state across the country will be impacted," the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said at a press conference, noting the service had bipartisan support. We don't have the money for that program moving forward." Continue reading...

An end to the annihilation, and the release of Israeli hostages, is urgently needed. But lasting peace cannot be built on the denial of basic rightsTwo years after the Hamas atrocities of 7 October 2023, in which militants killed about 1,200 Israelis, and amidthe genocide in Gaza, in which Israel has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians, the need for peace hasnever been more urgent. Palestinians are desperatefor an end to starvation and airstrikes. Israelis want the war to end for the sake of remaining hostages and soldiers. Violence has reverberated across the region. Momentum has been growing around Donald Trump's proposal, with both BenjaminNetanyahu and Hamas grudgingly indicatingacceptance under US threat.With indirect talks between Israel and Hamas beginning in Egypt on Monday afternoon, there are frail hopes of progress at last. Yet both parties have made it clear that they reject major parts of the 20-point US plan, which begins with an immediate ceasefire, the return of all hostages - followed by the release of Palestinian prisoners - and the resumption of full aid.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

State's chief justice says fire that sent three people to the hospital appeared to have been caused by an explosion'The cause of a huge fire at the beachfront home of a South Carolina judge who had reportedly been subjected to death threats is being investigated by state law enforcement investigators.The blaze at the home of Diane Goodstein - a Democrat-appointed circuit court judge - erupted on Saturday, sending three members of her family to the hospital, including her husband, a former state senator. Continue reading...

Jeffrey Epstein associate was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking and related crimesThe US supreme court has declined to hear an appeal from the Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell of her sex-trafficking conviction.The decision brings an end to Maxwell's legal effort to have her 2021 conviction on sex-trafficking charges overturned - and leaves presidential clemency as her only option for early release from a 20-year prison sentence handed to her in 2022. Continue reading...

Economist and YouGov poll finds president had a 16-point deficit in terms of popularity compared with late-night hostJimmy Kimmel emerged as more popular than Donald Trump after a spat with the president's administration temporarily left the talkshow host off the air in September, according to a recent poll.The survey, published by the Economist and YouGov, asked 1,656 adults in the US whether they viewed Kimmel and Trump favorably. Kimmel registered a net favorability of +3 after 44% of respondents indicated they viewed him favorably, 41% unfavorably and 15% undecided. Continue reading...

African kingdom receives second group of third-country nationals in what NGOs and lawyers say is violation of human rightsTen people deported by the US have arrived in Eswatini, its government said, the second group of third-country deportees to be sent to the southern African kingdom by the Trump administration in what lawyers and NGOs have described as violations of their human rights.A statement by the Eswatini government posted on social media before their arrival on Monday said: The individuals will be kept in a secured area separate from the public, while arrangements are made for their return to their countries of origin." Continue reading...

Sales rose 26% last year at the app, whose core market is people in open relationships and kink enthusiasts

Discussions in Egypt expected to focus on path to peace and release of hostages, after Israel killed dozens of people in just over 24 hours. Plus, why are young Americans eating so early?Good morning.Donald Trump has urged negotiators to move fast" in talks focused on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and a broader end to the war, as representatives arrived in Egypt for discussions today.What's happening today? The US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to join the talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, according to Israeli media, in addition to Israel's negotiators and a Palestinian delegation headed by Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas.This is a live story. Follow updates here.How long will the ruling last? Immergut's ruling on Sunday, which will remain in effect until at least 19 October, blocks the Trump administration from sending national guard troops to Portland while Oregon and California seek a longer-term ruling in court. Continue reading...

As the super rich grow even richer, inequality expert Chuck Collins says the system is broken - but it can be fixedTo many Americans, the economy of the past five years has been rough. Prices have soared yet pay remains stagnant. High mortgage rates have made buying a home a dismal prospect. The unemployment rate has been creeping up.Most people have indicated they're delaying major life decisions, including having kids or switching jobs, because of the instability. But for a very small group of people, the last five years couldn't have been any better. Continue reading...

Carmaker blames weaker demand on Trump policies amid supply chain pressures after Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack

California governor says president attacking rule of law' as Trump-appointed judge rules twice to stop national guard from any state being used in OregonA federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deploying any national guard units to Oregon a few hours after the California governor, Gavin Newsom, announced he would sue the president over the planned deployment of his state's troops.Both states sought the temporary restraining order after the president sent guard members from California to Oregon earlier in the day. On Saturday, the same judge temporarily blocked the administration from deploying Oregon's national guard troops to Portland. Continue reading...

As a new term begins, the justices have continually failed to provide a check on presidential power - with disastrous consequencesTwo 0f the world's best-known authoritarian leaders - Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, and Recep Tayyip Erdoan, Turkey's president - have each had at least 15 years at their country's helm to pack the courts with loyalists and to pressure and intimidate judges. And no surprise, judges in those countries have repeatedly done what Orban and Erdoan want.Donald Trump has not had the opportunity to pack the US supreme court to nearly the same degree. Nor has he, despite his brash, bullying ways, done much to pressure or browbeat the court's nine justices. Nevertheless, the court's conservative supermajority has ruled time after time in favor of Trump since he returned to office. The six conservative justices have fallen into line much like Hungary's and Turkey's judges, even though the supreme court's justices have life tenure to insulate them from political pressures.Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author, focusing on labor and the workplace, as well as economic and legal issues Continue reading...

The attacking midfielder's path to representing the US was natural for him, even if it seemed unorthodox to othersLike many California-raised Mexican Americans, I've lost count of the times my family has gathered to watch a match between Mexico and the United States. Whether a friendly or World Cup qualifier, the Dos A Cero" rivalry attracts the largest crowds to my tia's watch parties, about an hour south of San Francisco.Each clash feels like the fractured embodiment of being Mexican American: the cheering and moaning of Mexican immigrant parents and their Americanized children alike, rife with intergenerational discord. The stakes are always high, especially since most of my relatives grew up with the sport - and aren't shy about sharing their tactical opinions midgame. Many of them played pro, semi-pro, collegiately and, of course, at the neighborhood parks. Continue reading...

Trump has voiced strong views on many of the issues the US high court will be tackling as justices assemble for new termDonald Trump's ability to shape the commanding heights of US political life will be at stake when the court assembles for its new term on 6 October.The busy schedule facing the nine justices will acquire added weight due to the momentous significance of some of the issues they have agreed to consider. Continue reading...

We're far enough into the season to have a good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of each team. Which one is letting its fans down the most?We're past the quarter mark of the NFL season, which means we have a good idea of the trajectory of most teams. So let's celebrate the teams whose good vibes have evaporated after Week 5. Note that these aren't necessarily the worst teams in the league (the Titans and Browns, for example, are terrible but are largely playing as expected) as much as the ones who have been most disappointing. Continue reading...

Chuck Schumer says administration has refused to talk with us'. Key US politics stories from 5 October at a glanceThe Trump administration will start mass layoffs of federal workers if the president decides negotiations to end the government shutdown are absolutely going nowhere," a senior White House official has said.Kevin Hassett told CNN he still saw a chance that Democrats would back down, but added that Trump was getting ready to act" if he has to. Continue reading...

US forces hit another vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela, Trump said during his remarks at the Titans of the Sea: A Salute to the Fleet, commemorating the US navy's 250th birthday. He also said that the US would also start looking at drug trafficking occurring on land.

President said US would turn attention to drug trafficking happening on land during speech at navy ceremonyUS forces on Saturday evening struck another vessel illegally carrying drugs off the coast of Venezuela, Donald Trump said on Sunday to thousands of sailors at a ceremony celebrating the US navy's 250th anniversary. He added that the US would also start looking at drug trafficking happening on land.Trump made the comment during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, next to the Harry S Truman aircraft carrier. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced on Friday by defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Continue reading...

Denver stunned Philadelphia with a 21-17 victory, the Texans thrashed the Ravens and the Colts cantered past the RaidersRavens 3-7 Texans 1:58, 1st quarterIt's good! Field goals are raining down. Tyler Loop cuts the deficit from a paltry 27 yards. Too easy. Continue reading...

Mike Johnson adds Trump does not want permanent job cuts as talks between parties stalled over weekendThe Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, accused Democrats of being not serious" in negotiations to end the federal government shutdown, while the Democratic leader accused Republicans of driving the shutdown, now on its fifth day and expected to last at least through next week.Talks between the opposing political parties stalled over the weekend, with no votes anticipated to end the standoff. A CBS poll found just 28% of Democratic voters and 23% of Republicans consider their party's positions worth shutting down the government. Continue reading...

My friend Ivan Ronaldson, who has died of a heart attack aged 51, was an inspirational real tennis professional. He mentored dozens of future stars at clubs including Hampton Court, Fontainebleau, France, and Prested Hall in Essex. Prior to his coaching career, Ivan was a brilliant junior player winning a string of national age group titles.Real tennis is the forerunner of lawn tennis; it was played from medieval times and enjoyed by Henry VIII. The game is little changed today, with players hitting solid, hand-stitched balls with asymmetric wooden rackets over a drooping net and off the walls of the court. Continue reading...

Singer jokes on SNL that everyone was happy about his planned half-time show, even Fox News'Bad Bunny responded to homeland security secretary Kristi Noem's threats to send federal immigration enforcement agents to the Super Bowl next year, joking during Saturday Night Live that everyone was happy about his planned half-time performance, even Fox News".The 31-year-old Puerto Rican singer who has criticized the Trump administration's aggressive immigration policies hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, using his opening monologue to address controversy around his 2026 Super Bowl performance. Continue reading...

In holding the line on healthcare' Democrats answered the call to do something in a rare display of unityFor months, as Donald Trump has used the levers of the US federal government to consolidate power, silence dissent and punish his political enemies, Democrats have been bombarded with a single demand: do something. Last week, they did.In a rare display of unity, out-of-power Democrats embraced the risky politics of a government shutdown - their boldest effort yet to rein in a president whom many Americans and constitutional scholars now view as a threat to US democracy. Continue reading...

Homeland security secretary takes aim at city's mayor who has called deployment of national guard unhinged'Kristi Noem, Donald Trump's homeland security secretary, called Chicago a war zone" on Sunday after federal agents shot a woman and the governor of Illinois accused the administration of fueling the crisis rather than resolving it.Speaking on Fox News Sunday morning, Noem took aim at the city's mayor, Brandon Johnson, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration's Ice raids and deployment of the national guard in Illinois, a measure he called unhinged and unhealthy". Continue reading...

Secretary of state says we'll know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not' about release of hostages from GazaThe US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said on Sunday that the war in Gaza has not ended, despite Israel and Hamas both agreeing to aspects of Donald Trump's plan for an end to the almost two-year conflict in Gaza.We will know very quickly whether Hamas is serious or not by how these technical talks go in terms of the logistics," Rubio told NBC News' Meet the Press about the release of hostages from Gaza. Continue reading...

The US president's proposal is the closest negotiators have got to an end to the war - but a deal is still far off

Billionaire ticks all the boxes on the antisemitic score card as Trump attacks Democratic contributors before midtermsPam Bondi, the US attorney general, said everything is on the table" and left it there. But Donald Trump threw discretion to the wind and was far more specific about his choice of enemy to go after.If you look at Soros, he's at the top of everything," the US president said. Continue reading...

States opposed to Trump can create a compact - a new prototype for American government - even if it's perceived as political theaterTrump is all about political theatre, or circus, and it often seems that even in resisting him, as decent citizens must do, we become part of the circus too. We are like the extras who splutter while he thrills the base by violating some heretofore inviolate human norm. So the show goes on. But why not put on our own show, our own form of political theatre, that leaves Trump out - or at least has a different focus?We could consider the kind of political theatre that Americans created from 1768 to 1776 to resist Britain's growing crackdown. Instead of employing their creaky legislative bodies, they opted for new forms of resistance, non-importation committees, even a first continental congress with no apparent legitimacy or precedent.Thomas Geoghegan is a lawyer and author of Which Side Are You On? (1991) and The History of Democracy Has Yet to be Written (2022) Continue reading...

Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan's podcast I've Had It has risen up the charts and created a community with a brand of fuck-you politics'When Donald Trump scheduled a press conference after a weekend in which rumors about his health swirled, two women in red-state Oklahoma launched a livestream for their more than 1 million followers on YouTube to speculate about the condition of Cankles McTacoTits", shortened to Canks for expediency and spite".It was fitting for the profanity-laced, straight talking liberal podcast I've Had It that quipped, after interviewing Barack Obama, that the former president has big dick energy". Continue reading...

The president of the United States seemingly does not understand what the military is forNo dictator or would-be dictator on day one has ever assembled before him in one room the entire senior officer corps of his armed forces in order to have them belittled as failures and humiliated for their slovenly personal appearance, while degrading whole classes serving in the army, navy and air force degraded as inferior and unworthy. No dictator has ever pleaded for generals and admirals to applaud his remarks, followed by deafening silence.Donald Trump is used to entering to the din of a mob jazzed up with YMCA. I've never walked into a room so silent before," Trump said when he addressed the country's highest-ranking military leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on Tuesday. Don't laugh. Don't know if you're allowed to do that." He was trying to force some tittering, an old lounge act gag to rouse a dead audience. You know what? Just have a good time." The comedian who felt his routine was bombing before he even began sought to relax the room. Then Trump instinctively replaced the ingratiating gestures with threats. If you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave the room. Of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future." Continue reading...

I've never been accused of any crimes, let alone prosecuted. My experience sums-up the draconian plight of non-citizens in the USWhen I arrived in the US four years ago to start my doctorate at Cornell University, I thought I'd be the last person to be hunted down by the immigration authorities. As far as I could tell, the special relationship" meant that a British passport carried a sort of immunity akin to that enjoyed by diplomats; it was a mobility that allowed me to work, after all, as a journalist unscathed across west Africa's restive Sahel belt for years.Things began to fall apart after I attended a pro-Palestine protest on campus in September last year. We had brought a job fair to a standstill - because it featured booths from Boeing and L3Harris, companies that supplied Israel with the armaments it needed to carry out its genocidal campaign in Gaza. Although I was there for just five minutes, I was subsequently banned from campus, a punishment that felt like a kind of house arrest because my home was on the university's Ithaca campus in upstate New York. While I could continue living there, I was barred from entering the university premises.Amandla Thomas-Johnson is a journalist and writer covering global Blackness and contemporary IslamDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

The president's threats to attack Venezuela are regressive, dangerous and almost certain to backfireRunning for president in 2024, Donald Trump vowed to avoid costly, often disastrous overseas US military interventions like Iraq and Afghanistan. This was a key plank in his isolationist America first" platform. Yet within months of his inauguration, US forces were bombing Yemen and Iran. Looking south, Trump threatened to seize the Panama canal. Now, the Pentagon is gearing up for attacks on terrorist" drug cartels deep inside Colombia and Mexico. Of most immediate concern is a possible renewed White House effort to forcibly impose regime change on Venezuela.Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's hard-left authoritarian president, believes this effort is already under way. He says the US is waging undeclared war" on his country after several deadly strikes on Venezuelan vessels in international waters. Trump notified Congress last week that the US is engaged in armed conflict" with drug cartels. He claims, without providing evidence, that the targeted boats were carrying US-bound illegal narcotics - and that Maduro is responsible. He has placed a $50m bounty on Maduro's head.Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator Continue reading...

Illinois governor JB Pritzker calls move unnecessary and a manufactured performance' - key US politics stories from 4 October at a glanceDonald Trump has moved to deploy the national guard to Chicago, the White House confirmed on Saturday, even as a federal judge blocked his administration from deploying troops to Portland, Oregon.White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed that the president had authorized using Illinois national guard members, citing what she called ongoing violent riots and lawlessness" that local leaders have not quelled. Continue reading...

US president says he will push to finalize agreement in the coming days even as scores of Palestinians killed in latest Israeli attacksDonald Trump's son-in-law and a senior envoy are heading to Egypt to begin ceasefire negotiations, the White House has said, as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he hoped to bring all remaining hostages home in the coming days.A White House official said the US president was sending his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, to Egypt on Saturday to finalise the technical details of a hostage release and discuss a lasting ceasefire deal a day after Hamas said it was ready to free hostages under Trump's plan to end the two-year-old war. In an interview, Trump said we are very close" to reaching an agreement. Continue reading...

Illinois governor JB Pritzker says administration is escalating aggression against Illinois citizens and residents'Donald Trump has moved to deploy the national guard in another city by authorizing 300 troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago, where the government said border patrol agents shot and injured a woman while firing at someone who tried to run them over.White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed that the president had authorized using Illinois national guard members, citing what she called ongoing violent riots and lawlessness" that local leaders have not quelled. Continue reading...

US district judge agrees with Oregon assertion that deployment would likely inflame rather than calm protests in cityA federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from deploying the national guard to Portland, Oregon, according to court documents.Donald Trump had announced on 27 September that he would deploy troops to Portland, authorizing Full Force, if necessary", ignoring pleas from local officials and the state's congressional delegation, who suggested that the president was misinformed or lying about the nature and scale of a single, small protest outside one federal immigration enforcement office. Continue reading...

Circumstances surrounding incident remain unclear with Sanchez still in hospital and not yet booked in detentionPolice have said that former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports television star Mark Sanchez has been arrested at the hospital he was taken to after being stabbed late Friday night in downtown Indianapolis.The Indianapolis metropolitan police department said in a statement that after investigation and consultation with prosecutors, Sanchez, now a television commentator, was arrested for battery with injury, unlawful entry of a motor vehicle and public intoxication", all of which are misdemeanors. Continue reading...

Ruling temporarily prevents transfer to adult detention centers that advocates said were planned for this weekendA federal judge has temporarily halted a Trump administration initiative that would have kept immigrant children in custody after their 18th birthdays, preventing their transfer to adult detention centers that advocates said were planned for this weekend.On Saturday, US district judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington DC issued a temporary restraining order directing US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) to stop placing unaccompanied immigrant children into adult detention once they reached legal adulthood, reported the Associated Press. Continue reading...

US treasurer says officials looking at drafts for country's 250th anniversary featuring president with raised fistTo commemorate the 250th anniversary of the US's independence, the treasury department is mulling production of a $1 coin displaying Donald Trump with a clenched first under an American flag and the words fight, fight, fight".The words overtly reference what Trump said immediately after narrowly surviving an assassination attempt four months before he won a second presidency. Continue reading...

At the centre of the government shutdown is the issue of healthcare for Americans being stripped by Trump's big, beautiful bill'Leading up to the government shutdown on Wednesday, congressional Republicans and Donald Trump have repeated misleading claims that Democrats were trying to pass a resolution that would provide free healthcare for illegals". It's become a well-rehearsed refrain fueling GOP lawmakers as government funding lapsed this week.At the White House on Wednesday, the vice-president JD Vance said the Democrats' spending plan would have undone" the work of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) - which ended the eligibility of many types of lawfully present immigrants to access federally funded health coverage, like Medicaid, Medicare and Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for private health insurance. Continue reading...