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State is the latest in the US conducting mid-decade gerrymandering to favor one party before the midterms

Exclusive: Congressional Democrats set to introduce bill to shore up the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programCongressional Democrats have launched a legislative effort to protect funding for a key nutritional support program for low-income women and children.As the federal government shutdown rolls on, there are growing fears the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program could run out of money. Continue reading...

Over 50 people rescued in Alaska while severe weather kills woman in New York CityOne person was dead and two were missing in western Alaska on Monday after the remnants of Typhoon Halong over the weekend brought hurricane-force winds and ravaging storm surges and floodwaters that swept some homes away, authorities said. More than 50 people had been rescued - some plucked from rooftops.Officials warned of a long road to recovery and a need for continued support for the hardest-hit communities with winter just around the corner. A US coast guard official, Capt Christopher Culpepper, described the situation in the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok as absolute devastation". Continue reading...

The US president's Gulf allies and supporters at home might just persuade him to pursue lasting peace. And then there's always next year's Nobel prizeWe can only rejoice that, for now, Israel's genocide in Gaza has halted. The killing has stopped. Food is being allowed in, easing the starvation. Palestinians forcibly displaced from their homes are returning to their cities, if not their homes, most of which Israel has pulverized. Yet celebration must be tempered by the gnawing reality that the conditions for a lasting peace are, in classic Middle East fashion, being kicked down the road for future resolution - if ever at all.We may grimace in doing so, but Donald Trump deserves credit for finally ending the US government's funding and arming of the genocide, and arm-twisting Benjamin Netanyahu into accepting his 20-point plan for Gaza. Yet that hardly happened in a vacuum. Had Joe Biden tried to implement the same plan, he undoubtedly would have been pilloried by the Republican party for not giving Netanyahu everything he wanted. But Trump owns today's Republican party. Much as when Richard Nixon went to China, there was no one meaningfully to the right of Trump to challenge him.Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch (1993-2022), is a visiting professor at Princeton's School of Public and International Affairs. His book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments, is published by Knopf and Allen Lane Continue reading...

Democracy is under attack - and the watchdog agency has no quorum. It must be restoredThreats to the US electoral process keep accelerating. Donald Trump is issuing increasingly unhinged demands that his political adversaries and those who fund speech that he views as contrary to his political agenda or supports his political opponents be prosecuted. When a prosecutor balked at this political intervention, Trump simply found one who is more compliant.In what appears to be yet another attempt to concoct support for unproven claims of voter fraud, the Department of Justice has issued exhaustive voting records requests to multiple states. Voting rights lawsuits have been dismissed. A division targeting foreign interference in our elections has been dismembered. Attempts are under way to make voter registration more onerous. Alarmingly, at least one commentator has warned that the extraordinary call-out of the military against US civilians on US soil may be a dress rehearsal" for taking over the 2026 election from the lawful administrators in the states. Even short of a takeover, one could well imagine this administration developing pretexts for troop deployments in Democratic strongholds during voting. Indeed, Trump has already called for the military to use American cities, at least those run by Democrats, as training grounds" and ominously talks of a war from within". Continue reading...

Curtis Sliwa is unlikely to run the overwhelmingly Democratic city. But his willingness to defy Trump and billionaires could leave a big impactWith less than a month to go, the race to be New York City's mayor is continuing to fascinate and bemuse: and in an election that could have political ramifications across the country, it's a beret-wearing, cat loving vigilante who seems like he could have the final say.Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the crime-fighting group the Guardian Angels and the Republican candidate to run the largest US city, has little chance of winning the election in November. But his presence may be the thing that helps confirm Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist, as New York's next mayor. Continue reading...

Carrie Romney either fell or jumped, and foul play did not appear to be a factor in early stages of investigation, officials saidThe sister-in-law of Mitt Romney, the former US senator, was found dead Friday next to a suburban Los Angeles parking garage, according to authorities.Carrie Romney, 64, evidently either fell or jumped, and foul play did not appear to be a factor in the early stages of the investigation into her death, officials told multiple media outlets Monday, when her identity became public. Continue reading...

Self-styled world's greatest peacemaker calls Meloni beautiful' and Erdoan a friend', but takes jab at Iraqi and Canadian leadersThe chief interest at Monday's largely pointless Gaza summit in Sharm el-Sheikh lay in whether Donald Trump insulted or feted his fellow global leaders as they approached the self-styled world's greatest peacemaker to shake hands and pose for a thumbs-up photograph.As the host of the party, the US president had arrived - unapologetically - more than two hours late, musing to the Israeli parliament before boarding his flight from Tel Aviv that he feared his wealthy guests would already have left, leaving him with only two poor countries remaining. Continue reading...

The administration's sweeping visa cancellations extend to Mexico's political elite, alarming allies and rivals alikeThe US government has revoked the visas of at least 50 politicians and government officials in Mexico amid the Trump administration's crackdown on drug cartels and their suspected political allies, according to two Mexican officials.The move has sent quiet shock waves through Mexico's political elite, who regularly travel to the US. It also marks a significant broadening of US anti-narcotics action, with the Trump administration targeting active politicians usually seen as too diplomatically sensitive. Continue reading...

Laura Friedman, who spent 20 years working in Hollywood before winning her House seat, says the film industry needs help but the president's vague policy idea is bafflingLaura Friedman's love affair with film started young, staying up late to watch old Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney flicks. It definitely gave me big dreams and I moved to Hollywood to follow those dreams," she recalls.Now that dream is out of reach for many. Los Angeles is losing its allure as film producers increasingly turn to cheaper locations in other countries. But after 20 years working in the movie industry, Friedman is now uniquely placed to save it after she swapped Hollywood for the halls of Congress in Washington DC. Continue reading...

Three charged with murder and one with attempted murder following shooting in Leland after school football gameThree people have been arrested on murder charges - and a fourth person on an attempted murder charge - in a weekend shooting that left six dead and more than a dozen injured in a small Mississippi town, the FBI announced on Monday.Teviyon L Powell, 29, William Bryant, 29, and Morgan Lattimore, 25, have been charged with capital murder, while Latoya A Powell, 44, has been charged with attempted murder in the mass shooting, a spokesperson for the FBI's Jackson field office said.Guardian staff contributed reporting Continue reading...

Commerce ministry says US is threatening to intimidate' with plans for new Trump tariffs on exports

UN says Gaza still needs lifesaving aid' as world leaders gather in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss 20-point proposal. Plus, nude cyclists protest against national guard deploymentGood morning.There was a rare moment of joy among Israelis and Palestinians on Monday as Hamas released the remaining 20 living hostages in Gaza as part of a swap deal for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees, on a day world leaders met in Egypt to try to ensure the current limited truce is extended into a durable peace.What did Trump say? The prayers of millions have finally been answered," the US president said at the peace summit, with his counterparts lined up behind him. At long last, we have peace in the Middle East."What did the education department say? The Guardian has contacted the education department for comment. Continue reading...

It took an American president unbound by traditional domestic constraints to get this done and provide the parties with what they could acceptDonald Trump's peace plan for Gaza demands atonement from Palestinians for the horrific acts of 7 October, not from Israel for the barbarity that followed. It calls for Gaza's deradicalization but not an end to Israel's messianism. It micromanages the future of Palestinian governance while saying nothing about the future of Israel's occupation.It is riddled with ambiguities, devoid of timetables, arbiters or consequences for inevitable eventual violations. If all goes according to plan - if the deal's vagueness is not exploited to torpedo it; unavoidable clashes over subsequent phases do not get in the way of the first stage; Arab and Muslim states maintain pressure on the United States and the United States gets Israel to comply - life for Gazans will transition from utter hell to mere nightmare. Their condition will shift from defenceless prey to twice-dispossessed refugees in their own land. And still, it would be a momentous achievement. Continue reading...

In the 1870s, a civil engineer devised early handheld cameras able to capture scenes with more detail than ever. He used the technology to document people on New York streets, from musicians to beggars to paperboys. The work of the innovator, often referred to as the father of instantaneous photography', has been compiled into a book by Erik Hesselberg called Candid New York: The Pioneering Photography of George Bradford Brainerd, out on 21 October Continue reading...

Provision of internet access to scam centres being investigated as Starlink swiftly becomes Myanmar's biggest internet service providerA powerful bipartisan committee in the US Congress says it has begun an investigation into the involvement of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite business in providing internet access to Myanmar scam centres, blamed for swindling billions from victims across the world.The move comes as it was revealed that large numbers of Starlink dishes began appearing on scam-centre roofs in Myanmar around the time of a crackdown in February that was supposed to eradicate the centres, according to a investigation by Agence France-Presse Continue reading...

Long Beach voters have a choice: re-elect the Republican incumbent or the Democrat who seemingly vanished at seaA political candidate in the New York City suburbs went for a night swim in the Atlantic Ocean this past spring and never returned.Petros Krommidas's phone, keys and clothes were found on the sands at Long Beach on Long Island. The 29-year-old former Ivy League rower, who was training for a triathlon, had parked his car just off the picturesque wooden boardwalk. Continue reading...

Donald Trump has vowed to use the power of his presidency to ensure that Israel recognises it has achieved all that it can by force of arms'. Key US politics stories from 13 October 2025At long last, we have peace in the Middle East," Donald Trump declared, as he and regional leaders signed a declaration meant to cement a ceasefire in Gaza. Analysts said however that a litany of thorny issues are unresolved, and many barriers to a lasting peace remain.The president made a lightning visit to Israel, where he lauded prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an address to parliament, and then Egypt, for a summit where he pledged to be a guarantor to the Gaza deal. Continue reading...

Defense department policy requires outlets to vow not to obtain unauthorized files and restricts access to some areasSeveral leading news organizations with access to Pentagon briefings have formally said they will not agree to a new defense department policy that requires them to pledge they will not obtain unauthorized material and restricts access to certain areas unless accompanied by an official.The policy, presented last month by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has been widely criticized by media organizations asked to sign the pledge by Tuesday at 5pm or have 24 hours to turn in their press credentials. Continue reading...

Universities, law firms and businesses that have changed course should have stood by convictions, says ex-presidentBarack Obama took aim at institutions and businesses who made deals or worked out settlements with the Trump administration, noting on a new podcast episode: We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand."In a talk with Marc Maron on the comedian's last edition of his long-running WTF With Marc Maron, the former US president said institutions - including law firms, universities and businesses - that have changed course during the Trump administration should have stood by their convictions. Continue reading...

Hostage and prisoner releases are bringing joy to families. But there is no guarantee that the ceasefire will end Palestinian sufferingThe reprieve brought by the end of fighting in Gaza is immense. In Israel, the release of the living hostages has led to widespread elation. In Gaza and the West Bank there are also celebrations, as up to 2,000 Palestinian detainees start to be released - though there is distress, too, due to uncertainty about who is being freed and where they will be sent. In northern Gaza, people can finally return to dig through rubble for the remains of an estimated 10,000 missing people.As recently as three weeks ago, the likelihood of a ceasefire appeared remote. But it has taken effect, and on Monday Donald Trump travelled from Jerusalem, where he was cheered in the Knesset, to Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. There, he joined a high-powered peace summit of more than 20 world leaders, including SirKeirStarmer. The plan for peace begun there is due to be continued at a conference in the UK. The US president, acting with international partners, did makethis deal happen - despite, not because of, Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.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...

Layoffs decimating' office responsible for protecting rights of infants, children and youth with disabilities, says workerThe majority of staff in the education department handling special education has been laid off, according to multiple reports.Friday's total of 466 layoffs across the education department also impacted the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, which oversees programs that support millions of children and adults with disabilities nationwide, according to sources speaking to various outlets. Continue reading...

Border agents have become a key force in Trump's migrant crackdown - operating far from their traditional rural rangeBorder patrol officers have become ubiquitous footsoldiers in Donald Trump's mass deportation plan, and lawyers and human rights advocates worry that the agency is expanding its aggressive tactics into cities far from its conventional range.Led by Gregory Bovino, a particularly hardline Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sector chief from southern California, border patrol agents have become a daily presence in several major cities across the US. Continue reading...

Blazing debris on road amid rain and wind, with one person on ground hurt and no known survivors found on planeA small plane crashed along a major highway in south-eastern Massachusetts early on Monday amid rain and strong winds, killing both people on board and wounding another person on the ground, authorities said.In videos taken by people in passing vehicles, smoke could be seen billowing up above Interstate 195 from scattered, blazing debris. The highway was closed in both directions near the crash site in Dartmouth, a town about 50 miles (80km) miles south of Boston, the state department of transportation said. Continue reading...

Lindsey Graham says closure won't push him to meet Democrats' demands on Obama-era healthcare subsidiesRepublican and Democratic senators Lindsey Graham and Mark Kelly have dug their heels in over the government shutdown - which is now approaching two weeks, with the former saying that the closure won't push him to meet Democrats' demands for a restoration of Obama-era healthcare subsidies.Graham said on NBC News's Meet the Press on Sunday that he was in favor of the Senate voting to reopen the government and prepared to have a rational discussion" with Democrats - but not with the government shut down. Continue reading...

Washington DC-based institution says it'll temporarily close museums and research centers in response to shutdownSmithsonian museums and the National Zoo closed their doors on Sunday in response to the ongoing government shutdown.In a statement over the weekend, the Washington DC-based Smithsonian Institution announced that it was temporarily closing its museums, research centers and its zoo due to the government shutdown which has now entered the third week. Continue reading...

Cause of explosion at Accurate Energetic Systems that leveled building is unknown but foul play not ruled outAt least 200 mourners came to the Humphreys county courthouse at twilight on Sunday to mourn the 16 people killed in an explosion at a nearby munitions plant in middle Tennessee early on Friday.Humphreys county sheriff Chris Davis said that even in these nightmarish days, the true strength of our county is our people". Continue reading...

Department of Health and Human Services rescinds more than half of the 1,300 termination notices it sent, reports sayThe firings of hundreds of employees at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been reversed, according to several reports citing officials familiar with the matter, and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal workers.On Friday, the White House budget office announced that as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, reductions in force (RIFs) across agencies have begun. Continue reading...

In this mailbag edition of his newsletter, Jonathan answers questions about the evolution of tactics, heat and World Cup outsiders

Areas from the Carolinas to New England see flooding and high winds, while flooding in Alaska carries away homesNew Jersey and parts of New York City were under a state of emergency on Monday as slow-moving nor'easter moved up the easter US seaboard, while in western Alaska remnants of Typhoon Halong lashed coastal hamlets and ripped houses off their foundations.In Alaska, rescue aircraft were sent to the villages of Kipnuk and Kwigillingok, where there were reports of up to 20 people possibly unaccounted for. Continue reading...

Riders wore nothing - or close to it - in hastily called event against Trump's attempts to mobilize the national guardProtesters rallying against the Trump administration in Portland put the city's quirky and irreverent reputation on display on Sunday by pedaling through the streets wearing absolutely nothing - or close to it - in an emergency" edition of the annual World Naked Bike Ride.Crowds that have gathered daily and nightly outside the immigration facility in Oregon's largest city in recent days have embraced the absurd, donning inflatable frog, unicorn, axolotl and banana costumes as they face off with federal law enforcement who often deploy teargas and pepper balls. Continue reading...

Israelis believe their interests are better served by Washington than Jerusalem. But will Trump and Netanyahu's focus change now the hostages are home?

Abdul El-Sayed's bid for Michigan senator centers on bold leftwing populism similar to the NYC mayoral candidateDuring Vermont senator Bernie Sanders's Fight the Oligarchy tour stop in Michigan, Democratic US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed hit on bold populist policies like Medicare For All and taxing the rich.But he drew among the loudest cheers from the crowd in Kalamazoo, when he bellowed his updated reversal of an Obama catchphrase that signified a new pugilistic tactic when dealing with Maga attacks. When they go low, we don't go high. We take them to the mud and choke them out," he said. Continue reading...

Banning online anonymity tools like Tor won't stop crime. It will only drive people underground and normalize government control over the internetLike the war on drugs" or the war on terror", a war on child abuse" has too often been used to justify authoritarian overreach. Governments across the world are expanding surveillance, weakening encryption, and curtailing freedoms under the guise of staunching the proliferation of sexual images and videos of children - but these measures don't actually solve the problem.In Europe, the latest proposal for a chat control" regulation put forward by the Danish presidency would require every internet-connected device to include government spyware, as easy to activate as Alexa or Siri. It would scan not only for known child sexual abuse material (CSAM) but also, in practice, would flag artwork, fan fiction, family photos and chats, relying on unreliable AI classifiers - which scientists warn can't be implemented safely. Continue reading...

Veterans are facing federal charges after protesting Ice sweeps and Trump's national guard deployments. The justice department claims the veterans were violentUS military veterans increasingly face arrest and injury amid protests over Donald Trump's deportation campaign and his push to deploy national guard members to an ever-widening number of American cities.The Guardian has identified eight instances where military veterans have been prosecuted or sought damages after being detained by federal agents. Continue reading...

The state is setting a powerful example with its first-in-the-nation plan. But the policy has support across the USFor four years, New Mexico has been on a distressing losing streak. The state has consistently ranked last in the nation for child wellbeing, as determined by factors including household income, educational outcomes, and child mortality. And over the past decade, whenever New Mexico hasn't placed 50th, it's been 49th.But in its ongoing efforts to shake off that unenviable distinction, the state is poised to achieve a significant first. In September, governor Michelle Lujan Grisham - who made affordable childcare a centerpiece of her 2018 campaign - announced that New Mexico will offer free universal childcare. No other state in the US currently provides this essential service.Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of the Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a contributor to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times Continue reading...

Group says Mark Francis Ford's work history also has several red flags, including entering a program known for treating pedophilia, though he claimed he was there due to problematic spendingAn Indiana man charged with molesting a disabled child while working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans for several years beginning in 2004 should be listed as a credibly accused clergy abuser by various institutions for whom he ministered, says the director of a church accountability organization.Mark Francis Ford, once a member of the religious order colloquially known as the Vincentians, ministered within the archdiocese of New Orleans as well as the dioceses of Dallas and Gallup, New Mexico, after his ordination in 1992. He is accused of raping a boy whom he met through a program that he helped start in New Orleans named God's Special Children - which serves youths who are disabled - before and after the Vincentians say Ford successfully asked the Vatican to laicize him, or remove him from the priesthood, in 2007. Continue reading...

From Silicon Valley to Michigan, the biblical figure is in the headlines. The shift from pulpits to politics is familiar - and dangerousTwo scenes from the past two weeks capture something unsettling - and familiar -about American public life. In San Francisco, a tech billionaire delivered a soldout, offtherecord lecture series on the antichrist. In Michigan, a man rammed his pickup truck into a Latterday Saints meetinghouse during Sunday worship, opened fire and set the building ablaze, apparently believing that Mormons are the antichrist.The antichrist is clearly back. But perhaps he has never really left.Matthew Avery Sutton is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of the forthcoming Chosen Land: How Christianity Made America and Americans Remade Christianity (Basic Books), in addition to five prior books on Christianity. He is the Claudius O and Mary Johnson distinguished professor and chair of the department of history at Washington State University. The views expressed here are his own and do reflect those of WSU Continue reading...

Plenty of franchises spend decades looking for a star quarterback. New England appear to have found one after a few short years in the wildernessYou have to feel for the Browns, Jets, and Bears. Those franchises have spent decades in quarterback purgatory, rotating through prospects and placeholders. Meanwhile, after just five years of searching, the Patriots - the post-Tom Brady Patriots - appear to have found the guy.Five years. From Brady to Cam Newton to Mac Jones to Bailey Zappe to Maye's first choppy season to this: a 23-year-old quarterback who looks like a top-five starter and MVP candidate. Continue reading...

Krone says alarming' levies on about 400 goods including hair dryers and combine harvesters have forced pauseOne of Europe's biggest farm machinery companies, Krone, has been forced to pause exports of large equipment to the US because of alarming" and little-known new tariffs that are hitting hundreds of products from knitting needles and hair dryers to combine harvesters.Among the products on the steel derivatives list drawn up in consultation with US manufacturers, Donald Trump is taxing 407 specific products ranging from tiny embroidery stilettos to cooker hoods, barbecues, fridges, freezers, dishwashers, hair curling tongs, grills, elevators, bridge and railway structures, agriculture equipment and wind turbines. Continue reading...

JD Vance confirms White House seriously considering invoking 1807 insurrection act as Trump heads to Israel. Key US politics stories from Sunday 12 October at a glance.The Trump administration is considering ways to invoke emergency powers, including utilising the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would allow president Donald Trump to deploy troops on US soil in the event of major unrest.Despite legal pushback, vice-president JD Vance has confirmed the White is seriously considering the idea. The president's looking at all of his options," he told NBC's News's Meet the Press on Sunday, adding that we are talking about this because crime has gotten out of control in our cities". Continue reading...

US president says Middle East will normalize' before he boarded flight to Israel for world leaders' peace summitThe war in Gaza has ended and the Middle East is going to normalize", Donald Trump said on Sunday as he flew to Israel, which was waiting for Hamas to release Israeli hostages as world leaders were gathering to discuss the next steps toward peace.The war is over, you understand that," Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One as he began a flight from Washington DC to Israel. Continue reading...

The Panthers stunned the Cowboys, the Steelers demolished the Browns and the Rams crushed the RavensJaguars 0-0 Seahawks 4:20, 1st quarterOoh and that's a bad miss. Trevor Lawrence overthrows a wide open receiver deep downfield but then recovers on 3rd down to move the chains with a strike to Johnny Mundt. Continue reading...