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Local Labs - which calls its work both political research and journalism - is demanding voters' details across the country to back claims of election fraudVotebeat is a non-profit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the US. Sign up for our free newsletters here.In North Carolina, Local Labs wanted obscure voter records that would take weeks, or even months, to prepare. In Georgia, the company requested a copy of every envelope voters used to mail in their ballots. And in dozens of counties across the US, Local Labs asked for the address of every midterm voter. Continue reading...

Gavin Newsom says new law banning school boards from rejecting textbooks cements California's role as the true freedom state'California governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday to ban school boards from rejecting textbooks based on their teachings about the contributions of people from different racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities.Newsom called the measure long overdue". Continue reading...

Former White House aide says Trump almost destroyed democracy' and is running for president to do it againThe former Donald Trump White House aide who became a crucial witness to the January 6 attack says she believes the Republican party is facing a make-or-break moment" over whether to nominate him in the 2024 presidential race.We're talking about a man who at the very essence of his being almost destroyed democracy in one day, and he wants to do it again," Cassidy Hutchinson said of Trump during an interview with MSNBC's Rachael Maddow on Monday, a clear reference to the assault on the US Capitol that the ex-president's supporters staged after his electoral defeat to his Democratic rival Joe Biden nearly three years ago. Continue reading...

From Orban in Hungary to Fico in Slovakia, populists are looking to a Trump win to boost their power in the EUWhen Donald Trump lost the White House in 2020, Europe's strongmen, populists and climate change deniers lost a powerful ally and a protector. Yet most of Europe's mini-Trumps have survived his fall, his denial of defeat and the storming of Congress by his supporters, and are now hoping that a comeback for the Republican frontrunner in next year's US presidential election will put fresh wind in their own sails.In his four years in office, Trump described the European Union as a foe" and Nato as obsolete". He had earlier openly applauded the UK's vote for Brexit and encouraged other countries to follow suit. He pulled the United States out of global agreements to fight climate change, tore up arms control treaties, slapped tariffs on his allies and picked fights with Germany over trade and defence spending. And he rolled out the red carpet for the populist leaders of Poland and Hungary just as they were defying EU censure over moves to snuff out judicial independence, civil rights and media pluralism.Paul Taylor is a senior fellow of the Friends of Europe thinktank Continue reading...

DoD to review cases of veterans denied honorable discharges under don't ask, don't tell' policy but critics say more can be doneAdvocates are celebrating the Department of Defense's decision to correct the military records of many veterans who were discharged over their sexual orientation in the past - while adding that the agency must do more for affected veterans.The Pentagon has announced it will review cases of LGBTQ+ veterans who were denied honorable discharges after being removed from the military under the 1990s policy of don't ask, don't tell" (DADT). Thousands of veterans were removed from service following the controversial 1993 law introduced by then president Bill Clinton as a compromise step which allowed gay and lesbian military personnel to serve only if their sexuality remained secret or was not reported. Continue reading...

The Chicago Project on Security and Threats and the Guardian co-host an event on how to safeguard the future of US democracy at 5pm CT - watch hereThe Guardian US and the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (Cpost) at the University of Chicago are co-hosting an event on Tuesday focusing on dangers to democracy and anticipated threats to the 2024 election.The Guardian's Fight for Democracy project has been working with Cpost since June 2023, reporting on the project's Dangers to Democracy surveys which dive into Americans' views on political violence, conspiracy theories and threats to US elections. The first survey found that a staggering 12 million American adults, or 4.4% of the adult population, believe violence is justified to restore Donald Trump to the White House. Continue reading...

Will the Classic Learning Test bring truth and beauty' back into education - or is it fueling Ron DeSantis's extremist agenda?From the don't say gay" law, which bans discussion of LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom, to laws helping parents challenge school library books they oppose, Ron DeSantis has turned Florida's public schools into a culture war battleground - and the implementation of his laws has often veered into absurd territory.About 300 books were removed from library shelves last year. Some teachers have resorted to using only excerpts from Shakespeare plays to avoid any raunchiness" that might cost them their jobs. For DeSantis, the censorship is part of a so-called war on woke", intended to prevent the perceived indoctrination of students by leftwing influences. Continue reading...

The Scottish actor has died at the age of 90. From Illya Kuryakin in The Man from UNCLE to Professor Plum in Cluedo, here we look back at his life and career Continue reading...

Biden has pushed key policies to fight soaring US inequality. Yet he's been reluctant to name and shame its causesKudos to Joe Biden for joining the United Auto Workers picket line on Tuesday. He's the first president to join a picket line in living memory.But he shouldn't stop there.as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob ... Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me - and I welcome their hatred.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com Continue reading...

By abasing himself to Trump and the most hardline Republicans, Kevin McCarthy made himself a political hostageThe House Republicans have triggered a Chernobyl of their own, a chain reaction that will inexorably lead to a meltdown to their core surrounded by a radioactive forbidden zone. Saboteurs rush in unobstructed, setting blazes and planting explosives. The nominal fire chief stands dumbfounded, an observer transfixed at the raging conflagration, anxious about his escape route. This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down," the fire chief fumes. Then, smoke billowing behind him, he flees the scene and tells everyone to go home for a week.The speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, is the speaker in name. He has the part. He will do anything to retain the honorific. Gesture by gesture he dispenses with the powers of his office for the sake of wearing its polished badge. If nature abhors a vacuum, his unnatural enemies thrive in it. He agreed to their demand that instead of proposing a continuing resolution for 30 days to continue negotiations on the budget he would divide appropriations into 14 separate bills, each requiring a procedural vote to be able to consider them. Twice he dutifully brought to the floor the procedural votes for the defense appropriations bill, and twice they were contemptuously rejected. His heedless appeasement was a defeat foretold. The federal government shutdown looms. Continue reading...

The president standing in solidarity' with striking autoworkers is a powerful gesture that could resonate with key blue-collar votersIn the more than 150 years since workers first formed labor unions in the United States, no American president has ever stood in solidarity" with workers on a picket line. Joe Biden has vowed to do exactly that with striking autoworkers in Michigan on Tuesday.This is genuinely new - I don't think it's ever happened before, a president on a picket line," said Nelson Lichtenstein, a longtime labor historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Candidates do it frequently and prominent senators, but not a president." Continue reading...

Writers Guild of America says tentative agreement on pay and conditions due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power'. Plus, how to deal with garlic breath, according to scientists

Strength, footwork and hand speed are vital attributes for a fighter. But it is often blood that decides who emerges from the ring victoriousLet's say you're going about your business and get whacked in the head. Blood is pouring from a wound above one of your eyes. You stop what you're doing and go to the hospital to get stitched up, right?Not if your business is fighting. If you're a professional boxer, you're likely to be told it's only blood." And then you continue to get hit. Continue reading...

Since taking over as manager at Columbus Crew, Wilfried Nancy has forged an explosive team who score plenty of goalsLionel Messi has made Inter Miami a must-watch team since his arrival in Major League Soccer two months ago, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily the league's most entertaining team. Instead, the Columbus Crew deserve that title. Their brand of attack-minded, possession soccer has compelled and captivated all season long. Inter Miami have Messi, but Columbus have Wilfried Nancy.The Frenchman has earned himself a reputation as one of MLS's most forward-thinking coaches. Hired by Columbus from CF Montreal at the end of last season, the 46-year-old knows hold to build bold, brave teams. He wants his side to have the ball, but not just for the sake of it. This is possession with a purpose - the purpose being to score goals. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, played a key role in selling the drugs that were stored at the childcare facilityA third person has been charged in the death of a toddler apparently poisoned by fentanyl inside a New York City daycare center, authorities said on Monday, as the search continued for the alleged ringleader of the drug peddling operation.Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, 38, was charged with narcotics distribution resulting in death, 10 days after authorities discovered four young children showing signs of opioid exposure at a Bronx daycare center. One of those children, one-year-old Nicholas Dominci, was pronounced dead last Friday. Continue reading...

The plane was en route from Ecuador to Florida, where seven passengers and one crew member were hospitalized on arrivalThe National Transportation Safety Board said it has opened an investigation into a JetBlue flight that experienced sudden severe turbulence on Monday, injuring seven passengers and a crew member.The incident occurred on Monday on JetBlue flight 1256, an Airbus A320, near Jamaica while en route from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the board said. Continue reading...

Leaders of Pacific island states have been given star treatment in Washington but Chinese influence is the spectre at the feastJoe Biden has offered more economic aid to Pacific islands at a White House meeting with leaders from the region aimed at bolstering US engagement in the face of a growing Chinese presence.The president also announced formal US recognition of two new island nations, the Cook Islands and Niue, at the start of the Pacific Islands Forum, two days of Washington meetings with leaders from the group's 18 members. Continue reading...

The Barakat Gallery reported the theft of the 250lb bronze statue, which the director alleges took place after it was scoped out'Los Angeles police are investigating after a thief carried out an overnight heist and stole a $1.5m Buddha statue, weighing almost 250lb, from an antiquities gallery.Authorities received a report of a burglary on Monday at the Barakat Gallery, which offers museum quality" ancient art. According to surveillance footage, the thief had stolen the statue in the early morning hours in what appeared to be a planned burglary. Continue reading...

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Europe's talisman endured a rough time in 2021 but the backing of his team provided a vital boost. Now he's out to beat the USAThe tears led to fears. As Rory McIlroy blubbed during an interview at the conclusion of the last Ryder Cup, speculation rose that one of the greatest golfers of all time was in a tailspin. Nobody in European colours impressed during a brutal 19-9 defeat by the US but the extent of McIlroy's troubles until a final-day win against Xander Schauffele were especially stark.As is often the case around McIlroy, it turned out the received wisdom was wrong. He won on his next tournament outing. Another quintet of titles have been added during the intervening period. The inability to claim a fifth major gnaws at the Northern Irishman but his level of consistency postWisconsin has made a mockery of tales of woe. Continue reading...

Mark Meadows' wife complained of cost of dry-cleaning to remove smell from suits, Cassidy Hutchison writes in new memoirMark Meadows burned so many papers in his office fireplace as Donald Trump's presidency came to its chaotic end that the then White House chief of staff's wife complained about the cost of dry-cleaning his suits to remove the bonfire" smell, Cassidy Hutchinson writes in her eagerly awaited memoir.The New York Times reported the passage about Meadows burning documents, before MSNBC confirmed it. Continue reading...

Spiralling tensions between Pristina and Belgrade have again spilled over into violence. The European Union's mediating strategy is not workingAt the weekend, Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, spoke despairingly in relation to a decade of talks about normalising relations with Serbia, which continues to refuse to recognise his country's independent status. In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Kurti claimed that the negotiations, mediated by the European Union, were in danger of reaching a dead end. Shortly after publication, there was ominous confirmation that a nadir has indeed been reached. In a serious escalation of tensions, five people, including a Kosovan police officer, were killed after an ambush by unidentified armed men near the Serbian border.For the EU and its foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, the ramifications of diplomatic failure stretch well beyond the fate of the northern tip of Kosovo, with its majority Serb population. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has redoubled its efforts to anchor the western Balkans within its orbit and combat Moscow's influence. But Sunday's shootings indicate that in this Balkan hotspot, its approach isn't working. Continue reading...

New Jersey senator strikes defiant tone to reporters and accuses some of rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat'Insisting he would not resign after being indicted on corruption charges, the embattled New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez told reporters that $480,000 in cash found in a safe, clothing and closets at his home was kept there for emergency personal use.For 30 years," Menendez said, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings accounts, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba." Continue reading...

Gavin Newsom signs bills a day after controversial veto on parental support of their child's gender identityThe California governor, Gavin Newsom, signed several bills on Saturday aimed at bolstering the state's protections for LGBTQ+ people, a day after the Democrat issued a controversial veto that was criticized by advocates.The new laws include legislation that focuses on support for LGBTQ+ youth. One law sets timelines for required cultural competency training for public school teachers and staff, while another creates an advisory taskforce to determine the needs of LGBTQ+ students and help advance supportive initiatives. Continue reading...

Former president vows to investigate TV networks for country-threatening treason' should he win US election next year

The same law used to charge Donald Trump is being wielded against protesters in a historic prosecution of 61 defendantsSixty-one defendants in the largest criminal conspiracy case ever leveled against a protest movement are bracing for the next step in the legal process, unsure if they will see a jail cell any day.Meanwhile, the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights is preparing to face historic prosecution with a historic defense", said Devin Franklin, movement policy counsel. The organization hopes to raise $12m and is contacting lawyers across the country, said Tiffany Williams Roberts, public policy director. Continue reading...

During a recent trip to Brazil, I saw how Indigenous women activists there have completely changed the political landscapeI was invited to the third Indigenous Women's March in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, earlier this month. The last occupation of Brazil's legislature was in January 2022, when a group of rightwing thugs, imitating the January 6 riot in the US, attempted to kill Brazilian democracy. This was the exact opposite.Five hundred Indigenous women from across Brazil occupied the Congress - not with guns or knives or anger, but with the strength and truth of their words, the intensity of their knowing, with their headdresses, feathers and beaded primordial designs calling us to the earth, to know the earth, to protect and respect the biomes and honor Indigenous women's rights to their lands. Continue reading...

The early weeks of the season have seen high-quality teams rise to the top of the Premier League. The only problem: they face Manchester City

Trump's claim that he always' has workers' backs is laughable. As president he undercut them at every opportunityStrikes are painful affairs for unions and companies alike, but that hasn't stopped Donald Trump from making plans to go to Detroit next week to try to make political hay out of the United Auto Workers' historic strike. The former president is planning a prime-time speech before 500 union members that will trumpet the message that he has always had their back".As with so many Trump pronouncements, that is appalling poppycock. During Trump's four years as president, he and his administration did far more to stab workers in their backs. Continue reading...

The high court has been telling politicians that flagrant corruption is now perfectly legalGold bars, guns, cash stuffed into a coat and favors for a foreign government - the new indictment of Bob Menendez, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, reads like the plot of a cheap pulp novel satirizing political graft. But the allegations against the longtime lawmaker are all too real - and the purported scheme all too predictable - in a country whose judiciary has been effectively telling politicians that corruption is perfectly legal.Evoking memories of Abscam and the Keating Five scandals, the details of the Menendez indictment are certainly anomalous for their cartoonish color. Indeed, this affair goes way beyond the donation-for-legislation culture that has been normalized in Washington. Federal prosecutors allege an elaborate plot in which Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez's power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich" a trio of businessmen and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt". Continue reading...

Republican congresswoman tweets image of Hanukah menorah in effort to commemorate unrelated Jewish holiday of Yom KippurFar-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has drawn ridicule for using an image of a Hanukah menorah in an attempt to commemorate the unrelated Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.The derision the Georgia representative brought upon herself comes after she was previously criticized for perpetuating antisemitic conspiracy theories. Continue reading...

In March 2021, Governor Andrew M Cuomo signed a new law that legalized adult possession and use of cannabis in New York state.Two years later, there are only 23 legal weed dispensaries. Why have so few licenses been granted? New York wanted social equity to be at the heart of who was profiting from the change in law. The first licensed dispensary for recreational cannabis in New York is run by Housing Works, a non-profit that provides housing and healthcare to people living with HIV and Aids.

Members of Hernandez family were heading to birthday party when Cadillac Escalade collided with train at crossing in Plant CitySix people heading to a birthday party were killed after a freight train struck their car at an unguarded crossing in central Florida over the weekend, according to authorities.The wreck killed five members of a family and their friend just before 7pm local time on Saturday. One person was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Continue reading...

Asylum seekers who arrived before the end of July - about 472,000 - will now be able to legally live and work in the USVenezuelan asylum seekers in the United States have welcomed the news of temporary permission to live and work in the country as a vital helping hand" after the Biden administration announced that it would extend temporary protected status (TPS) to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals.The Department of Homeland Security announced that the TPS extension now includes those who arrived in the US by the end of July, whereas the previous cutoff date was 8 March 2021. Continue reading...

The film and TV industry has always relied on financial precarity for the people who make it tick. It only takes one shock to put freelancers into hardshipI can pinpoint the exact moment I knew I wanted to be a film-maker. I'd received The Fellowship of the Ring extended edition DVD for my 11th birthday and devoured the behind-the-scenes footage faster the film itself. I felt my chest flutter with excitement as I watched the crew recount how important the experience was to them. I wanted to follow in their footsteps and make people feel the way I had watching that film.Years later, that ambition became a reality. But now, when I think of film-making, I feel knots of dread in my stomach instead of excitement. I'm one of the thousands of workers in the UK who have lost their jobs as a direct result of the actors' strikes in the US. In July, actors joined writers on the picket line fighting for more equitable residuals in an ever-changing streaming landscape, and for fair compensation for the use of their likeness by AI. Continue reading...

Europe's captain Luke Donald exudes confidence before the renewal in Rome ... with one US sporting icon's supportThis feels like an early win for Europe. Michael Jordan, a long-time cheerleader for the US in Ryder Cups, believes Luke Donald's team will prevail at Marco Simone next Sunday. Donald, a neighbour of Jordan, had dinner with the NBA icon in recent weeks. He tipped the Europeans to win," Donald says. Take whatever you want out of that one.He is a good friend. He would be very supportive of me having a great experience. I think ultimately he wants the US to win." Yet Jordan's faith is in Europe. Continue reading...

The south-eastern part of New York state plumped for Republican candidates, but the Biden impeachment inquiry could add to backlashIn Anthony D'Esposito's New York congressional district, Democrats are licking their lips.The Republican won an unexpected election to the House of Representatives in 2022, styling himself as a moderate in a historically Democratic district that Joe Biden had easily won by 14 points two years earlier. Continue reading...

State party's decision to allow Trump on to presidential ballot without loyalty oath shows governor's iron grip is looseningThere haven't been many good days for Ron DeSantis's flailing presidential campaign lately, and news that the Florida governor has slumped to fifth place in a poll for the New Hampshire primary will hardly have lifted his spirits.Yet the biggest blow of the past week came from Florida's once fiercely loyal Republican party, which appears to be souring on the idea of their man in the White House. Continue reading...

Unprecedented and extremely dangerous' attacks threaten justice system and prosecutorial independence, say former politiciansRising verbal attacks by Donald Trump and key political allies against a Georgia district attorney and two other prosecutors who have filed criminal charges against the former US president are endangering prosecutorial independence and might spur acts of violence, ex-federal prosecutors and ex-House Republicans warn.Trump's attacks on the federal and local prosecutors who have brought cases against him are unprecedented and extremely dangerous," Michael Bromwich, the former justice department inspector general, told the Guardian. Continue reading...

After five days of negotiations with studios and streaming services, union says it has a deal for members to vote on. Plus, meet the oldest fish in captivityGood morning.Hollywood writers are poised to end their nearly five-month strike after reaching a tentative agreement with studios, the writers' union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said on Sunday night, though the full details of agreement still have to be formally approved.What happens now? Union leaders are expected to vote on the full terms of the new three-year contract on Tuesday, according to the union's email to members, which was posted on social media.Over the weekend, John Fetterman became the first US Senate Democrat to suggest Menendez should quit, while a Democratic New Jersey congressman announced he would run against Menendez in next year's primary election. Continue reading...

Miami steamrolled the Denver Broncos, scoring the most points in a game since 1966. They could have had a lot moreThe Miami Dolphins broke out the cheat code on Sunday. Before half-time.Some NBA teams struggle to score 70 points in a game. But here we are in the NFL, and Mike McDaniel's state-of-the-art offensive machine were putting up 35 before the third quarter arrived, then kept cranking out video game numbers in a surreal 70-20 scorching of the Denver Broncos. Continue reading...

What does representing Europe mean given the disparate nationalities uniting in a common cause against the US?It started in January in Abu Dhabi. At the all-European Hero Cup, an early precursor to the Ryder Cup, Luke Donald put some messaging in place. Three of Donald's predecessors as Europe's captain, Thomas Bjorn, Jose Maria Olazabal and Paul McGinley, delivered impassioned speeches to players. Olazabal focused on the spirit of Seve Ballesteros. Bjorn talked of the importance of the traditions handed down by European teams of old. McGinley, whose 2014 captaincy was lauded by all who encountered it, carefully outlined what it takes to prevail against the United States. Players were said to be spellbound by the trio.Donald is not the tub-thumping, rabble-rousing type. There is no chance he will rampage around the locker room at the Marco Simone club outside Rome in the coming week, screaming in the face of Europe's contingent. Yet there must be subtle and consistent messaging towards a team who are looking to reclaim the trophy after being embarrassed in Wisconsin two years ago. Continue reading...

Senator Menendez was indicted on a set of explosive charges of corruptly aiding the government in CairoThe indictment of Senator Bob Menendez on charges of corruptly aiding the Egyptian government has set the stage for a week of renewed pressure on US lawmakers to withhold military aid to Egypt.Menendez stepped town temporarily from his position as head of the Senate foreign relations committee on Friday after he was indicted by New York's southern district court on a set of explosive and detailed charges. Continue reading...

Events this week with former president's son pushed back to December after earlier being moved from July amid claims of visa trouble

Nancy Sampson, 61, was sightseeing on the Blue Ridge parkway when she fell 150ft from a cliff near a popular nature siteA hiker died after plunging off a waterfall overlook along the Blue Ridge parkway in North Carolina during the weekend, according to the US National Park Service.Nancy Sampson of Greer, South Carolina, was sightseeing at the park at about 12.15pm on Saturday when she tumbled over a cliff around the Glassmine Falls overlook. Continue reading...