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Republican presidential candidate refers to California as Paradise Lost' while vice-president targets swing stateDonald Trump visited California on Saturday, a state he is almost certain to lose, in a bid to link Kamala Harris to her home state's recent struggles with homelessness, water shortages and a lack of affordability.We're not going to let Kamala Harris do to America what she did to California," the former president said in the city of Coachella, best known for its music festival of the same name, referring to the state as Paradise Lost".Kamala Harris on Saturday released a report on her health and medical history, which found that she possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the presidency" if voters elect her in November. A senior aide to Harris, 59, said the vice-president's advisers viewed the publication of the health report and medical history as an opportunity to call attention to questions about Donald Trump's physical fitness and mental acuity.Tightening poll figures triggered nervousness and anxiety in Kamala Harris's presidential campaign, with Donald Trump making gains in the states where it matters most as the election race enters its climactic final phase. Amid a dramatic news cycle that has seen the US hit by two destructive hurricanes and rising fears of all-out war in the Middle East, the Guardian's 10-day polling average tracker showed the vice-president and Democratic nominee with a two-point nationwide lead, 48% to 46%, over her Republican opponent as of 10 October - tellingly, down from a 4% advantage she registered two weeks ago.The far-right website the Gateway Pundit acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that there had not been any fraud during ballot counting in Atlanta in 2020 when Donald Trump lost the presidency. It was a significant concession from one of the most influential conservative sites that plays a key role in spreading election misinformation.Tens of thousands of Christians poured on to the National Mall on Saturday in a pre-election event aimed at rescuing America from secularism. The rally was a collaboration organized by multiple far-right Christian leaders affiliated with the New Apostolic Reformation, a movement on the political far right that seeks to establish long-term Christian dominion over government and society as well as get Trump a second presidency in November. Continue reading...

As Major League Baseball's final four take aim at the World Series starting on Sunday, playoff TV ratings are soaring thanks to big stars, memorable plays and unbridled funWe're just about halfway toward determining who will become baseball's World Series champions, which means there are just four teams remaining. The best-of-seven American League Championship Series between the Cleveland Guardians and the New York Yankees begins on Monday in the Bronx, while the New York Mets will be in Los Angeles to face the Dodgers on Sunday in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.How did we get here? Simply put, with some of the more captivating early-round playoff baseball we've seen in some time. And the drama has been much welcome after last year's early rounds included no fewer than six series sweeps, with series winners trouncing losers by 20 games to two, leaving all but the most hardcore baseball fans pining for preseason NBA games. Continue reading...

A popular Facebook group posts videos of animals seen a half-mile from a well-populated Anchorage neighborhoodMillions of people worldwide tuned in for a remote Alaska national park's Fat Bear Week" celebration this month, as captivating livestream camera footage caught the chubby predators chomping on salmon and fattening up for the winter.But in the vast state known for its abundant wildlife, the magical and sometimes violent world of wild animals can be found close to home. Continue reading...

The Republican and Democratic presidential candidates are campaigning with election day just over three weeks away. This blog is now closed.Our latest polling shows Harris and Trump are neck-and-neck, with Trump gaining ground on Harris in crucial swing states.Robert Tait reports: the Guardian's 10-day polling average tracker showed the vice-president and Democratic nominee with a two-point nationwide lead, 48% to 46%, over her Republican opponent as of 10 October - tellingly, down from a 4% advantage she registered two weeks ago." Continue reading...

More than 1.5 million people still without power as damaged communities confront lengthy rebuildingThousands of people who fled the onrushing Hurricane Milton are facing fuel shortages, debris and long traffic jams as they return to damaged Florida communities that are confronted with lengthy rebuilds.Millions of people were urged to evacuate before Milton, which slammed into western Florida on Wednesday as a category 3 hurricane, causing more than a dozen deaths, ruined homes and flooding and triggering a rash of destructive tornadoes. More than 1.5 million people are still without power in the wake of the storm. Continue reading...

Jenny Donnelly, leader of anti-trans Don't Mess With Our Kids, bills first pre-election event as rallying call for mothersTens of thousands of Christians poured onto the National Mall on Saturday to atone, pray and take a stand for America - which, in their view, has been poisoned by secularism and must be ruled instead by a Christian god.Summoned to Washington DC by the multilevel marketing professional-turned-Christian apostle" Jenny Donnelly and the anti-LGBTQ+ celebrity pastor Lou Engle, they streamed onto the lawn holding blue and pink banners emblazoned with the hashtag #DontMessWithOurKids - a nod to the myth that children are being indoctrinated into adopting gay and transgender identities. Continue reading...

Release of vice-president's medical history highlights questions around Trump's physical and mental fitnessKamala Harris on Saturday released a report on her health and medical history, which found that she possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the presidency" if voters elect her in November.A senior aide to Harris, 59, said the vice-president's advisers viewed the publication of the health report and medical history as an opportunity to call attention to questions about Donald Trump's physical fitness and mental acuity. The 78-year-old Republican White House nominee would be the oldest president elected if Americans gave him a second term in the Oval Office. Continue reading...

His comments foreshadow a full-on assault on free speech and freedom of the press if he becomes presidentDonald Trump's 10 October attack on CBS for editing its 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris - a normal television process - is pure distraction. It is designed to draw our attention away from the fact that he was afraid to give the news magazine its traditional interview with both political candidates. Trump's statement that the Federal Communications Commission should take away" CBS's broadcast license betrays his ignorance of the fact that the FCC does not license networks and foreshadows a full-on assault on free speech and freedom of the press if he becomes president.History is clear that dictators move early to take control of the media in order to censor information unfavorable to their people. Our safety requires preventing that control, as Thomas Jefferson wrote two centuries ago: The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed."Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, currently of counsel to Lawyers Defending American DemocracyAustin Sarat, associate dean of the faculty and William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author of Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty Continue reading...

Barack Obama came out blazing in Pennsylvania with a moral indignation that may help turn tide against Donald Trump's liesTo attend a Trump rally in rural America makes you worry for humanity's future. After six hours in the baking sun watching 60,000-plus Trump supporters lap up his lies, I am here to tell you that there are few more lowering experiences to be had in modern politics.But it isn't all we have, and there is much of a positive nature to report from the US, including an inspiring intervention from Barack Obama last week and the truth that the Democrat candidate for presidency, Kamala Harris, is conducting a very good campaign indeed. Given that she's had just three months to pick her running mate, coordinate strategy and key messaging, and confront a wretchedly divided nation, she's performing with grace and steadiness, while the campaign has united around building a coalition with disaffected Republicans and conservatives of conscience who were in Congress or the Trump administration. Continue reading...

Police investigate mystery of remains of Amanda Leariel Overstreet, who was 16 when she went missing in 2005Body parts found in a freezer that was left behind at a Colorado home that was sold are of a 16-year-old girl who went missing in 2005, authorities have said.The death of Amanda Leariel Overstreet - the biological daughter of the home's previous owner - is being investigated as a homicide, according to the sheriff's office overseeing the case. An investigation into Overstreet's slaying remains ongoing. Continue reading...

Police say at least two of those injured are in critical condition after incident in Oklahoma CityThirteen people were shot - including one fatally - during a party at an Oklahoma venue early on Saturday, according to police.The violence in south-west Oklahoma City was among more than 410 mass shootings in the US so far this year, according to statistics from the Gun Violence Archive. The non-partisan archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more victims are wounded or killed.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Gateway Pundit settled defamation lawsuit brought by election workers it had falsely accused of wrongdoingThe far-right website The Gateway Pundit acknowledged for the first time on Saturday that there was not any fraud during ballot counting in Atlanta in 2020 when Donald Trump lost the presidency, a significant concession from one of the most influential conservative sites that plays a key role in spreading election misinformation.The statement, the first acknowledgment from the site that there was no proof of fraud in Atlanta, came days after the site settled a defamation lawsuit with Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, two local election workers who the site falsely accused of wrongdoing. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed publicly, but the site appears to have removed all mention of the two women. Continue reading...

Ruben Gallego has a consistent edge in polling in a contest that will help determine control of the Senate - even despite Trump's endorsement of Kari LakeThe crowd gathered in Chandler for a meet-and-greet with Ruben Gallego on a recent Saturday afternoon was an almost perfect snapshot of the voters Democrats need to win statewide in once-ruby red Arizona. There were small business owners, Latino youth activists, a retiree in a Comma La" T-shirt, a handful of veterans, disaffected Republicans, at least one California transplant and a former Trump voter.The diverse attendance was one sign of what polls, strategists, Democrats and even some Republicans acknowledge: the race for an open Senate seat is the 44-year-old Democrat's to lose, a surprising position for a progressive congressman in a purple state running against Trump-endorsed firebrand Kari Lake. Continue reading...

Journalist who published vetting document on Republican running mate was kicked off site formerly known as TwitterDonald Trump's presidential campaign worked with X to prevent information about his running mate JD Vance from being posted on the social media platform, a move that resulted in the journalist who revealed the information being kicked off the site, according to reports.The former president's team contacted X, owned by the billionaire Trump backer Elon Musk, about a 271-page document compiled by his campaign to vet Vance that was linked to by Ken Klippenstein, an independent journalist, the New York Times has reported. Continue reading...

Sickened people in stable condition, sheriff says, after emergency services report mass casualty' situationEleven children and adults were transported to a hospital on Friday night in Pennsylvania after eating and being sickened by toxic mushrooms", authorities said.Emergency medical personnel responded to a report around 9.30pm of 11 people becoming ill after ingesting the mushrooms in Peach Bottom Township, the Delta-Cardiff volunteer company station 57 said in a social media post. Continue reading...

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons put their Botoxed heads together and decreed this the ballet body' eraLadies, have you been waiting with bated breath for an association of plastic surgeons to tell you what your body should look like this season? Have you lost sleep wondering whether your waist is on trend or not? Are you worried that your hips, which don't lie, might be a little too 2005? Continue reading...

They call themselves the coconut army' and are out in droves to reach young people aged 18-29. Can they turn activism into votes?It was the height of brat summer". Kamala Harris was a femininomenon", electrifying a high-stakes presidential race that many of the country's youngest voters had been dreading: a rematch between the two oldest candidates in American history.Chartreuse-blocked memes and coconut emojis filled social media feeds. The tidal wave of young Kamalove" sparked a rush of small-dollar donations and volunteer sign-ups for her days-old campaign. For an extremely online generation of young Democrats, the vibes were so good. Continue reading...

Alex Cooper's show features no-holds-barred conversations about women, intimacy and mental health. The vice-president's visit offered a chance to connect with the TikTok generationAccording to Spotify, Alex Cooper's podcast Call Her Daddy is the second-most-listened-to podcast in the world, behind only The Joe Rogan Experience and with a very different audience. While the audience for Rogan's health advice and anti-woke politics skews heavily male, Cooper's podcast of girls' room secrets, dating stories and therapy-like disclosures is listened to by young, sex-positive women. Cooper, who turned 30 this year, invites guests such as Katy Perry, Heidi Klum and Miley Cyrus to dress down (most appear on the podcast clad in sweatsuits and baseball caps) and share intimate details of their sexual and psychological lives.Cooper's honesty is wildly popular and profitable; in 2021, she inked a $60m deal with Spotify, one of the biggest ever for a podcast at the time. In August, she signed a new deal worth more than double that, leaving Spotify for a $125m three-year offer from the US radio company SiriusXM. Continue reading...

Allie Young, 34, started the Ride to the Polls campaign in 2020 to register new voters in person and onlineIn Dine, or Navajo, culture, the horse symbolizes strength and resilience, as well as a connection to the earth. Cowboy culture is so relevant to Native communities, that horseback trail rides are used to draw awareness to issues within the community including suicide prevention, and alcohol and drug use, said Allie Young, a 34-year-old Dine grassroots organizer. This fall, Young has harnessed the trail ride to engage Dine voters for the presidential election: her group's voter-registration events will culminate with 100 Indigenous voters riding on horseback to a polling station in Arizona on election day.When one mounts a horse and is in rhythm with the horse, that reconnection happens," Young, founder of the Indigenous-led civic engagement program Protect the Sacred, told the Guardian. So when we're connected with the horse, we're then reconnected to Mother Earth and reminded of our cultural values and what we're fighting for, what we're protecting." Continue reading...

The twin blow from Milton and Helene has left the state reeling - and the act of rebuilding will be lengthy and costlyMore than just clouds were swirling when a tropical disturbance that would become Hurricane Milton formed in the south-western Gulf of Mexico, beginning its inexorable march towards a midweek strike on Florida's west coast.As its winds picked up, so did familiar feelings of anxiety and dread across a state still reeling from the impact of another monster storm, Hurricane Helene, barely a week earlier. Ultimately, the densely populated cities of Tampa and St Petersburg were spared the apocalyptic scenario some had forecast. But places elsewhere along the Gulf coast saw unprecedented levels of destruction and devastation. Continue reading...

Flooding is separate from typical US home insurance and many homeowners are not adequately coveredAs millions of US residents begin working to file insurance claims on their homes in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, many could be denied, particularly if their homes were damaged by flooding.A quirk in the US home insurance market is that flood insurance is separate from typical home insurance, which usually covers wind damage from hurricanes but not flooding. Homeowners must purchase flood insurance separately if they want their homes protected against flooding. Continue reading...

The NFL visitors are making the most of their travels before facing the Jacksonville Jaguars in Tottenham on SundayBy Gavin Willacy for No Helmets RequiredBack in London for the first time in five years, Chicago Bears go into Sunday's clash with Jacksonville in relaxed mode. Having won three of their opening five games with a week off next weekend, they have reason to be enjoying the trip. The Bears took a holistic approach to their latest NFL International Series sojourn, spending all week in the Hertfordshire countryside. It's more minicamp than holiday, but the management were determined to ensure everyone has a life-enhancing experience in England regardless of what happens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against a Jaguars side far more at home in London.Playing abroad in the NFL is rather different than nipping to Europe to play a Champions League, United Rugby Championship or Super League game. The party numbers nearer 200 than two dozen, a veritable travelling circus. There is a member of football staff for almost every one of the 53 players, plus media and commercial teams. So many that they need to stay in two different hotels. Continue reading...

The assisted dying bill could alleviate the suffering of society's most vulnerable, but MPs' choice is not an easy oneFor me, the assisted dying bill being put before parliament isn't just government business. It's personal. Think of me as Schrodinger's cancer patient: simultaneously living and dying. There's nothing like the impending approach of the latter to add impetus and urgency to the former. In the two years since diagnosis, my cancer-riddled body has allowed me to engage in a surprising amount of living, from a 100-mile ultra running comeback to a two-month walk from John o'Groats to Land's End. I've found new meaning in life, and campaigning for better NHS treatment has led me to the door of No 10 Downing Street. The prime minister has said that I inspire his government's work and, even more significantly, my father is proud of me. My sister calls me her hero.But despite these two life-affirming years, only 10% of people with my disease can expect to survive for five years; ready or not, death is coming for me. Yes, in between chemo cycles and surgeries I have maintained a very good quality of life, and there have been periods in which the cancer, while incurable, almost disappeared. Nonetheless I feel myself becoming weaker, and as I approach my end it's this that dominates my thoughts. For me, death is not an abstract concept but a reality that looms large in my future.Nathaniel Dye is a teacher, musician and founder of bowelcancerbucketlist.comDo 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...

Children like me, abused under the guise of liberation', have been left out of narratives about spiritual communes - until nowIn 1978, when I was nine years old, I unexpectedly moved to India with my free-spirited mother, who had recently become a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (later known as Osho). Like others of her generation, she was swept up in the allure of Rajneesh's promises: enlightenment, freedom and belonging. Osho denounced traditional religion, offering a new path to self-liberation through cathartic meditations and therapy groups, communal living and free love. In the west, they called Osho the sex guru".Shortly after our arrival at Rajneesh's ashram, I was initiated into the community and the guru gave me a new name: Ma Prem Sarito. I felt as if I now belonged, and being in the ashram was an exhilarating adventure, a portal to a world where normal boundaries dissolved. School became a distant memory. The lush gardens and nooks and crannies of the ashram were transformed into a playground where my friends and I roamed freely, liberated from structure and rules. My mother, like many other parents, embraced Rajneesh's philosophy that children belonged not to their biological parents but to the collective. Before long, I moved into the ashram and rarely interacted with my mother. Continue reading...

Trump's team reportedly ask for extraordinary' military protections, while ally calls for armed guards to be sent to polls and Harris lands her second US Vogue cover Continue reading...

Families and their pets have been rescued by emergency services after Hurricane Milton brought widespread flooding across parts of Florida. Farm animals, such as pigs, donkeys and goats have also been helped to safety. Millions of Floridians began a long and difficult recovery after the state's second major hurricane in two weeks

Sixteen people killed by storm but state spared worst-case scenario' as accusations fly between political candidatesJoe Biden said on Friday that experts estimate that Hurricane Milton caused a staggering $50bn in damage. The US president is scheduled to travel to Florida on Sunday to visit areas where the huge storm roared across the state after making landfall late on Wednesday.Authorities were urgently assessing the aftermath of the deadly storm, which spawned tornadoes before slamming into central Florida and then tearing about 175 miles (280km) across land, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, killing people, destroying homes and blocking streets with downed power lines, fallen trees and debris. Continue reading...

Driver and passenger arrested after search of car in Portland turns up fentanyl, methamphetamine, cash and loaded gunPolice officers in Portland, Oregon, stopped a car Tuesday night when they noticed a bag inside that said Definitely not a bag full of drugs". It, in fact, was - full of drugs: 79 blue fentanyl pills, three fake oxycodone tablets and 230g of methamphetamine, to be exact.Officers pulled over a man and a woman who were driving a stolen car near the intersection of SE 162nd Avenue and Division, according to the Portland police bureau. Inside the car, officers noticed that the Ford Taurus's ignition had been visibly tampered with - and spotted baggies of drugs. Continue reading...

Cole Bridges pleaded guilty to terrorism charges last year after communicating online with an undercover FBI employeeA US soldier was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison for attempting to help the Islamic State murder troops.The sentencing of Cole Bridges, 24, came after his 14 June 2023 guilty plea to terrorism charges. Continue reading...

Officials call death of Patrick Weier, 46, Colorado tragedy' but police say they do not know what caused his deathThe person killed Thursday during an elevator malfunction at a former Colorado gold mine - which left 23 stranded underground - worked as a tour guide at the site, authorities said.Authorities identified 46-year-old Patrick Weier of Victor, Colorado, as the victim who died. Weier's survivors include a seven-year-old son, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can read our latest story hereAs he wrapped up his remarks, Walz took a swing at Project 2025, the rightwing blueprint to remake the US government authored by people in Donald Trump's orbit.I've also, at times, said Donald Trump doesn't have a plan - concept of a plan, at times. That wasn't exactly correct. He does have a plan. It's called Project 2025," Walz said.This thing is a damn nightmare. His project 2025 would repeal the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act - that would threaten hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing jobs, including those right here in Michigan. The ones that JD Vance said, those 650 jobs were table scraps, good-paying union jobs building America, and those are table scraps. He would establish, and every single economist said so, a national sales tax on everything from groceries to prescription drugs.And the estimates is it would cost each and every one of you $4,000 he says those tariffs that Trump will pay, or that China will pay, Trump's tariffs - you're going to pay them. That's the way it always works.Let me tell you exactly what vice-president Harris and I will do. We're going to create an American forward strategy for manufacturing, one that builds on the historic investments, bipartisan infrastructure, law, Chips act, science act, Inflation Reduction Act, creating all kinds of new opportunities, ones that empowers American workers, revitalizes manufacturing communities, leads us into an industries of the future and keep out innovating and out competing the rest of the world.We never fear the future. You build the future, and this gives us the opportunity to do it. Continue reading...

Republican nominee holds rally in Aurora, Colorado, and exploits swirl of local rumors to push anti-immigrant planDonald Trump intensified his politics of nativism and xenophobia on Friday by announcing a sweeping plan to deport Venezuelans he claimed have infected" a once-peaceful city in Colorado.The Republican presidential nominee held a campaign rally in Aurora on a stage adorned with posters displaying mugshots of people in prison-orange uniforms with descriptions including illegal immigrant gang members from Venezuela". Continue reading...

Embattled US aerospace giant also announces plans to delay first delivery of 777X commercial jetliner by a yearBoeing is cutting 17,000 jobs to align with our financial reality" as the beleaguered aerospace giant grapples with a sweeping strike and the persisting fallout from its latest safety crisis.The American firm also announced plans to delay the first delivery of its 777X commercial jetliner by a year, and braced investors for substantial" new losses in its struggling defense business. Continue reading...

Benjamin Netanyahu has humiliated Biden's America and seems to anticipate Trump's return, but what would that mean for Israel?The year since the 7 October attack has demonstrated just how densely intertwined US presidential politics is with the trajectory of events in the Middle East. Each exerts a gravitational pull on the other, often in ways that are damaging for both.Foreign policy rarely matters much in US presidential elections, but this year could be an exception. In a contest likely to be decided by small margins in a handful of states, the fallout from the conflicts in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, with a potential war with Iran looming, could have a significant impact on Kamala Harris's prospects. Continue reading...

Team reportedly asks Secret Service for dramatic array of protections, including military aircraft and vehiclesDonald Trump's team has asked for officials to provide him with a dramatic array of military protections as the presidential campaign wraps, including travel in military aircraft and vehicles, according to reports.Trump's campaign has also requested ramped-up flight restrictions around his residences and rallies, and ballistic glass pre-positioned in seven battleground states" for his team's use, the Washington Post reported, citing internal emails and sources familiar with the requests. The New York Times first reported on these requests. Continue reading...

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Trump ally and election denier declares readiness to fight it out' to ensure a Republican presidential victoryThe longtime Donald Trump ally and friend Roger Stone said Republicans should send armed guards" to the polls in November to ensure a Trump victory, according to video footage by an undercover journalist.The video, first published by Rolling Stone, shows an embittered Stone, still angry about the 2020 election and ready to fight in 2024. Stone described the former US president's legal strategy of constant litigation to purge voter rolls in swing states. Continue reading...

Only about one-third of homes in Florida's flood zones are covered by insurance. Residents say the state should provide every incentive' to obtain itMany of the million-dollar houses lining South Dundee Street in Tampa's Sunset Park Isles neighborhood appeared to be hosting one huge outdoor garage sale this week.Piles of chairs, tables, mattresses, bookshelves, chests of drawers, sofas and other household items sat unattended in the gathering dusk on Thursday evening - but these articles bore no price tags. They had been irreparably damaged by the massive storm surge that engulfed much of south Tampa in late September when Hurricane Helene barreled past the Tampa/St Petersburg metropolitan area, and their owners had stockpiled the discarded furniture for retrieval by sanitation workers. Continue reading...

Federal watchdog says FAA does not have effective system to oversee Boeing's manufacturing facilitiesA federal watchdog on Friday criticized the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of Boeing airplane production, saying it did not have an effective system to oversee the US plane maker's individual manufacturing facilities.The transportation department's office of inspector general said in a report the FAA's current audit processes are not comprehensive enough to adequately identify key discrepancies and noncompliances within the Boeing production line" and said the FAA has not addressed longstanding weaknesses in Boeing's oversight of suppliers despite long-known risks. Continue reading...

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz denounced Donald Trump's record on supporting US manufacturing during a campaign appearance in the battleground state of Michigan. Walz defended Detroit from the insult Trump made on Thursday, accusing him of manufacturing bullshit'.

There's a war that's killing tens of thousands, but it's not getting the attention it deserves. The reasons why are as complex as the conflict itselfRemember when we said that Black Lives Matter? We didn't mean it. That much is clear now, as the world watches a war that is killing tens of thousands, that has displaced more than 10 million and which is threatening to devour 13 million more through famine - and barely gives it a glance. Most of those are Black lives and it could not be more obvious that, to an indifferent world, they don't matter at all.Don't be too hard on yourself if you haven't yet guessed which conflict, and project of ethnic cleansing, I'm speaking of. With a few honourable exceptions, it's barely covered on TV, on the radio or in the papers. Most politicians never mention it. There are no mass demonstrations on the streets, no hashtags on social media. Instead, the war in Sudan is out of sight and out of mind - for reasons that say a little about Africa and much more about everyone else.Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Lengthy profile offers little new on policy but Annie Leibovitz photo unlikely to stir up drama of previous cover

The storm has created a crisis within a crisis for families in North Carolina who need safe infant food - but some areas may not properly recover for monthsIn the days leading up to Hurricane Helene's arrival in North Carolina, Ziska Maria tried to stock up on her five-month-old son's formula in nearby stores, but none had it. We were like, okay, we'll just get it after [the storm],'" says Maria, who lives in Black Mountain with her partner, three-year-old and infant.But after the morning of 27 September, the family quickly realized they wouldn't be making grocery runs anytime soon. We didn't have water, we didn't have power, we didn't have cell reception, we didn't have internet, all the roads were blocked and we couldn't leave," says Maria. Continue reading...

Remember when the existence of natural disasters wasn't up for debate'? It seems like a long time ago nowI increasingly wonder why Elon Musk is bothering trying to establish himself on Mars, and not just because it looks like a complete dump up there. (Seriously, if you think that's beautiful, I have around a hundred thousand disused quarries I'd love to show you right here on Earth.) Watching Hurricane Milton play out on Musk's platform and elsewhere cemented the notion that the goal of being on another planet along with millions of people had already occurred. The only problem is that this whole other planet is here, sharing meatspace with what we used to call reality".Once upon a time, relatively recently in the scheme of things, a looming natural disaster would have felt like a fairly ineluctable fact. You couldn't debate" a natural disaster any more than you could disagree with gravity. There is a point, we used to say, where you really can't argue with reality. There is a point where shit gets real. But is there, any more? Certainly that point has receded much further over a still-darkening horizon than we might even have imagined back in, say, 2016, when people were warning of attempts to destroy the very notion of shared reality. In fact, it was already receding back in 2004, when a Bush administration official (widely believed to be Karl Rove) spoke disparagingly of what they called the reality-based community".Marina Hyde is a Guardian columnistA year in Westminster: John Crace, Marina Hyde and Pippa Crerar. On Tuesday 3 December, join Crace, Hyde and Crerar as they look back at a political year like no other, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at guardian.live Continue reading...