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Former president said he was the best friend Israel has ever had' and attacked Biden's foreign policy at Florida event on WednesdayDonald Trump used the war in Israel to test new lines of attack against Joe Biden at a Republican event on Wednesday in Palm Beach, as his campaign sought to weaponize for political gain the deepening conflict that could still be raging around the time of the 2024 presidential election.The former president's extended remarks on Israel, at an event hosted by the longtime pro-Trump group Club 47, provided a clear insight into Trump's intention to wield the war as a cudgel against Biden on touchstone foreign policy issues. Continue reading...

Alan Weber was reportedly screaming and breaking items inside a Long Island home before confronting police while wearing a maskA police officer fatally shot a man who charged at authorities with two swords on Long Island, New York, and the police commissioner said Wednesday that the shooting appeared to be justified.Alan Weber, 54, was pronounced dead at a hospital after Tuesday night's shooting in Elwood. Continue reading...

US president Joe Biden says he would argue that the Hamas attack on Israel was 'the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust', and called the militants' actions 'A campaign of pure cruelty ... against the Jewish people'. Biden also warned Iran to be careful,' adding that the US is sending more military assistance to help Israel fight Hamas militants.

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Five Democrats join Republicans in calls to renege on agreement unless it is proved country wasn't involved in assaultJoe Biden is under pressure from fellow Democrats to refreeze $6bn of Iranian oil revenues released last month as part of a prisoner exchange deal amid accusations that Iran played a key role in last weekend's deadly attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.Five Democratic senators up for re-election next year have joined Republican calls for the US president to effectively renege on the agreement that led to the release of five Americans held captive by Iran unless it is proved that the country's theocratic regime was not involved in Saturday's assault, which killed more than 1,000 Israelis. Continue reading...

US president has pledged to give new military assistance to Israel and said the attack by Hamas on Saturday was the 'deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust'. Speaking at a Jewish community event in Washington DC, Biden reiterated that he backed Israel but also called on Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'operate by the rules of war'. At least 1,100 Israelis have died since Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel on Saturday, and at least 1,100 Palestinians were killed in Israel's retaliation

Former Alameda Research CEO describes in teary testimony how her ex-boyfriend Sam Bankman-Fried led her to commit fraudOn the sixth day of Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial, Caroline Ellison, his ex-girlfriend and colleague, described how relief washed over her when the FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed.Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, the hedge fund associated with the company, broke into tears as she described FTX's final days in testimony Wednesday. She said that, during last year's cryptocurrency crash, Bankman-Fried directed her to illegally appropriate FTX customers' money and lie to its many lenders. Continue reading...

New York lawmakers aim to expel the accused fraudster, who faces new charges under a superseding federal indictmentNew York Republicans in the US House on Wednesday moved to expel one of their own: George Santos, the serial fabulist and accused fraudster who faces new charges under a superseding federal indictment.Today, I'll be introducing an expulsion resolution to rid the People's House of fraudster George Santos," the GOP congressman Anthony D'Esposito said in a post on social media. Continue reading...

Court hears redistricting case after lower court ruled Republicans had unlawfully moved 30,000 votes out of a congressional districtThe supreme court's conservative majority appeared skeptical on Wednesday that South Carolina Republicans discriminated against Black voters when it redrew one of the state's congressional districts to make it friendlier to the GOP.During two-hours of oral argument on Wednesday, the court's conservative justices aggressively poked holes in a three-judge panel's ruling earlier this year finding that Republicans had unlawfully moved around 30,000 Republican voters out of South Carolina's first congressional district to make it more Republican. Chief Justice John Roberts, a key swing vote on the court, seemed unconvinced by the evidence the lower court had accepted, saying at one point the challengers were asking the court to embrace arguments that would be breaking new ground in our voting rights jurisdprudence". Continue reading...

Scalise defeats Jim Jordan by 113 votes to 99 but falls short of threshold needed to be elected speaker on House floorHouse Republicans nominated Steve Scalise to be the next speaker on Wednesday, a week after the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy. But a handful of objections to Scalise's nomination left House Republicans unable to move to a final floor vote, making it unclear when a new speaker might be elected.By a vote of 113 to 99, Scalise, currently the second-ranking House Republican, defeated a challenge from congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the judiciary committee and a far-right firebrand. Continue reading...

Celestial display will travel through eight states, where reservations and searches for flights are increasingAn annular eclipse will pass from Oregon to Texas on Saturday, offering millions of people the opportunity to witness a spectacular ring of fire" in the skies. As cities in the path are bracing for a flock of visitors this weekend, universities, parks, museums and planetariums are preparing to host and educate eager viewers.When the moon is farthest from Earth, an annular solar eclipse takes place. As it passes the sun, the moon does not block it entirely and instead leaves the sun's bright, outer edges visible, forming a fiery ring, or annulus, around the moon.This article was amended on 11 October 2023 to correct the number of annular eclipses astronomer Richard Rand has experienced. He has seen two and this one will be his third. Continue reading...

The weekend's devastating attacks in southern Israel and the relentless bombardment of Gaza have left millions traumatisedThe shock and horror of the massacres by Hamas in southern Israel have only intensified as the days have gone by and the full extent of the violence has emerged. Young revellers slaughtered as they fled a music festival; babies murdered with their parents; the very young and old taken hostage. This atrocity may not be an existential moment for the state of Israel, as the Yom Kippur war appeared to be 50 years ago. But for Israelis, and for Jews worldwide, their belief in a homeland where they could be safe after centuries of antisemitic persecution lies in tatters. The death toll stands at more than 1,200: Not since the Holocaust have so many Jews been killed on one day," said Israel's president, Isaac Herzog.Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government of extremists has failed to keep its contract with the people. Israelis are stunned that the army took so long to arrive. An estimated 150 hostages are still held. Yet Haaretz reports that the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, urged that the country strike Hamas brutally, and not take the issue of the captives into account too much". This is the kind of partner on whom Mr Netanyahu still depends. While his political rival Benny Gantz has now joined an emergency national government, he is unlikely to be a moderating voice. Continue reading...

Lawsuit comes after Tim Ballard stepped down as head of organization over similar claims in AugustFive Utah residents have filed a lawsuit alleging that Tim Ballard, the former head of an anti-sex trafficking group, sexually assaulted and emotionally abused women employed to take part in the organization's efforts to recuse victims of sex trafficking.The lawsuit, filed in Salt Lake County, Utah, names Ballard, Operation Underground Railroad, the organization he headed until he stepped down in August over similar claims, as well as its board members, as defendants. Continue reading...

Victorious bear who showed dominant performance' and skill and toughness' beat competition from 11 other bears in AlaskaA large female bear, described as boasting a combination of skill and toughness", has been crowned the winner of Fat Bear Week, the annual competition to see which Alaskan bears can pack on the most pounds before hibernation season.The victorious bear, called 128 Grazer, beat competition from 11 other bears in Katmai national park, Alaska, to clinch the title in an online vote. Continue reading...

Gabrielle Hanson fails to denounce white supremacist hate group Tennessee Active Club, whose members appeared at forumA candidate running for mayor in Franklin, Tennessee, has been accused by the members of the city council of refusing to condemn actual, literal Nazis".Gabrielle Hanson was at a candidates' forum on 2 October when she received a visit by members of the Tennessee Active Club, a hate group known for promoting white nationalism. Members of the council, referred to as aldermen in Franklin, rebuked Hanson for enabling such hate groups, according to local news station WTVF. Continue reading...

Christopher Rufo's Twitter space discussed conservatives cooperating with extremists to destroy the power of the left'Conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who is a close ally of Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, hosted a social media debate in which one participant argued that conservatives should cooperate with a hypothetical white nationalist dictator in order to destroy the power of the left".Rufo, a Manhattan Institute fellow who has been a hugely influential figure in DeSantis' culture war policies in Florida, did not disagree with the participant's sentiments. Instead he commended speakers for their thoughtful points" and presenting the discussion as a model for engagement with the dissident right".This article was updated on 11 October 2023 to include a response from Christopher Rufo. Continue reading...

Some continue to minimize massacres of Israeli civilians, and some even seem to celebrate them - this only fuels militant ZionismI spent the evening in candlelight and tears with a dear friend who just learned that a close family member was among those massacred in Israel. I won't name the kibbutz to protect her privacy but yes, it was unequivocally a massacre.We tried to explain the killing of this family member - a civilian with two kids - to our kids. We tried to do it in a way that would not fill their young hearts with fear and hatred for the people who committed the crime. That was hard enough, but possible. Harder for us adults is the fact that some of our supposed comrades on the left continue to minimize massacres of Israeli civilians, and some even seem to celebrate them, as if doing so proves their bad-ass anti-Zionism.Naomi Klein is a Guardian US columnist and contributing writer. She is the professor of climate justice and co-director of the Centre for Climate Justice at the University of British Columbia. Her latest book Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World was published in September Continue reading...

Former athletes say Jordan, as assistant coach, ignored sexual abuse at university and does not deserve to be House speaker'Former Ohio State wrestlers who accuse Jim Jordan of ignoring sexual abuse when he was a coach said the hard-right Republican should not be elected speaker of the US House.Do you really want a guy in that job who chose not to stand up for his guys?" Mike Schyck, one of hundreds of wrestlers who say they were assaulted by a team doctor, told NBC News. Is that the kind of character trait you want for a House speaker?" Continue reading...

In apparent nod to Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, Nancy Mace says I'm wearing the scarlet letter ...after being demonized for my vote'Nancy Mace, a Republican member of Congress who was a key vote in ousting Kevin McCarthy as House of Representatives speaker, has donned a white T-shirt with a red letter A" on it to symbolize her being demonized" for her decision.I'm wearing the scarlet letter after the week I just had, being a woman up here, and being demonized for my vote and for my voice," Mace told reporters on Tuesday, adding: I will do the right thing every single time, no matter the consequences." Continue reading...

Jedidiah Murphy, 48, was killed by the state for the 2000 killing of 80-year-old Bertie Lee Cunningham during a carjackingA Texas man who unsuccessfully challenged the safety of the state's lethal injection drugs and raised questions about evidence used to persuade a jury to sentence him to death for killing an elderly woman decades ago was executed late on Tuesday.Jedidiah Murphy, 48, was pronounced dead after an injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the October 2000 fatal shooting of 80-year-old Bertie Lee Cunningham of the Dallas suburb of Garland. Cunningham was killed during a carjacking. Continue reading...

If the Israeli government responds to this moment like George W Bush, it will soon follow the route of his government from global sympathy to global outrageHamas's appalling attack on Israeli civilians has been widely described as the country's 9/11 moment". It is an appropriate description of such wanton cruelty. But the analogy carries a cautionary note as well.The US government lost the world's sympathy, and the moral high ground, when its response to 9/11 degenerated into a highly abusive war in Iraq, systematic torture, and endless detention without trial in Guantanamo. The Israeli government should be careful not to replicate this path to opprobrium. Indeed, such an abusive response may be exactly what Hamas wanted to provoke. Continue reading...

As the House prepares to choose a new speaker in the coming days, here's who you need to know aboutAfter Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted last week, the position of House speaker remains open. As the House prepares to choose a new speaker in the coming days, here are the main players to know about. Continue reading...

The speaker race - featuring leading candidates who tried to overturn the 2020 election - is setting of alarms for the future of democracyThe Republican scramble to find a speaker to lead the US House hasn't just brought dysfunction and a leadership vacuum to Congress' lower chamber - it's also setting off alarm bells for the future of US democracy.The speakership battle underscores how Republicans who full-throated embraced election denialism continue to have access to positions of power. It also serves as a startling example of how a small minority of members are able to wield considerable power in a congressional system with few competitive races and little incentive to work within the party structure. Continue reading...

President says Hamas does not represent legitimate aspirations' of Palestinian people and says US stands with' Israel. Plus, the Chinese women shaking off taboos around divorce

From the beginning of this violent nightmare, many Republicans have seemed more interested in exploiting the situation politicallyThis week the eyes of the world have been fixed on the horrific panorama of violence in the Middle East. Once all of the dead are counted, it is likely that nearly as many Israelis will have died in a single day as in the entire second intifada, which lasted from 2000 to 2005. The death toll is also growing in Gaza, with no telling how high it may reach. The United States has dispatched naval forces to the region amid fears that the conflict may spiral to include Hezbollah or even Iran, an eventuality which could see the US join the fighting directly. The region is a tinderbox - and one wrong move could set it ablaze.In the US, steady and sober leadership is needed. Americans may be among those held hostage in Gaza, and the risk of a wider war is ever present. Now is not the time for partisan point-scoring. Unity shouldn't mean a stifling consensus - there's plenty of room for discussion about what the best American response to the situation should be - but it should mean agreement around basic norms of constructive debate and decision-making. This should also be a time in which everyone can agree that it's important that the US government is able to perform its basic functions smoothly, both to ensure good decisions are made and that lives are protected. Continue reading...

Biden and Zelenskiy support a war they say was unprovoked' but a defenseless population will pay for media misinformationI always dread watching US news coverage of wars, and now is no exception. After Hamas's deadly attacks in Israel and Israel's hellish bombardment of Gaza, I checked in on MSNBC. Before long, I heard one of their reporters talk about the violent history between these two nations" - as if Palestine were a country - and had to turn off the TV to get a break. Palestine is not a country. That's the whole point. Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Israel all live under various regimes of organized discrimination and oppression, much of which makes life nearly unlivable, and if the US media can't even frame the issue correctly, what use is there in even covering it?It's not just laziness either. The reflexive identification with Israel, by both US media professionals and politicians, always obscures the fuller picture of what's happening between Israel and the Palestinians. On 7 October, the National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated that the US unequivocally condemns the unprovoked attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israeli civilians". Every one of us must stand up and denounce the killing of every civilian, Israeli or Palestinian or otherwise. But Watson's use of the word unprovoked" is doing a lot of work here.Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of the award-winning books How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America and This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror. He is a professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. He is a contributing opinion writer at the Guardian US Continue reading...

Everyone wants to turn their passion into their profession - or at least a profitable side-hustle. I certainly did. But what if AI can do it better or more cheaply?A comment from Zadie Smith caught my attention this week. Asked whether she had ever considered recording an album (she is known among her friends to be a talented singer), the novelist responded: I have a dream of having a Cafe Carlyle residency in New York in my 80s. Just me, in a muumuu, singing jazz standards interspersed with literary anecdotes."Here she is at the height of her success dreaming of a career Plan B just like the rest of us! When famous people are asked about their possible alternative professions, their answers are sometimes borderline bonkers. Justin Bieber has said he'd like to be an astronaut, Taylor Swift either an interior designer or a detective" and Barbie star Margot Robbie a trapeze artist (though in fairness she did attend circus school as a child).Anita Chaudhuri is a freelance journalist and photographer

College goers criticize California State University's announcement of increased tuition after a decade of stable costsWhen trustees at California State University (Cal State or CSU), one of the nation's largest public university systems, decided to raise tuition, Crystal Chavira-Ordunez worried not only about their future but also their siblings' future.Chavira-Ordunez, a first-generation Mexican American, will be the first in their family to graduate from Cal State East Bay after transferring from a community college in the fall of 2022. To make life more manageable, they worked three jobs and took out loans to afford their housing in one of the most expensive areas in the country. Continue reading...

We lack water, electricity, fuel, and our besieged services are staggering under the massive numbers of injured. No one is safe

The Eagles are one of two 5-0 teams in the NFL for many different reasons. One of the biggest is D'Andre Swift, a Philly native who has refurbished his reputation as a workhorsePretty much any NFL running back would gain chunks of yardage with help from the Philadelphia Eagles offensive line, the best in the business (no matter what Miami and San Francisco fans say). Still, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman keeps seeking better men to lug that ol' pigskin.On the last day of the NFL draft in April, he swung a trade with the Detroit Lions for D'Andre Swift, a Philly native and former second-round draft pick whose reputation, aided by the Hard Knocks soap opera, had been trashed. Continue reading...

Benjamin Netanyahu stoked this volcano and was powerless to stop it exploding. For the sake of those who have died, we need to heed the call for peaceI was lost for words for a few days. Friends from Britain and elsewhere shared concern and asked for information and context. I am not used to having my words fail me, but they did this time. I read incisive articles in Hebrew from wiser friends. I just wanted to crawl under a rock and cry. Today, the words finally came.I was in Jerusalem on Friday night, and my niece Maya, 11, wanted to host me for the night in her newly decorated bedroom, across from my mother's flat. I woke up in the early morning to the sound of an alarm. Maya pulled a face and waved her hand dismissively but then, almost automatically, got up and led the way to the safe space" on the stairs, where my family, with the other neighbours in the eight-floor building, gathered, and we waited for the explosion sound that told us we could go back to the flat. It happened six more times throughout the morning. Continue reading...

Republican who lost state governor's race but never conceded has challenged her defeat in court, so far unsuccessfullyKari Lake, the Republican candidate who lost the race for Arizona governor but never conceded her loss, announced a run for US Senate in the western state Tuesday.A former TV news anchor, Lake made her move into politics by making repeated false claims about elections. She aligned closely with former president Donald Trump and has been floated as a potential running mate for Trump, who once praised Lake for her ability to constantly bring up election fraud. Continue reading...

Party members will decide between Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan on Wednesday by secret ballotProminent Republican party members Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan made their pitches for the powerful role of speaker of the US House of Representatives on Tuesday amid mounting pressure from a war in the Middle East and another looming government shutdown. Lawmakers exiting a closed-door forum said neither Scalise, the House majority leader, nor Jordan, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, will have a clear advantage when Republicans begin to vote for a nominee by secret ballot on Wednesday.We've got two good leaders within our party, with good perspectives on where the party needs to go and an understanding and an emphasis on reuniting the party," Mike Garcia told reporters. But before voting for a candidate on Wednesday, Republicans will have to decide whether to keep internal disagreements behind closed doors by requiring any nominee to win 217 Republican votes, enough to elect the next speaker on the House floor over Democratic opposition. Current rules require only a simple majority. The first order of business is figuring out a rules change that works for the conference," said congresswoman Kat Cammack. Continue reading...

New 23-count indictment accuses Republican congressman of charging contributors' credit cards to fund his bank accountFederal prosecutors added major allegations to the indictment charging the House Republican George Santos with fraud and lying about his campaign finance disclosures, presenting evidence that he stole donors' identities and charged thousands of dollars to their credit cards without their knowledge.The new charges, revealed in a superseding indictment returned on Tuesday by a grand jury in New York, increases the legal peril for the embattled congressman, given that his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, last week pleaded guilty to defrauding the United States. Continue reading...

In a televised speech the US president said Hamas does not represent the legitimate aspirations' of Palestinian people and says the US stands with Israel'. Confirming that some US citizens are part of the many currently being held hostage, Joe Biden called the assault by Hamas militants that more than 1,000 people dead an 'act of sheer evil'

President in TV speech says Hamas does not represent legitimate aspirations' of Palestinian people and says US stands with Israel'

In plea deal, Wenheng Thomas' Zhao admits providing information on exercises, operational orders and blueprintsA US navy sailor pleaded guilty on Tuesday to accepting nearly $15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for photographs of unclassified private US military information, according to court papers.Petty Officer Wenheng Thomas" Zhao, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and receiving a bribe, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Dorothy Hoffner passed away in senior community before Guinness Records could certify her as world's oldest skydiverDorothy Hoffner, a 104-year-old Chicago woman whose recent skydive could see her certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest person to ever jump from a plane, has died.Hoffner's close friend, Joe Conant, said she was found dead Monday morning by staff at the Brookdale Lake View senior living community. Conant said Hoffner apparently died in her sleep on Sunday night. Continue reading...

Caroline Ellison, who dated Bankman-Fried for years, tells court that he gave the orders to commit $10bn in fraudOn the fifth day of Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud trial, the prosecution's star witness named the FTX founder as the ringleader of an alleged $10bn fraud scheme at the cryptocurrency exchange and its associated hedge fund.While you were working at Alameda, did you commit any crimes?" a prosecutor asked Caroline Ellison. Continue reading...

Unnamed driver who crashed car into consulate building was shot by police and later died in hospitalThe White House has denounced the violent incident at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco that began with a car crashing into the building and ended with police shooting the driver, who later died at a hospital.We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States," Adrienne Watson, White House National Security Council spokeswoman, to the Associated Press. Continue reading...

US congresswoman says it should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it' and calls for urgent ceasefireCriticising a pro-Palestinian rally held in Times Square in New York City in the aftermath of Hamas attacks on Israel which left hundreds dead, the progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: It should not be hard to shut down hatred and antisemitism where we see it."The attacks, including the killing of at least 260 concertgoers and the taking of hostages, sparked a new war between Israel and Hamas. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes killed hundreds. By Tuesday, the Israeli death toll approached 1,000. Continue reading...

State prohibits the pseudoscientific diagnosis authorities have frequently cited to justify killings at hands of law enforcementCalifornia has become the first state to ban the use of excited delirium" as a cause of death, prohibiting the pseudoscientific diagnosis that authorities have frequently cited to justify killings at the hands of law enforcement.Excited delirium - a term rejected by major medical groups, including the American Medical Association - suggests that people can develop superhuman strength" due to drug use. Medical examiners and coroners have argued that the condition caused victims of brutal police force to struggle and collapse from cardiac arrest, essentially excusing the role of officers who were holding them down, choking or suffocating them. Continue reading...

Prisoners in Arkansas settle lawsuit for $2,000 each after accusing Washington county detention center of medical experimentation'The four Arkansas prisoners who sued their jail over allegations they knowingly prescribed them ivermectin to treat Covid without consent have settled the dispute for $2,000 each.The quartet previously said they were administered the drug as a form of medical experimentation" without prior informed consent or knowledge of the drug's contents and potential side effects. Instead, the doctor at the jail told them they received vitamins, antibiotics, and/or steroids". Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on Israel-Hamas war, you can read our live coverage here.Special counsel for the federal January 6 case has also requested that Trump be restricted from doing juror research and publishing the identities of jurors, the Guardian's Hugo Lowell reports.The request is, in part, because of Trump's previous use of social media to attack others", argued the special counsel. Continue reading...

Republican says party is a train wreck' after Matt Gaetz initiates removal of Kevin McCarthy from House speakerThe former Maryland governor Larry Hogan said he had not ruled out a presidential run, as he contemplated the train wreck" his Republican party had become amid infighting in Congress and the ascendancy in primary polling of the 91-times criminally charged Donald Trump.Hogan also called the Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, the instigator of last week's historic removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the US House, a cancer on the party and on the Congress". Continue reading...

Prosecutors questioned former chief financial officer about the value of Trump's triplex apartment in Trump TowerThe former former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization was grilled over discrepancies in financial statements as the second week of Donald Trump's fraud trial kicked off in New York.Prosecutors questioned Allen Weisselberg, who worked at the company for decades, about whether the Trump Organization was aware of inconsistencies between documents. The New York attorney general's office has been trying to prove that Weisselberg and others at the Trump Organization knowingly inflated the value of Trump's assets to boost his net worth. Continue reading...