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In the first of a new series, we look at how November’s midterm elections could be an inflection point as election deniers seek to take control of the vote counting processItem number 28 on the agenda for the March meeting of the county commission in rural southern Nevada seemed benign enough. But by the end of the hour-and-45-minute presentation Sandra Merlino, the longtime local clerk, felt sickened.One by one, a band of activists took to the podium to argue that Nye county should switch from electronic ballots to paper ones in forthcoming elections. They were led by Jim Marchant, a Las Vegas businessman who lost a 2020 House race but refused to concede, alleging fraud. He argued that the county couldn’t trust its electronic election equipment and that it should switch to a system in which it only used paper ballots and counted those ballots by hand. Continue reading...

Georgia in focus: A fragile coalition around Atlanta helped shift the state’s politics, but as the midterms loom the cracks are showing“Very normal” is how Rupal Vaishnav describes his experience as an entrenched resident of Atlanta. He moved to the city at the age of nine, after immigrating to the US from India in the late 1970s. When his parents settled in Clayton county – a suburb south of downtown that’s now home to the world’s busiest airport – it was still largely populated by white families living in 60s-era bungalows; before that, it was the fictional setting for Gone With the Wind.Vaishnav was one of two Indian kids in school – the other was his brother – and a strict vegetarian who spoke Gujarati at home. But he joined the school’s air force junior reserves, studied mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech and earned his law degree from Georgia State. For the past five years, he’s worked in the local district attorney’s office and this year he ran to be a state judge in Forsyth county, once infamous for its lynchings. “The biggest thing I struggled with growing up and that I still see in my son are the identity conflicts,” Vaishnav says, now 50. “Are you American? Are you Indian? You have to get comfortable knowing the two cultures. It’s a balancing act that you get better at over time.” Continue reading...

The trial would give law enforcement access to live footage by consenting residents, a departure from the city’s previous stanceLast week San Francisco city leaders approved a 15-month pilot allowing police to monitor live footage from surveillance cameras owned by consenting businesses and civilians without a warrant.The 7-4 decision by the San Francisco board of supervisors was a major loss for a broad coalition of civil liberties groups that had argued the move would give police unprecedented surveillance powers. It also seemingly marked a departure from the progressive stance on surveillance the city’s leadership had previously maintained. Continue reading...

The 33-year-old has been trying to regain his fitness in the run-up to the World Cup. But he is yet to complete a full 90 minutes for LAFCLess than 20 minutes into only his second Major League Soccer game, Gareth Bale scored a goal that could have served as a mission statement. Introduced off the bench with Los Angeles FC already 1-0 up against Sporting KC, the Welsh winger, who needs game time to find his best form before the 2022 World Cup, produced a performance that grew sharper with every minute and culminated in a quick transition strike to kill the game at 2-0.Another typical Bale goal quickly followed in a 4-1 win over Real Salt Lake in which the 33-year-old strode past two opponents at the byline to fire home from a tight angle. Two goals in three appearances off the bench represented a good start to his MLS career, but Bale has struggled to build on this. In fact, he hasn’t scored another goal in the two months since his strike at Rio Tinto Stadium. Continue reading...

One minute everyone wants a bit of British and American culture; the next you’re on the phone desperately trying to get tickets for the latest K-pop sensationTwo weeks back, while the world was marvelling at the Great British Queue, I was in a queue of a different sort – Ticketmaster’s – trying to get tickets to the South Korean band Blackpink. There was a countdown, there was an app, I had Mr Z on the case trying a different date, and it was completely fruitless, thank God, because I had no idea when I started how expensive they were.My kid, along with my niece, is a “blink”, which means a fan of Blackpink, a girl band that US and UK media always call the most successful “South Korean” act of all time, omitting to mention that – as the most followed music act on YouTube – they really don’t need the national qualifier. The second most followed act, incidentally, is BTS – AKA the Bangtan Boys, also South Korean.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Republican candidate for US Senate in Georgia who has vehemently opposed abortion rights denies a media report he paid for an abortion for an anonymous former girlfriend in 2009, describing it as ‘a flat out lie’A Republican nominee for the US Senate, who strongly opposes abortion rights, has denied a Daily Beast report that he paid for an abortion for a former girlfriend in 2009. Herschel Walker, a former American football player who is running for the US Senate in Georgia, called the accusation a “flat-out lie” and says he will sue the news outlet for defamation.The Daily Beast published claims from a woman who says Walker paid for her abortion when they were dating. The woman, who was not named, claimed the allegation was supported by a receipt showing a $575 payment for the procedure, along with a get-well card, purportedly from Walker. Continue reading...

Data obtained by the Guardian shows at least 14 unhoused people froze to death in 2021, part of an overall surge in homeless deathsAt least 14 unhoused people froze to death on the streets of Los Angeles in 2021, new county data reveals, marking a sharp increase in reports of hypothermia fatalities and a grim sign of how dire the region’s homelessness catastrophe has become.Out of 14 deaths where the LA coroner’s office cited “cold exposure” and hypothermia last year, six victims died on sidewalks, according to public records obtained by the Guardian. Four died in hospitals, and the others were found at a bus bench, a parking lot, a dried-up riverbed and an abandoned building. The death toll is significantly higher than previous years, with six reported hypothermia deaths in 2020, nine in 2019, seven in 2018 and three in 2017. Continue reading...

Johnny Lauder swam through half-mile of flood waters in Naples, Florida, to pull his mother, a double amputee, out of her homeEvery time flood waters inundate a community, forecasters admonish their viewers not to swim through them because of countless perils potentially hidden under the surface – but Johnny Lauder ignored those warnings after Hurricane Ian’s storm surge trapped his mother, a double amputee, inside her Florida home.Lauder swam through a half-mile of neck-deep, rapidly moving, debris-filled flood waters that swamped his 84-year-old mother’s neighborhood in Naples to pull her out of the home that she couldn’t flee from ahead of Ian. Continue reading...

The solution by Camelback Family Planning ensures patients can access pills and treatment without breaking the lawA Phoenix abortion clinic has come up with a way for patients who can end their pregnancy using a pill to get the medication quickly without running afoul of a resurrected Arizona law that bans most abortions.Under the arrangement that began on Monday, patients will have an ultrasound in Arizona, get a prescription through a tele-health appointment with a California doctor and then have it mailed to a post office in a California border town for pickup, all for free. Continue reading...

Police are left baffled as to why the victims were targeted and have announced a $95,000 reward for information leading to an arrestA serial killer may have ambushed five men in central California separately in recent months, shooting them to death alone in the dark, and police are baffled as to why the victims were targeted.None of the men were robbed or beaten before their killings – which all took place within a radius of a few square miles – and none appear to have known each other, Stockton police officer Joseph Silva said on Monday. The shootings do not seem to be related to gangs or drugs. Continue reading...

Stewart Rhodes and four associates face the rare civil war-era charge of seditious conspiracy for attacking the US CapitolThe founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group and four associates planned an “armed rebellion” to keep Donald Trump in power after he lost the election, a federal prosecutor contended on Monday as the most serious case yet went to trial involving the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.Stewart Rhodes and his band of far-right militants were prepared to go to war to stop Joe Biden from becoming president, assistant US attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors. Continue reading...

Tillerson says he barely knew defendant Tom Barrack, who is accused of leaking intelligence to the United Arab EmiratesRex Tillerson, who served a turbulent term as secretary of state under former US president Donald Trump, was called as a government witness Monday at the trial of a Trump ally accused of leaking intelligence to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Tillerson testified that he barely knew the defendant, Tom Barrack, once the chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee, or anything about his relationship with the UAE. Continue reading...

Cable news has tried to smear ex-president ‘with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels’, says court filingDonald Trump has sued cable TV network CNN, claiming defamation and seeking punitive damages of $475m, according to a Florida court filing on Monday.The US cable news station has attempted to smear the former US president “with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler’,” Trump’s lawyers claimed. The lawsuit has been filed in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. Continue reading...

Planned Parenthood will debut the traveling facility later this year to meet increased demand from neighboring statesPlanned Parenthood officials on Monday announced plans for a mobile abortion clinic – a 37ft recreational vehicle that will stay in Illinois but travel close to the borders of adjoining states that have banned the procedure since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade earlier this year.The announcement came 100 days after the supreme court ruling that stripped away constitutional protections for abortions, allowing states to ban the procedure. Continue reading...

Stories of tragedy and delay emerge as search-and-rescue teams discover survivors and fatalitiesAs Florida continues grappling with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ian, the state’s death roll mounts and stories of tragedy and delay emerge.Over 81 people are confirmed dead and that toll is expected to rise. Rescue crews working brutal shifts – sometimes 20 hours long – are still combing through the wreckage, and flooding continues in many parts of the state. Continue reading...

Tactless jokes and half-arsed platitudes made up chancellor’s vapid Tory conference speechNot waving but drowning. Days like these are coming round with increasing frequency. Days when the sketch is little more than a transcription service. Days when there is no way to improve on the sheer madness of the Tory party. Its capacity for self-harm has become compulsive. An addiction almost. The only way most Conservatives can reassure themselves they are in government is when they are surrounded by chaos. Their lives – and ours – are unmanageable. Interest rates rising, the pound tanking, public infighting. Yup, that’s the way Tories know they are still relevant. Even if they are on life support.We all knew Liz Truss was going to be hopeless. That was a given. We just didn’t know she was going to be so hopeless quite so quickly. Or that she would be given so much enthusiastic support from the half-witted collective that make up her cabinet. Step forward Kamikwasi Kwarteng and the skin-crawlingly needy Chris Philp. Everyone’s favourite punchbag. We imagined Radon Liz might spread out the fun. A managed decline of her party. Instead she has gone for broke, daring the Tories to get rid of her little more than a month after electing her. She is the queen of the clusterfuck. The Trussterfuck. Continue reading...

Dominion Voting Systems accuses Mike Lindell, a prominent Trump supporter, of promoting baseless voter fraud claimsThe defamation lawsuit that voting machine company Dominion is pursuing against the MyPillow chief executive, Mike Lindell, can proceed after the US supreme court rejected the prominent Donald Trump supporter’s appeal aiming to block the case.Dominion Voting Systems in February 2021 filed a $1.3bn lawsuit accusing Lindell of promoting the debunked conspiracy theory that the company’s machines manipulated vote counts in favor of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election that ousted Trump from the Oval Office. Continue reading...

‘The first thing I saw was an airplane wheel at the end of our bed,’ says home’s resident, Jason Hoffman, who survived the crashA small plane crashed into a home in Minnesota over the weekend, killing all three people onboard but not injuring anyone at the house, according to state officials.The Hermantown Police Department said a plane crashed into the second floor of a local home on Saturday night before falling into the back yard of the property. Two people at the home weren’t hurt, according to the police department. Continue reading...

The Native American actor and activist who declined Brando’s Oscar for The Godfather has died aged 75, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a tweet on Sunday. Littlefeather had breast cancer.The Hollywood Reporter cited a statement from her caretaker that said she died at noon on Sunday at home in the northern California city of Novato, surrounded by loved ones

In red states, women’s options and speech are being dramatically constrained by the misogynist laws that have sprung into effect since the reversal of Roe v WadeOn 23 September, staff and faculty at the University of Idaho received a strange missive from their employer. In an email sent out by university lawyers, professors were told that in accordance with the state’s new abortion ban, they are now prohibited from a large swath of activities. They are no longer allowed to “promote abortion”. They are no longer allowed to “counsel in favor of abortion”. They are no longer allowed to tell students, or anyone else, where to get an abortion; they are no longer allowed to dispense emergency contraception, like Plan B. State law now forbids any state resources or state employees’ time from being spent “promoting” or “advertising” either abortion or “services for the prevention of conception”, so the university won’t be dispensing birth control any more, either.The email said that the university can continue to provide condoms, so long as those condoms are distributed for the purposes of preventing disease transmission only, not for birth control. Since when used correctly condoms prevent both pregnancy and disease transmission, how this change will affect condom availability on campus remains unclear. Those university employees who are found to violate this new gag rule, either by “promoting” abortion, or by dispensing contraception, risk felony convictions, prison time, fines, firing and permanent bans from all state employment.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

Perla Huerta was reportedly sent to Texas from Florida to fill planes chartered by DeSantis, offering gift cards to asylum seekersA former US army combat medic and counterintelligence agent allegedly solicited asylum seekers to join flights out of Texas to Martha’s Vineyard that Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, chartered.Perla Huerta was sent to Texas from Tampa to fill the planes at the center of the trips, which many have argued could amount to illegal human trafficking, a person briefed on an investigation into the case told the New York Times. Continue reading...

Democratic strategists have spent millions of dollars to aid extremists, on the theory they’ll be easier to defeat in the general election. We will all live with the consequencesAn alarming number of people employed as professional political strategists by the Democratic party do not seem to understand what “politics” actually means. If this sounds too cute to be true, think of it another way: if all of the professional political strategists employed by the Democratic party do understand what “politics” actually means, they are negligent and willing to do harmful things for short-term gain. Either way, it ain’t good.The most glaring manifestation of this in the current election cycle is the fact that Democrats across the country spent millions of dollars to boost the candidacies of right-wing Maga candidates in the Republican primaries, on the theory that those extremists would be easier to defeat in the general election.Hamilton Nolan is a writer based in New York Continue reading...

Residents in Florida and Carolinas face recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. Plus, why screaming can be good for youGood morning.The death toll from Hurricane Ian has passed 80 as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas face a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some officials faced criticism over their response to the storm.What has Fema said? US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell asked Americans yesterday “to make informed decisions” about rebuilding in vulnerable areas hit by natural disasters intensified by climate change. Continue reading...

The quarterback’s career stalled badly after a painful end to his time with the New York Jets. But he is thriving after replacing Russell Wilson in SeattleGeno Smith, for most of his career, had been synonymous with the NFL’s most piercing curse word: bust. Heading into this season, even as he had quietly shown maturation on the field, no one bought into the Seattle Seahawks as a competitive franchise. There were several reasons – sloppy game management and unknowns at corner, among them – but mostly it was rooted in few outside Seattle viewing Smith as a legitimate NFL quarterback.He continued to prove the doubters wrong on Sunday, leading the Seahawks to a 48-45 shootout win over Detroit on the road. Smith was electric. He annihilated the Lions’ poor defense, throwing dimes to DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Will Dissly. All told, Smith was 23-of-30 for 320 passing yards and two touchdowns. He also added 49 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Smith achieved back-to-back 300-yard passing games for the first time in his NFL career, a testament to Pete Carroll’s growing faith in his quarterback’s abilities. Continue reading...

Republicans running in next month’s elections cast their party as tough on crime, despite top party names’ legal scrapes“John Fetterman wants to release convicted murderers from prison,” warns the narrator, as a black-and-white photo of Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor is shown beside pictures of convicted killers. A caption adds darkly: “Socialist John Fetterman loves free stuff … but we can’t let him free murderers.”The campaign ad from Mehmet Oz, candidate for the US Senate in Pennsylvania, is vintage Republican strategy: casting a Democratic opponent as soft on crime. The party is zeroing in on fears over public safety ahead of November’s midterm elections in an effort to change the conversation from abortion, climate or democracy. Continue reading...

I have any number of things I’d love as a gift. But the men in my life either want for nothing – or want something I’d never think ofA shiver of dread traverses my spirit at this time of year, despite the golden-leafed glories of autumn: three men I know have birthdays in quick succession. Why are many – if #NotAllMen – so hard to find gifts for? Do they not have trinkets that catch their eye, stuff they hanker after and once-in-a-lifetime extravagances in open tabs on their phone to be examined, covetously, late at night? There are about 40 things I want at any given time: I can reel off a list sorted by price and ease of acquisition, from a bike bell to a “deathlayer” hen (“like having royalty visit your coop” according to the page I look at on my phone late at night).The men in my life don’t, apparently. My husband only wants technological items with specifications so abstruse they must be sourced via URLs he provides. My stepfather is a notorious ascetic whose current goal appears to be to liberate himself of all material possessions, becoming agitated if as much as an unexpected packet of digestives enters his life. And in 40 years of gift buying, I have only had two successes with my father: pictures of his grandchildren and a wildlife cam (both my husband’s idea). Continue reading...

Georgia in focus: Despite being hailed as architect of Georgia’s political transformation, Abrams is still an underdog in her rematch with Brian KempStacey Abrams was a high school senior the first time she was invited to the Georgia governor’s mansion. It was for a ceremony honoring the state’s class valedictorians, and Abrams was her school’s top academic achiever. At the time, her family did not own a car, so Abrams and her parents rode the bus from their working-class suburb to the stately mansion in downtown Atlanta.When they arrived, Abrams recalls a guard emerging from the security booth. Eyeing the bus, he told them: “This is a private event. You don’t belong here.” Never mind that her invitation was tucked into her mother’s handbag or that her name was second on the list of invitees. Continue reading...

Climate change, immigration crackdowns and housing costs shake up the country’s largest shellfish farm

The Native American activist died on Sunday, less than two months after the Academy apologised over her treatment at the 1973 Academy Awards

The city’s water department has a small yet effective solution to keep its famous residents’ water use in check – a flow restrictorLos Angeles is living through a historic drought, but that hasn’t stopped some of its most famous residents from keeping their mega mansion lawns and ornate gardens well watered. In response, local authorities have turned to a surprisingly simple trick for keeping the wealthiest in check.That solution is a tiny metal disc known as a “flow restrictor”. The restrictor can be installed in minutes over the pipes of chronic wasters, dramatically slowing down a home’s water flow. Continue reading...

Michael Sheppard has since been fired from his job at Texas jail and faces, along with his brother, a charge of manslaughterAfter stopping for water near the US-Mexico border, one migrant was shot dead and another was wounded when they were fired on by the warden of an allegedly abusive Texas jail and his brother last week.Michael Sheppard – the warden of West Texas Detention Facility, a privately-owned jail which once housed migrants detained by the federal government – and Mark Sheppard each face a charge of manslaughter after the 27 September shooting in rural Hudspeth county, roughy 90 miles (145km) from El Paso.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

Death toll likely to increase as questions raised over whether officials in some parts of Florida ordered evacuations in timeThe death toll from Hurricane Ian has climbed past 80 as embattled residents in Florida and the Carolinas face a recovery expected to cost tens of billions of dollars, and some officials faced criticism over their response to the storm.The death toll was expected to keep rising as flood waters receded and search teams pushed further into areas initially cut off from the outside world. Hundreds of people have been rescued as emergency workers sifted through homes and buildings inundated with water or completely washed away. Continue reading...

Glen Ellis put down his camera in the middle of a TV live cross and ran to help families fleeing rising flood waters in Naples, Florida, as Hurricane Ian raged on 28 September. Sunrise host David Koch was heard asking if everything was OK. 7News correspondent Tim Lester confirmed the crew was fine, adding that it was 'an enormous storm'. The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Ian had developed into an 'extremely dangerous' Category 4 hurricane at the time. The National Weather Service warned of extreme flooding and potential winds up to 110mph

Michael Fanone makes candid and profane remarks about Republicans in Rolling Stone interview as he promotes memoirIn an extraordinarily candid and profane interview with Rolling Stone, Michael Fanone – the former Washington police officer who was seriously hurt at the US Capitol during the January 6 attack – called the Republican House leader, potentially the next speaker, a “fucking weasel bitch”.Fanone said past Republican giants would be unimpressed with Kevin McCarthy. Continue reading...

Former CIA director and retired army general says Moscow’s leader is ‘desperate’ and ‘battlefield reality he faces is irreversible’The US and its allies would destroy Russia’s troops and equipment in Ukraine – as well as sink its Black Sea fleet – if Russian president Vladimir Putin uses nuclear weapons in the country, former CIA director and retired four-star army general David Petraeus warned on Sunday.Petreaus said that he had not spoken to national security adviser Jake Sullivan on the likely US response to nuclear escalation from Russia, which administration officials have said has been repeatedly communicated to Moscow. Continue reading...

Fema administrator says people should ‘make informed decisions’ about rebuilding in areas hit by natural disastersUS Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell asked Americans on Sunday “to make informed decisions” about rebuilding in vulnerable areas hit by natural disasters intensified by climate change.“People need to understand what their potential risk my be whether it’s along the coast, inland along a riverbed or in tornado alley,” Criswell told CNN’s Face the Nation. “People need to make informed decisions about what their risk is and if they choose to rebuild there they do so in a way that’s going to reduce their threat.” Continue reading...

The California governor insists he’s not running – but his recent moves suggest national aspirationsGavin Newsom has paid for billboard banners in Mississippi, Texas and several other Republican-run states in the lead up to the November midterms. The California governor’s campaign has aired TV advertisements in Florida, and he’s challenged the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, to a nationally televised debate.No, he’s not running for president. At least, not officially. Continue reading...

SB202 is forcing officials and voting rights groups to use every resource to ensure elections run smoothlyIn 2021, the Election Integrity Act sent shockwaves across Georgia as citizens learned of new restrictions, such as curbing the way churches could provide pizza and water to voters. However, there are much broader effects of the bill being felt across the state as communities across Georgia prepare for midterm elections, the first major election since the signing of the controversial bill.The 98-page bill, also called SB202, impacts a litany of election elements ranging from voter ID laws to the distance at which food and water can be distributed to voters waiting in line. Election officials say they are being forced to use every resource at their disposal to navigate the bill and ensure this election season runs smoothly. But there is widespread concern that the new law will create fresh barriers to voters of color and the changing Georgia electorate. Continue reading...

It is four years since his killing, but my fight for justice continues. I need details about the plot and the technology that was exploitedOn this day four years ago, the world lost a brilliant thought leader, journalist, husband, father and grandfather: Jamal Khashoggi. As his widow, my loss was compounded by the obfuscation of exactly what happened in the days and weeks leading up to his premeditated murder.Key pieces of evidence that hold these answers rest in Jamal’s personal devices: two mobile telephones, a laptop and a tablet. I believe those devices will reveal previously undisclosed details about Jamal’s murder that are critical to knowing the full truth and advancing the cause of justice. Those devices are in the possession of the government of Turkey.Hanan El Khashoggi is the widow of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist who was killed on 2 October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, TurkeyDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Liz Truss is unashamed about a plan that will hit even the middle classes hard. But her party’s drift away from them began long agoAs Liz Truss stumbled through last week’s disastrous round of interviews with local radio stations, Basingstoke’s United Reformed church was giving away bread. Loaves donated by local supermarkets were arranged on a set of metal shelves covered by a tarpaulin. Every so often, someone would gingerly walk up and help themselves, before turning their attention to the hot food that was also available: soup, risotto and stew, cooked by a group of spirited volunteers. They told me that the town’s levels of need were suddenly increasing fast, and they were now feeding whole families.A few yards away, I met Peter. Now retired, he had worked for the telecoms giant Motorola, a once-sizeable local employer that closed its Basingstoke operation in 2017. Rocketing bills, he told me, meant he was now limiting himself to two hours of TV a night, rationing lighting, keeping his heating off, and wearing sweaters and fleeces whenever he was indoors. Among the items in his shopping bag was a baguette he had got from the church. Continue reading...

Representatives seek delay in court proceeding over Khashoggi murder after news crown prince has been named prime ministerThe Biden administration is seeking a 45-day delay in a court proceeding in which it has been asked by a US judge whether it believes Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should be granted sovereign immunity in a case involving the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.Representatives from the US justice department said in a legal notice filed on Friday that the department was seeking the extension after Saudi Arabia announced in a press release last week that Prince Mohammed had been named prime minister. Continue reading...