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Vice-president downplays messages such as I love Hitler' in chat by 24- to 35-year-olds as stupid jokes'. Plus, Virginia Giuffre on her abuse at the hands of Epstein and Maxwell

Court has repeatedly expanded states' leeway to make voting laws that would have previously been deemed discriminatoryThe last remaining piece of the 1965 Voting Rights Act - section 2, which empowers the federal government to protect voters from racial gerrymandering meant to dilute Black political power - appears headed for an untimely end. At oral arguments in Louisiana v Callais on Wednesday, the US supreme court appeared ready to strike down section 2, effectively completing the gradual nullification of the Voting Rights Act that it has pursued for over a decade.The case stems from new congressional districting maps that were drawn in Louisiana after the 2020 census, which found both that the state was eligible for six seats in the House of Representatives and that its population was about one-third Black. The state initially drew maps that featured only one majority-Black congressional district, rejecting seven more racially fair maps; voters sued, and federal courts ordered Louisiana to comply with the Voting Rights Act by drawing new maps in which Black voters would be a majority in a second district, thereby reflecting their share of the population and giving Black Louisianans an equal opportunity to elect representatives of their choice.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

I am not celebrating the end of the war' because this was not a war - and it's not over, eitherThank you, Donald Trump. Thank you, Benjamin Netanyahu. Thank you, Jared Kushner. Let's all pause, shall we, and have a moment of appreciation for these three wise men who have finally brought peace to the Middle East. Blessed are the peacemakers!And, of course, thank you to the Israeli military which, as a US taxpayer, I have done my part to help fund. To echo Kushner: Instead of replicating the barbarism of the enemy, [Israel] chose to be exceptional." Continue reading...

Mark Ford, extradited from Indiana to New Orleans jail, faces life in prison if convicted of sexual abuse chargesA man working as a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans positioned himself as a mentor to a young disabled boy grieving two family deaths - and then exploited the proximity to abuse him for years, police allege.Those details are contained in criminal court records generated by the arrest of Mark Francis Ford in Indiana in September as well as his subsequent transfer to New Orleans's jail, a process which was completed late on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Angel City and New Zealand defender on injury pain, losing her childhood home in LA's wildfires and why the sport needs to talk more about IVFUnder a blazing-hot sun, among a crowd of 90,185 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on 10 July 1999, an 11-year-old girl was standing behind the goal where Brandi Chastain struck the penalty that won the World Cup for the United States, soaking in pure inspiration. Ali Riley, now 37, captain of New Zealand and a veteran of five World Cup campaigns, looks back on witnessing that moment in person and says: That made me want to be a strong woman that could show her abs in front of the entire world and be on the front page of a newspaper. I think about how uncool it was to be good at sports, back then, and that moment was pivotal for me to see those women do what they did and be celebrated for it."On Sunday it will be Riley being celebrated at what is being billed as her farewell match at her home-town club Angel City, who named her as their first captain in 2022. She is retiring at the end of this season after a remarkable career that has included 163 international caps, four Olympic Games and spells with Rosengard, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, and Sunday is poised to be Angel City's final home game of a season in which the playoffs appear to be beyond them. Her decision to retire comes after a year in which she has been through IVF, seen her childhood Los Angeles home burn down and got married, all while attempting to rehabilitate from a chronic nerve injury, so being able to hang up her boots on her own terms, back in Angel City's squad, may be her biggest achievement. Continue reading...

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions on a regular basis. In today's column, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of themBy the time next summer's World Cup kicks off, it'll have been 12 years since Italy last played at the tournament they have won more times (four) than any other nation besides Brazil (five) and Germany (also four). The way things are going, the Azzurri's 12-year wait for World Cup qualification could become a 16-year one at the very least. Continue reading...

Donald Trump has again said he'd pressure Fifa to remove 2026 World Cup games from a host city on the basis of that city's politics, with Boston becoming the third such city to receive such a threat from the US president. Trump also said he would consider a similar action against Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics on account of potential safety issues. Trump has no legal authority to directly take either action, but he can apply pressure to each competition's governing body to move host cities.

ADF, a conservative Christian lobby group that counts among its allies JD Vance, has stated that its goal is to see abortion rights curtailed in BritainNigel Farage's obsession with free speech has become the mood music of his own party, the Conservatives and the BBC, so it shouldn't have been shocking or troubling to learn that he'd testified in the US Congress on 3 September on the subject of this elemental liberty, and how profoundly at risk it is in the UK.His position we could recite in our sleep - it hasn't deviated, and remains nonsense on stilts. Free speech is only at risk in the UK insofar as 80-year-olds can now be arrested for opposing genocide with homemade placards, and that's quite a big only". But in Nigel's upside-down world he is remorselessly censored, and a leftist cabal is still calling the shots - and will only get stronger. The troubling element wasn't what he said, but who orchestrated his appearance.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

President pushes hyperbolic claims of out-of-control crime as city leaders say no need for Trump's personal army'Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that San Francisco could be the next city he targets with federal troops, threatening a deployment that local and state officials have said is unnecessary and unwelcome.Speaking at the White House to FBI director Kash Patel, the president said: I'm going to be strongly recommending, at the request of government officials ... that you start looking at San Francisco ... one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago, and now it's a mess ... Every American deserves to live in a community where they're not afraid of being mugged, murdered, robbed, raped, assaulted or shot." Continue reading...

Move marks escalation in Maduro pressure campaign as president says US mulling strikes on Venezuelan territoryDonald Trump said on Wednesday he had authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in his administration's pressure campaign against Nicolas Maduro's government.Trump further suggested he was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory, a dramatic step that would go beyond a series of recent lethal attacks on boats in the Caribbean, which Democrats and United Nations experts have forcefully condemned as unlawful. Continue reading...

This liveblog is now closed.The far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being weak".In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Vice-president downplays messages such as I love Hitler' in chat by 24 to 35-year-olds to stupid jokes'JD Vance sought to downplay the revelation that leaders of a group called the Young Republicans exchanged hundreds of racist, sexist text messages - including one in which rape was called epic", and another in which someone wrote I love Hitler" - as youthful indiscretions.Vance, speaking on a new episode of the Charlie Kirk Show, the podcast run by colleagues of the late conservative activist, suggested that the participants in the leaked chats were much younger than they in fact are. Some of the participants are barely younger than the 41-year-old vice-president. Continue reading...

Federal court approves temporary injunction blocking Trump administration from mass layoffs. Key US politics stories from Wednesday 15 OctoberAs the US government shutdown grinds into its third week, a federal court has approved a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration from sacking thousands of federal employees.The judge ruled the president may have exceeded his authority to try to take advantage of the shutdown. Continue reading...

University joins MIT in refusing invitation, saying that compact would restrict academic freedom'Brown University has become the second higher-education institution to turn down an invitation from Donald Trump to sign onto his administration's 10-page college compact that would overhaul university policies in return for preferential access to federal funding.The Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" is a proposed agreement that would impose restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programs and limits on international student enrollment. Continue reading...

Flanked by Kash Patel and Pam Bondi, president claimed it was most peaceful summer in the last two decades'Donald Trump held a press conference on Wednesday to take credit for decreases in violent crime that were already happening without his intervention.I campaigned on crime, but I never thought we would go into every city and take a really safe city that we've all been living with for years and make it safe," he said. And now it's a passion for me. I did get elected for crime, but I didn't get elected for what we're doing." Continue reading...

Majority of US justices appear sympathetic to weakening key civil rights law in Callais v Louisiana caseThe US supreme court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in Callais v Louisiana, a high-stakes voting rights case in which the court's conservative majority appears poised to gut one of the most powerful provisions of the Voting Rights Act.At the heart of the case is section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits electoral maps that dilute the voting power of minority groups. Lawyers for the state of Louisiana, a group of non-African American voters" and the Trump administration say that the court needs to do away with the 2024 map. If the court agrees, it would ultimately set a precedent that makes it considerably harder to bring redistricting lawsuits on the basis of race, and undercut section 2. Continue reading...

Authorities reportedly looking into modified flag displayed on cubicle wall of House member Dave Taylor's staffUS Capitol police are reportedly investigating after a US flag bearing a swastika was discovered inside the office of Republican House member Dave Taylor of Ohio.The image, obtained by Politico, shows a modified flag featuring red and white stripes arranged in the form of a swastika - which is virtually synonymous with the Nazis' genocidal regime. The flag was displayed on what appears to be a cubicle wall behind Angelo Elia, one of Taylor's staff members, during a virtual meeting. Continue reading...

New York mayoral contender steps into lion's den and says he is ready to speak at any time' to help lower cost of livingZohran Mamdani, the leading candidate to be the next mayor of New York, stepped into the lion's den on Wednesday when he sat for an interview with Fox News, the rightwing news organization that has spent weeks demonizing him and his democratic socialist goals.Speaking to host Martha MacCallum, Mamdani was asked about funding for his proposals, which include freezing increases on rent-stabilized apartments, providing free buses and offering free childcare - and whether other services would be cut to achieve those goals. Continue reading...

Chelsea kickstarted their European campaign with a comfortable victory over Paris FC. Alyssa Thompson scored her first goal in west London as Sonia Bompastor's side dominated proceedings. Sandy Baltimore opened the scoring from the penalty spot while Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Erin Cuthbert also got on the scoresheet.Chelsea had endured a frustrating start to their Champions League challenge, the only trophy to elude their grasp. A 1-1 draw against Twente last week in Enschede had added a bit of pressure on this encounter at Stamford Bridge with sterner opposition to come. Continue reading...

US defense secretary was returning from a brief trip to Brussels, and everyone onboard was safe, Pentagon saidA plane carrying Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, on Wednesday made an unscheduled landing in the United Kingdom due to a crack in the aircraft's windshield, the Pentagon said, adding Hegseth was safe.The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe," Sean Parnell, a Pentagon spokesperson, said in a post on X. Continue reading...

Judge says White House office of management and budget took advantage of government shutdown in firing workersA federal court has granted a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration's firings of federal employees during the government shutdown.The ruling by Judge Susan Illston of the US district court's northern district of California came in response to a lawsuit filed by labor unions representing federal workers. Continue reading...

In an extract from her posthumous memoir, Virginia Roberts Giuffre remembers the day an apex predator' recruited her from Mar-a-Lago, aged just 16; how she was trafficked to a succession of wealthy and powerful men, and how everyone knew what was going onI can still remember walking on to themanicured grounds of Mar-a-Lago for the first time. It was early morning - my dad's shift began at 7am, and I'd caught a ride to work with him. Already the air was heavy and moist, and the club's 20 acres of carefully landscaped greens and lawns seemed to shimmer.My dad was responsible for maintaining the resort's in-room air-conditioning units, not to mention its five championship tennis courts, so he knew his way around. I remember he gave me a brief tour before presenting me to the hiring manager, who agreed to take me on. That first day, I was given a uniform - a white polo shirt, emblazoned with the Mar-a-Lago crest, and a short white skirt - and a name tag that said JENNA in all capital letters. (Although I was called Virginia, everyone at home called me Jenna.) Continue reading...

California governor blocks 77-year-old's parole for second time, saying she poses an unreasonable danger to society'Gavin Newsom this week again denied parole for Patricia Krenwinkel, who has spent more than half a century in prison for her role in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca killings orchestrated by Charles Manson and perpetrated by his followers.Nearly five months after California's parole board found the 77-year-old suitable for release, the governor on Monday reversed the decisionand said Krenwinkel currently poses an unreasonable danger to society if released from prison at this time'". Continue reading...

Cancellations represent escalating government-wide campaign to suppress criticism of rightwing influencerCivil liberties advocates are warning that the Trump administration's decision to strip visas from at least six foreign nationals over social media posts about Charlie Kirk's killing represents yet another example of dangerous government crackdowns on protected speech.On Tuesday, the state department announced it was systematically identifying visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk", declaring in a social media statement that the United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans". Continue reading...

Drug manufacturers may lament the UK's drug prices, writes Simon Dixon, but the NHS should celebrate themWhile the chief executive of Eli Lilly may lament the UK's drug prices (UK is worst country in Europe' for drug prices, says Mounjaro maker, 24 September), the NHS should celebrate them. The system put in place for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of new drugs is respected the world over and is successful in applying the principle that funding a new product should not damage the NHS as a whole. This principle of cost-effectiveness has led to widespread price reductions for the NHS that have allowed the service as a whole to benefit.The chief executive of Eli Lilly links the recent pausing or cancelling of pharmaceutical industry investments in the UK to drug pricing here, when these are down tothe drug companies' desperation to kowtow to Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Dispute over Louisiana district returned to justices after long legal saga - and could have far-reaching implications

Declining strength of US passport, tied with Malaysia's at 12th, signals shift in global mobility', says index creatorFor the first time in two decades, the US has dropped out of the world's top 10 most powerful passports, marking a significant dethroning for the global superpower.According to the latest Henley Passport Index, a ranking that measures how many countries a traveler can visit without needing a visa, the US passport now ranks 12th globally, sharing the position with Malaysia. Continue reading...

Mark Carney says automaker's move to inject $13bn into US is direct consequence' of Donald Trump's tariffsCanadian jobs are being sacrificed on the Trump altar", union leaders have warned, after the automaker Stellantis announced plans to transfer production of one Jeep model to the United States.Stellantis announced what it described as its largest US investment push in its 100-year history, saying the $13bn cash injection would create 5,000 jobs across the midwestern United States. Continue reading...

This is a man who once mocked the movements of a disabled reporter, so we'll take what schadenfreude we can getIt is, in my experience, often the photo that does it. You can be nice or mean, bland or snide, accurate or wildly off-base. But none of what you write as a journalist matters much in comparison with the photo that runs alongside it. That's the main determinant of how bitterly a subject will complain about a piece, or whether they will tip from mildly annoyed to actively raging. In this regard, Donald Trump, who went after Time magazine this week for using a photo of him on the cover he has called super bad" and the Worst of All Time", has acted in a way that, unusually for the president, is in line with how other people act.Even more unusually, he's not wrong. The Time cover, shot from below to give readers an unrestricted view up Trump's nose, is extremely unflattering. His turkey wattle neck looks like a ski run after the snow has melted. His eye is reptilian. His hair is the flyaway gauze of a newborn. Or, as Trump put it in the Truth Social rant he published in the early hours of Tuesday morning: They disappeared' my hair, and then had something floating on top of my head that looked like a floating crown, but an extremely small one." (He can't stay normal for long - the crown" is just flare from the sun behind his head.) In these circumstances, it doesn't matter to Trump that the headline is fawning (His Triumph"), or the piece positive, praising the ceasefire in Gaza as the deal [that] could become a signature achievement". He only has eyes for the photo. Continue reading...

Former justice department special counsel said accusations were ludicrous' and criticized Trump's DoJ in rare interviewIn a rare interview former justice department special counsel Jack Smith has hit back against accusations that the federal prosecutions of Donald Trump he oversaw were politically motivated, calling the claims absolutely ludicrous".Speaking with former federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann at the UK's University College London in an interview last week, Smith defended the integrity of the criminal investigations he led and his work as special counsel in the Biden administration. Continue reading...

Politico documented the use of slurs, including the N-word and a homophobic term, and antisemitic comments in chatsSome leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country are facing major backlash after some of their racist and highly offensive messages in private group chats were revealed by Politico.Democratic and Republican politicians denounced the language used and criticized the group. The Young Republican National Federation has called for resignations. The Kansas Young Republican group has been shut down and now a handful of those involved in the racist chat have lost their jobs. Continue reading...

Conservative groups are aiding the administration's crackdown on equity policies in schools across the USIn late March, education secretary Linda McMahon recorded a video to announce an investigation into Maine school districts that allow students to change their gender identity without their parents' permission - a key target of the Trump administration.But she didn't face the camera alone.This story was produced by the 74, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in the US Continue reading...

Even as the government and investors try to treat the Trump situation as normal', the US has never been less attractive to Australian holidaymakers

Fast-fashion retailer records 20% growth in sales and fees to $37bn but big hit is expected from US changes to import tax rules

Education department staff say they can't access work emails amid the shutdown to check for layoff noticesFederal workers are scrambling to figure out if they still have a job after the Trump administration launched a fresh wave of layoffs amid a federal government shutdown, prompting widespread confusion and panic.A hearing is scheduled to take place Wednesday after labor unions sued to block the latest firings, setting the stage for another legal battle over Donald Trump's efforts to drastically cut back the federal workforce. Continue reading...

At least one person was killed and two were missing after weekend storm battered two Alaska Native communitiesMore rain and wind were forecast Wednesday along the Alaska coast where two tiny villages were decimated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong and officials were scrambling to find shelter for more than 1,500 people driven from their homes.The weekend storm brought high winds and surf that battered the low-lying Alaska Native communities along the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in the south-western part of the state, nearly 500 miles (800km) from Anchorage. Continue reading...

A team that once folded when challenged now has a comeback victory and solid performances to build on in the last pre-World Cup windowsNot all that long ago, that first half hour would have done the Americans in.The United States men's national team started Tuesday's friendly with Australia looking flat, lacking spark, unable to find their way through the press. They gave away a soft, sloppy goal on a series of defensive miscues - off a throw-in no less. It was the eighth time in Mauricio Pochettino's 20 matches in charge that the US fell behind. They had never salvaged a win from the previous seven and gotten only two ties. Then they lost Christian Pulisic to injury when he felt his hamstring pull. Continue reading...

Experts are enforcing emergency measures to prevent the spread of the highly contagious neurodegenerative diseaseWildlife officials in Florida have discovered only the second case in the state of a deadly infection known colloquially as zombie deer disease", and are enforcing emergency measures to try to prevent a spread.The highly contagious chronic wasting disease (CWD) was found during routine screening in the carcass of a young white-tailed doe that was struck by a vehicle in Holmes county, close to the Alabama border, early last month. The only previous recorded instance in Florida was in a four-year-old doe killed about a mile away in June 2023. Continue reading...

Rafah crossing will be allowed to open, say reports, after Hamas hands over more remains of hostages. Plus, gaffes made by world leaders when they think no one is listeningGood morning.Israel will allow Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt to open and will not cut the amount of humanitarian aid entering the devastated Palestinian territory, Israel's public broadcaster Kan has reported, after Hamas handed over more remains of hostages.What has Donald Trump said about Hamas? The US president said Hamas will be forced to disarm after questions swirled around the group's status following the signing of a peace deal meant to bring an end to the war in Gaza.Why else is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in the news? Debbie Brockman, a US citizen and a WGN employee, was arrested on Friday by federal agents during an operation in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Videos show Brockman being forced to the ground by two agents before she is handcuffed and put in a van. Attorneys representing Brockman say the incident should be alarming and horrifying to every person in this country". Continue reading...

Hegseth wants journalists to only publish explicitly authorized' information. That is not how the free press worksTom Bowman of National Public Radio recalls one of the many times in his decades covering the Pentagon when the real story wasn't the officially approved story.Then defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld was ecstatic" after the fall of Baghdad in 2003, insisting publicly that it showed the resounding success of the US invasion of Iraq, Bowman wrote in an NPR opinion piece this week. But through informal conversations with officers, Bowman soon found out that the truth was much more complicated - that more American troops would have to be deployed to Iraq to guard the supply lines that were under attack from Saddam Hussein's supporters.Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture Continue reading...

Today's rightwingers want their message to go mainstream, so it's coming to a store near youFascism is back in style. Forget the old symbols: swastikas, nooses, Confederate flags, skinheads' shaved heads and combat boots. Extremism has a new look, and it is as fashionable as ever.Today's extremist styles are more diverse and more subtle. Beyond T-shirts that advertise blatant racism, polo shirts with coded symbols create a shared in-group identity and signal support of violence to other believers. Tradwife-style prairie dresses and beauty regimens promote conservative visions of family. Clothing is a powerful tool to spread fascist ideas to promote authoritarianism and recruit new members to this cause. Continue reading...

In video, the two-time Oscar winner also invoked the pledge of allegiance to say we're all in this together'A new video from Robert De Niro implores people in the US to stand up and be counted" in coming protests against Donald Trump's second presidency that are being planned across the country for Saturday.In the clip, the two-time Oscar winner characterizes Trump as an aspiring tyrant who aims to end American democracy, which - among other major historical events - has survived the first and second world wars. Continue reading...

The league will stage a star-studded flag football event in Riyadh, a bid to globalize the sport ahead of its Olympic debut amid scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's sportswashingThe National Football League is making a significant move to raise its global profile after years of struggling to expand beyond its domestic roots.The league announced last week that the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, headlined by seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, will take place on 21 March 2026, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...