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The US president's hawkish support for Israel has alienated younger voters, progressives, and Arab and Muslim AmericansThe 2024 presidential contest should not be close. Joe Biden's opponent, Donald Trump, is a bigot, a liar and a crook, with dozens of credible sexual assault allegations, a disastrous track record of enabling sadistic racism in both his policy and his rhetoric, a frank admission of his own authoritarian ambitions, and 92 pending felony charges.The Republican party that the former president leads has become beholden to a small but extremely powerful base of voters with wildly unpopular social views, particularly regarding abortion - views that have driven the Republicans to election losses in virtually all major contests since the summer of 2022. Voters hate them, and reject their vision for the US; few politicians have ever been so unpopular as Trump is, and few political platforms have ever seemed so determined to alienate and anger voters as the Republican party's.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

US owners have restored the team to the big time, building around an attack-minded manager and an energetic squadOf all of London's football clubs, Fulham is the most middle-class. Tucked on the north bank of the Thames amid a neighborhood of million-pound housing and leafy avenues, Craven Cottage is where the residential swell of well-to-do south-west London begins, reaching out to suburbs where rugby union is the preferred sport. Along with rowing, that is. The Oxford-Cambridge University Boat Race, held since 1829, starts on the Putney Bridge many visitors cross to reach the stadium.To the traditionalists, Fulham was always a second-division concern, welcome in the top division for the pleasantness of the surroundings and the club's commitment to attractive football. And it is a club with no fierce rivalry of note, with near-neighbors Chelsea far more interested in crosstown rivals Tottenham. Continue reading...

Mockery over Two Corinthians' slip and endorsement battles in 2016 echo in 2024 race as Republican contenders seek first winIn the heat of the Republican primary of 2016, Donald Trump called evangelical supporters of his rival Ted Cruz so-called Christians" and real pieces of shit", a new book says.The news lands as the 2024 Republican primary heats up, two months out from the Iowa caucus and a day after Trump's closest rival this time, the hard-right Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, was endorsed by Bob Vander Plaats, an influential evangelical leader in Iowa. Continue reading...

Media complacency and outgoing PM Mark Rutte's decision to campaign on immigration have created a political earthquakeTwo things were already clear months before Dutch election day: the Netherlands would have a new prime minister and dozens of new parliamentarians. Forty sitting members of parliament, a quarter of the Tweede Kamer (lower house), and, even more striking, three of the four leaders of the outgoing conservative-led coalition had announced their departure from national politics. Ironically, in this sea of electoral change, it was the far-right mainstay, Geert Wilders, the soon-to-be longest-sitting MP, who would emerge the big winner.How do we make sense of the political earthquake that has put Wilders and his PVV party in first place and how will it affect Dutch and European politics? The first, and most important, lesson is one that Dutch politicians in particular should have known, as it has happened over and over again in the past three decades in the Netherlands and throughout western Europe. If you make the elections about the issues of the far right, notably the problem" of immigration, the far right wins. We saw this most recently in Sweden.Cas Mudde is the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia and an adjunct professor at the Center for Research on Extremism (C-Rex) at the University of Oslo Continue reading...

Quarterbacks nearly always take home the award. But the Cleveland Browns star has made his team's defense into a terrifying forceThe NFL's MVP award is a proxy for the league's best quarterback. At least that's the way it's evolved over the last 20 years.The reason for picking a winner typically slots into one of three cliches: validating a young star's legitimacy; confirming an old guy has still got it; or handing it to a consistent performer having a career year (hooray for Matt Ryan!). Continue reading...

Enlargement may offer Europe greater security, but its price is change with daunting financial and political costsEuropean Union leaders are coming around to the geopolitical necessity of embracing Ukraine, Moldova and western Balkan countries as future EU members, but will struggle to reform the bloc to make it fit for enlargement.Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has thrust EU expansion back on to the agenda after two decades in which governments procrastinated over admitting six small western Balkan states with a combined population of 20 million. These countries were given a European perspective" in 2003, but have done little since then to reform themselves and have long felt unwanted in Brussels. Vladimir Putin is also playing on frozen conflicts or unresolved disputes in Moldova, Georgia, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina to destabilise Europe's borderlands.Paul Taylor is a senior fellow of the Friends of Europe thinktank Continue reading...

New York governor says no indication of terrorist attack' as officials investigate incident at Rainbow Bridge near Niagara Falls

Four border crossings between the US and Canada were closed after a car exploded at a checkpoint on a bridge near Niagara Falls, reportedly killing two people. Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said there was 'no sign of terrorist activity' in the explosion, which happened on the US side of the Rainbow Bridge connecting the two countries across the Niagara River. An eyewitness at the scene, Mike Guenther, said: 'We see this car coming down towards the border and he was flying over 100mph ... He went up into the air and we've just seen a fireball. That's all we could see ... It was covered in smoke everywhere'

Two people who were in the car have died, police say, as New York governor says there are no signs of terrorist activity

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Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk have also received antisemitic abuse since a gag order imposed on the ex-president was liftedThe office of the New York judge overseeing Donald Trump's civil fraud trial has been bombarded with death threats and antisemitic abuse following the former president's online attacks.Judge Arthur Engoron and his clerk, Allison Greenfield, are said to have received hundreds of threatening, harassing and disparaging messages via telephone and social media. Continue reading...

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun makes comments after Washington raised concerns Indian government may known of plotA prominent Sikh activist who was reportedly the target of a foiled assassination attempt on US soil has accused India of transnational terrorism" after Washington raised concerns the Indian government may have had knowledge of the plot.The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the US had thwarted the plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an American and Canadian citizen, after the June murder of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a Vancouver suburb. Continue reading...

Gunman who killed five in April wrote in journal how ridiculous' it was to buy a gun while having mental health problemsThe man who fatally shot five co-workers at a Louisville bank in April wrote in his journal that he wasn't sure if his mental health struggles would preclude him from purchasing a gun. Later, after acquiring a gun just days before carrying out the mass shooting, he remarked that buying it was so easy" , calling the transaction ridiculous".The journal writings by Connor Sturgeon were contained in a 64-page report released on Tuesday by Louisville police, in which authorities say they have now closed the investigation into the actions of the 25-year-old who also died that day after being shot by police . Continue reading...

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Pop rock duo Hall & Oates are embroiled in a confidential lawsuit, with court documents detailing the case sealedThe pop rock duo Hall & Oates are embroiled in a confidential lawsuit, with details of the litigation sealed.Daryl Hall, 77, the group's co-founder, is suing his former bandmate John Oates, 75, according to Axios Nashville reporter Nate Rau, who first reported the suit. The suit by Hall is against Oates as an individual and Oates's trust. Continue reading...

William Cogswell beats Democratic incumbent John Tecklenburg to become city's first Republican mayor since 1870sThe historic South Carolina city of Charleston has elected its first Republican mayor since the Reconstruction era.William Cogswell, formerly a Republican state lawmaker, defeated the incumbent Democratic mayor, John Tecklenburg, by about 2 percentage points in Tuesday's runoff, according to the South Carolina Election Commission. Results posted online by the commission showed a 569-vote margin separating the the two candidates. Continue reading...

Halal food worker might soon be able to take legal action against the explicit and racist abuse after the attacker's firm offered free representationA New York political lobbying firm has offered to represent a halal street food vendor who was recently subjected to a sustained racist attack by one of its own consultants, a former state department official, in the latest encounter reflecting tension in the city over the Israel-Hamas conflict.The Manhattan-based Gotham Government Relations firm said on Tuesday that it would cut all ties with Stuart Seldowitz, who worked in the US Department of State's Office of Israel and Palestinian Affairs from 1999 to 2003 and later at the national security council during the Obama administration, after he was filmed harassing an Upper East Side street vendor. Continue reading...

CNN airs clip from May last year in which then Louisiana congressman - a leading anti-abortion voice - made comparisonBefore he became speaker of the US House of Representatives, the Louisiana Republican congressman Mike Johnson likened abortion to an American holocaust".The reality is that Planned Parenthood and all these ... big abortion ... they set up their clinics in inner cities," Johnson told a radio show in May 2022, in comments aired by CNN on Tuesday. They regard these people as easy prey." Continue reading...

The deal divided the Israeli cabinet, and likely Hamas too - for now it suits their interests, but this is a very fragile pauseObserving events from outside the region, one habitually hesitates. Nevertheless, it feels clear that the four-day truce between Hamas and Israel, with the exchange of prisoners that is woven into it, is better than what preceded it.It will bring home some abducted Israelis and will save some Palestinian lives, though not enough in either case. It involves the kind of political concessions without which conflict becomes endless. It is a cheering success for the diplomacy that brokered it. It brings a pause. And it is a precedent.Martin Kettle is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

St Charles city-county system to remove Bang Like a Porn Star: Sex Tips from the Pros after critics claim it is too sexually explicitA Missouri library system will ban a book that critics are calling too sexually explicit - but they are allowing the 20 people on the book's waiting list to read it first.A committee with the St Charles city-county library system in eastern Missouri has moved to ban the book Bang Like A Porn Star: Sex Tips from the Pros, but will allow everyone on the book's waiting list before 21 November to read it first, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Continue reading...

Taylor James Johnatakis was found guilty of seven charges for his role in 2021 attack to stop Biden from being certified as presidentA January 6 rioter who represented himself using sovereign citizen" arguments - which a judge called bullshit" and gobbledegook" - was found guilty on Tuesday.Taylor James Johnatakis, 39 and from Kingston, Washington, will be sentenced later. Continue reading...

Rutt the moose was spotted on Tuesday just 140 miles north of Minneapolis, far south of the giant animals' usual rangeA rogue moose wandering hundreds of miles south of its natural territory in Minnesota has become a growing media sensation as fans join online to track its journey through amateur photographs and video clips.The majestic" and noble" animal - nicknamed Rutt after one of two moose brothers in the film Brother Bear played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas based on their Canadian comedy duo Bob and Doug McKenzie - has been spotted in various locations across Minnesota and Iowa for weeks. On Tuesday, it appeared 140 miles (225km) north-west of Minneapolis. Continue reading...

Volunteers are offering aid to the more than 3,000 migrants who sleep in local police stations and airportsBy the time eight-year-old Miguel was put on a bus for a 1,500-mile trip across the US, his leg was badly infected from a cut from barbed wire at the US-Mexico border.On another bus, a woman who had started bleeding in federal detention in Texas had a miscarriage in the vehicle's tiny bathroom. Continue reading...

Four hundred workers in Washington state to strike, alleging the company - which pays millions to executives - is not playing fairMacy's workers are planning to strike on Black Friday, alleging unfair labor practices and the retailer's failure to reach a new union contract deal.Four hundred workers at Macy's locations in Washington state are planning action after 96% of workers voted in favor of authorizing the strike in October. Continue reading...

Trump's talk of seeking to weaponize' the DoJ and retribution' for opponents poses a direct threat to the rule of law and democracy in the US should he win a second term, experts sayDonald Trump's talk of punishing his critics and seeking to weaponize" the US justice department against his political opponents has experts and former DoJ officials warning he poses a direct threat to the rule of law and democracy in the US.Trump's talk of seeking retribution" against foes, including some he's branded vermin", has coincided with plans that Maga loyalists at rightwing thinktanks are assembling to expand the president's power and curb the DoJ, the FBI and other federal agencies. All of it has fueled critics' fears that in a second term Trump would govern as an unprecedentedly authoritarian American leader. Continue reading...

Whether it's saying goodbye to a parent or watching a favourite film with your child, final moments happen much more than we realise. There is a power in acknowledging themI watched ET recently with my six-year-old. He liked it, obviously - no child can resist a film in which grownups are bamboozled and frogs let loose, even if it can't match the unparalleled frenzy of The Super Mario Bros Movie - but he didn't love it. So I wonder if I will ever watch ET again. Maybe not. The child actors are wonderful and the score is majestic, but there are a lot of excellent films. I might be done with this one. At least, I thought, absolutely not crying at the Be good" bit, it was a good viewing on which to close.My dad died a few years ago. Ever since then, I have been more aware of these little lasts" that make up a life: the moments, recognised or otherwise, when you do something for the final time. With my dad, there were a bunch of them. Moving in with him after his cancer diagnosis, I was there for his last beer, his last cup of tea, his last visit with friends and his last night. Continue reading...

Alana Bechiom alleges she had to quit after fired colleagues threatened her and arranged for her car to be vandalizedA California Taco Bell fired employees who engaged in a group sex act in plain view of other guests during a Christmas party at the restaurant last year, according to a lawsuit filed by the ex-employee who reported them.The lawsuit also alleges that the employee who reported the incident at the holiday festivities - leading to her former co-workers' dismissals - ended up being forced to quit her job after facing threats and getting her car window shattered by an associate of the terminated colleagues. Continue reading...

Only 7% of us dress formally for work, according to a new survey. At least celebrities still make an effortWe are gathered here today to mourn the suit - at least, according to a recent YouGov survey. Pollsters report that only 7% of workers say they wear business attire in the office, and a quarter say that they only ever wear casual clothes to work. So, is it time to put away the Moss Bros and tidy away the tie-pins? Not exactly.The suit is undergoing a bit of a style rebirth. Witness band of the moment Boygenius opting for suit and tie for their recent Saturday Night Live performance, the Euphoria actor Jacob Elordi wearing a sublime Burberry three-piece at the Saltburn premiere or GQ dressing Kim Kardashian for its Men of the Year cover in a blazer from The Row. Meanwhile, almost every woman I know has acquired a pair of Wasp-y loafers that wouldn't have looked out of place on Wall Street in the 80s. Continue reading...

For owner and curator Patricia Puckett-Hall, the home where Lee Harvey Oswald spent six weeks represents a mission - to correct the narrative around the most hated man in the USAcross from a strip mall, on a suburban street stands an ordinary looking house: a clipped lawn, row of bushes, stars and stripes flying on a flagpole, red tiled roof, green floored porch and white, ornately patterned front door. But a yard sign indicates something is different here: Oswald Rooming House Museum."The house at 1026 North Beckley in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas is where Lee Harvey Oswald slept the night before he allegedly gunned down US president John F Kennedy 60 years ago on Wednesday, leaving a scar on the American conscience. Continue reading...

Israel approves deal in which 50 Israeli women and children will be released in exchange for 150 jailed Palestinians and a lull in fighting. Plus, thousands sign up to anti-loneliness club in LAGood morning.Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal for the release of 50 women and children held hostage in Gaza in return for 150 Palestinian women and children to be freed from Israeli jails during a four-day ceasefire, both sides announced this morning.What has Israel said about the deal? A statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said the lull" in Israeli military operations would be extended for an additional day for every 10 more hostages released. It did not say when the ceasefire would start, though in his address to his cabinet, Netanyahu said the first hostages should be free within 48 hours of the agreement.What did Altman say? He posted soon after: I love OpenAI, and everything I've done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together." He added: I'm looking forward to returning to OpenAI." Continue reading...

The two coaching hires represent the state of the national programs. The men's team played it safe, while the women's side swung for the fencesThe appointment of Emma Hayes was the biggest statement the US women's national team could have made. Still hurting from a dismal 2023 Women's World Cup, US Soccer turned to one of the best coaches in the game to remodel the USWNT. This is in stark contrast to what US Soccer did after the 2022 World Cup, when they retained Gregg Berhalter as coach of the men's team.Of course, the US men's national team didn't fail in Qatar like the USWNT did in Australia and New Zealand. Berhalter's team did not exceed expectations at the World Cup, but they did not fall short of them either. Nonetheless, US Soccer had the opportunity to make a more exciting appointment after Berhalter's contract expired. Continue reading...

Comparison with other conflicts paints a harrowing picture of children being killed in unforgivable numbersEven if the truce between Benjamin Netanyahu's government and Hamas results in the promised four-day pause in hostilities - or longer - the horror enveloping Gaza in terms of lives lost is worse than many people think. Among those who oppose Israel's onslaught, there are still those who do not truly grasp it. It's understandable that Israeli authorities are seeking to sow doubt about the size of the death toll, because the numbers expose the gravity of the crimes being committed. But we should not be deceived.Take the argument that the health ministry is Hamas-run and, therefore, its figures can never be trusted. It sounds like a reasonable enough claim on the surface, until you realise that in previous conflicts the death toll reported by the ministry was largely consistent with the UN's and even Israel's counts. Last month, after doubts were raised by President Biden, the ministry even released the names, ages and identification numbers of the victims. Continue reading...

Germany and France could offer global leadership. Instead, they're struggling with the weight of their own historiesWhile the world focuses on the many ways in which the Israel-Hamas war is reshaping the geopolitics of the Middle East, western powers are also contending with its impact on their societies and domestic politics. The worry is not only about an immediate regional spill-over, but about repercussions in Paris, Berlin, London and beyond.Given the tortuous histories of France and Germany, rising antisemitism in both countries is of particular concern in the wake of the 7 October Hamas massacre in Israel and the Israeli government's retaliatory war. In France, which has the largest Jewish and Muslim communities in Europe, events could potentially pit two minorities - both of which have reason to feel systemically and historically victimised and persecuted - against one another. In Germany, the weight of the second world war needs no explanation.Catherine Fieschi is a political analyst. She is the director of Counterpoint and author of PopulocracyDo 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...

Stein is latest in a series of mostly leftist figures to announce candidacies with the potential to erode Biden's core supportA new front opened in the growing threats to Joe Biden's presidency on Tuesday when the left-wing environmentalist Jill Stein formally launched her third presidential bid in an online conversation with two fellow progressive activists.Stein, 73, who is bidding to become the US Green party's nominee, is the latest in a series of mostly leftist figures to announce candidacies with the potential to erode Biden's core support in an expected re-match against Donald Trump in next year's poll. Continue reading...

Harrison Floyd's social media posts lead Georgia judge Scott McAfee to call for clarity on what constitutes interferenceA Georgia judge wouldn't revoke bond on Tuesday to put Donald Trump's ally Harrison Floyd in jail, in the broad case in that state over Trump's alleged election subversion scheme.The judge, Scott McAfee, did call for changes to the bond order to make clearer what constitutes interfering with witnesses and other defendants by Floyd. Continue reading...

Alexander Crow, 30, married 18-year-old high school graduate on Friday, according to license filed in Mobile county, AlabamaA Roman Catholic priest in Alabama who was investigated by law enforcement after fleeing to Europe with a recent high school graduate he met through his ministry legally married after he returned to the US with her, a document provided to the Guardian showed.According to a marriage license filed in Mobile county, Alabama, Alexander Crow, 30, married the 18-year-old former McGill-Toolen Catholic high school student on Friday. Continue reading...

CEO Changpeng Zhao will resign and pay a $50m individual fine as part of a plea deal with the US Justice DepartmentChangpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, agreed to resign from the company and plead guilty to money laundering on Tuesday.As part of a guilty plea, Zhao agreed to pay a $50m fine and would be barred from any involvement in the business. Binance too agreed to plead guilty, accept the appointment of a monitor and pay a criminal fine of nearly $1.81bn as well as a $2.51bn order of forfeiture to settle three criminal charges. The US Justice Department had charged the company with conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, a conspiracy charge and violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Continue reading...

Officials launch inquiry as victim identified as Jesse Dominguez, 34, who family says may have been in mental health crisisA California highway patrol officer fatally shot a man on Sunday during a confrontation in the middle of a Los Angeles highway, state authorities said as they announced an investigation into the incident.The Los Angeles county medical examiner's office on Tuesday identified the man as Jesse Dominguez. The 34-year-old was walking along the westbound lanes of Interstate 105 in south Los Angeles county when the deadly encounter unfolded, the California highway patrol said. Continue reading...

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Hanme K Clark, 45, is believed to be driving a 2017 white Ram 1500 pickup truck with camper shell, says Custer county sheriffA man was on the run on Tuesday after police say he fatally shot three people and critically wounded a fourth over a years-long dispute about the use of an easement on the suspect's property in rural Colorado, authorities said.The 45-year-old suspect, Hanme K Clark, was believed to be driving a 2017 white Ram 1500 pickup truck with a camper shell, said the Custer county sheriff, Lloyd Rich Smith. He said at a midday news conference that the department were narrowing in on the suspect and hoped he would surrender peacefully. Continue reading...

Joaquin Blaya condemns recent interview on Spanish-speaking TV network as propaganda' while John Leguizamo calls for a boycottA former president of Univision condemned the Spanish-language US television network's recent interview with Donald Trump as propaganda" and an insult to the Hispanic community".To call the Trump [interview] an interview is mistaken," Joaquin Blaya told MSNBC. It was not an interview as we understand [it] in the United States. It was basically a one-hour propaganda open space for former president Trump to say whatever he wanted to say." Continue reading...

However, judge decided former president could not be disqualified from the presidential ballot under the 14th amendment clauseDonald Trump appealed a ruling in which a Colorado judge said he could not be disqualified from the presidential ballot under the 14th amendment to the US constitution, even though he engaged in insurrection by inciting the deadly January 6 attack.The former president took issue with the finding that he participated in insurrection in connection with the attack on the Capitol staged by his supporters. Continue reading...

Shooter in Ohio wounded four people before killing himself, days after two people were shot and killed outside a Walmart in AlaskaWalmart says it is working closely with investigators to try to determine why a shooter opened fire at one of its stores in Ohio and wounded four people before killing himself late on Monday.The attack came during a year that - as of early Tuesday - had so far seen the US report about 610 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive.The Associated Press contributed reporting Continue reading...

After his landslide victory in the presidential election, Javier Milei is threatening to undo 40 years of democracy in Argentina Continue reading...

George Conway, J Michael Luttig and Barbara Comstock create new legal group to speak out against the endless stream of falsehoods'Three prominent US legal thinkers have announced a new organisation to champion conservative legal theory within the rule of law, to fight the threat of a second Donald Trump term.Our country comes first," the three wrote in the New York Times, and our country is in a constitutional emergency, if not a constitutional crisis. We all must act accordingly, especially us lawyers." Continue reading...

Police work to confirm whether body is that of Ross McDonnell, 44, last seen leaving Brooklyn apartment on bicycle earlier this monthNew York police are working to confirm that a body found on a city beach is that of the award-winning Irish film-maker Ross McDonnell, who was last seen leaving his Brooklyn apartment on a bicycle early this month.Although the body has not been officially identified, NBC law enforcement sources told the network the remains appeared to be those of McDonnell. Continue reading...

Phillip Fisher Jr, who served three years in prison, volunteered at Philadelphia summit for rightwing parental rights groupA Philadelphia-based outreach leader for Moms for Liberty - the conservative parental rights group that is pushing to exclude discussion of gender and diversity from school curricula - has been exposed as a registered sex offender.According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Phillip Fisher Jr - a pastor and local Republican ward leader who volunteered at Moms for Liberty's national summit in Philadelphia this year - pleaded guilty in 2012 to a charge of aggravated sexual abuse involving a 14-year-old boy when he was 25 and living in Chicago.In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International Continue reading...