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Jared Kushner and Tony Blair's neocolonial venture would be an incompatible transplant that would be rejected by the bodyOn my first day in Baghdad, after the mortar fire had subsided, I made my way to my office in the Republican Palace and set about the first task I had been given: writing a new policy for the Iraqi police on pregnant officers. To be clear, I was 26 and knew nothing about policing, nor about pregnancy, nor, for that matter, about Iraq, but I was part of the Coalition Provisional Authority - the American government that had been imposed after the war - and this policy, I was told, was what Iraq needed.Five years later, I found myself sitting in a plush hotel suite in Jerusalem, as Tony Blair - one of the architects of the Iraq war, but now the quartet special envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process", waxed lyrical on the economic growth that was occurring in the Palestinian city of Jenin. Having spent a significant amount of time the day before negotiating the myriad of Israeli military checkpoints that separated Jenin's dusty streets from the five-star German Colony Hotel where we were meeting, I could not square Blair's impression with my own reality.Josh Paul served as a national aecurity consultant in the Coalition Provisional Authority for Iraq, a security sector governance adviser to the US security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian territories, and now leads Washington DC-based non-profit advocacy group A New Policy Continue reading...

As the postseason starts with the wildcard round, our writers pick the dark horses, likely winners and the high seeds at risk of going out earlyThe Pirates may have been abysmal again but have remained appointment viewing thanks to Paul Skenes, whose highlight reels make you question physics. It's not just his raw pace, throwing 100mph+ deep into games, but his mastery of late-moving variations that mean batters can't pick whether it's a sweeper or a splinker until it's already behind them. Alan Evans Continue reading...

This week marks the 50th anniversary of one of boxing's greatest fights. As Muhammad Ali's biographer, I knew the toll the bout took on himIn 1989, with Muhammad Ali sitting beside me, I watched a tape of Ali's historic triumph over Joe Frazier in Manila, which took place 50 years ago this week.For months, Ali and I had been reviewing his fights for a book I was writing as his authorized biographer. We'd watched Henry Cooper knock Cassius Clay to the brink of oblivion with a picture-perfect left hook. From the vantage point of my living room, that had amused Muhammad. Continue reading...

US official says inquiry launched in June still under way but Australian PM and defence minister confident deal is secure

Neither Trump's US nor the rise of the AfD explains it all. Self-styled progressives in the arts must take a hard look at themselves tooIn sports, the Black athlete is often mythologised: supernatural speed, exceptional strength, genetics as magic. And yet, in public spaces, a Black person running is met with suspicion, fear or anger. The choreographer Joana Tischkau's new piece Runnin', which premiered at Berlin's prestigious performance stage HAU, last week, opens that tension and holds it for us to see.The work builds itself in the everyday: four performers move in circles across an empty stage. It brings the so-called pedestrian movement" of postmodern dance - walking, standing, sitting - the sort of movement considered neutral, almost invisible, into collision with the Black body. When a racialised person simply moves, simply breathes in our shared streets, the piece seems to ask, is that ever neutral?Fatma Aydemir is a Berlin-based author, novelist, playwright and Guardian Europe columnistDo 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...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on US politics, read more of our coverage hereTrump officials to announce plan to boost coal outputThe US is set to announce on Monday policies to try to boost the output of coal, the interior department said, as the Trump administration seeks to reverse the decline of the fossil fuel's use. Continue reading...

State is latest to face legal threats in the course of Trump administration's brutal deportation campaignThe justice department has sued the state of Minnesota over its sanctuary city immigration policies, making it the latest locality to face legal threats as the Trump administration attempts to carry out the president's campaign promise of mass deportations.Minnesota officials are jeopardizing the safety of their own citizens by allowing illegal aliens to circumvent the legal process," Pamela Bondi, the attorney general, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Trump and the Israeli prime minister outline their 20-point plan during meeting at White House. Key US politics stories from Monday 29 September at a glanceSome of America's key allies have backed Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, after the president and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivered an ultimatum to Hamas, warning the militant group to accept their 20-point plan or face the consequences.UK prime minister Keir Starmer has called on Hamas, to agree to the plan and end the misery, by laying down their arms and releasing all remaining hostages". French president Emmanuel Macron said France stands ready to contribute" to the efforts to end the war. Continue reading...

Democrats strike optimistic tone after high-stakes meeting but Republicans accuse rivals of hostage-taking'A high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump and top congressional Democrats on Monday resulted in no apparent breakthrough in negotiations to keep the government open, with JD Vance declaring afterwards: I think we are headed into a shutdown."Democrats, who are refusing to support the GOP's legislation to continue funding beyond Tuesday unless it includes several healthcare provisions, struck a more optimistic tone following the Oval Office encounter, which also included the Republican leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives. Continue reading...

Ian Roberts was superintendent of Des Moines public schools, the largest school district in the stateThe superintendent of Iowa's largest school district has had his education license revoked by state education officials following his arrest last week by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents.Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Des Moines public schools (DMPS), was detained by Ice agents on Friday morning in what the Department of Homeland Security described as a targeted enforcement operation". Continue reading...

The US president, Donald Trump, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Monday that they have agreed to a plan to end the war in Gaza, but it is unclear whether Hamas will accept the terms. The plan does not require people to leave Gaza and calls for the war to end immediately if both sides accept it. It also calls for all remaining hostages to be released within 72 hours of Israel accepting the plan

Hud attorneys who said fighting discrimination not a Trump priority call dismissals as blatant as can be'Two attorneys in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) anti-discrimination division said they were fired on Monday, a week after going public with a whistleblower report alleging that the Trump administration had dismantled efforts to combat residential segregation.Paul Osadebe and Palmer Heenan worked in Hud's Office of Fair Housing (OFH), which is tasked with bringing cases against parties accused of discriminating against tenants and homebuyers under a landmark civil rights law. In a report sent last month to Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren, Heenan, Osadebe and two anonymous colleagues wrote that fighting discrimination under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was not a priority" for the administration, and that their office had been targeted for downsizing because it presented an optics problem". Continue reading...

Javice was convicted for defrauding JPMorgan Chase into buying her college financial aid startup Frank for $175mCharlie Javice, the entrepreneur convicted for defrauding JPMorgan Chase into buying her college financial aid startup Frank for $175m, was sentenced on Monday to just over seven years in prison.Alvin Hellerstein, the US district judge, handed down the sentence at a hearing in Manhattan federal court. Continue reading...

Oregon has filed suit to block Trump's move, warning there was no legal justification' and it will escalate tensionsPortland is bracing for the deployment of 200 national guard troops as Donald Trump moves ahead with plans to bring the US military into another Democratic-run city.Oregon filed a lawsuit to block the deployment, which the state has warned will escalate tensions and lead to unrest when there is no need or legal justification" to bring federal troops into Portland. Continue reading...

Celeste Rivas Hernandez, first reported missing at age 13, found decomposing in trunk of singer's car in Los AngelesThe missing teenager whose body was discovered decomposing in singer D4vd's Tesla in early September likely died several weeks earlier, according to the Los Angeles police department.Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found dead in the trunk of the singer's car on 8 September, one day after her 15th birthday, following reports of a foul odor emanating from the vehicle. The then 13-year-old Rivas Hernandez was first reported missing on 5 April 2024. Continue reading...

Craig Vogt arrested after allegedly saying he killed the animals out of spite because neighbor kept feeding themA man on Florida's Gulf coast has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities said he killed, cooked and ate two of his pet peacocks to spite a neighbor.Craig Vogt, 61, was arrested on 23 September on a third-degree felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty, according to an affidavit from the Pasco county sheriff's office, as the Miami Herald reported. Continue reading...

Six separate mass shootings bring tally to 324 this year, underscoring continuing US crisis of gun violenceSunday's mass murder at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, which left at least four worshippers dead and eight wounded, was just one of six mass shootings that erupted across the US over a weekend of gun horror.The Gun Violence Archive, an online non-profit database which records mass shootings in America, added six fresh incidents over Saturday and Sunday. The concentrated bloodletting, spread out across four states, took the lives of nine people, including the suspect in Sunday's shooting at Grand Blanc's Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church, as well as injuring at least 33. Continue reading...

After Europe held off an amazing comeback from the USA to triumph 15-13 and retain the Ryder Cup, we bring you some of our favourite images from three days of excitement at Bethpage Continue reading...

Irish golfer represents everything that makes Europe so successful as a team and could well be a future captainIt is not easy being Shane Lowry. Such a close friendship with Rory McIlroy means not only is sporting comparison inevitable but questions towards Lowry are routinely framed with the Northern Irishman in mind. What does Rory think, what would Rory say. Lowry takes it all in good spirit - the vast majority of the time - when he would be entitled to roll his eyes. That also applies to the rogue depiction of the hard-drinking Irishman who has a natural talent for his sport that removes a need for hard work. There are few more dedicated or serious performers than Lowry. He cares almost too much.McIlroy's outstanding achievements in golf do not extend to what Lowry produced on Sunday. A stirring comeback from the USA had left Europe in serious danger of letting the Ryder Cup slip through a dozen pairs of hands. It was left to Lowry and a 6ft putt on the final green at Bethpage Black to ensure at least a tie. The man American fans had called a Teletubby over the Ryder Cup's earlier two days would enjoy the last, deafening laugh. I still can't believe it," Lowry said on Monday morning. Continue reading...

Investigation to come after body was found by maintenance workers at Charlotte airport after flight arrived from EuropeAirplane maintenance workers at a North Carolina airport found the body of a suspected stowaway in the landing gear compartment of an American Airlines flight that had recently arrived from Europe, police said.The body was found on Sunday morning while the plane was undergoing maintenance at Charlotte Douglas international airport. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department said in a statement that it is investigating the death. Continue reading...

Administration's targeting of group settled in the US after fleeing war in Vietnam creating further displacementWa Kong Lor, a Hmong refugee from the outskirts of Detroit, was deported to Laos last month with only a driver's license and $65 in cash.Lor had never set foot in Laos, where his parents fled after the end of the Vietnam war. Born in a Thai refugee camp, he's considered stateless in the country, and unable to open a bank account to receive money from the US. For the past month, he's been living off the $65, spending a couple of dollars a day on food, said his wife, Maiyia Xiong. He asked her not to tell his mother and four young children back in Michigan that he's begun sleeping on the streets. Continue reading...

With late goals a major factor, the four major players for the trophy saw their narratives crystalize over the weekend

Five other relatives were injured when vehicles crashed into each other after semi-truck driver failed to stop at signThree members of the Michigan-based family featured on TLC's reality show Meet the Putmans were recently killed in a car crash, and five other members were injured.In a statement shared on Saturday, the family said its patriarch Bill Papa" Putman, his wife, Barb - who goes by Neenee - and their daughter-in-law Megan were killed in a tragic car accident" that was evidently reported the previous night. Continue reading...

Trump claims he'll impose 100% tariff on any and all movies' made abroad but doesn't give details or timeline

Google Maps images show suspect who was shot dead by police had Trump sign outside his Michigan houseThe gunman who killed at least four worshippers, wounded eight and was shot to death by police Sunday at a Mormon church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, had a sign emblazoned with the last name of Donald Trump outside his house, public records show.The president responded to the church shooting on Sunday by saying there is still a lot to learn" about the deceased suspect, identified as 40-year-old Thomas Jacob Sanford. This appears to be yet another targeted attack on Christians in the United States of America," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. Continue reading...

Mike Lindell alleged Los Angeles county devices were rigged in 2020 to change Trump votes to Biden votes

Church set ablaze on weekend when shooting attacks also took place in North Carolina, Texas and New Orleans. Plus, the secrets of Birkenstock's enduring success

While Kansas City got their season back on track with an excellent offensive performance, their AFC rivals are 1-3 and lost one of the finest players in the NFLThe Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens came into Sunday's slate in very unusual circumstances - two of the best teams of the last few years were struggling. Both were 1-2, and after the Chiefs' 37-20 blowout win on Sunday, the Ravens are in the kind of real trouble one doesn't usually expect from such a normally stable franchise.First, the Chiefs. This offense has been a problem transcended by Patrick Mahomes for a long time, for all sorts of reasons, but there was at least a one-week reprieve from such worries. Mahomes was dynamite, completing 25 of 37 passes for 270 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 124.8. It helped that speedy receiver Xavier Worthy was back in action for the first time since Week 1, and Worthy lived up to his ... well, worth, with five catches for 83 yards. Mahomes threw touchdown passes to four different receivers and for the first time in goodness knows how long, Andy Reid's offense was a fun watch. Continue reading...

From Shane Lowry's victory jig to the emergence of a new US star, our team's picks from an electrifying weekendPlayer of the tournament Viktor Hovland. Well, that was a significant half-point on day three ... No, seriously, the award belongs to Tommy Fleetwood. Singles defeat should not mask his overall performance. Surely a major winner in waiting. Continue reading...

John Eidsmoe, associated with Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, has history with public defenses of ConfederacyA Presbyterian pastor linked to the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) via various aligned or affiliated organizations also has a history of associations with the neo-Confederate movement, including speaking dates for prominent neo-Confederate groups, and public defenses of the Confederacy and Confederate monuments.One group whose conference Colonel John Eidsmoe addressed, the Council for Concerned Citizens (CCC), was credited by racist mass murderer Dylann Roof for contributing to the radicalization of his views on race, which culminated in his deadly attack on Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June 2015. Continue reading...

RFK Jr is conducting a review of mifepristone, citing a deeply flawed study. The move could be devastating for womenRobert F Kennedy Jr's health department is conducting a new review of mifepristone, the drug used in the majority of American abortions, claiming that a new study from a conservative thinktank has raised concerns about its safety.Mifepristone, which was approved by the FDA 25 years ago this month, has repeatedly been proven safe and effective for use terminating pregnancies in both multiple medical trials and in widespread patient use over the past quarter of a century. The report cited by Kennedy, meanwhile, comes from the Ethics and Public Policy Center - a group that applies the Jewish and Christian traditions" to modern law and pushes back against the extreme progressive agenda while building a consensus for conservatives" - and was not peer reviewed. The study has been heavily criticized by medical experts for its methodology and lack of transparency regarding how it obtained and analyzed its data. The report appears to have dramatically inflated the rate of serious adverse health outcomes in patients who took mifepristone - in part by seemingly conflating the bleeding that occurs in the normal course of a medication abortion with hemorrhaging, and in part by relying on unclear terminology. The Ethics and Public Policy Center report classified serious adverse events" as occurring in almost 11% of mifepristone patients. More reliable studies, subject to data transparency, peer review, and a more rigorously honest set of definitions, have found that such adverse health events happen in fewer than 0.5% of users. In a meta-analysis of more than 100 studies, the vast majority found that more than 99% of people who use mifepristone have no serious complications.Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...

President's 2024 election rival delivers fiery remarks while accepting Congressional Black Caucus Foundation awardDonald Trump has proven himself to be an unchecked, incompetent, unhinged president," and his opposition must follow leaders who are ready to fight fire with fire," his 2024 election rival Kamala Harris has said.The former Democratic US vice-president delivered those fiery remarks on Saturday evening while accepting an award from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation in Washington DC - and after Trump's fellow Republican allies have demanded that his liberal opponents tone down their rhetoric in the wake of the 10 September shooting death of rightwing political activist Charlie Kirk. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Miller's homeland security council has played a key part in coordinating operations, sources sayStephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, has played a leading role in directing US strikes against suspected Venezuelan drug boats, according to three people familiar with the situation. At times, his role has superseded that of Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser.The strikes on the Venezuelan boats allegedly carrying narcotics, which the administration has claimed were necessary because interdiction did not work, have been orchestrated through the homeland security council (HSC), which Miller leads as the homeland security adviser. Continue reading...

This unapologetic trawl through a doomed campaign reveals a celebrity-obsessed party high on its own supply. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so tragicWatching the Kamala Harris presidential campaign unfold last year, I remember thinking, and writing, about how striking it was that she had been rehabilitated almost overnight into a political titan. Authoritative accounts of her before that moment portrayed a lo-fi vice-president, who, even according to people who had worked to get her there, had not risen to the challenge of proving herself as a future leader of the party, much less the country". Another striking feature of her campaign was how it leaned into vibes and spectacle rather than substance, or building faith in Harris as a clean break from an unpopular and visibly deteriorating Joe Biden. Her new book, 107 Days, a memoir of the exact number of days she had to win the presidency, goes a long way in explaining why that was. In short, Harris - and those around her, including supportive media parties - got high on their own supply.This was not the intention, but 107 Days is a hilarious book. The kind of you have to laugh or else you'll cry" type of hilarity. As the second Trump administration unfolds in ever-more disastrous ways, Harris and the other timeline that was possible had she won take on a calamitous, mythical quality. Here she comes, alerting us to the fact that her defeat was no fateful tragedy, but a farce. There was no hidden, better version of Harris that was muzzled and limited by circumstance. There was only a woman with a formidable lack of self-awareness and a propensity to self-valorise.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Latin trap and reggaeton artist to lead NFL half-time celebration on 8 February, following Kendrick Lamar's record-breaking 2025 showBad Bunny will headline the NFL's biggest stage next year: the Super Bowl half-time show in northern California.The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that the Grammy-winning artist will lead the halftime festivities from Levi's Stadium on 8 February in Santa Clara, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Continue reading...

A man began shooting inside a Mormon chapel in Michigan during a Sunday service and set the building ablaze, killing at least four people and injuring eight others. Officials identified the gunman as Thomas Jacob Sanford from the nearby city of Burton. Recovery crews had not completed searching the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the police chief said some people were still unaccounted for

Church allegedly set ablaze by gunman on weekend when shooting attacks also took place in North Carolina, Texas and New OrleansAt least four people were killed and eight others injured after a gunman opened fire at a Mormon church in Michigan and then set the building ablaze, authorities said.Two of the shooting victims died and eight others were hospitalised, officials said initially, while the gunman was shot dead by police. Several hours after the shooting, police reported finding at least two more bodies in the charred remains of the church, which had not yet been cleared and may contain other victims. Continue reading...

Latest departures in Trump administration's deferred resignation program come as Congress faces government shutdown deadline - key US politics stories from Sunday 28 SeptemberMore than 100,000 federal workers are to formally resign on Tuesday, the largest such mass event in US history, as part of a Trump administration program designed to make sweeping cuts to the federal workforce.With Congress facing a deadline of Tuesday to authorize more funding or spark a government shutdown, the White House has also ordered federal agencies to draw up plans for large-scale firings of workers if the partisan fight fails to yield a deal. Continue reading...

State attorney general asks federal court to block Trump from sending troops to city based on social media gossip'The state of Oregon filed a lawsuit in federal court on Sunday seeking to block the deployment of 200 national guard troops to Portland, arguing Donald Trump's characterization of the peaceful city as war ravaged" is pure fiction".Oregon's governor, Tina Kotek, said at a news conference that she had been notified by the Pentagon that the US president had seized control of the state's reservists, claiming authority granted to him to suppress rebellion" or lawlessness. Continue reading...

Masters champion withstood days of abuse from the US crowd and the exhaustion of five matches to help Europe over the lineIn the first moments after Rory McIlroy finally won the Masters he was already thinking about this Ryder Cup. The man who'd won everything wanted to win this more than anything. It had been on his mind ever since the last one at Marco Simone, when he startled the media, his captain, and his teammates by launching into a speech about how he was targeting victory here at Bethpage.I've said this for the last six years to anyone that will listen: I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup," McIlroy said back then, and that's what we're going to do". Continue reading...

Ryder Cup updates from finale at Bethpage Black

European players were subjected to slurs and crude insults about their families. They were no surprise as public discourse in America has broken downBy the time Europe finished the job, finally, on Sunday, the golf had the last word. But, until the thrilling denouement, the lasting memory of this Ryder Cup threatened not to be a single swing of the club so much as the ugly backdrop: galleries that drifted from partisan into venomous and the organizers who let the line slide until it snapped.It didn't happen all at once. For the first day and a half of golf's most intense rivalry, it was New York-loud without being unruly. Then Saturday afternoon arrived and the tenor shifted. Rory McIlroy, the visiting lightning rod, kept stepping off shots as volleys of abuse landed in the quiet of his pre-shot routine. Shane Lowry played teammate and minder. Justin Thomas, not exactly a shrinking violet, began shushing his own end of the grandstand so his opponents could putt. Continue reading...