A proposal to livestream the killing of Nidal Hasan by firing squad opens a window ever wider to the Trump administration’s complete moral vacuity

More fool me! Here I was thinking nothing that America’s Trump administration could do or say, no matter how politically and morally bankrupt, no matter how venal or violent, was capable of shocking me any longer.

Then I woke to today’s news that one of the Trump cabinet’s bigger boofheads – the uber Christian nationalist, crusader-fantasist and “secretary of war” Pete Hegseth had announced that America would have a public firing squad execution of murderer Nidal Hasan.

Paul Daley is a Guardian Australia columnist

Flowers, tried six times over 1996 murders of four people, faced execution before supreme court tossed his conviction

Curtis Flowers, a Black man who spent more than 22 years in prison and was on death row in Mississippi before the US supreme court threw out his conviction and death sentence, has died. He was 56.

Flowers’ family confirmed that he died on Wednesday at his home in Mississippi, attorney Rob McDuff told the Associated Press on Thursday.

Police say man taken to hospital and mayor says child physically unharmed as he demands Trump stop ICE enforcement in city

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man in New York City on Thursday afternoon during an enforcement operation, federal officials said.

The man was conscious and hospitalized, authorities said, and the shooting quickly sparked angry protests from local residents and elected officials in the neighborhood.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, with US midterms a month away, the president held a ceremony to celebrate our tech overlords – again

He stands accused of being out of touch, enriching himself and his family, building a lavish White House ballroom and, with elections looming, neglecting the hardships of the voters who brought him to power.

Time for Donald Trump to show he still has the common touch? Nope.

Production of Pawn Shop allowed to go on despite concern about disruption and portrayal of immigration crackdown

A Daily Wire film production that appears to re-enact elements of Renee Good’s killing has been allowed to continue filming in a rural Montana town.

Production of Pawn Shop, the conservative media company’s upcoming movie, was temporarily halted earlier this month after residents of Livingston complained about inconvenient road closures, as well as the film’s portrayal of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.

Nidal Hasan, army psychiatrist who killed 13 people, will be executed by firing squad on 3 December

Pete Hegseth has said the execution of Nidal Hasan, the former army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, will be a public event when the sentence is carried out later this year. A defense department official later confirmed the execution will be livestreamed.

In an interview with Real America’s Voice, the Pentagon secretary said the firing squad will carry out the sentence at Fort Hood, Texas, at 1pm on Thursday, 3 December. This would be the first US military execution in more than 60 years.

Chris Murphy says Pentagon blocked him from military base in Qatar and Iran strike on US embassy in Riyadh far worse than public led to believe

Senator Chris Murphy said the Pentagon blocked him from a major US base in Qatar, yet saw enough damage on the US embassy in Saudi Arabia to conclude that an Iranian strike would have been deadly had it happened during the day.

The Connecticut Democrat, who sits on the Senate foreign relations and appropriations committees, described the destruction he witnessed in Riyadh as “extraordinary” and much more damaging than the public has been led to believe.

Military families admit ‘mixed emotions’ as aircraft carrier finally returns to San Diego after fraught stretch at sea that took severe toll

• USS Lincoln arrives at San Diego base – live updates

By 4am on Thursday, the sky still pitch black, 19-year-old Pvt Grayden Monroe and his mom had already arrived to the naval base in San Diego, California. As the very first military family members to get there, they huddled on a set of metal bleachers overlooking the dark water. The duo were waiting for Monroe’s 21-year-old sister to step off the USS Abraham Lincoln, the embattled aircraft carrier that’s been at sea for the better part of a year.

Monroe, a soldier stationed at Fort Campbell, was wearing his army uniform for the occasion. “I hope she’s proud of me,” he said of his sister, “and I hope she knows damn well that I’m just as proud of her.”

Cassidy Hutchinson told panel she had been told Trump lunged for wheel of SUV to try to join mob at Capitol

Prosecutors in the justice department’s civil rights division are seeking criminal charges against Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top Trump White House aide who gave explosive testimony to the committee that investigated the US attack on the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The potential charges involve lying to Congress, the person said.

Eye-watering sum, to be split between 20 bankers, is one of the biggest payouts in the bank’s history

Top bosses at Goldman Sachs are in line to share a bonus pot worth up to $500m (£378m) this year, marking one of the biggest payouts in the Wall Street bank’s history.

The eye-watering sum will be shared between 20 bankers, with its chief executive, David Solomon, due to take about $100m (£75.6m) of the reward, which is made up of Goldman Sachs stock.

Statement outlines pause on protracted war US president has struggled to end after almost eight months

Donald Trump has promised not to attack Iran before November’s US midterm elections, outlining a pause on the protracted war he has struggled to end after almost eight months.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, the US president said Washington was “having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran”, which he claimed was “in very bad condition, both Economically and Militarily”.

Lawyer for CNN, MS Now and Politico says Trump admitted he banned networks from White House over their coverage

Donald Trump continues to be the strongest witness for the media companies arguing that they were unfairly barred from the White House at his direction, a lawyer representing CNN, MS Now and Politico told a federal judge on Thursday afternoon.

The media coalition was in court asking the judge to extend the temporary restraining order (TRO) he issued on 24 September requiring the White House to lift the ban for 14 days. That temporary reprieve was scheduled to expire on Thursday, but district court judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, said he would extend it until Tuesday and that he would probably rule on a motion for a preliminary injunction by that day. That means the White House will be forced to allow journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico to continue accessing the building until at least Tuesday.

How will the Buccaneers and Cowboys fare today? Here is what to know, including kick-off time, TV channels and live stream options

The bad news for the Buccaneers: Their 0-4 start has been an unmitigated disaster that, in normal circumstances, would have already evaporated their playoff chances. The good news for Tampa Bay, however, is that they play in the NFC South, meaning they’re still just two games out of a tie for the lead in what is often the worst division in the NFL. All is not quite lost yet.

If the Bucs want to join the 1992 Chargers and become the second team to make the postseason after an 0-4 opening, they’ll need to stop the bleeding on Thursday night in north Texas. They’ll have to do it without Baker Mayfield, who continues to nurse an injury to his throwing thumb.

Move would reunite chief executive Brian Niccol with chain he led before joining coffee company two years ago

Starbucks has explored a takeover of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, in a move that ⁠would reunite chief executive Brian Niccol with the burrito chain he led before joining the coffee giant two years ago.

The potential deal comes as restaurant chains wrestle with uncertain demand from inflation-weary ⁠consumers and rising operating costs, prompting ⁠companies to look ​for new avenues of growth while facing pressure to improve profitability.

• Aminata Seck released on $2,500 bond after two months

• Chinese player Qingfang Pang detained since September

• Mississippi Valley State express concern for player

A Kentucky State University women’s basketball player from Senegal who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been released after spending two months in custody.

At a hearing on Tuesday, a judge granted Aminata Seck a $2,500 bond, which was posted on Wednesday after ICE declined to appeal, according to Hishem Alsalman, managing attorney of Alsalman Law Office.

Eric Deters says US ambassador to Greece asked him to pay off American Express credit card bill in return for access

A Trump donor accused Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece and Trump family ally, of engaging in a “quid pro quo” by asking him to pay off her $100,000 debt in exchange for access to administration officials.

Eric Deters, a former congressional candidate and lawyer, told MS Now on Thursday that Guilfoyle had “ambushed” him last year with an offer to provide access to government officials if he paid her American Express credit card bill, before her US Senate confirmation hearing as ambassador to Greece.

Vice-president also says Adobe is barred from visa program that allows high-skilled workers to apply for US residency

Microsoft is suspended from applying for permanent residency for workers employed through a US visa program for high-skilled workers, JD Vance announced on Thursday.

The US vice-president accused the tech company of abusing the H-1B system, which allows those on the visa to work while they apply for and are in the process of obtaining a green card.

• Confederation president clarifies his intentions to staff

• Canadian was eyed as potential rival to Gianni Infantino

Victor Montagliani has told Concacaf staff he intends to stand for re-election as the confederation’s presidentnext year, which will rule him out of going up against Gianni Infantino for the top job at Fifa.

The Canadian businessman is understood to have relayed the message to most of the 41 members of Concacaf, the North and Central American and Caribbean confederation.

The US have been defined for so long by the next singular player. This past perfect window shows that era may be over

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In 1990, then-United States men’s national team manager Bob Gansler made a critical and somewhat controversial choice. He left three of the program’s laureled veterans at home and brought a young and little-tested team to the World Cup in Italy, the USA’s first in 40 years.

As Gansler recalled later: “I was thinking not only for ’90, but I was thinking about the 90s.”

Lawyers for Wells’s family have called for a federal investigation into 18-year-old’s disappearance and death

On Wednesday, Donald Trump said he was considering asking the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells, a Black college freshman who was last seen alive on a 4 July boating trip with friends.

Wells, 18, went missing while on Horn Island, a barrier island off the coast of Mississippi. His body was found on the island two days later. Wells’s cause and manner of death are still undetermined.

Residents in areas from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Florida urged to ‘evacuate if told to do so’

Millions of people from Louisiana to Florida were under hurricane warnings on Thursday as Hurricane Isaias heads toward the US Gulf coast, with weather officials warning of dangerous storm surge, hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and flooding.

Isaias intensified from a tropical storm into the first hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season on Wednesday night, and has prompted state of emergency declarations in Florida, Alabama and Georgia, as well as evacuation orders and school closures in several Florida counties as officials urge residents to prepare for its arrival.

State residents express anger at Republicans who allowed chaotic voting maps saga to unfold ahead of the midterms

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Eric Leventhal knows he’s going to vote for a Democrat in Congress when he goes to the polls in Missouri this November – the problem is he has no idea which candidate is going to be on his ballot.

In the state’s August primary, he voted for Fred Wellman, a Democrat running in the state’s second congressional district. But after a long and complicated legal battle sparked by Donald Trump’s desire to gain every advantage in the upcoming midterm contest, the districts have changed for the general election that will determine which party controls Congress. Leventhal said he lived right near the border of the first and second congressional district, so now he’s not sure which one he’s in.

Our business, labor and consumer rights reporters will answer your questions in a live Q&A on Thursday 15 October

The US economy is top of voters’ minds ahead of the November midterms with food and gas prices remaining high, the job market unstable, consumers angrier than ever, and a new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, in place.

We’ll be hosting a live midterm election Q&A on Thursday 15 October 2026 at 12pm EDT on the Guardian US site with a panel of our business, labor and consumer rights reporters: Lauren Aratani, Michael Sainato, Heather Timmons and Gaya Gupta. The team will cover cost of living challenges, tariffs, inflation and new federal policy proposals from local candidates.

Will the Iran war cost Trump in the US midterm elections? Your questions answered

Who are the groups financially backing the candidates in the midterms?

The makeup of the Democratic party, plus key races to watch

According to city’s rent board, eviction notices are up 44% and tenants are on edge over landlords swooping in over their homes

To say that Maria Zamudio and her team have been busy lately would be a gross understatement.

Every Monday at 9am, the phone lines at the downtown clinic of San Francisco’s Housing Rights Committee start ringing, and they keep ringing until closing at 5pm. In-person counseling appointments for renters facing eviction or landlord misconduct fill days in advance. After every weekend, the staff of seven sits in their office and sifts through more than 150 voicemails. The rental assistance hotline averages 200 calls a week.

Recovery marks a dramatic turnaround for Pike, who remains in hospital after a botched execution in Tennessee

Christa Pike is “up and walking” in hospital, her lawyer said, just more than a week after she survived two lethal injections during a botched execution in Tennessee.

The recovery marks a dramatic turnaround after Pike was declared brain dead on Monday, before waking up and beginning to speak on Tuesday. Her ordeal has shocked many in the US and overseas and galvanized critics of the death penalty.

The president was repeatedly interrupted at a rally, and faces a legal challenge over taxpayer-funded adverts. Plus Jonathan the giant tortoise, who may have the secret to longevity

Good morning. Donald Trump suffered a torrid night at a rally in Texas that was rocked by repeated protests. The US president briefly stepped away from the microphone after one protester appeared to approach the stage. At least half a dozen demonstrators interrupted Trump during his remarks in San Antonio, with some led away by police. One was physically assaulted by an older Trump supporter as he tried to leave the arena.

What is the latest development in the saga over taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads? The Democratic National Committee has sued the Trump administration in federal court, asking a judge in Washington to stop the president from using taxpayer funds to air a series of ads promoting himself. The ads have cost taxpayers more than $12m so far, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact.

Why has Trump been forced to distance himself from two top aides? Trump claimed he did not have “any idea who else they work for” after it was reported that Chris LaCivita, the co-manager of his 2024 presidential campaign, and James Blair, a campaign adviser and White House deputy chief of staff on leave of absence, spent the weekend assisting the pro-Russia government in Republika Srpska in the Balkans. Trump said: “I will terminate them, immediately” if he determined there was a conflict of interest.

What is the latest in the diplomatic dispute between the UK and Israel? Britain is rebranding its East Jerusalem consulate as a UK mission. The move was forced by the Israeli government as punishment for Britain’s decision to ban trade with illegal settlements. There has been some dispute within the UK government over whether taking tough measures at this time against Israel could help Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election prospects this month.

Ousted Venezuelan president and Cilia Flores have been in jail in New York since early January

The deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted for alleged conspiracy to commit torture, according to Manhattan federal court papers unsealed on Thursday.

The superseding indictment was unsealed shortly before Flores appeared at court in her ongoing push for pretrial release – which was denied by Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Maduro and Flores have been jailed in New York City since early January.

A coalition of Democratic attorneys general is working to make sure voters across the spectrum have their voices heard

Elections have consequences. So do the Trump administration’s exhaustive efforts to undermine them.

Voters will be confident in their choices, but less certain whose voice will count in the face of myriad intrusions by the executive branch. A coalition of Democratic attorneys general are working to make sure voters across the political spectrum have their say.

Nick Brown is the attorney general of the state of Washington

Some of the biggest names in European football will bid for a franchise in ESL-style league, now due to launch in 2028

The launch of NBA Europe will be delayed 12 months until 2028, with a pre-qualifying competition planned for next year to find four temporary members to join the 16-team league’s inaugural season alongside 12 permanent franchises.

The NBA is planning to invest about $10bn (£7.6bn) over 10 years in what sources have described as the sporting world’s biggest-ever startup competition. It is understood to have received multiple offers for the 12 franchises that exceed their targets, with prices expected to range from $500m to more than $1bn for the London franchise.

Wren Michelle Roberts was born with heterotaxy, a syndrome so rare a specialist could only find 15 similar cases

South-eastern Louisiana couple Nick and Savannah Roberts planned to bury their infant daughter the weekend after she was born in September with an exceedingly rare combination of birth defects that her doctors feared was unsurvivable.

But an unforeseen congenital trait in Wren Michelle Roberts’ heart, combined with her parents’ dedication to her complex medical care, has allowed her to defy her bleak initial prognosis and meet weeks’ worth of milestones that each are a “miracle in [their] own way”, according to her doctor.

Donald Trump’s latest campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas, was rocked by repeated protests as the US president urged Texas voters to back the embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton. At least half a dozen demonstrators interrupted the US president during his speech, with some led away by police. One was physically assaulted by a Trump supporter as he tried to leave the arena. The Republican campaign to maintain control of the Senate has become increasingly focused on Texas, where the Democrat James Talarico has emerged as a serious threat

Pentagon chief joins Trump in attempt to use deadly shooting at Texas base to attack former Democratic president

• Thousands turn out to welcome weary USS Lincoln sailors

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Donald Trump has urged James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the US Senate race in Texas, to debate Ken Paxton – Republican attorney general that the president has endorsed in the election.

On Truth Social, Trump described Paxton as “ready, willing, and able” to take on Talarico – the 37-year-old state representative who has been leading in several polls.

In Georgia, Jon Ossoff, the Democratic incumbent will face off against Mike Collins – a congressman and the Trump-backed Republican nominee at 7pm ET.

At the same time in Michigan, progressive insurgent Abdul El-Sayed, will debate Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee also endorsed by the president.

Finally, it’s the second debate in Maine in as many days. Susan Collins, the five-term Republican incumbent will spar (again) with the Democratic nominee, Troy Jackson, at 8pm ET.

Deployment for nearly a year was marked by reports of supply shortages and deteriorating morale and mental health among crew

The USS Abraham Lincoln, the US aircraft carrier that has been deployed for nearly a year and has spent months supporting US military operations against Iran, is scheduled to dock in San Diego on Thursday afternoon.

It marks the end of a deployment that has been described as “one of the most operationally intense and consequential of the modern era” and that became marked by a record-setting stretch at sea, repeated deployment extensions, and reports of supply shortages and deteriorating morale and mental health among some crew members.

Ohio former senator attacks Republican rival as the ‘face of datacenters’ as he wraps AI concerns into pro-worker message

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Sherrod Brown, the Democratic former senator from Ohio hoping to return to office in November’s midterm elections, has spent the past year traveling across his home state explaining to voters about all the ways the “system is rigged” against them. Recently, he’s been telling people about a trip he took across the north-west Ohio countryside.

“You’re driving on what looks like really good farmland, driving past fields, driving past barns, driving past milking parlors, and you see, all of a sudden, you see these huge cranes and you see these trucks coming,” Brown told a crowd of dozens at a coffee shop in the city of Lima earlier this month.

Children are being detained in record numbers, sometimes alone and where lawyers and family cannot find them

The image of immigration officers arresting five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos – in a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack – in January sparked outrage across the country.

Celebrities from Ms Rachel to Madonna called for the closure of the Dilley immigration processing center, the Texas immigrant camp that held Ramos and many children like him. Lawyers filed complaints about contaminated food and shoddy healthcare, and hundreds of activists protested outside the detention camp. Within months, the government began sending fewer children to Dilley.

Trump seems to invent ugly new variations on his press-bashing theme almost every day

When you hate the mainstream press as much as Donald Trump does, nothing gets in the way of the punishment fantasy.

Not court rulings. Not public opinion. Not even the dreadful consequence of less media coverage.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

AI is already implicated in violent deaths and nearly started world war three. Those bad things? They only happen to other people

Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, has some words for you about his company and the future of artificial intelligence.

“One of the differences between us and some of the stricter AI safety people is that we believe that the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency [to use it],” Altman told Politico’s new technology podcast and newsletter Decoded.

Moustafa Bayoumi is the author of the award-winning books How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America and This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror. He is professor of English at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and a Guardian US columnist

Teams have always symbolized division within America. And the Fever have come to prominence during a time of dark political intensity

It’s over for now, but no professional sports team spent more time receiving and drawing attention to itself than did the Indiana Fever this season. The Fever has broken, the team eliminated by the defending champion Las Vegas Aces for the second straight season, but Indiana succeeded in being the WNBA’s canary in the coal mine, embodying both the obvious and unintended consequences of rapid growth, while also allowing themselves to be a season-long distraction: part-time professional basketball team, part-time right-wing culture war centerpiece. Less than a decade ago, Atlanta and Minneapolis were praised for their unified political stances. Today, Trumpism has replaced social justice as the defining characteristic of the league – and as the curtain closed on the 2026 WNBA regular season, Indiana stood at its epicenter.

The Fever were the most polarizing team in professional sports, known less for their basketball than their culpability in pulling the league from its old cultural identity as a Black/queer league into its current climate of political divisiveness – a calculated and dangerous path to popularity. This season, there was the basketball of the WNBA, and then there was the Indiana Fever, the league’s Maga-friendly option.

This article originally appeared on Howard Bryant’s Substack. You can subscribe here.

Global bond market sell-off continues and stocks fall amid reports White House has asked to see options for more strikes against Iran

Oil prices have risen sharply amid fears about escalating tensions in the Middle East and a squeeze on production from the threat of a hurricane off the US coast.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 5% to $105.3 a barrel on Thursday, triggering a wave of selling in the global bond and stock markets.

Trump briefly stepped away from the microphone after one protester appeared to approach the stage

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Donald Trump’s latest campaign rally was rocked by repeated protests on Wednesday as the US president urged Texas voters to back the embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton.

At least half a dozen demonstrators interrupted the US president during his remarks in San Antonio, with some led away by police. One was physically assaulted by an older Trump supporter as he tried to leave the arena.

• Rays sweep Yankees 3-0 after fan interference call

• Dodgers eliminate Braves to keep three-peat bid alive

• Ramírez leads Guardians past Sox to avoid sweep

Anthony Volpe rounded the bases, touched home plate and then waited out the uncertainty like everyone else.

“Just hoping for the best,” the New York Yankees infielder said. “Crazy.”

A warning for this episode - it covers details of a murder and an execution that some might find distressing.

In this episode of Guardian Australia’s US politics podcast, co-hosts Jonathan Yerushalmy and Reged Ahmad examine what happened when the state of Tennessee tried to execute prisoner Christa Pike. They also look at the controversy over taxpayer-funded ads promoting US president Donald Trump, midterm AI attack ads and the Elon Musk-Trump bromance that appears to be back on.

The 78-year-old has spent nearly six decades in prison and California governor has overturned last two parole grants

Patricia Krenwinkel, a former Charles Manson follower, was granted parole on Tuesday after nearly six decades in prison for her role in the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders in Los Angeles.

This is the third time that Krenwinkel, 78, has been approved for release by California’s board of parole hearings. After both of her last two parole grants, Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, reversed the parole board’s decisions and denied her freedom, and Krenwinkel’s attorneys are now urging the Democrat to allow this latest ruling to stand.

Jamie Raskin says ‘startling’ email asked whether young woman was ‘for me, or are you keeping her for yourself’

A powerful Democratic lawmaker has called for a criminal investigation into former Bard College president Leon Botstein after congressional investigators uncovered an email from Botstein to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in which he says Botstein asked if a young woman was “for me, or are you keeping her for yourself”.

The latest development appears to have triggered the immediate resignation of Botstein from all Bard-affiliated positions, including his professorship and roles in Bard’s music programs. Botstein had led the college for 50 years and only recently stepped down as president.

Ads promoting the president have cost more than $12m and his Super Pac has refused to reimburse taxpayers

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The Democratic National Committee sued the Trump administration in federal court on Wednesday, asking a judge in Washington DC to stop the president from using taxpayer funds to air a series of ads promoting himself, arguing that the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda.

The ads promoting Donald Trump, including one recycled from his 2024 presidential campaign, have cost taxpayers more than $12m so far, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact.

In the shadow of the Parthenon, the secretary of state gave a selective reading of history as he urged Europe to ‘awaken from its slumber’

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, delivered a classically inspired apologia for Donald Trump’s “America first” foreign policy on Wednesday, giving a sweeping speech to the backdrop of the Parthenon in Athens that appeared tailor-made for campaign ads if he runs for president in 2028.

In the speech, the top US diplomat drew historical parallels from the founders, philosophers and conquerers of antiquity to the modern American spirit – as well as his family’s own journey to the United States – as he called on Europe to “awaken from its long slumber” and reject a “future of atrophy and servitude and decline”.

Jamaal Howard, 46, executed by fatal dose of pentobarbital after lawyers’ bid for stay had been denied

A Texas man was put to death Wednesday in the first US execution since the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee last week.

Jamaal Howard, 46, was pronounced dead at 8.03pm after receiving a fatal dose of pentobarbital, a sedative, at the state prison in Huntsville.

President floats firing Chris LaCivita and James Blair over any ‘conflict’ after reports of work in Republika Srpska

Donald Trump distanced himself from two top advisers on Wednesday, claiming he did not have “any idea who else they work for”, after it was reported they spent the weekend assisting a pro-Russia government in the Balkans.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that Chris LaCivita, the co-manager of his 2024 presidential campaign, and James Blair, a campaign adviser and White House deputy chief of staff on leave of absence, “are outside consultants” and “do not work for me other than as outside consultants”.

Authorities say they arrested an 18-year-old who was planning a shooting attack at the Mall of America

FBI officials stopped a potential terrorist attack on the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, authorities announced Wednesday. An 18-year-old was arrested on one count of obtaining a firearm to carry out an act of terrorism.

Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud had been investigated over the last nearly two years by the FBI. He was arrested Tuesday in a public park after he paid $600 to an undercover FBI employee posing as a member of the Islamic State for an AK-47 and 200 rounds of ammunition, according to the criminal complaint.

Lawyers for Christa Pike, who survived two lethal injections, gave updates on her condition, saying she is severely unwell, and ‘angry and confused about everything right now’. Following a court hearing on Wednesday, a judge ordered Tennessee officials to preserve all evidence from the botched execution