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Despair after 200-year-old ‘grandmother’ tree toppled for Trump’s border wall: ‘It crushes your heart’

Protesters spent months occupying an ancient cottonwood. Then a tense standoff with US border patrol came to a head

A 200-year-old cottonwood tree near the US-Mexico border, known as the “grandmother”, has been destroyed to make way for the construction of Donald Trump’s border wall, despite a months-long effort by protesters trying to save it.

In late July, land defenders began a tree-sit in the ghost town of Lochiel, Arizona, taking turns occupying a platform high in the tree’s canopy. The group remained there for more than 70 days.

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© Photograph: Rebecca Noble/Reuters

© Photograph: Rebecca Noble/Reuters

© Photograph: Rebecca Noble/Reuters

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Security guarantees for Ukraine must include readiness to fight alongside its forces, French expert says

Effective security guarantees for Ukraine would require its partners to be ready to deploy their forces on Ukrainian territory after hostilities cease and fight alongside Ukrainian troops if Russia attacks again. At the same time, it remains an open question whether Western countries are prepared to make such a political commitment.

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A replica of Donald Trump’s Oval Office goes for the gold in Washington DC

The tourist attraction just unveiled an elaborate, full-scale overhaul to match Trump’s second-term aesthetic

Sitting behind a replica Resolute Desk, nine-year-old Sydney Wright posed for the camera like a future US president. “I love it,” she smiled. And what about the dazzling gold appliqués, gold leaf and gold trim surrounding her? “It’s cool.”

Sydney was among a steady stream of visitors on Thursday to The People’s House: A White House Experience, an interactive museum – with an orientation film narrated by The West Wing star Martin Sheen – at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, just 150 yards from the real thing.

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

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Trump says Ukraine needs a new leader after diesel deal with Russia

US president suggests Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not done enough to end war

Donald Trump has said Ukraine needs “a new leader”, a day after making a deal with Vladimir Putin to buy large quantities of Russian diesel.

The US president suggested Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end the war with Russia and blamed him for high diesel prices in the US.

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© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

© Photograph: Reuters

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United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain easily wins re-election

Fain was dogged by investigation but still decisively beat challenger Rich Boyer, who received just 13% of vote

The president of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, has easily won his re-election bid after an campaign period marred by accusations of corruption and election interference.

The union’s election of leadership for a four-year term began with mail-in ballots being sent out in late August 2026, with vote tabulating commencing on 6 October.

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© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

© Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

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Marcy Kaptur: longest-serving congresswoman’s bid for another House term roiled by anti-trans ad

Democrat in Congress since 1983 rebuked over ‘dangerous’ campaign ad – will it harm her chances in tight Ohio race?

Last month, Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history, released a video advertisement in which she looks directly at the camera and says exactly what she thinks about one of the most divisive issues facing Democrats today.

“Here’s the truth: I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools because parents know what’s best for their kids,” Kaptur says, “and boys should not play in girls’ sports.”

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© Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

© Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

© Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

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‘People are pissed’: union decries TSA’s removal of chairs for checkpoint staff

Order for workers to remain standing to ‘reinforce professionalism’ draws rebuke amid plunging morale

Union officials have launched a campaign to allow airport security staff to sit once more after the Trump administration unilaterally removed all the chairs for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff at checkpoints.

“People are pissed,” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) TSA council 100 and president of AFGE local 1040, which represents TSA workers in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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© Photograph: Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images

© Photograph: Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images

© Photograph: Lori Van Buren/Albany Times Union via Getty Images

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Trump fumes over Nobel peace prize snub and criticizes Norway

President complains about not winning prize in year he started war with Iran and says: ‘We will not forget, Norway’

Donald Trump complained Friday about not winning the Nobel peace prize for 2026, a year in which he started a war with Iran.

At what was supposed to be a rally for other Republican candidates in Syracuse, New York, the US president devoted a long portion of his speech airing his grievances with the Nobel committee.

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© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

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Zelenskyy furious as Trump announces deal to buy Russian diesel

US president says agreement needed to lower fuel prices, but move likely to create fresh crisis with Ukraine and Nato allies

Donald Trump is on a fresh collision course with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European allies after his stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel upended years of US and western pressure on the Kremlin to end its war against Ukraine.

Zelenskyy reacted furiously to Trump’s announcement of the deal with Vladimir Putin on Friday, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “not fair and not honest”.

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© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

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I saw Iran execute a man in public. Is this what the US wants? | Robert Tait

It is odd for the US defense secretary to be laying the groundwork for an event that could be organized by Tehran

Pete Hegseth’s plans to stage a public execution resemble a grotesque Iran-imitation game.

Having failed over the past seven months to defeat the Tehran regime on the battlefield, the self-styled “secretary of war” now proposes to mirror its notorious practice of enforcing the death penalty as a grand public spectacle.

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© Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP

© Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP

© Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP

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Federal judge rules against Trump DoJ’s policy of collecting state voter rolls

Judge says justice department policy of checking state voter rolls against a federal immigration database is unlawful

A federal judge ruled on Friday that the US justice department’s policy of collecting states’ unredacted voter rolls to check them against a federal immigration database is unlawful.

The ruling, by the US district judge Sparkle Sooknanan, was a setback for Donald Trump, who has pushed his administration to ramp up investigations into non-citizen voting ahead of the November midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake.

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© Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

© Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

© Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters

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Trump says he picked ‘devoted fan’ Katie Zacharia to be next press secretary

Zacharia will replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the role at the end of August after giving birth to her second child

Donald Trump on Friday announced that he had picked Katie Zacharia to be the next White House press secretary, lining up a conservative commentator he called a “devoted fan” to be his most prominent spokesperson.

Zacharia will replace Karoline Leavitt, who left the role at the end of August after the birth to her second child.

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© Photograph: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for 2521 Entertainment and Angel Studios

© Photograph: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for 2521 Entertainment and Angel Studios

© Photograph: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for 2521 Entertainment and Angel Studios

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‘Medieval’ and ‘disturbing’: US plan to livestream execution elicits global condemnation

Pentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live

The US is facing worldwide condemnation over a “barbaric” plan to execute a disabled man by firing squad and livestream it to the public, with critics comparing the Trump administration to dictatorships in Iran and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon confirmed on Thursday that the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009, would be livestreamed on 3 December.

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© Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Trump establishes committee to investigate Fed governor Lisa Cook

US president renews his efforts to oust Cook despite supreme court ruling that her firing was unconstitutional

Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is establishing a committee to investigate Lisa Cook, the US Federal Reserve governor, over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud, renewing his efforts to oust her despite a June supreme court ruling that her earlier firing was unconstitutional.

Trump said a committee will consult with justice department officials to decide whether there is “cause” for her removal. The White House will hold an in-person hearing on 5 November to consider the allegations against Cook, which will be closed to the public but transcribed and published. Cook will be able to submit a written statement to present her own evidence and will be subject to examination from White House and her own legal counsel.

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

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US imposes new sanctions on international criminal court

Trump administration says US ‘doesn’t need’ ICC after accusing court of unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges

The United States was accused of launching “an assault” on the world’s legal order after imposing more sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC).

Unveiling the Trump administration’s latest escalation against the court, which it has accused of politicization and unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, declared: “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”

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© Photograph: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Remko de Waal/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

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Democratic Senate candidate responds to anti-trans attacks pushed by Republicans

Dr Annie Andrews voices opposition to ‘biological men … in women’s sports’ in response to Republican attacks

Dr Annie Andrews, a Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina, has responded to persistent efforts by Republicans to make trans athletes in women’s sports a wedge issue in the race.

In a restrained direct-to-camera statement, Andrews – a pediatrician – outlined her opposition to “biological men playing in women’s sports”, as her party pushes back against Republican attacks.

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© Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

© Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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What will Democrats do if they win Congress? Here are their priorities

Control of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections would give Democrats power to subpoena documents and testimony

In August, Jamie Raskin renewed his demand that Jared Kushner hand over documents about the overlap between his informal role advising Donald Trump on foreign policy and the private equity firm he runs after an earlier request was ignored.

Five of the 11 companies that Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer and Ron Wyden wrote to about Donald Trump’s IRS settlement – including the Trump Organization and World Liberty Financial – never answered at all.

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© Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: Rita Liu/The Guardian/Getty Images

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Stop talking about the US ‘Jewish vote’. It's not that simple | Judith Levine

Political parties vie for Jewish support based on false assumptions about a single issue: Israel

Everybody wants the Jewish vote. As if there were one. Jews are educated, generally liberal. Although they comprise only about 2% of the electorate, they vote in high numbers, overwhelmingly for Democrats. In 2024, 79% chose Kamala Harris. They are also assumed to be steadfast friends of Israel, no matter what it does. Republicans, waging a fake war on antisemitism while courting white supremacists, consider Jews increasingly up for grabs.

Nationally, Jewish Americans are concentrated in a few bright blue spots. A 2020 map from the Jewish Electorate Institute showed a third of Jews living in 20 congressional districts – out of 435 – most of them in New York, New Jersey, California and (purple) Florida. Of these, only one sent a Republican to Washington.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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The Democrats taking the fight to Republican strongholds

In Florida, Kansas, Iowa and Texas, Democratic candidates are outperforming the predictions, but both parties may struggle to consolidate gains

The most valuable education I received for becoming a political editor was growing up in Florida. During the entirety of the 18 years I lived there, it was a purple state that voted for Barack Obama twice, and while I would not say my community was diverse, the spectrum of political ideology was vast. I had a close friend who kept a life-sized cutout of George W Bush in her bedroom, and another who helped organize Amnesty International fundraisers against landmines. When the state turned deeply Republican in 2016, and remained that way, I continued to harbor a suspicion that it wasn’t the whole story.

Even so, nothing could prepare me for the sheer surprise when Angie Nixon – the state legislator who joined the Democratic Socialists of America running against Alex Vindman, a centrist with national name recognition – won the Democratic primary for Senate in Florida. That shock has continued in the months after, as we see the Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly running neck-and-neck with Republican Byron Donalds, who seemed like a shoo-in just weeks ago. And while Nixon is polling behind her Republican opponent, Ashley Moody, the race is much closer than anyone following Florida politics expected. So much so that the senior progressive senator Bernie Sanders has newly poured millions of dollars from his campaign funds into the state, and the popular congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went to campaign with Nixon last month.

Here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war now.

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© Photograph: Lynne Sladky/AP

© Photograph: Lynne Sladky/AP

© Photograph: Lynne Sladky/AP

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A national verdict on Trump 2.0 is coming. Nine midterm voters share where they stand

From cost of living to the Iran war, these are the issues that matter most to US voters across the political spectrum

US voters are about to deliver their first national verdict on the second presidency of Donald Trump. On 3 November, millions of Americans will vote in midterm elections to decide control of the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as the governorships in 36 states. The results could have a huge impact on Trump’s final two years in office.

Today, the Guardian launches its 2026 midterm voter panel. Our reporters have interviewed nine voters across the country and the political spectrum about the issues that matter to them, from the cost of living, immigration and healthcare to the war in Iran and whether they trust their political leaders.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Caleb Davis/David Ferrari/Sally Rasmussen/Patti Fucci/Justin Daniels/Sharon Anderson/Scott Akridge/Yajaira Martinez

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Caleb Davis/David Ferrari/Sally Rasmussen/Patti Fucci/Justin Daniels/Sharon Anderson/Scott Akridge/Yajaira Martinez

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Caleb Davis/David Ferrari/Sally Rasmussen/Patti Fucci/Justin Daniels/Sharon Anderson/Scott Akridge/Yajaira Martinez

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Hurricane Isaias ‘biggest test’ for Fema since Trump cuts, experts warn

Gulf officials say they are ready for storm but concerns raised about restructured agency’s ability to respond effectively

Gulf state officials say they are prepared for Hurricane Isaias, but the storm could be the first major test of Fema’s ability to deploy a large surge workforce after the Trump administration’s sweeping cuts and restructuring of the agency, emergency management experts say.

The Trump administration has said it wants to eliminate, or drastically downsize, Fema, putting more burden on states. More than 4,300 employees left the agency in fiscal year 2025, about 17% of the workforce, according to a recent US government accountability office (GAO) report. The agency’s staffing reductions were not carried out systematically to ensure Fema could still meet its statutory obligations, said Chris Currie, director of homeland security and justice at the GAO.

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© Photograph: Dan Anderson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Dan Anderson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Dan Anderson/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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US midterms: key takeaways from Senate debates in Michigan, Georgia and Maine

Candidates traded personal attacks and clashed over a range of issues in closely watched US Senate debates on Thursday, with control of Congress at stake

With just weeks left in the contentious midterm election campaign, candidates in a trio of highly-competitive Senate races debated Thursday night, clashing over the economy, tariffs, the Iran war and abortion rights, with control of the upper chamber at stake.

In Georgia, incumbent Democratic senator Jon Ossoff faced GOP representative Mike Collins. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul Al-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers debated over the state’s open Senate seat. And in Maine, longtime senator Susan Collins met Democratic challenger Troy Jackson. Democrats need to flip four Republican-held Senate seats to win the majority.

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© Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

© Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

© Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

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Execution TV? Pete Hegseth has taken the once ‘greatest democracy’ to a horrific new low | Paul Daley

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

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© Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

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ICE agent shoots man in New York City with five-year-old reportedly in car

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.

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© Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

© Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

© Photograph: Eduardo Muñoz/Reuters

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Trump hosts awards party for tech billionaires, almost as if he doesn’t care about ordinary Americans

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.

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© Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

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Democratic senator says Hegseth trying to hide costs of Iran war from US public

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.

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© Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA

© Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA

© Photograph: Will Oliver/EPA

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Thousands turn out to welcome weary USS Lincoln sailors after grueling deployment

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

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.”

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© Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

© Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

© Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters

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DoJ seeks to charge ex-Trump aide who gave key testimony on January 6 attack

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.

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© Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Stefani Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

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Trump promises not to attack Iran before November’s US midterms

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”.

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© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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Trump made ‘clear’ that media ban was due to critical coverage, court told

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.

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© Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

© Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters

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Microsoft suspended from applying for green cards for H-1B workers, JD Vance says

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.

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© Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Victor Montagliani eyes re-election at Concacaf that would rule out Fifa presidency run

  • 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.

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© Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images

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‘Undistilled cheating’: Missouri voters furious in aftermath of Trump bid to rig electoral maps

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

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.

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© Photograph: Michael Thomas/Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Thomas/Getty Images

© Photograph: Michael Thomas/Getty Images

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Send us your questions on how the US economy is shaping the midterm elections

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

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© Illustration: Teresa Lo/Guardian Design

© Illustration: Teresa Lo/Guardian Design

© Illustration: Teresa Lo/Guardian Design

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Nicolás Maduro and his wife indicted for alleged torture of US citizens

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.

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© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jane Rosenberg/AFP/Getty Images

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We traveled the country asking Americans how they’re feeling at the gas pump. Trump’s name came up a lot

Fuel prices are higher than ever because of Trump’s war on Iran. Some motorists feeling that pain at the pump are reluctant to blame the president, while others are ready to vent. Andrew Feinberg and economist Rahat Hossen report on how $7 diesel tests loyalty and strains livelihoods as they crisscross the country

© Andrew Feinberg/The Independent

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