The rural Oregon city of Bend was rocked by a mass shooting at an elementary school that killed three students and a teacher. Here’s what we know about the tragedy

• Shooter in fatal Bend, Oregon, school shooting was former student there

• Bystander who killed Oregon shooter identified as father of girls at elementary school

A 16-year-old gunman opened fire at the Silver Rail elementary school in Bend, Oregon, on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher.

The student victims were aged five, eight and 11. All of the victims were shot in the same classroom.

On Friday, the youngest victim was identified as Rhoam Summer, age five. His family said he was a fast runner and fearless climber who loved reading and his stuffed animals. “He never met a stuffie that he didn’t think needed to be rescued and cared for,” said his aunt, Swan Sheridan, who described him as “a little ball of energy from the moment he was born”. The names of the other student victims have not been released.

The teacher who was killed has been identified as 25-year-old Megan Lambert. In a statement read by officials on Friday, her family said she grew up in Bend, graduated from Boise State University and had a passion for sports, especially volleyball, and was a local coach. They said she was funny and opinionated, and “fought for the underdog” and “those with special needs”. “Meg loved those children,” the family said.

The 16-year-old shooter has been identified as Griffin J John II, a former student at the school. Griffin was killed at the scene. Police have yet to offer a motive.

Police said that an armed bystander pursued the suspect and shot him inside the school shortly before officers arrived. On Friday, that bystander was identified by his family as Kaylub Giamanco, a lifelong resident of Bend with two daughters at Silver Rail elementary. His family and others have called him a “hero”.

Two other victims, a seven-year-old student and a 54-year-old teacher, remain hospitalized. As of Friday afternoon, authorities said the student was receiving “life-saving care”, while the teacher was described as having “significant” but non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The wounded teacher was identified by family as Becky Drury. Her mother-in-law, Yvonne Drury, said on Facebook that she had injuries to her left arm and right hand and was recovering from surgery.

Police arrived at the school at 1.02pm local time after receiving multiple reports of a shooting. One 911 caller reported an individual armed with a long gun firing upon their car. At a news conference on Friday, police said the shooter climbed over a fence and onto the school’s property, before shooting through a set of locked doors and forcing entry into the building. He fired as many as 15 shots from a 12-gauge shotgun before he was stopped, police said.

The attack has rocked the small city of Bend, which is home to 100,000 residents and is located on the Deschutes River, about 170 miles (275km) south-east of Portland. All public schools in the district, and the campuses of Oregon State University-Cascades and Central Oregon Community College, were closed on Friday.

Hundreds of people gathered at nearby Drake Park on Thursday night at a somber candlelight ceremony to remember the victims. Some attenders called on authorities to harden gun laws in Oregon, already some of the tightest in the nation.

Officials have praised the swift actions of law enforcement officers and of the community member who intervened. The Oregon governor, Tina Kotek, praised the intervention as heroic and extended her thoughts to the bystander. “Your actions carry a heavy emotional burden,” she said on Thursday evening.

The FBI is helping local authorities investigate the shooting, according to the agency’s director, Kash Patel.

The remains of Edward Lelburian Jackson were first discovered in 2022, and an initial autopsy revealed he was killed decades ago

After four years, a piece of the haunting mystery uncovered in the waning waters of drought-stricken Lake Mead has been solved.

Since the remains of an unknown homicide victim were discovered stuffed inside a barrel in 2022, Las Vegas investigators have been searching not for his killer – but for his identity. At a press conference on Thursday, Clark county coroner Melanie Rouse shared his name publicly for the first time: Edward Lelburian Jackson.

Katie Zacharia faces mounting questions over her legal credentials after admitting she did not pass the bar exam

Donald Trump’s new White House press secretary says it is “unknown” how much she will engage with the press, amid mounting questions over her legal credentials after admitting she did not pass the bar exam.

In a brief interview with the Guardian, Katie Zacharia detailed the whirlwind sprint to replace her predecessor Karoline Leavitt as the US president’s chief spokesperson.

Two people critical in hospital as officials in Bend say 16-year-old suspect shot dead by bystander

• Oregon elementary school shooting: what we know so far

Schools in Bend, Oregon, will be closed on Friday after a 16-year-old shooter opened fire at an elementary school in the city on Thursday, killing three children and a teacher before he was shot dead by a community member.

The children killed at Silver Rail elementary school were aged five, eight and 11, officials said.

Largest blaze the Henderson fire near San Diego as strong winds and severe heat could fuel rapid spread

Multiple wildfires ignited across California on Thursday as the state braced for more strong winds and high temperatures that could fuel rapid fire growth over the next several days.

The largest blaze, dubbed the Henderson fire, erupted in Camp Pendleton, a San Diego Marine Corps training base, and quickly consumed more than 1,000 acres. Evacuations have been issued and officials briefly closed part of the Interstate 5, a major highway in the region.

El Niño will likely shift weather patterns to bring more rain, but much snow still isn’t forecast for the northern states

Winter in the United States looks like it will generally be wetter and warmer, but not necessarily snowier, according to the federal government’s seasonal outlook and other meteorologists’ forecasts. You can thank or blame El Niño.

El Niño is likely to shift weather patterns to bring more moisture, but with it higher temperatures. That should help erase persistent western drought, but it is unlikely to make northern snow-lovers happy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday.

DoJ had demanded that LA county confirm citizenship of people on list in thumb drive, but officials refused

• Send us your questions about immigration and the midterms

The US Department of Justice sued California on Thursday, seeking a court order to prevent the state from tabulating certain ballots cast in the midterm elections.

The suit came two days after the department made a specious demand to the state. On Tuesday, the department sent election officials in Los Angeles county a thumb drive with a handwritten password purporting to contain the names of noncitizens registered to vote. The department asked officials to confirm the citizenship of anyone on the list and set aside ballots from those whose status could not be confirmed. It gave the state 48 hours – an extremely narrow window – to take action. It did not provide details on how it came up with the names on the list. In its lawsuit, filed in federal court in the central district of California, the justice department said it had provided the state with more than 20,000 names of likely noncitizens.

UK defence secretary trying to cool tensions and is arguing it is in America’s economic interests to support Kyiv

Wes Streeting urged the US to stand by Ukraine on his visit to the American capital and sought to cool tensions between the two countries in the wake of the Starlink row that is threatening to set back Kyiv’s war effort.

The British defence secretary, giving a speech before a meeting with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, argued that supporting Ukraine was in the long-term interests of Washington – and a business opportunity.

Voting registration organizations accuse Texas officials of failing to ensure eligible voters can register properly

Texas election officials are struggling to process a massive backlog of nearly 600,000 voter registration applications after a major state computer system failure, just days before early voting is set to open on Monday and amid concerns about widespread voter suppression.

The disruption has raised serious concerns about the state’s voter registration system, with voting rights organizations accusing Texas officials of failing to ensure that eligible voters could properly register.

Prosecutors say Adan Manzano was victim of Danette Colbert’s operation targeting New Orleans tourists

A woman involved in a New Orleans criminal enterprise that targeted tourists and led to the death of a reporter has been resentenced to life.

On Wednesday, a Jefferson Parish judge resentenced 49-year old Danette Colbert to life in prison plus 75 years under Louisiana’s habitual offender law. In September, Colbert was sentenced to a total of 60 years in prison, 50 years for racketeering and a consecutive 10 years for negligent homicide in the death of Adan Manzano, a journalist for the Spanish-language news outlet Telemundo Kansas City.

Jane Does allege ex-congressman and two others coordinated ‘payments, drugs and travel’ for sexual acts

The Republican former congressman Matt Gaetz has been accused of participating in the sex trafficking of two young women in a civil lawsuit filed on Thursday in district court in Florida.

The allegations, which Gaetz denied in a statement to the Guardian, are the latest developments in a long-running sexual abuse scandal involving the politician who resigned from Congress in November 2024.

Election officers in Louisiana and Oklahoma receive a powdery substance, prompting evacuations

The FBI and the US Postal Inspection Service are investigating letters sent to state officials and election offices across the country containing an “unknown substance”.

Just weeks before November’s US midterm elections, election officers in Louisiana and Oklahoma received envelopes containing a powdery substance, leading to evacuations. A similar package containing white powder was also sent to the Ohio secretary of state, but the US Postal Service intercepted the package.

We’d like to hear about whether you feel like the US is in a recession and what you think signals such a downturn

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the US is experiencing a recession, according to a new Harris Poll conducted for the Guardian. By the typical definition of a recession – when a country’s economic growth is in the negative for two consecutive quarters – the US is not experiencing one. Still, Americans are facing higher prices and a stagnant job market, which for many feels like a downturn.

We want to hear from Americans: do you feel like the US is experiencing a recession? What is your so-called personal “recession indicator”, or a signal in your everyday life that points to an incoming economic slump? It could be seen in your job or at your local grocery store, something you notice at your children’s school or out in your community. Tell us about it below.

Elon Musk has spent $158m in a month to back Republicans in midterm races – with his efforts mostly focused on Texas

Tens of millions of dollars are pouring into Texas as Democrats stage an audacious bid to win a US Senate seat in the Republican stronghold.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, is among those wading into the closely watched race as November’s midterm elections approach.

Leader of CREC church – whose pastors have advocated death penalty – says he ‘prefers public executions to private’

Donald Trump announced on Thursday he was cancelling Pete Hegseth’s recently announced plans to livestream a military execution – because “many very good and well-meaning people would rather not watch him die”. But there were some fans of Hegseth’s now-scotched idea: the rightwing religious figures who have long backed his career.

Hegseth announced last week that the US public would be able to see the execution of Nidal Hasan, which is set for 3 December at Fort Hood, Texas. Hasan, a former army major and psychiatrist, killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood in 2009. A military court sentenced him to death in August 2013.

Join our final live Q&A before the midterm elections, on 22 October at noon ET on the Guardian US site

Since Donald Trump started his second term in January 2025, immigration enforcement has remained a major issue for US voters, with arrests reaching record highs, operations becoming deadly and immigration raids hitting politicians’ homes. Our reporting has documented the experiences of those directly affected by the harsh conditions in detention centers and resistance to ICE agents on the ground.

Immigration will be a defining issue in the final weeks of campaigning for the 2026 US midterm elections.

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

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

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

Maine senator refutes claim from ex-Navatek CEO that he funded Collins’s Super Pac in exchange for naval contracts

• US politics live – latest updates

Susan Collins, the US senator of Maine, has dismissed allegations that she traded federal contracts for campaign cash as “completely false” after it emerged the FBI examined the claims.

Asked by a reporter about an ethics complaint filed last week by a Maine attorney, the Republican – currently campaigning to retain her seat ahead of November’s US midterm elections – said the allegations were recycled from 2020 and had been rejected by the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Federal Election Commission.

Michael Desronvil tells Fox News he never had reasonable doubt Clancy was guilty but didn’t back up his claims

Michael Desronvil, the sole holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy trial has spoken in his first interview since a mistrial was declared.

Desronvil spoke of “tense deliberations” in the jury room, and about how his strong Christian faith helped prepare him for those discussions.

Soldier who killed 13 people in 2009 will still be executed, but president said ‘people would rather not watch him die’

Donald Trump has shelved a widely condemned plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who was convicted of killing 13 people at a military base at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009.

In a social media post on Thursday, Trump argued that broadcasting such an execution “might have been a strong deterrent for the World to witness how America deals with Terrorists and SCUM like Hasan” but said that “many very good and well meaning people would rather not watch him die, through streaming, or through any other visual device”.

Move comes as Senator Elizabeth Warren condemns Barclays response to questions over ex-boss’s ties to sex offender

US lawmakers have unveiled a new bill to hold Wall Street’s “Epstein-connected” bosses to account for helping finance the late sex offender’s crimes.

It came as top Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren condemned the UK bank Barclays for “dodging responsibility” over its failure to vet former boss Jes Staley and his ties to the once well-connected billionaire.

Discovery of grenades prompted a neighborhood lockdown and a visit from the Austin police department’s bomb squad

A buyer at a Texas estate sale discovered several second world war-era grenades in a box of newly bought items, prompting a neighbourhood lockdown and a visit from the Austin police department’s bomb squad.

The grenades, which were described as “live and active” in a social media post by the Austin police association, were removed and disarmed.

Authorities say suspect, 19, was allegedly planning a mass shooting and had shared a white supremacist manifesto

A man arrested in a Chicago suburb had shared a ⁠document expressing white supremacist views and outlined an alleged plan to carry out a mass shooting, potentially targeting a Hindu place of worship, police ⁠said on Wednesday.

Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was ​arrested on Sunday after an individual reported receiving concerning electronic communications from him, Palatine police said. It was not immediately clear if he had ⁠legal representation.

Voters’ opposition to the state of Trump’s economy is well established – despite his desperate attempts to deflect

• Tell us: what is your personal ‘recession indicator’?

It’s indisputable that the political polarization of our time has reduced (and confused) the influence of economic conditions on US elections.

In September of 2024, in the waning weeks of the Joe Biden presidency, 65% of Republicans believed the US economy was getting worse. About six months later, as Donald Trump launched a trade war on the rest of the world with his “liberation day” tariffs, the share of Republican pessimists had dropped to 33%.

President Zelenskyy accused Donald Trump of taking Russia’s side after access to the vital system was throttled. Plus, a happy ending for a dog that was missing for a month

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Good morning. Ukraine’s president has said he feels “betrayed” by Donald Trump over a throttling of Starlink access. Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the US president of picking the other side after more than four years of war, risking a breakdown in US-Ukraine relations.

Ukraine’s military reported that the communications system, produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX but managed by the US government, was no longer working on terminals moving at speeds greater than 100mph. That effectively rendered most of the drones used by Ukraine to strike behind the frontlines inoperable and affected the country’s best air defence system to stop Russian jet-powered attack drones bombing Kyiv.

What is the likely impact of the loss of Starlink? The Ukrainian human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk said: “Without that protection, Russian drones will strike residential buildings, hospitals and schools like targets in a shooting gallery.” However, Starlink is not required for long-range Ukrainian missions that target Russian oil refineries, which Trump has been concerned about because of their impact on world energy prices.

How is Israel blocking Trump’s plans for Gaza? Israel is refusing to allow a key project for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to proceed. In early August, the board issued its first construction contract, for a military outpost to host 150 international troops as a vanguard of an international stabilization force. Two months later, Israel has still not allowed the contract to move forward.

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The US government could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a media campaign in South Africa to figure out why more white Afrikaners are not applying to become refugees to the US, as Donald Trump had hoped.

State department officials, according to an August proposal seen by the Guardian, outlined a roughly $335,000 research and advertising effort after applications to the refugee program “trended lower than expected” since Afrikaners were allowed to apply directly online in November 2025. The document, written by the US mission in South Africa with a department research unit for the embassy in Pretoria, admits officials know little about why.

Kimberly Guilfoyle’s departure has renewed scrutiny of the president’s picks for diplomatic posts, from France to Jamaica

Donald Trump has appointed family members, friends and loyal political allies to represent the US on the world stage, dispatching an extraordinary array of characters to embassies across the world.

While presidents of both parties have long rewarded donors and allies with plum ambassadorships, Trump has chosen loyalists willing to go to bat for him regardless of the implications for US-foreign relationships.

Exclusive: Trump has falsely claimed Afrikaners are facing ‘white genocide’, but very few have applied to live in US

The US government could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a media campaign in South Africa to figure out why more white Afrikaners are not applying to become refugees to the US, as Donald Trump had hoped.

State department officials, according to an August proposal seen by the Guardian, outlined a roughly $335,000 research and advertising effort after applications to the refugee program “trended lower than expected” since Afrikaners were allowed to apply directly online in November 2025. The document, written by the US mission in South Africa with a department research unit for the embassy in Pretoria, admits officials know little about why.

Claims that James Talarico suffered a mental health crisis spread across rightwing media, offering a warning about disinformation ahead of the US midterm election

Where is James Talarico? The question ricocheted around rightwing echo chambers before metastasising into a conspiracy theory – and a reminder of the persistent danger of disinformation in the US midterm elections.

The smear campaign began when Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Texas, was not seen in public for nine days. His campaign was slow to explain why. While nature abhors a vacuum, Donald Trump and social media seize on one and weaponise it.

The president is used to bullying his media targets. The quagmire that is his libel actions shows the broadcaster is working to a different script

For the greatest account of the BBC’s finest hour, one must turn to Penelope Fitzgerald’s novel, Human Voices, written in 1980 and set 40 years earlier, at the corporation’s Portland Place wartime HQ. Flanked by sandbags and infused with a smell of cooking “from the deep hold that suggested more strongly than ever a cruise on the Queen Mary”, the organisation that Fitzgerald describes is at once noble and deeply eccentric. “Broadcasting House stood headed on a fixed course south,” she writes. “With the best engineers in the world, and a crew varying between the intensely respectable and barely sane, it looked ready to scorn any disaster.”

In other words, a formidable foe, one that in the spring of 1940, in the face of anticipated Nazi invasion, decided “without prompting, that truth was more important than consolation, and, in the long run, would be more effective”. I bring this up in respect to the gathering storm of Donald Trump versus the BBC, a fight triggered by the US president’s $10bn defamation lawsuit – $10bn! It’s a wonder he didn’t go for $10 gazillion – brought against the corporation at the end of last year in response to a poorly edited episode of Panorama. The BBC was at fault, editing together comments made by the US president at a rally on 6 January 2021 to give, as the corporation’s apology put it, “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action”. But it is fighting the lawsuit.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

The vast majority of Americans say they are struggling to pay for gas and groceries, and are cutting back on luxuries. But what or who is actually behind these price rises? We asked you to tell us what's gotten too expensive in your own life. Now, Kai Wright and Carter Sherman enlist Guardian columnist and former labor secretary Robert Reich to explain why you’re feeling the pinch. From breaking down the market factors behind the cost of a $16 cheesesteak, to explaining why AI is playing into the price of a Nintendo Switch 2, Reich reveals who you should point the finger at in this economy. Additional music by Epidemic Sound

• Robert Reich has written this week’s edition of How We Win, a pop-up opinion newsletter with bold ideas for defeating Trumpism. Sign up here

• Send us your questions on how the US economy is shaping the US election

As the midterm elections loom, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to rural West Virginia, a Republican party stronghold, to explore how soaring gas prices, war in the Middle East and datacenter expansion are affecting Donald Trump's popularity among his base. Although the state remains staunchly Republican, there are signs of a new politics emerging – and local Democrats are looking to capitalize on it

Nearly 61% believe country is in recession and 65% of independents say economy is worse, according to new Harris poll

• Tell us: what is your personal ‘recession indicator’?

With the midterm elections less than three weeks away, key voting groups including independents, rural voters and even some Republicans are increasingly disenchanted with Donald Trump’s economy, according to an exclusive Harris poll for the Guardian.

The majority of those surveyed were pessimistic about the economy, with three-quarters of Americans saying they are concerned about a recession while 61% wrongly believe that the US is already experiencing one. By its typical definition, the US is not currently experiencing a recession.

In today’s newsletter: As Russia resists a ceasefire and Trump’s shifting priorities unsettle allies, an end to the conflict isn’t getting any closer

Good morning. In his usual asinine unconventional approach to international relations, Donald Trump announced on Sunday (via Truth Social, how else) an “ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine”, apparently without checking with either side. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said any such deal was “news to me,” nonetheless declared he was “ready and we will accept it”. Vladimir Putin responded by blowing up some Ukrainian power plants.

This has been the tenor of much diplomacy during Trump’s tenure: false starts, U-turns, incoherent positions (and some playful flirting with Vlad). Meanwhile fighting continues, and America’s allies attempt to manage the fallout. Andy Burnham hosted Zelenskyy at Downing Street yesterday, stating the UK is doubling down on its support for Ukraine, and pointedly calling on others to “follow suit”.

UK | Sally Rooney has said she is being forced to withdraw her books from sale in the UK because of her support for the banned organisation Palestine Action.

Gaza | Israel is refusing to allow a key military outpost project for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to proceed in Gaza, the Guardian has learned.

EU | Britain will benefit from much closer trading relations with the EU even if that means giving up its ability to negotiate free trade agreements, the Scotland secretary has said.

Ukraine | Ukraine’s military has suddenly had its access to Starlink satellite internet terminals restricted as the Trump administration has increased pressure on Ukraine to immediately halt long-range strikes on Russia’s oil industry.

Vaccine | Guinea-Bissau has not approved the controversial hepatitis B study in newborns that would be funded by the US government and private partners, the African country’s minister of health said.

Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans’ needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken Paxton

James Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with skeptical Republicans and independents voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall co-hosted by the Jubilee Media digital platform on Wednesday.

One voter, a young Republican activist who volunteered at the party’s midterm convention in Dallas last month and recently appeared on Fox News as a supporter of Talarico’s opponent, questioned the authenticity of Talarico’s faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary.

Alleged assault follows report of gang-rape at frat house at Cornell, which ignited national uproar and criticism online

A 21-year-old woman reported being sexually assaulted last weekend at a fraternity house near the University of Chicago, as Greek life nationwide faces renewed scrutiny for recurrent misconduct.

The incident allegedly took place on Sunday at about 1.50am at the off-campus Alpha Epsilon Pi residence, according to a university daily crime log.

Account by Oscar Belgal differs sharply from that of DHS agents, who fired into vehicle with young boy in back seat

Lawyers for a man wounded by an immigration officer while driving with his young son in New York City said in a court filing Wednesday that the agent who shot him never identified himself before he ran up to the car, smashed one of its windows, then fired several shots into the vehicle.

The account by lawyers for Oscar Belgal contrasted sharply with the version of events outlined by Department of Homeland Security officials. They have said officers opened fire only after Belgal smashed his car into two government vehicles and “accelerated toward other officers”.

Federal authorities issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas in inquiry into potential immigration fraud

• US politics live – latest updates

Federal authorities investigating the Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar seized the Democratic lawmaker’s phone and have issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to some of her relatives, according to a person briefed on the inquiry.

The subpoenas were issued for a grand jury collecting evidence in Minnesota as federal authorities investigate potential fraud in Omar’s immigration paperwork, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss an ongoing investigation. The investigation led to federal agents searching Omar’s Washington DC home on Monday just weeks before the November midterms, in which Omar is seeking re-election.

Jack Russell terrier that escaped from family’s cabin in September was caught in a live trap

Luna, a Jack Russell terrier who eluded capture for over a month as concern for the dog’s survival mounted ahead of winter in Yellowstone national park, was caught in a live trap Wednesday and reunited with her owners.

The 10-year-old dog had been spotted crossing intersections, strolling through employee housing and entering lodges through automatic doors at the sprawling national park that’s home to grizzly bears, wolves and other predators.

Image of state flag incorporating KKK hoods was sent to other schools participating in regional tennis tournament

The University of Maryland (UMD) has indefinitely suspended its club tennis team after a graphic featuring Ku Klux Klan imagery was circulated to other universities before a regional tournament, prompting widespread condemnation.

The controversy erupted after Toni Rachal, president of Howard University’s club tennis team, spotted the offensive material in a shared Google document sent to participating schools before last weekend’s tournament, WUSA9 reported.

Police arrested Metallica Rose Harrison, 27, after reports of a ‘distressed female’ at the Great Wolf Lodge resort

A Pennsylvania woman allegedly killed her husband and her three-year-old son at a resort in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania this week before attempting suicide, according to local officials.

Pocono Township police responded to reports of a “distressed female” at the Great Wolf Lodge resort, with the woman identified as 27-year old Metallica Rose Harrison of Towanda, Pennsylvania, by police.

Republican representative described the assault in a nearly hourlong speech in February 2025 that named the men

Nancy Mace’s former fiance and two of his business associates were charged with sex crimes and voyeurism on Wednesday over an episode the South Carolina representative described in detail during a speech last year on the House floor, about how crimes against women are not investigated thoroughly.

John Douglas Osborne committed sex acts on a 23-year-old incapacitated and intoxicated woman while Mace’s ex-fiance Patrick Bryant and Eric Bernard Bowman watched, according to sworn statements by agents from the state law enforcement division, which brought the charges.

Exclusive: Israel has not permitted US-led project to house 150 international troops to move forward

Israel is refusing to allow a key military outpost project for Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to proceed in Gaza, the Guardian has learned.

In early August, the Board of Peace, the international organization authorized in 2025 by the UN and chaired by the US president, issued its first construction contract for Gaza: Louisiana-based Arkel International would construct a military outpost for 150 international troops that would be the vanguard of an international stabilization force.

Katie Zacharia describes herself as a lawyer but no public record shows she has been licensed in the US states where she resided

Donald Trump’s new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, has repeatedly described herself as a lawyer. But when asked after her inaugural press briefing on Tuesday to name the state where she passed the bar exam, she replied curiously: “when I moved to China”.

No public record shows she has ever been licensed to practice law in the US states where she resided, and her answer to reporters’ questions on Tuesday only deepened scrutiny.

Expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalized in the sky and reflected sunlight off frozen particles after Florida launch

A SpaceX rocket provided a stunning pre-dawn display over Florida as a egiant, luminescent “jellyfish cloud” spread for miles, caused by an expanding plume of fuel exhaust crystalizing in the sky and reflecting sunlight off the frozen particles.

The phenomenon occurred shortly after Tuesday’s 6.33am ET launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying cargo to the International Space Station.

Two-mile stretch of Huntington Beach closed after sighting at location popular with surfers and swimmers

A popular southern California beach was closed after a great white shark was reportedly spotted “exhibiting aggressive behavior” on Tuesday afternoon.

The Huntington Beach fire department said there was a “credible report” of a 10-12ft great white shark circling near a lifeguard tower, which is considered aggressive behavior according to the city’s marine safety division’s “shark response protocols”.

Michael Kotlikoff addressed his administration’s handling of the 2024 allegations as he faces calls for his resignation

Michael Kotlikoff, the president of Cornell University, has spoken to the New York Times about sexual assault allegations at the school, acknowledging for the first time that he knew a student had reported being sexually assaulted in November 2024, but did not follow up with the Jane Doe involved in the months after learning about the alleged assault.

He also revealed that he did not know she had dropped out of Cornell until she filed a lawsuit last month.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

‘Seniors have spent years watching their expenses outpacing their benefits’ advocate says

Social security recipients will see a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (Cola) in 2027, increasing retirement benefits by an average of $75 a month as millions of Americans continue to grapple with rising prices.

Nearly 72 million social security beneficiaries will see higher payments beginning in January 2027, while approximately 7.3 million supplemental security income (SSI) recipients will receive increased payments starting on 31 December 2026, according to the Social Security Administration.

Mamdani and city council leader agree on ban that would make it illegal to operate horse-drawn carriages in the city

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the leader of the New York City council have agreed to ban horse-drawn carriages from the city, a popular tourist attraction that has faced widespread scrutiny.

Mamdani has agreed to back a bill supported by Julie Menin, the speaker of the New York city council, that would make it illegal to operate horse-drawn carriages beginning in June 2028, Politico reported on Tuesday. The city council is expected to vote on the legislation next week.

A conviction on the possible charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon could mean up to 20 years in prison

A Texas prosecutor said he was considering felony assault charges for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer who ran over a man following an attempted traffic stop and broke his leg in multiple places.

Sean Teare, district attorney for Harris county, said video of the incident in west Houston on Saturday morning, in which the officer’s unmarked SUV is seen veering into the man as he runs away across an empty parking lot, could support a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Final inflation report before voters go to polls comes amid widespread anger over cost of living under Trump

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

Republicans are entering the midterm elections with the highest rate of inflation since the spring, according to a government report released on Wednesday.

US price increases reached an annual rate of 3.7% in September, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.4% in August. This final inflation report before the pivotal midterm elections comes amid polls showing widespread dissatisfaction with the Trump administration over the cost of living.