US Politics

The president shows a unique disregard for the opinions, norms and ideals of the nation – and, for that matter, humanityThe Democrats’ focus on affordability seems to be a winning strategy (we’ll know for sure in a little over two weeks). But we mustn’t lose sight of the moral squalor at the core of the Trump regime and the necessity of ending it.It’s that moral squalor – the utter disregard for the opinions, norms and ideals of the nation and, for that matter, of humanity – that uniquely marks Trump and the reprobates he has attracted to Washington. It has also poisoned much of the Republican party, including the billionaires and tech bros who finance it.Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is a Guardian US columnist and his newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com. His new book, Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America, is out now in the US and in the UK Continue reading… More

Will Donald Trump accept a ‘blue wave’ if it happens? Have young people turned away from centrist politics for ever? Will the US ever recover its image on the world stage? Jonathan Freedland is joined by the Guardian US columnist Moira Donegan to answer these questions and moreBuy your tickets to the Guardian’s post-midterms live event, hosted by Jonathan FreedlandWatch Jonathan Freedland on our new Politics Weekly YouTube channelSend your questions and feedback to [email protected] Stateside’s episode on attacks on voter rights in the US Continue reading… More

A war of words has erupted over who is responsible for the restrictions on Starshield access in UkraineA war of words has erupted between the Trump administration, officials in Kyiv and Elon Musk over who is to blame for limiting Ukraine’s access to Space X’s military-grade version of Starlink.The restrictions to Starshield have rendered many of the drones used by Kyiv to strike behind the frontlines inoperable and hampered air defence systems that stop Russian attacks, according to Ukrainian officials. Continue reading… More

This live blog is now closed.Sign up for the Breaking News US emailTrump attacks Ohio governor over call for Ramaswamy to drop ‘deeply troubling’ adReporting from Anchorage, AlaskaMary Peltola’s campaign to represent Alaska in the US Senate has taken her to parts of the massive state’s interior that are inaccessible by road and on the frontlines of the cost-of-living crisis she hopes will make her the first Democrat to win the seat in nearly two decades. Continue reading… More

California flu test rate at 9.65%, higher than normal 1% rate for early October, amid mutation of H1N1 influenza A strainFlu cases on the west coast are on the rise months earlier than normal, prompting US health experts to stress the importance of the annual vaccine.Flu activity typically ramps up in December, hitting its peak in February. But this season has kicked into action earlier this year, with higher positive cases than normal recorded. Continue reading… More

Ex-Trump adviser and former top aide for homeland security alleged to have profited off government roleCorey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and ⁠top aide at the Department ⁠of Homeland Security, ​is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government, three US officials and a fourth person familiar with the matter told Reuters ⁠on Thursday.The investigation began with a criminal referral to the justice department from the internal watchdog at DHS, according to the four people. The DHS inspector general’s office has been investigating ⁠Lewandowski’s involvement in the handling of certain government contracts, according to one of the people, a DHS official. Continue reading… More

The current US administration is an obstacle, but public demand for protection will ultimately prevailOrganisations around the world scrambled on Thursday to fix critical flaws in PHP, the software that powers much of the web. The vulnerabilities could allow attackers to take control of affected servers. Some websites were taken offline as a precaution while fixes were installed. The paradox is that while AI helped researchers uncover the flaw, it also threatens to accelerate the ability to exploit it. Amazon said that it had detected an attempt before the public disclosure of the PHP flaws.What the episode highlights is AI’s central role in security – and not always for the right reasons. OpenAI’s models have also been responsible for two alarming hacks this year – a security breach of an Australian health department website and a raid by a swarm of AI bots on Hugging Face, an AI services platform. Citing those incidents, the AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, warned that a similar cyber-attack on the UK is “likely, if not inevitable”. Continue reading… More

The beloved high school TV show is returning in a different political climate. I’m skeptical that Ryan Murphy has the nuance this moment needsFor months, Ryan Murphy has been discussing Glee. In July, he expressed his love for the musical comedy drama he created. In September, he said that he had finished writing a pilot for a potential reboot, adding that he had reached out to some of the cast about a reunion. And now it is official: Disney+ and Hulu have commissioned a Glee revival.Glee, which ran for six seasons between 2009 and 2015, was a cultural juggernaut during its initial tenure. The show won six Emmys, four Golden Globes and made stars of actors including Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss and the late Cory Monteith and Naya Rivera. Centred on the trials of New Directions, a scrappy show choir at the fictional McKinley high school in Ohio, the show became known for its peppy covers of show tunes, 80s power pop hits such as Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ (a Glee signature), 2010s chart-toppers and some truly baffling mashups (the amalgamation of Scissor Sisters’ Let’s Have a Kiki and Turkey Lurkey Time from Promises, Promises remains … a choice). Continue reading… More