US Politics

This live blog is now closed.Sign up for Breaking News US emailSend us your questions about immigration and the midtermsReporting from JerusalemThe Israeli military has detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general. Continue reading… More

Democrat, in first interview since pre-dawn raid, denies immigration fraud and says ‘I have a legal right to be a member of Congress’The Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar denied allegations of immigration fraud in a Wednesday appearance on MS Now, her first interview since federal agents raided her residence last week.Those in Donald Trump’s orbit – cabinet officials and rightwing influencers alike – have promoted baseless theories about the Democratic congresswoman, accusing Omar of being in a sham marriage with her brother and fudging details of her immigration paperwork. Continue reading… More

President was reportedly heckled at least nine times during campaign event for Darline GrahamMultiple protesters were removed from Donald Trump’s rally at South Carolina’s Clemson University on Wednesday, including one who was apparently punched by a rally attender – to the US president’s delight.“That was great, man. Wow. Man, I loved that. I watched that,” Trump said. “That was incredible. Wow. That was unbelievable. Is everybody OK? Continue reading… More

Russia frees Stephen Hubbard after US request while Steve Witkoff praises Putin, wanted by ICC as war criminal, as a ‘humanitarian’Vladimir Putin ordered the release of an American man from a Russian jail as he met Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in St Petersburg on Wednesday for fresh talks on ending the war in Ukraine, amid increasingly close relations between Moscow and Washington.Trump had previously asked Putin to free Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old former teacher who had spent more than four years in Russian jails on charges of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Continue reading… More

USDA says screwworm found in elk in Texas, and warns hunters and ranchers to be vigilant to help stop spreadThe US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Wednesday it had ⁠confirmed the ⁠first detection ​of flesh-eating parasite the New World screwworm in US wildlife in an ⁠elk in Pecos county, Texas.The elk was located on a game ⁠ranch and was reported after being harvested by ​a hunter, the ‌USDA said ‌in a statement. Continue reading… More

JD Vance, the vice-president, criticized Republicans who have spoken out against a controversial campaign ad from Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The ad features the mother of his Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, calling her daughter a liar. In a Tuesday statement, Acton’s brother, Philip Stearns, said his sister is estranged from her mother, who had married a man that sexually abused Acton when she was 12. He said his mother, Donna Arthur, remained in the marriage after her husband was arrested and her children were taken away from her Continue reading… More

As prices keep rising, more of the president’s supporters are asking what happened to the economic good times he promised It is no great revelation that Donald Trump is enriching himself as president. He raked in $2.2bn in 2025, with his position and his personal interests frequently overlapping. Yet this week’s poll finding that 34% of Republicans (and 66% of all American voters) think that he is using his position to make himself rich merits attention. Separately, voters in a Fox News poll last week put government corruption at the top of their list of concerns – just ahead of inflation and high prices.Mr Trump pledged that people would be better off if they voted for him. Billionaires are; not the rest. He promised to lower grocery costs (they have risen) and to cut the price of gasoline to below $2 a gallon. It’s more than double that, thanks to his illegal war on Iran. Tariffs haven’t helped. Incumbents struggle when life feels unaffordable, and polling for the Guardian has shown the disenchantment of key voting groups. The gulf between his own prosperity and the lives of his base now looks less like an inspiration and more like an insult. Cash offers seem unlikely to help much. Continue reading… More

A Washington referendum has drawn broad opposition from adults who work with queer and trans teensFor Kelsey Gellner, a Seattle-based pediatric nurse, a statewide proposal to bar trans girls from sports participation feels like a violation of her duty as a medical professional. The ballot initiative includes a requirement she calls “invasive and extreme”: all students who wish to compete on girls’ teams would have to undergo genital exams.“I tell my kids and patients that my No 1 job is to keep them safe,” said Gellner, who is also a board member of the Washington State Nurses Association. “I can say with confidence that girls do not want to have an unnecessary exam that creates an unsafe barrier.” Continue reading… More