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    Zelenskyy furious as Trump announces deal to buy Russian diesel

    President says deal essential to lower US fuel prices but move set to create fresh crisis with Ukraine and Nato alliesDonald Trump was on a fresh collision course with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and European allies on Friday after a stunning agreement to buy Russian diesel, upending years of US and western pressure on the Kremlin to end its four-and-a-half year war against Ukraine.Zelenskyy reacted furiously to Trump’s announcement of the deal with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, calling it “absolutely terrible” and “not fair and not honest”. Continue reading… More

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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 childDonald 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. Continue reading… More

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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 unlawfulA 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. Continue reading… More

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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 TehranPete 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. Continue reading… More

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    ‘Barbaric’ firing squad livestream ordered by Pete Hegseth – The Latest

    The execution of a former US army psychiatrist by firing squad is to be livestreamed after Pete Hegseth said it would be a public event. Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death after killing 13 people at a military base in Texas in 2009. There has been widespread condemnation of the decision, including from the UN which said it would ‘amount to torture’. Lucy Hough speaks to US academic and capital punishment specialist Austin Sarat, the author of Life After Death: Surviving Execution Continue reading… More

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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: IsraelEverybody 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. Continue reading… More

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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 spectrumUS 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. Continue reading… More

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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 stakeWith 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. Continue reading… More