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US politics: the White House, Congress, the courts and the elections.
1054 articles · page 11 of 22
David Rush, 49, a former CIA officer, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a sweeping $200m scheme involving fake contracts and real estate, and has admitted to disclosing secrets to a foreign government in a disclosure prosecutors said could endanger lives.
A sexual assault lawsuit against Cornell University fraternity members has reignited debate over consent laws in the United States, particularly the legal distinction between voluntary and involuntary intoxication. The woman, identified as Jane Doe, alleges she was drugged and raped after drinking and being pressured to snort ketamine at a fraternity house in 2024. Under current New York law, a person who voluntarily consumes alcohol or drugs is not automatically considered unable to consent, a provision critics call the 'voluntary intoxication loophole'.
US President Donald Trump hit the campaign trail in the final sprint to the midterm elections, emphatically defending America's economic performance by claiming 'the best economic numbers of any president' though some indicators, such as high inflation and soaring petrol prices, challenge that rosy picture.
Senator Susan Collins distanced herself from Donald Trump in a televised debate Tuesday, claiming she is not the president's 'favorite senator' and emphasizing her record of crossing party lines, as Democratic challenger Troy Jackson attacked her 2018 vote for Brett Kavanaugh and tied her to the overturning of Roe v Wade in a race that could determine control of the Senate.
US President Donald Trump has announced $200bn in investments from South Korea, including $54bn for a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, as the White House seeks to defend the Republican Party's economic record ahead of November midterm elections.
David J Rush, a former senior CIA official, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court in Virginia to wire fraud, admitting he abused his position and government funds to enrich himself through luxury Florida real estate and hundreds of gold bars. The plea marks the latest development in a case that has drawn attention to alleged misconduct within the intelligence community.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has said he plans to stay on the bench through the current term, even if Democrats regain control of the Senate in November's midterm election, according to a report published Tuesday by Bloomberg.
A whistleblower complaint from a former FBI analyst alleges that President Donald Trump directed the FBI to investigate protesters in Los Angeles who were demonstrating against the administration's immigration crackdown, according to Senator Alex Padilla, who received the disclosure. The complaint raises serious concerns about the politicization of federal law enforcement and potential violations of First Amendment rights.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday temporarily authorising the use of tax-free red-dye diesel on roads and highways in a bid to lower fuel prices ahead of the November midterm elections, but energy analysts and market observers warn the measure will do little to address the underlying supply constraints driving record-high diesel costs.
President Donald Trump's suggestion at a Nebraska rally that Iran could "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego has drawn bipartisan condemnation, with California Governor Gavin Newsom calling the remarks "dangerous, if not treasonous" and ordering the state's threat assessment centre to monitor the situation. The White House insists the comments were mischaracterised, saying the president was describing what Iran would have been able to do had he not launched a war against the country.
· 5 sourcesThe US Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments from oil companies seeking to halt more than two dozen lawsuits accusing the industry of deceiving the public about climate change. The claims, brought by local governments including Boulder, Colorado, seek billions of dollars in damages to cover costs from climate-related extreme weather. The court's decision will turn on whether federal law preempts state and local governments from bringing such claims.
John Murdock, an 18-year veteran attorney at the US Department of the Interior, has resigned in protest, denouncing what he called a 'deeply troubling assault on the rule of law' under the Trump administration. In his resignation letter, Murdock cited concerns over offshore oil and gas drilling, aggressive fossil fuel expansion, and the flouting of environmental regulations. He stepped down on 30 September.
A lawyer for one of the seven men accused in the Cornell University gang rape case has called for New York Attorney General Letitia James to be removed as special prosecutor, arguing that a social media post she made last month undermines the investigation's integrity. The case has triggered campus protests and a looming no-confidence vote by Cornell faculty against the university's leadership.
A US citizen who was shot a year ago by a Customs and Border Protection agent during a sweeping immigration crackdown in Chicago filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Monday, alleging the agent lied about the incident and fired into her vehicle from behind. Marimar Martinez, then 30, was struck seven times on 4 October 2025 during what the Trump administration named Operation Midway Blitz.
Donald Trump is facing renewed accusations of using the presidency for personal enrichment after the company behind his $Trump memecoin offered an exclusive dinner at his Washington club to the coin’s biggest investors, with disclosures showing he made about $636m from the venture last year. Democrats are seizing on the invitation as evidence of corruption, hoping it will energise voters ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The Pentagon has announced that former US Army major Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of killing 13 unarmed soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, will be executed by firing squad — the first military execution by that method since World War Two. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on social media Monday that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth made the recommendation and President Donald Trump approved it, with the secretary of the Army to set the time and place.
· 2 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has sparked outrage after suggesting at a rally in Nebraska that Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego, remarks swiftly condemned as 'deranged' and 'dangerous' by California Governor Gavin Newsom and the mayors of both cities. The comments come as a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump's approval rating at a record low of 32%, with the president losing support among independent voters and Latinos ahead of the November midterm elections.
· 6 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has signed an executive order temporarily permitting the broader use of red-dyed diesel — typically reserved for off-road farm and construction equipment and exempt from highway fuel taxes — on public roads, in an effort to bring down record-high diesel prices that topped $6 per gallon for the first time in September.
US President Donald Trump has scrapped plans to livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan, the former Army psychiatrist convicted of killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the execution would still go ahead on 3 December as scheduled, but would not be streamed, after the proposal drew widespread criticism at home and abroad.
· 15 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. The Pentagon confirmed the decision on Monday, calling it a long-delayed judgment for the jihadist attack.
Donald Trump says he will stop using taxpayer money for political advertising ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, after a bipartisan backlash over government-funded ads promoting the president and his agenda. The move comes as Trump disputes media coverage of his campaign rallies that has shown rows of empty seats.
· 5 sourcesThe US Department of Justice has filed 40 new cases seeking to strip naturalised Americans of their citizenship, which Attorney General Todd Blanche called the largest denaturalisation effort in modern history. The petitions, filed between late August and early October, target individuals accused of serious offences including money laundering, child sexual abuse, visa fraud, tax evasion and, in two cases, espionage on behalf of China.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency on Monday over a measles outbreak, temporarily expanding the ability of health professionals to administer MMR vaccines. The declaration, in effect through November 4, comes as the state has recorded 108 cases this year — 7 in New York City and 101 elsewhere — with 92 cases since July 15 in rural communities with low vaccination rates. Neighbouring Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 measles cases this year, the largest US outbreak in three decades.
· 2 sourcesCable industry groups have notified the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that they will sue to block the agency’s repeal of the National Television Ownership Rule, which limits how many broadcast TV stations a single company may own. The groups argue the decision will give large broadcasters leverage to demand higher retransmission fees, ultimately raising costs for consumers.
The Guardian is hosting a live reader Q&A on 6 October with its political and global correspondents to examine how the war with Iran is reshaping American politics and whether it will cost Trump's party at the midterm elections.
President Donald Trump's approval rating has dropped to a career low of 32%, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with Latino voters turning sharply against the administration a month before the midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.
A new Reuters-Ipsos poll shows President Donald Trump's approval rating stuck at a record low of 32 percent, with support among Hispanic voters dropping to 24 percent — its lowest point of his presidency — as the November midterm elections approach.
Pennsylvania has recorded a sixth death in its measles outbreak, with the state's case count rising to 1,137 and hospitalizations to 219. The latest fatality, announced Monday by the Franklin County coroner, was a 39-year-old unvaccinated woman with underlying conditions, as a dispute continues between state officials and the CDC over how measles deaths are classified.
· 3 sourcesWith US midterm elections approaching, President Donald Trump has blamed Democrats and Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries for soaring petrol prices, despite data showing that exports through the Strait of Hormuz have plunged 97 percent since the US-Israel war with Iran began. The average US petrol price has risen to $4.36 per gallon, up from $2.98 before the conflict started in late February, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
Barack Obama will travel to Detroit on 24 October to rally with Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for one of the most consequential Senate seats in the country, the Michigan Democratic party announced on Monday. The event, which will also feature gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson, falls on the first day of in-person early voting, 10 days before election day.
Hundreds of Cornell University students, staff and members of the public gathered on campus Monday to demand the resignation of the university's president and an overhaul of how sexual assault allegations are handled, as fresh outrage erupted over a civil lawsuit alleging a 2024 gang rape at a fraternity house. The protest followed an overnight vandalism attack on the university's main administrative building, Day Hall, where activists smashed a glass door and spray-painted messages including 'Smash the patriarchy' and 'At Cornell rapists are protected protesters are expelled.'
· 3 sourcesFormer White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will join Fox News as an on-air contributor beginning November 1, the network announced Monday. Leavitt, who left the Trump administration in August after giving birth to her second child, becomes the latest press secretary to move to the cable news giant.
· 5 sourcesUS public schools saw nearly 12,000 book bans during the 2025-2026 school year, the highest single-year total since the free-expression nonprofit PEN America began tracking in 2021. The surge was driven by new state-level censorship laws and the use of artificial intelligence tools that remove large numbers of titles, with Texas accounting for more than 8,100 bans alone, according to a report released Monday.
Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican speaker of the US House of Representatives who later pleaded guilty to financial crimes related to a scheme to conceal the sexual abuse of teenage boys, has died at age 84. The Kendall County coroner confirmed Hastert died of natural causes at his home over the weekend.
· 2 sourcesThe US Senate has approved bills designed to encourage pilots and air traffic controllers struggling with mental health conditions to seek treatment, aiming to break down the stigma that has long deterred aviation professionals from coming forward.
Next month's ballot measures in California, Rhode Island and other states will test whether voters want to raise taxes on high earners or reduce them, reflecting a growing divergence in state income tax policy that is reshaping where wealthy Americans choose to live.
The Republican Party's longstanding alliance with Israel, rooted in the rise of conservative evangelical Christianity over the past half century, is facing internal strains as President Donald Trump's America First agenda introduces competing priorities into Republican foreign policy, according to analysis.
President Donald Trump is traveling to Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday in an effort to bolster Republican support ahead of the midterm elections, as a plan to allow more foreign beef imports proves unpopular in the agriculture-rich state.
The White House has defended a newly hired press aide, Beni Rae Harmony, after a 2021 photograph emerged showing her wearing a "Fuck Joe Biden" T-shirt and holding a rifle alongside a far-right congressional candidate. Harmony, 24, was appointed assistant White House press secretary under President Donald Trump, according to a social media announcement Friday.
The Conservative Party will announce plans to abolish the Environment Agency and Natural England, alongside scrapping rules that require developers to include affordable homes and community services, as part of a major deregulation push to accelerate infrastructure and housing projects.
The lawyer for a woman who alleges she was drugged and raped by several Cornell University students says she has received threats to silence or harm her if she does not withdraw her civil lawsuit, as the university president pledges a 'serious look' at fraternities and New York appoints a special prosecutor.
President Donald Trump has renewed his promise of $5,000 payments to every adult US citizen if Republicans retain control of Congress, while two smaller cash programs are already being distributed to millions of Americans weeks before the November midterm elections.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he has “thought about” retiring after the high court’s last term but decided against it, believing he could still make a valuable contribution, according to an interview with CBS News. The 76-year-old justice also dismissed retirement speculation linked to November’s midterm elections as “bemusing,” telling Fox News Sunday that calculating when to step down would be “foolhardy.”
New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Dale Caldwell, who resigned last month after an investigation found he sexually harassed a staffer and violated ethics rules, has taken the unusual step of citing artificial intelligence to argue his innocence, telling a public television interviewer that AI platforms analyzed the report and found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Nigel Farage has been interviewed by the parliamentary standards commissioner as part of an investigation into whether he should have declared a £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, received just before the 2024 general election.
· 2 sourcesAn analysis of data from the V-Dem project and government policy actions reveals that Donald Trump's administration has significantly expanded state ownership of the US economy through equity stakes in critical industries, even as the former president campaigns against communism. According to the V-Dem index of state control over the economy, the United States dropped from being the second-least state-controlled economy in 2024 to 16th place in 2025, the first year of Trump's second term.
· 2 sourcesPresident Donald Trump has embarked on a 32-day campaign blitz ahead of next month's midterm elections, but some Republicans fear his signature rallies are turning into a liability as his approval rating sinks to a career low and voters express anger over the cost of living, the Iran war and immigration crackdowns.
President Donald Trump told a crowd in Vandalia, Ohio, on Saturday that he would be less willing to provide federal assistance to the state if Democrats win key races in the November midterm elections, mixing the warning with profane attacks on his opponents. The rally for Republican candidates came as Ohio's two top races are rated competitive and Trump's approval ratings have fallen amid rising gasoline prices.