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As Midterms Near, Top Law Firms That Capitulated to Trump Are on the Sidelines

None of the firms that struck deals to avoid crippling executive orders are publicly involved in the major legal efforts to check the Trump administration’s attempts to meddle in the midterm elections, a review by The New York Times shows.

© Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press

The lawyer Norm Eisen is preparing to lead a coalition that has vowed to stop President Trump if he tries to interfere in the midterm elections.

Syria Weighs Joining Saudi Mutual Defense Pact as Yemen War Rages

31 October 2026 at 20:18
A move to join Saudi Arabia’s agreement with Turkey and Pakistan could entangle more countries in the kingdom’s escalating conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis.

© Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Smoke rising in mid-October near Taiz, Yemen, where Saudi-backed forces and the Houthi militia have been battling.

More than 50m Americans cast ballots in early voting with three days to go before midterms

Record number of early votes cast, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans in states which collect that information

There has been a surge of early voting for the US midterm elections, with millions more Americans going to the polls compared with the last such election amid a series of tight contests that will determine control of Congress.

More than 50.5m early votes have been cast across the US as of Saturday morning, according to an analysis by the University of Florida. This is already nearly 5m more votes than the total number of early votes made in the last midterm elections, in 2022.

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© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

© Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Doctors in Ukraine Try Treating Infections Like Biological Warfare Attacks

31 October 2026 at 12:01
As many as 40 percent of injured soldiers face severe infections that can lead to amputations and death. One initiative is trying to fix that.

© Johanna-Maria Fritz for The New York Times

Hailie Uren, a clinical pharmacologist, measured a patient’s blood pressure in Dnipro, Ukraine, last month.

UK police should not have let US force take over airbase trial, MoD documents show

According to documents obtained by the Guardian, officials accused Cambridgeshire force of breaching US-UK deal by handing over case of woman strangled by US pilot

Ministry of Defence officials have privately accused a UK police force of wrongly handing over the investigation of an American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman to the US military, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.

Cambridgeshire police allowed the US military police to quickly take control of the investigation into Capt Jacob Wulfson after he had been accused of sexually assaulting Sarah Steele in his Cambridge flat.

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© Photograph: Kathy images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kathy images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kathy images/Shutterstock

UK police should not have let US force take over airbase trial, MoD documents show

According to documents obtained by the Guardian, officials accused Cambridgeshire force of breaching US-UK deal by handing over case of woman strangled by US pilot

Ministry of Defence officials have privately accused a UK police force of wrongly handing over the investigation of an American fighter pilot who strangled a British woman to the US military, according to documents obtained by the Guardian.

Cambridgeshire police allowed the US military police to quickly take control of the investigation into Capt Jacob Wulfson after he had been accused of sexually assaulting Sarah Steele in his Cambridge flat.

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© Photograph: Kathy images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kathy images/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kathy images/Shutterstock

Protests under way in Germany and France as minister warns against use of Halloween masks – Europe live

France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has warned protesters that covering their faces with Halloween costumes could result in fines

Protesters in Paris have begun marching from Porte de Bagnolet, with demonstrations also taking place in Lille and Lyon.

Crowds of people have gathered in Paris for the protests, where two French student unions have called for a blockade of schools and universities on Tuesday and Thursday.

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© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

Protests under way in Germany and France as minister warns against use of Halloween masks – as it happened

France’s interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, has warned protesters that covering their faces with Halloween costumes could result in fines

Protesters in Paris have begun marching from Porte de Bagnolet, with demonstrations also taking place in Lille and Lyon.

Crowds of people have gathered in Paris for the protests, where two French student unions have called for a blockade of schools and universities on Tuesday and Thursday.

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© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

Is AI your new wingman? How chatbots are transforming dating

31 October 2026 at 15:00

Almost 40% of British singles have used AI for romantic advice, from writing messages to assessing potential partners

After Sam’s ex joked that her sister found him ugly, he turned to AI. Google Gemini had a look at the photo and politely disagreed. AI has been his wingman ever since, aiding his dating life by giving pep talks and vetting his messages.

The 27-year-old from Stoke-on-Trent is not the only AI-assisted romantic – a survey of 3,000 British singles published this month by Match Group, the owner of the Tinder and Hinge platforms, found 39% had used AI in their dating lives.

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© Illustration: Anaïs Mims/Guardian Design

© Illustration: Anaïs Mims/Guardian Design

© Illustration: Anaïs Mims/Guardian Design

Days away from a national verdict on Trump 2.0, we check in with nine voters across the political spectrum

Millions will vote to decide which party controls Congress – which will have a huge impact on Trump’s final years in office

US voters will soon deliver a 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 and state legislatures across the country. The results could have a huge impact on Trump’s final two years in office.

Our reporters have interviewed nine voters across the country and the political spectrum about extremism in US politics, their confidence in the US voting system, what they hope Congress will tackle first and their views of the president’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Caleb Davis/David Ferrari/Sally Rasmussen/Patti Fucci/Justin Daniels/Sharon Anderson/Scott Akridge/Yajaira Martinez

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Caleb Davis/David Ferrari/Sally Rasmussen/Patti Fucci/Justin Daniels/Sharon Anderson/Scott Akridge/Yajaira Martinez

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Caleb Davis/David Ferrari/Sally Rasmussen/Patti Fucci/Justin Daniels/Sharon Anderson/Scott Akridge/Yajaira Martinez

‘Plantation tourism’: court victory signals hope in Jamaica’s fight to keep beaches public

A temporary injunction in the coastline battle for beaches to be publicly accessible, not sealed off for private developments, is just a step in fighting what islanders call a tourism model that disadvantages Jamaicans

When the Australian human rights lawyer Eva Buzo emerged from the sea on to the shores of One Man Beach in Montego Bay on Sunday after her gruelling, nearly 11-hour-long swim, the thunderous pulse of welcome drums was drowned out by the chants of “free beach” from jubilant supporters.

Here in Jamaica’s tourism capital, against a backdrop of jagged mountains and sunset-tinted clouds, Buzo – a celebrated marathon swimmer – said she was pleased to help support the important work of the Jamaica Beach Birthright Environmental Movement (Jabbem) and others fighting for free public access to Jamaica’s beaches.

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© Photograph: Ina Sotirova/The Guardian

© Photograph: Ina Sotirova/The Guardian

© Photograph: Ina Sotirova/The Guardian

The staggering $446m Elon Musk has spent on the US midterms – visualized

The tech mogul’s midterm donations backing Republicans have made him the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history

Elon Musk has poured so much money into US politics this midterms election cycle that his donations could fund half a dozen SpaceX rocket launches or buy thousands of Tesla Cybertrucks. At the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles, Musk could order more than 31.9m cheeseburgers with the money he has spent on the midterms.

Musk, the world’s richest person, has funnelled at least $445.77m into Republican-aligned political action committees (Pacs) and groups since last year, according to US Federal Election Commission data as of 29 October. The contributions have made him the Republicans’ most prominent financial backer and the largest single-cycle political donor in modern US history.

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© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

© Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

Plan for More Protests, This Time on Halloween, Causes Jitters in France

Thousands, potentially in masks and costumes, are expected on the streets on Saturday, prompting the authorities to prepare another vast security response.

© Manu Brabo/Getty Images

Protesters advancing toward riot police during a protest on the streets of Paris last Saturday.

How Locals and Shopkeepers Tried to Save One Paris Street From Rioters

As arson, looting and destruction overwhelmed Rue Beaurepaire, some residents pleaded with rioters to stop. Others hid out of fear. Many dread a repeat.

© Kiran Ridley/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The bar La Barrique on Rue Beaurepaire in Paris was set on fire during violence that grew out of protests on Oct. 17. Looting, burglary and other destruction also occurred on the three-block-long street.
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