US ambassador suggests Trump could blame Canada if midterms don’t go his way

28 October 2026 at 23:15

Pete Hoekstra, controversial US ambassador to Canada, has also accused Canadian officials of interfering in US elections

The US ambassador has suggested Canada could be blamed if Republicans perform poorly in next week’s midterm elections, the latest intervention from a controversial figure who has been accused of inflaming a bitter dispute that has angered and baffled residents of both countries.

On Wednesday, CTV news reported that Pete Hoekstra told business leaders at a closed door meeting that if a number of swing races – including Maine and Michigan – go to the Democrats, it could make things harder for Canada because Donald Trump might try to blame the loss on it.

Education secretary Linda McMahon plans to spend nearly $43,000 on office furniture

World news | The Guardian

By: Ariana Baio

28 October 2026 at 23:15

Trump ally, who is seeking to shutter the department, had said office relocation would save taxpayers $4.8m annually

The Trump administration has insisted its controversial education cuts are saving “millions of dollars” after it was reported that Linda McMahon, secretary of education, is planning to spend roughly $43,000 on new furniture for her office.

McMahon’s office told Congress that the secretary’s current furniture was worn out and “cannot be configurationally or aesthetically integrated into the agency’s new office space”, according to non-public records seen by the New York Times.

FDA scientists opposed Trump administration’s move to ease peptide access

World news | The Guardian

By: Associated Press

28 October 2026 at 21:35

Effort to loosen rules on unproven peptide drugs, favored by RFK Jr, faced fierce pushback from agency scientists

A plan to give people in the United States easier access to unproven peptide drugs favored by the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, was opposed by most Food and Drug Administration scientific staff members, who had limited input in drafting the policy, according to six people familiar with its development.

The document posted online on Wednesday by Kennedy’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) covers a handful of injectable peptides promoted within the wellness industry for building muscle, healing injuries and boosting energy.

Trump DOE loans $5B to nuclear plants that will power data centers

TechCrunch

By: Tim De Chant

28 October 2026 at 18:53

Constellation Energy will get $5 billion in government loans to modernize nuclear reactors. Most of the new capacity is already committed to Google, Amazon, and Meta.

RFK Jr assailed over ‘wildly racist tirade’ about Arabs at Michigan campaign stop

World news | The Guardian

By: Richard Luscombe

28 October 2026 at 16:17

US health secretary falsely claims at Mike Rogers rally that Arabs have never won major prizes in science or literature

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, faced backlash on Wednesday for a “wildly racist tirade” during a campaign stop in Michigan in which he falsely asserted that Arabs never won leading awards in science or literature.

Kennedy was speaking at the Monday night event in Grand Rapids in support of Mike Rogers, the Republican US Senate candidate trailing his Democratic midterms opponent Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim, in polling.

Dementia cases in US projected to rise dramatically by 2050, study finds

World news | The Guardian

By: Eric Berger

28 October 2026 at 15:00

Increase will add strain on healthcare system already struggling amid cuts by Trump administration, experts say

The number of people with dementia in the United States is projected to increase dramatically over the next 25 years, which will place increasing strain on a healthcare system already struggling to help them amid cuts by the Trump administration, experts say.

According to a new study in Jama Neurology, the annual incidence of new dementia cases globally will more than double, from 11.4m in 2023 to 24.7m in 2050. In the United States, the number of adults diagnosed with dementia each year will increase from 514,000 in 2020 to 1m by 2060, according to a Jama study published in 2024.

Obama mocks Trump’s response to Cheesecake Factory jibe. ‘They mobilized a whole of government response to that joke!’ – as it happened

World news | The Guardian

By: Robert Mackey (now) · Dani Anguiano, Chris Hippensteel, Lucy Campbell and Tom Ambrose (earlier)

29 October 2026 at 04:53

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For months, Mary Peltola’s campaign for Alaska’s Senate seat has denied any connection to a separate campaign launched by a man who, coincidentally, shares the exact same name as Peltola’s Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan.

New reporting from the New York Times undercuts that claim. The outlet reported, based on interviews, obtained text messages and legal filings, that the Peltola campaign had not only recruited Mr Sullivan (not the Republican), but had sought out a number of Dan Sullivans across the state for potential candidacy, as well as others who could peel votes away from Peltola’s main opponent.

Trump says government to ‘terminate’ Biden-era methane emissions rules

World news | The Guardian

By: Sara Sneath

28 October 2026 at 17:30

Critics warn of climate danger as president in Texas claims change will save companies and consumers billions

Donald Trump said his administration is “terminating” Biden-era regulations holding oil and gas companies accountable for large leaks of planet-warming methane during a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday evening.

“Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers,” Trump said, lifting what he called “crippling regulations on methane that caused prices to skyrocket” for small oil and gas operators. The change would save consumers and energy producers $45bn and unlock 210m barrels of oil, he said, which is equivalent to about 10 days of US petroleum consumption.

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