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Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after months-long absence

The 84-year-old said he was prepared to cast his first vote after rampant speculation about his health Mitch McConnell, the former Republican Senate majority leader, returned to the Capitol on Monday and cast his first vote after a months‑long absence that fueled rampant speculation about his health. One of the highest-profile figures in Congress , the 84-year-old senator has been away from the Senate since mid-June, following what his office said was a fall that left him hospitalized. After weeks of silence, that spurred demands for greater transparency and stoked online conspiracies, McConnell disclosed that he had been “briefly unconscious” and “also had to deal with a mild case of pneumonia”. He was discharged from a rehabilitation center last month. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Chris Stein in Washington15 Sept

Supreme court rejects Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for midterm elections

Decision allows states to send ballots under process followed for years even as president tried to limit system The supreme court on Monday rejected Donald Trump’s mail ballot restrictions for now, capping a flurry of last-minute legal action with voting in the midterm elections already underway. The decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots under the same processes they have used for years. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Associated Press15 Sept

Pre-Existing Condition review – Lupita Nyong’o is phenomenal in domestic abuse drama

Greenwich House Theater, New York The Oscar-winning actor transfixes in a Marin Ireland’s masterfully nuanced play about a woman reeling from a toxic relationship Paradoxically, the more stars step into the lead role in Pre-Existing Condition , the more the brilliance of Marin Ireland’s domestic abuse play takes center stage. Not that it ever suffered from a lack of acting talent – when it premiered in 2024, at New York’s tiny Connelly Theater Upstairs, it counted Tatiana Maslany , Edie Falco and Deirdre O’Connell among the actors who played its central character in quick succession, for only a few weeks each. And this return engagement, at the larger Greenwich House Theater across town, kicks off with Lupita Nyong’o , before making way for Phillipa Soo, Susannah Flood, Hari Nef, Falco again and Whitney White. It’s a straightforward conceit, perfectly calibrated for a 75-minute run time. A woman (whom the script refers to as A, currently played by Nyong’o) is dealing with the aftermath of a breakup triggered by her partner hitting her. When we meet her, someone (perhaps a lawyer, or a therapist) is laying out the reality of her situation: even with the deep pockets required to go to court, it’s been seven months since the incident, it happened across state lines and she never called the police. “You have to be ready for a fight,” she tells A. “Which, just from our short time with each other, I can already tell that you’re not.” Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Juan A Ramírez15 Sept

It’s a superfood but natto as we know it. Japan’s slimy fermented beans are coming your way

Comprised of smelly soya beans held together by strands of mucus, the ancient dish is appearing in health food shops across the world It is smelly, slimy and contains bacteria – and a sizeable number of Japanese wouldn’t touch it with a pair of barge pole-length chopsticks. But after centuries as a breakfast food for Japanese diners with nerves of steel, natto is emerging as a global superfood to rival kimchi , kombucha and kefir . Its exact origins are unknown. Some believe it was introduced to Japan from China by Buddhist monks during the Yayoi period (300BC-AD300), before becoming a staple among rural communities during the Edo period (1603-1868). Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Justin McCurry in Tokyo14 Sept

Democracy indicators in US at lowest levels for 50 years, data shows

Trump administration undermining rule of law at home and worldwide, according to intergovernmental report Key indicators of democracy in the US have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years, with the global rule of law significantly undermined by the Trump administration’s “threats and actions”, data from a leading thinktank shows. Around the world, judicial independence, credible elections and freedom of expression, press freedom and access to justice are all at their lowest levels for at least 30 years, according to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International Idea) . Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Jason Burke International security correspondent14 Sept

Texas governor threatens to penalize datacenters not obeying water laws

Republican Greg Abbott says datacenters must help ‘protect’ drought-prone state and disclose water use Greg Abbott , the Texas governor, has directed state regulators to penalize datacenters that fail to comply with state laws requiring them to disclose their water use. “Data centers must share the duty to protect Texas water,” the Republican governor said on Monday. “The Texas Water Code requires a complete and accurate water use survey. I direct the Texas Water Development Board to use its enforcement authority to penalize past failures and to impose legal consequences for any future failure to comply,” he added. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Maya Yang14 Sept

DHS officers raise concerns over potentially illegal voter searches and unreliable data, whistleblower says

Officers were instructed to search state voter databases and create federal records on suspected non-citizen voters despite concerns over the process Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers told officers investigating voter fraud they would not be held responsible for violating state laws around accessing voter registration information, an anonymous whistleblower revealed on Monday . DHS officers also had concerns about the reliability of the data they were working with, the whistleblower said. The Trump administration has ramped up its investigation into noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. Noncitizen voting is extremely rare and the effort has only turned up a handful of cases so far. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Sam Levine in New York14 Sept

Duke and Duchess of Sussex granted security review after return to UK

Committee to reconsider Harry and Meghan’s publicly funded police protection now they are full-time residents The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have a review of their publicly funded security following their return to the UK. The royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec), which oversees tax-funded security for royalty and public figures, is to reconsider Harry and Meghan’s level of police protection. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Priya Bharadia14 Sept

‘Now we seem to be the villains’: How PNG Chiefs are building a squad that is the envy of other NRL clubs

The expansion club’s recruiting spree has been aided by generous tax breaks with the goal to assemble a competitive roster from day one As Brian To’o ran away to score a try and seal victory for the Panthers in Sunday’s qualification final against the Roosters, rugby league fans in Papua New Guinea had almost as much reason to celebrate as those from Penrith. The 28-year-old winger showed he was back to his best in a high-pressure clash between teams many predict will contest next month’s grand final. Within two years, however, expansion club PNG Chiefs – boasting To’o and an all-star backline – hope to be in the same position after a recruiting spree that has drawn envy from other clubs. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Jack Snape14 Sept

European football: Inter roar back to beat Udinese and join Roma at the top

Inter and Roma lead Serie A, Como move up to third Real Betis beat struggling Villarreal in La Liga Inter fought back ⁠from two goals down ​to beat Udinese 5-3 on Monday, maintaining their perfect Serie A start alongside Roma , who won 2-0 at Torino before Saturday’s match between ⁠the joint leaders. Both sides have 12 points from four matches and share top spot before their encounter at the Stadio Olimpico, while Como are third on 10 points ⁠after beating Parma 2-1. Udinese stunned Inter with two goals in the opening 16 minutes, as James Abankwah headed home ​unmarked after nine minutes before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp doubled ‌the visitors’ lead with a ‌close-range finish seven minutes later. Inter hit back through Carlos Augusto, whose long-range effort flew into the bottom corner, ‌before Nicolò Barella levelled 10 minutes before half-time. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Agencies14 Sept

Elsinore review – Andrew Scott is astonishing as Ian Charleson in devastating Aids drama

Toronto film festival: the actor gives his greatest screen performance to date as the Chariots of Fire star who spends his final months playing Hamlet on stage It was an endlessly parodied cliche that any queer film released during a certain period would be about one thing and one thing only: Aids. In 1993, Philadelphia showed a wider audience a mostly clean and palatable version of the crisis, and won Oscars for doing so, and for a time, when gay men weren’t acting as sassy friends to women in need, they were coughing up blood in lonely hospital beds. The inevitable and understandable pushback, allowing for a wider breadth of stories, brought us more “queer joy” and “chosen family” but it also allowed some to forget just what a time of unimaginable annihilation it was. It also reframed the period as an onslaught of Aids movies when the majority of them existed on the outskirts still , films such as Buddies, Longtime Companion and Jeffrey seen by mostly queer arthouse audiences. If anything, I’d argue that something so relatively recent and horrifying has been rather under-explored on screen especially in comparison with other, even fresher tragedies (Aids has killed more than 44 million people worldwide compared with just more than 7 million for Covid). Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Benjamin Lee in Toronto14 Sept

De Zerbi backs ‘sensitive guy’ Solanke to find form before tricky Anfield trip

Tottenham visit Liverpool in Carabao Cup third round Richarlison will play no part despite being eligible Roberto De Zerbi has no doubt Dominic Solanke will rediscover his best levels as the head coach made clear he had left no stone unturned in the mission to solve Tottenham’s goalscoring problem. Spurs go to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday after the 0-0 home draw with Everton in the Premier League on Saturday; they have not found the net in their four matches in the competition. Tottenham did beat Charlton 5-1 at home in the second round of the Carabao Cup. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•David Hytner14 Sept

Calvert-Lewin shows the way as Leeds thrash limp Newcastle and rise to third

At what stage does a good start become something more significant? Perhaps we are not quite there yet; maybe we are. But as the goals flew in on a chaotic night at Elland Road, it was difficult not to think the boundaries of expectation for Leeds were potentially being redrawn. Ask those close to the action over the summer at Leeds and the feeling was that there was a possibility of something special materialising this season. Having found their feet in the Premier League in the last campaign, the platform had been set and a very good summer transfer window seemed like the catalyst for even brighter days to return to West Yorkshire. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Aaron Bower at Elland Road14 Sept

Australia politics live: Hastie accuses Hanson of avoiding media; Anthony Albanese and King Charles speak

Follow the day’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you. Thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started. Migration will dominate parliament again today, after One Nation yesterday announced its policy to cut 750,000 temporary visas over three years – which the major parties said would send the country into a recession. That’s the Australia that I know. And I fear that that is the Australia that we’re losing … Every time we talk about immigration, multiculturalism, it comes from a deficit point of view. Social cohesion becomes the burden of people from different countries who have come here and it is their fault, it is their responsibility to socially cohere. The fact is that multiculturalism is who we are. It is part of our identity. It’s who we are as Australia. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Krishani Dhanji14 Sept

Forever Home review – Graham Norton’s corpse-in the-basement thriller absolutely stinks

Norton’s best selling novel hits the small screen in a flurry of murder, bad gags and ex-soap stars in drab cardigans drinking fake coffees. What a total yawn ‘What in the name of the Virgin Mother is that terrible honk?” bellows Moira (Denise Welch) as she staggers disgustedly around her daughter Carol’s kitchen. “The smell!” she continues, cheeks ballooning in horror as Carol (Amy Nuttall) – who is, you suspect, familiar with such theatrics – busies herself with the teabags. “Carol?! The smell .” Moira – a vision of motherly forbearance in cerise elastane – is not the only one alarmed by the mysterious stench emanating from 7 Stable Row, the Edwardian domicile in which six-part thriller Forever Home does the bulk of its thrilling. Carol’s unblinking partner, Robert (Douglas Henshall, far better than he needs to be), wonders if the smell might be something to do with the drains. Robert’s son Kaden (Lewis Cope) suspects foxes. And Carol? Carol is as narked with the funk as the rest of them. Continue reading...

The GuardianThe Guardian•Sarah Dempster14 Sept