Tuesday, 27 October 2026

Freeze TRUMPS ASSESTS OFF

Humour Writing by the fat silver haired writer in shades from Birmingham England read in 171 countries so far

FREEZE TRUMPS ASSESTS OFF

28/10/2026 ~ michaelgcasey ~ Edit

The Love of Money is the ROOT of all EVIL

Freeze Trump’s Assesses OFF

JD VANCE MUST DEMAND TRUMP RESIGNS IMMEDIATELY

TO PROTECT AND DEFEND ALL OUR CHILDREN

NO HIDING PLACE FOR EVIL PRESIDENTS

NO SITTING ON THE FENCE

TRUMP MUST FALL IN DISGRACE

IN GOD WE TRUST

NEVER AGAIN FLIM FLAM MAN

Published by michaelgcasey

I've updated this 15th Sept 2024 I'm Michael Casey from Birmingham England, the fat silver haired writer in shades. Beware of Others with the EXACT SAME NAME, they are not me, and would not want to be me ... use Google UK to find me, otherwise Posh Americans pop up I've done loads of writing, about 3,000,000 Words worth over 36years now But before I started to write, I LISTENED to BBC Radio 4 for 20 years, from the age of 10 or younger Frank Brown our lodger, went back to County Tyrone and he gifted us his Bush Radio. He'd be nearly 102 now if he is still alive, so say a prayer for him 56 years in love with words, and I still look so dashing. I have a picture in the attic, just like Dorian Gray I've also had an interest in Politics for 56 years with my dad heckling the tv and Politicians. I almost immediately had a hit, a play called Shoplife was accepted but not finally produced by a Theatre. The Kenneth More Theatre, so thank them for sparing you all. This was back in 1989 yes, 35 years ago, the play was written in 1988. So since then I'm more than good enough, as a writer. Anything else..... I also ignore those who just cannot write, pick your own candidate I tend to write Comedy as I'd rather make you laugh than cry I have written over 2000 short pieces of writing, yes 2000 " (c) by Michael Casey" If you include "chats" 5000 samples, all told, the chats do NOT go into my books when I compile them. My first book ,a full length comedy/drama is The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker You can read translations of it here on this site Up to 20 different languages/translations have been read on the same day via this site, here on Wordpress look fo Translations Galore page, and more And in over 167 Countries world wide too so you have no excuse, find your own language and read The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker or Quick Stories or any other of the books in Translation on my Wordpress This proves to me that the humour does travel I have readers in over 167 countries now, just to repeat myself From Nepal to American Samoa and all places North South East and West Or its just a hit man on the run, or whatever Unknown Region Means It may also mean that only non English Speakers like my stuff Coverage but lacking penetration as marketing folks might say I did get 21,000 readers in 3 weeks for the Polish version of In Search of an Indian Princess. which is basically the final 3 chapters of The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker all by word of mouth. And 50,000 plus in Christmas week 2021 If you add up all the downloads from my Wordpress + 13,000 when somebody stole the file. I have had more copies than Boris Johnson's Churchill book distributed. Maybe 40,000 copies . Not made a penny from it, free downloads in multiple languages. Reverse Logic, if the world knows me, eventually somebody will pay me But in reality I'll be dead first, and then just 2 pennies to pay the ferryman is enough I've cut the Plaudits, you can read/decide for yourself As for my life, I was born in the shadow of a Brewery, I was a computer operator for a market research company into alcohol sales, 21 years altogether, StatsMR Call centre guy, like everybody once in their life I was also a Trainee Betting Shop Manager I was a concierge and 10 other roles at Crowne Plaza NEC Birmingham for 3 years. Spent 3 years at Pinsent Masons Law firm in Birmingham I even hid a copy of my comic novel "BBU" in the Law Library at Pinsent Masons, well just for a day.. I did a few other jobs too, working life in reverse so to speak and I was an Esol English teacher in an Islamic school, for a year, I knew I could teach. I got Excellent, Excellent and Exemplary on the external assessment, yes really And I asked them to pray for me at least once a day beside which I've had a Shanghai connection for 20+ years now, including 2 bilingual daughters and being a hausfrau a long time too, I'm a great dad, as I've had lots of time with my daughters I can always make somebody talk or laugh I believe my short stories could be used to teach English, just package them up correctly or App them Or a Tale a Day from Michael, a story telling App What else, I was brawn and brains, I used to be as strong as an Ox, now I just smell like one We have a cat called Totoro, my daughters wanted a pet I said they could have a dog if I died , or a cat if I had a heart attack. A few weeks after that in Jan 2015 I had an Unplanned Quadruple Heart Bypass , it was supposed to be a triple but it ended up a Quadruple, 33% extra free so to speak. Now with an add on Hernia, the size of your fist, pushing through my bypass scar, it hurts when I laugh, so don't make me laugh I also have arthritis and other hindrances that hobble my body and give me pain galore. But my mind is free, though having read my stories you may wish I didn't bother But I'll ignore you, and carry on regardless. I do get heckled by my own Tinnitus these past 5 years+, so I have music on all night long to drown it out. I sleep with Miley, Taylor, Eric Clapton and Will Young, maybe I should buy a bigger bed, or just get a better mattress. Tinnitus is a curse, just trust me I know, each day I wake up, Tinnitus SCREAMS at me for a full hour till it calms down or not at all, a merry go around of noise That's the end of the tidy version of my life To finish here's the list of my 20 books, so far:- 1.The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker 2.Shoplife 3.Essays and Plays 4.Blogs 2011 5.300 and Not OUT 6.Shorts 2013 7.More Shorts 2014 8.Quick Stories 9.Still Alive 2015 10.Undiscovered Words 2016 11.Still Smiling 2017 12.Altogether Now 13.New Horizons 14.14 Up 15.15 Down 16.Sweet Sixteen 17. 17 Again 18. 18 New Views 19. The Final Cut of the 19th Hole 20. 2020 Words 21. Tinnitus Tales 2020 to 2024 I write bullet point stuff mainly now as Tinnitus stops me from getting in the zone to write, story stories. (c) by Michael Casey stuff though my bullet points are better than some "writers" discuss, miaow. That's why I dream of a speed typist, so I could dictate from the sofa https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Casey/e/B00571G0YC to buy ebooks Loads of Korean and Arabic translations downloaded from my Wordpress, 1000s of them Quick Stories in Korean is a big hit. Maybe Kim in North Korea should read my books, instead of wasting his countries resources on what? Just keeping one person in power, him? Instead of joining the real world and opening a string on golf courses. That way we could get rid of Trump too. Into the sunset, as they play golf. Tears for a Butcher will be the sequel to BBU, and it too will be 600pages, however I really need a speed typist to put it down, while I sit and dictate like Barbara Cartland, and hopefully my speed typist would be impressed. we'd marry have half Korean kids, and form a Kpop band with our 4 new kids, with me as manager. my 2 daughters are at University now, so if you finally pay me, I can pass it on to them And yes this is more for my bucket list, as Tinnitus keeps me awake too much, 6 months of not sleeping till dawn is really killing me, it is the worse thing in my life ever, and I've had far to many horrible things. That's why I go the other direction and write comedy Michael Casey aka the fat silver haired writer in shades from Birmingham England a bit more About the author I've updated this today 13th April 2023 I'm Michael Casey from Birmingham England, the fat silver haired writer in shades. Beware of Others with the EXACT SAME NAME, they are not me, and would not want to be me ... I've done loads of writing, about 2,000,000 Words worth over 35 years now But before I started I LISTENED to BBC Radio 4 for 20 years, from the age of 10 or younger Frank Brown our lodger, went back to County Tyrone and he gifted us his Bush Radio. He'd be nearly 100 now if he is still alive, so say a prayer for him 50 years in love with words, and I still look so dashing. I have a picture in the attic, just like Dorian Gray I've also had an interest in Politics for 50 years with my dad heckling the tv and Politicians. I almost immediately had a hit, a play called Shoplife was accepted but not finally produced by a Theatre. The Kenneth More Theatre, so thank them for sparing you all. This was back in 1989 yes, 30 years plus ago, the play was written in 1988. So since then I'm more than good enough, as a writer. Anything else..... I also had other high praise, so I ignore all the nasty negative people who use too much alliteration. I also ignore those who just cannot write. Today's world has much print, but a page will not refuse ink, as my dad used to say. I tend to write Comedy as I'd rather make you laugh than cry I have written over 2000 short pieces of writing, yes 2000 If you include "chats" about 4200+ samples, not in a jar either so if you count Everything maybe 3,000,000 words the chats do NOT go into my books when I compile them. My first book ,a full length comedy/drama is The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker You can read translations of it here on this site https://michaelgcaseyfrombirminghamengland.wordpress.com/ Up to 22 different languages/translations have been read on the same day via this site, here on Wordpress and my 3 Bloggers so you have no excuse, find your own language and read The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker This proves to me that the humour does travel I have readers in over 162 countries now From Nepal to American Samoa and all places North South East and West Or its just a hit man on the run, or whatever Unknown Region Means It may also mean that only non English Speakers like my stuff I did get 21,000 readers in 3 weeks for the Polish version of In Search of an Indian Princess. which is basically the final 3 chapters of The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker all by word of mouth. and 50,000 in Xmas week 2021 If you add up all the Translated downloads from my Wordpress + 13,000 when somebody stole the file. I have had more copies than Boris Johnson's Churchill book distributed, 40,000 maybe but I got no money for it I also had a low budget film producer take a look at it back in 2013 Book Publishers have said I've made the commissioning editor laugh Radio People say they like my style So close but no cigar is the story of my life, so all you power people, do something useful HELP ME REACH FOR THE SKY from my position in the gutter looking at the stars As for my life, I was a computer operator for a market research company into alcohol sales 21 years altogether, and I was born in the shadow of a Brewery I also was a concierge and 10 other roles at Crowne Plaza NEC Birmingham for 3 years. I even hid a copy of my comic novel "BBU" in the Law Library at Pinsent Masons, well just for a day.. and I was an Esol English teacher in an Islamic school, I knew I could teach. I got Excellent, Excellent and Exemplary on the external assessment beside which I've had a Shanghai connection for 20 years now, including 2 bilingual daughters and being a hausfrau a long time too, I'm a great dad, as I've had lots of time with my daughters I can always make somebody talk or laugh, I am an 19 stone George Clooney look alike Laugh or Die so to speak I believe my short stories could be used to help teach English, just package them up correctly or App them into Michael Casey Story Jukebox What else, I was brawn and brains, I used to be as strong as an Ox, now I just smell like one We have a cat called Totoro, my daughters wanted a pet I said they could have a dog if I died , or a cat if I had a heart attack. A few weeks after that in Jan 2015 I had an Unplanned Quadruple Heart Bypass , it was supposed to be a triple but it ended up a Quadruple, 33% extra free so to speak. Now with an add on Hernia pushing through my bypass scar, it hurts when I laugh, so don't make me laugh I also have arthritis and other hindrances that hobble my body and give me pain galore. But my mind is free, though having read my stories you may wish I didn't bother But I'll ignore you, and carry on regardless. I do get heckled by my own Tinnitus these past 4 years+, so I have music on all night long to drown it out. Tinnitus is a curse, I wake up with so much noise in my head every morning for 3 hours I'm terrified for hours till it calms down It's no joke, drives you to the edge of insanity and beyond Go Google if you don't believe me I sleep with Miley, Taylor, Eric Clapton and Will Young, maybe I should buy a bigger bed, or just get a better mattress. April 2023 I now have a better mattress and duvet too That's the end of the tidy version of my life, if you want more come and buy me a Stella Artois and all will be revealed. Though I've never been much of a drinker, too many alcoholic lodgers puts you off alcohol To finish here's the list of my 20 books, so far:- 1.The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker 2.Shoplife 3.Essays and Plays 4.Blogs 2011 5.300 and Not OUT 6.Shorts 2013 7.More Shorts 2014 8.Quick Stories 9.Still Alive 2015 10.Undiscovered Words 2016 11.Still Smiling 2017 12.Altogether Now 13.New Horizons 14.14 Up 15.15 Down 16.Sweet Sixteen 17. 17 Again 18. 18 New Views 19. The Final Cut of the 19th Hole 20. 2020 Words 21. Fresh Fields 70,400 words written so far https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Casey/e/B00571G0YC to buy ebooks Tears for a Butcher will be the sequel to BBU, and it too will be 600 pages, if ever I get around to writing it, however I really need a speed typist to put it down, while I sit and dictate like Barbara Cartland, and hopefully my speed typist would be impressed. From Typist to Muse... We go on to have 4 children and form a Kpop band, and I'd be the manager the kids would be called Mathew Mark Luke and John in whatever is the Korean/Japanese or whatever language the typist speaks its better to dream than just die ok, that's your lot, p.s. Don't forget I have readers all over the world, everywhere there is Electricity or maybe only Foreigners like me, The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker are being read, on the same day, along with my Quick Stories collection of short stories and other books I've placed online in multiple languages so Media groups do get in touch 2000 plus copies of Quick Stories in Korean have been downloaded and 1000s of Arabic translations too other languages are there too, just so you all suffer equally Maybe only foreigners find me funny, or I should just look in that mirror email michaelgcasey@hotmail.com or send a message via Wordpress REAL PEOPLE NOT FRAUDS Spammers beware I don't want any prizes, and I don't believe you have millions to share with me or you are dying. I never click links, too many years using computers, 44, so I know just how much damage RUBBISH can do Leave me in Peace to write when Tinnitus isn't killing me not unless you are a speed typist who wants to type for free while I repose on the sofa behind you Then just maybe Tears for a Butcher will be written a 600 page sequel to The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker Michael Casey aka the fat silver haired writer in shades from Birmingham Englan https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/efda2dca0de5b9269191b7c8b0102473?s=400&d=mm View all posts by michaelgcasey

Leave

7pm wordpress stats

for ip sales pitch

United Kingdom and China dominate your traffic, driving a combined 64% of total views (16 out of 25). For an intellectual property (IP) sales pitch, this geographic distribution provides compelling evidence of cross-regional market validation and commercial readiness.

Here is the strategic analysis of your location data to leverage in your pitch.

Traffic Distribution Overview

💡 Strategic Talking Points for Your IP Pitch

Dual-Engine Market Validation (UK & China): You have simultaneous traction in the Western and Eastern commercial hubs. Capturing equal interest in the UK (32%) and China (32%) proves your IP has structural appeal across vastly different regulatory, linguistic, and consumer ecosystems.
High-Value APAC Footprint: Beyond mainland China, your traction in Singapore and Hong Kong signals interest from premier global financial and technology gateways. This makes your IP highly attractive to buyers looking for a strategic launchpad into broader Southeast Asian markets.
European Regulatory Readiness: Active views across the UK, Poland, and Germany demonstrate that your platform or IP resonates across both Commonwealth and European Union territories, lowering the perceived compliance and expansion risk for a prospective buyer.
Global Scalability: With footprint entries spanning North America (US), the Middle East (Egypt), and the crossroads of Europe/Asia (Türkiye), your product shows immediate, organic global transportability without localized friction.

To tailor this specifically to your prospective buyer, let me know:

Who is the target audience for this sales pitch? (e.g., Venture capitalists, a corporate acquirer, or a licensing partner?)
What industry or sector does your IP belong to?
Do you want me to draft a specific slide layout or script based on these insights?

and to those who could not be bother to read

all these millions of words did not write themselves

i wrote them

and i have used gemini to think for itself and write the boring sales pitches

my dream into the future is

recite and hit return then

somebody else types it up

after listening to it

then

we publish to a website

words and text

all

pure michael casey SOB a Son Of a Blacksmith

simple

meanwhile the back list

is used for ESOL , books , audio jukebox, films and cartoons

and so on

It is so boring have to repeat myself

especially as I have windows of none pain

and fighting against TINNITUS

and platitudes from anybody including various doctors

are just so shall we say UNWELCOME

cos none of my several illnesses can be fixed/cured by any of them

I survive cos I literaly am a Gorilla with a Rosary

For USA readers try reading a NEWSPAPER such as the GUARDIAN

15.36 GMT

Tom Phillips, chief justice of Texas supreme court, endorses James Talarico in Senate race

Tom Phillips, a longtime chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court and a staunch Republican, endorsed Democrat James Talarico in the Texas Senate race on Monday.

In an op-ed published in the Austin American-Statesman, Phillips, a Republican who served as the state’s chief justice from 1988 to 2004, said that he believed that Talarico would be a better representative of Texas in the Senate, and more willing to engage in productive bipartisanship.

By contrast, he said, Paxton would be a Trump acolyte who would enable the president’s excesses and self-dealing, steering the Republican Party away from the ideals Phillips believes it should embody, such as limited government and free enterprise.

He also felt that Paxton’s history of scandal would cast a shadow over his Senate tenure, regardless of his future conduct.

“However exemplary his future conduct might be, Paxton’s longstanding reputation will embarrass Texas in ways our state simply cannot afford,” Phillips wrote. “While I, like many Republicans, do not agree with all of Talarico’s past statements or current positions, I am confident that he would serve this great state with dignity and honor.”

Phillips said he believed there were still Republican candidates on the ticket who were worthy of serving. Paxton just wasn’t one of them.

“Thus, while I enthusiastically support the statewide Republican judicial candidates and many Republican candidates for other statewide offices, my choice for United States Senator must be James Talarico,” Phillips wrote.

now

14.48 EDT

In latest campaign attack, Vance connects Abdul El-Sayed to protests in Paris

At a campaign stop in Michigan, JD Vance further escalated a war of words he’s exchanged with the state’s Democratic Senate candidate, Abdul El-Sayed.

Speaking to the crowd in Howell, Michigan, Vance sought to connect El-Sayed’s politics to the left-wing protests in Paris that has led to thousands of arrests – what Vance described as “hordes of masked rioters, many from distant lands, taking over historic city centers.”

He also continued to play up El-Sayed’s relationship with left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker.

“The scene of destruction in Paris may be an ocean away, but ask yourselves, are they really so hard to imagine here in the United States of America?” Vance said. “And I guarantee you, if those rioters were burning down New York, or Detroit, the Hasan Pikers and El-Sayeds would be right there leading them and cheering them on.”

He continued: “What we saw in France, the hatred, the ingratitude, the desire to destroy rather than the desire to build, that exact same cancer is what has corrupted Abdul El-Sayed.”

Vance has made several visits to Michigan as Republicans seek to hold onto the seat El-Sayed is vying for, leading the two to exchange barbs at campaign rallies and on social media.

47m ago

18.01 GMT

Trump administration boat strikes continue with attack in Eastern Pacific

Another US strike on a purported drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday killed 5 people, according to the US military.

The strikes is just the latest in dozens of similar attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific that have killed more than 240 people, and that the Trump administration has claimed are targeting drug traffickers, branded “narcoterrorists” by the president. But they’ve been widely criticized as illegal extrajudicial killings, and the administration has not furnished evidence that all of those killed are connected to the drug trade.

DoJ asks Washington state not to count ballots from possible noncitizens

The US justice department has asked Washington state ⁠not to count any ⁠mail ballots received from more than 400 residents who it says may not be US citizens, Reuters reports, opening a new front in the Trump administration’s push to expand control of election administration ahead of next Tuesday’s midterms.

The ⁠letter, which resembled a request earlier this month that California not count any ballots received from around 20,000 alleged noncitizens, marked an escalation in the Trump administration’s pressure on state election officials over alleged noncitizen voting.

Multiple ⁠state audits and independent studies have found that voter fraud, including voting by noncitizens, is extremely rare and has not affected election outcomes.

The pressure campaign is a rare intervention by the Justice Department in ‌the voting process in the weeks ‌before an election. Donald Trump’s Republican party is locked in a tight battle to retain slim majorities in both chambers of the ‌US Congress, and centrist Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez’s campaign to hold onto her southwest Washington seat is one of 10 key races that could decide control of the US House of Representatives.

In the letter, dated 26 October, the top federal prosecutors in Seattle and Spokane asked Washington secretary of state Steve Hobbs, the state’s top elections official, to determine whether the more than 400 people were in fact US citizens and to not count their ballots until their citizenship was determined. The letter said the justice department ‌would seek “emergency relief” if the state could not take those actions by noon local time tomorrow.

There were 5 million registered voters in Washington state as of 2024, according to the secretary of state’s office.

In a statement, Hobbs said his office would only respond to requests that follow due process.

“The timing of this request — one week before the General Election — is no doubt intended to cast unfounded suspicion on the results,” Hobbs said.

A justice department spokesperson said: “With his [Hobbs’] help, we can ensure that only American citizens vote in Washington’s elections.“

In its letter to Washington state officials, the justice department acknowledged that some of the individuals flagged as possible noncitizens may have since naturalized, but it did not say how many.

2h ago

17.07 GMT

Federal law enforcement agents searched a home in suburban Los Angeles early today as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell, who resigned from Congress amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations, a law enforcement official and two people familiar with the investigation told the Associated Press.

Agents searched the Beverly Hills home of wealthy developer and Swalwell donor Stephen Cloobeck, where the Democratic ex-congressman spent time before resigning from office in April, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation.

Swalwell has denied criminal wrongdoing.

Messages seeking comment were left for Swalwell’s attorney and for a lawyer who represented Cloobeck in another matter.

Cloobeck, the founder of the Diamond Resorts International timeshare company, told the New York Post in April that he cut ties with Swalwell as accusations against him mounted.

“I am no longer associated with a man that takes advantage of women,” Cloobeck told the newspaper. “I support women’s rights.”

Today’s search is the latest escalation in the federal investigation of Swalwell – one of several probes begun after a woman came forward with allegations that he sexually assaulted her twice, including when she worked for him.

The San Francisco Chronicle, followed by CNN, first reported the allegations. CNN also reported that three other women alleged various kinds of sexual misconduct by Swalwell, including sending them unsolicited explicit messages or nude photos.

More on this story here:

Federal agents search Beverly Hills mansion tied to ex-congressman Eric Swalwell

We know, we know, we know …

Seeing these messages is annoying. We know that. (Imagine what it’s like writing them … )

But it’s also extremely important. One of the Guardian’s greatest assets is its reader-funded model.

• Reader funding means we can cover what we like. We’re not beholden to the political whims of a billionaire owner. No-one can tell us what not to say or what not to report.

• Reader funding means we don’t have to chase clicks and traffic. We’re not desperately seeking your attention for its own sake: we pursue the stories that our editorial team deems important, and believe are worthy of your time.

• Reader funding means we can keep our website open, allowing as many people as possible to read quality journalism from around the world – especially people who live in places where the free press is in peril.

At the moment, the Guardian’s work is funded by just 3.8% of our regular readers. If you’re in the other 96.2%, appreciate our work, and believe that good journalism is important to protecting democracy in an age of misinformation, please consider supporting the Guardian today. It only takes a minute, and you can cancel at any time. Thank you.

Support £4/month

Support £12/month

Unlock All-access digital benefits:

Far fewer asks for support
Ad-free reading
Unlimited access to the Guardian app
Exclusive newsletter for supporters
Unlimited access to the Feast App

Intro offer

Support with another amount

Continue

2h ago

16.44 GMT

Trump’s cuts have exposed US to ‘cascade’ of El Niño dangers, experts warn

Gabrielle Canon

Sweeping cuts to the premier US climate agency under Donald Trump have severely hampered the country’s capacity to forecast, research and respond to extreme weather events, former government officials and scientists have warned, as the US faces a cascade of hazards fueled by a potentially historic El Niño this winter.

From the start of his second term, the president has taken aim at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), slashing staff levels, canceling contracts and grants , and shutting down databases and research laboratories. The agency that has long been considered a global crown jewel in climate science and forecasting, has lost roughly 20% of its staff since January 2025.

The National Weather Service, which is housed within Noaa, has also taken a hit. Weather stations have had to delay data collection and cut operating hours, with hundreds of meteorological and other technical positions still vacant across its 122 forecast offices.

The effects have already been felt at Noaa, where a chaotic and volatile environment has sent morale plummeting, increased burnout and hampered vital work. While capacity has quietly unravelled, a large-scale disaster will quickly expose the most dangerous gaps.

“The system has not really been tested since all the cuts happened,” said Tom Di Liberto, a former Noaa climate scientist who now works as the media director of Climate Central.

That test could soon be coming.

This year’s super El Niño, a climate phenomenon characterized by warmer than average equatorial sea surface temperatures, has the ability to fuel extreme weather events around the world. It’s already climbing off the charts and is expected to strengthen through the northern hemisphere’s autumn and winter.

Along with dangerous spikes in temperature, El Niño will supercharge storms in parts of the American west, raise sea levels in California by up to a foot, and set the stage for debris flows, landslides and flash floods.

“Whether we as a country can handle the kind of coast-to-coast extremes that could potentially happen this winter is a big question,” Di Liberto said.

Read the full report here:

Trump’s cuts have exposed US to ‘cascade’ of El Niño dangers, experts warn

2h ago

16.30 GMT

In the latest episode of our Stateside podcast, Carter Sherman speaks to Julian Borger, the Guardian’s senior international correspondent, about how historic elections in Serbia, Brazil, Israel and the United States could reshape the political world order in just 10 days - and why the upcoming US midterm elections are the biggest test for global democracy.

These four elections could change the world in 10 days – Stateside with Kai and Carter

2h ago

16.19 GMT

Trump refers to oil tanker he'll show off in Texas as a personal "gift" from Venezuela

Before heading to Texas, Trump spoke in blunt terms about the US’s relationship with Venezuela, describing a massive shipment of oil he’ll show off at a campaign stop as a personal gift from a subdued country.

“We took over Venezuela, very successfully,” Trump said. “And they’ve sent me as a gift, a boatload of a million barrels of oil, and I’m giving that to the United States of America.”

The Trump administration deposed Venezuela’s former leader, Nicólas Maduro, in January, dragging the autocrat off to a Brooklyn jail after a nighttime incursion into the Venezuelan capital of Caracas. His US-friendly successor, Delcy Rodriguez, who took power with Trump’s backing, has since brokered deals with the Trump administration that would see Venezuela oil revenues funneled into US coffers.

The oil shipment from Venezuela is part of Trump’s efforts to tamp down voters’ outrage over soaring gas prices due to the war in Iran.

“We’re going to accept a million barrels of oil, and I’m going to give it to you people to use it the way you want,” Trump said.“Oil prices are going to be dropping very sharply, very soon.”

3h ago

16.11 GMT

Trump says he'll respect election results 'if they’re honest'

Pressed on the tarmac en route to a pair of Texas campaign events on whether he would accept the election results of the 2026 midterm elections, President Trump gave a familiar reply: “I will, if they’re honest.”

He also said he would be open to working with, and potentially making deals, with a Democratic majority if Republicans were to lose control of Congress.

“I hope that won’t be the case, but if it is, that’s happened before with many presidents,” Trump told reporters. “You have strong veto, and you end up working out deals.”

3h ago

15.58 GMT

Trump-appointed CDC deputy director to resign after six months on the job

Jessica Glenza

The deputy director and chief medical officer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will resign after six months on the job, according to an agency email obtained by the Guardian.

Dr Jennifer Shuford was appointed by Donald Trump in April as part of a four-person senior leadership team.

The appointments were meant to stabilize the agency after the previous CDC director, Susan Monarez, left less than a month into the job – publicly describing the directives of the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, as “unscientific”.

“I am leaving to spend more time with my family,” Shuford said in a statement, sent via email by the CDC director, Dr Erica Schwartz. “I am so thankful to President Trump and Secretary Kennedy for giving me the opportunity to help lead CDC. It has been an amazing experience, and I will be forever grateful for it.”

A sign for the CDC — A sign outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Roybal campus in Atlanta, Georgia. Photograph: Megan Varner/Reuters

Shuford is expected to leave her post on 12 November, after the midterm elections.

The deputy director was appointed as part of a four-person team in April, alongside Schwartz and two other top leaders. Shuford’s appointment was cheered by public health leaders, such as Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), who would have known her work as Texas health commissioner.

In the time since Shuford has worked at the agency, Kennedy has made significant changes that undermine vaccine trust and access. In just a few recent examples: Kennedy fired all 17 of the CDC’s expert vaccine advisory panel members and replaced them with ideologically aligned appointees, slow-walked death updates to the agency’s measles dashboard, and forced the CDC to publicly contradict scientific consensus on vaccines and autism – a change the Autism Science Foundation said left it “appalled”.

At the same time, the agency has lost one-third of its workforce and 48 distinct measles outbreaks have roiled the US, particularly in Pennsylvania. The overwhelming majority of Americans – including Maha supporters – trust vaccines.

3h ago

15.36 GMT

Tom Phillips, chief justice of Texas supreme court, endorses James Talarico in Senate race

Tom Phillips, a longtime chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court and a staunch Republican, endorsed Democrat James Talarico in the Texas Senate race on Monday.

He also felt that Paxton’s history of scandal would cast a shadow over his Senate tenure, regardless of his future conduct.

Phillips said he believed there were still Republican candidates on the ticket who were worthy of serving. Paxton just wasn’t one of them.

4h ago

14.51 GMT

Speaking to reporters on the tarmac before departing for a campaign event in Michigan, JD Vance responded to a question about President Trump’s remarks branding Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed as a “jihadist.”

Vance, who has sparred with the progressive El-Sayed repeatedly on the campaign trail, took a somewhat softer tone. But he didn’t walk away from Trump’s remarks.

Vance said that El-Sayed had identified himself with a segment of Democrats “who seem to align with people who justify violence against the United States of America.”

“I don’t know what’s in the guy’s heart,” Vance said. “I just know he has a lot of weird friends.”

4h ago

14.20 GMT

Trump and Rubio descend on Texas to campaign for Paxton, and to tout Venezuelan oil

President Trump is set to headline back-to-back campaign events in Texas on Tuesday, as Republicans look to bolster Senate candidate Ken Paxton in the face of a strong challenge from Democrat James Talarico.

Trump will rally in Corpus Christi this afternoon, then head to Lubbock for an evening event. He’ll be joined on the campaign trail by Secretary of State Marco Rubio – a highly unusual move for the nation’s top diplomat.

Together, the pair are set to flaunt an oil tanked filler with Venezuelan crude bound for Texas refineries, according to officials familiar with the plans.

Trump dancing on a red carpet — President Donald Trump dances as he leaves the stage after delivering remarks to supporters at a midterm election campaign rally in Corinth, Mississippi on Monday. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Trump has frequently touted the oil deal his administration struck with the new, US-backed Venezuelan leadership after deposing its former leader, Nicolás Maduro, earlier this year, as a windfall for the nation. Rubio, a chief architect of Trump’s foreign policy, especially in Latin America, has been deeply involved in those negotiations.

The stunt also comes at a moment when surging oil prices, an aftershock of the war in Iran, have kneecapped the Republican party going into the midterms, countering Trump’s 2024 election promises to bring down prices.

Those grievances have put states once considered reliably Republican into play for the midterms, and Texas may be chief among them. The state hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in decades, yet recent polling has found a closely contested race between Paxton (a divisive candidate dogged by scandal) and Talarico.

5h ago

14.05 GMT

US voters: tell us what issues will decide your vote in the midterm elections?

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.

In an October poll by the New York Times/Siena College, Donald Trump’s approval rating sank to 36% with most respondents expressing frustration over his handling of the US economy, cost of living and Iran war.

We’d like to hear from all Americans of voting age about their thoughts on the midterm elections. What are the main issues that will decide your vote and why?

Share your story by filling out the form here.

5h ago

13.44 GMT

Shadow from Trump's Washington arch would land on Arlington Cemetery, Washington Post finds

Since President Trump first proposed the installation of a monumental new arch in Washington, critics have argued it would detract from another important site nearby: Arlington National Cemetery, the nation’s largest military cemetery, which sits just across a nearby bridge.

A soldier, photographer between a row of columns, standing guard at the tomb of the unknown solider at sunrise. — A U.S. Army honor guard member stands vigil at dawn at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

But a new analysis by The Washington Post has found that the arch would, quite literally, cast a shadow over the hallowed burial ground.

On 284 days out of the year, the arch would block sunlight from portions of the cemetery, its shadow passing over the graves of more than 75,000 people, as well as several notable memorial sites. Those include the eternal flame honoring former president John F. Kennedy and the Military Women’s Memorial.

The shadow would also pass over the grave sites of several Supreme Court Justices, including Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Post found.

6h ago

13.13 GMT

Strong early turnout in Israeli election, with Netanyahu's political future in the balance

Israeli voters are going to the polls today to decide the future of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who president Trump has strongly backed and who worked with him to launch the ongoing war with Iran.

Early turnout in the election, branded by some as the most consequential in Israeli history, was the highest it’s been in decades, according to data released by Israel’s Central Elections Committee.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, faces his first true election test since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel and the beginning of the war in Gaza. That conflict touched off a wider regional conflict that increasingly drew in the US, culminating in the current US-Israeli war on Iran, which Trump and Netanyahu jointly launched earlier this year.

A man walks past a banner featuring images of Netanyahu and Trump — A man walks past a Likud Party campaign banner featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trum in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. Photograph: Baz Ratner/AP

That war and its economic aftershocks (the soaring price of fuel, in particular) have loomed large over the US midterm election. Today’s election in Israel will help determine the future course of that war, and what Israeli leadership will be working with the US to see it through, as well as implement Trump’s peace plan for Gaza.

Follow along the Israeli election as it unfolds here, with my colleague Yohannes Lowe.

6h ago

12.29 GMT

While Donald Trump is heading to Texas, JD Vance, his vice president and a top MAGA campaign surrogate, will be in Howell, Michigan, campaigning for Republicans in the state.

The stop in Michigan is part of a campaign blitz that just yesterday took Vance to Montana and Kansas. The latter of those two states has become the site of an unexpectedly competitive Senate race, with Democrat Adam Hamilton mounting a strong challenge against the Republican incumbent Roger Marshall.

Vance has already made multiple midterm stops in Michigan, where the Senate race between Abdul El-Sayed, a Democrat, and Mike Rogers, the Republican, has seen some of the fiercest campaigning of this election season.

Vance and El-Sayed have repeatedly sparred over campaign remarks. The vice president has called El-Sayed “very evil,” and El-Sayed, a Muslim who has faced frequent GOP attacks on his faith, has accused Vance of Islamophobia. We’ll see if that back-and-forth continues today.

7h ago

11.47 GMT

Three tankers carrying Russian diesel are en route to the United States, with a fourth expected to depart Wednesday, Moscow has said, part of a deal that triggered a fierce Ukrainian and European backlash.

US president Donald Trump this month struck an agreement with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to ease sanctions in exchange for Moscow releasing diesel onto global markets.

The measure was seen as an attempt to lower fuel prices for American consumers ahead of the US midterm legislative elections on 3 November and drew sharp criticism from Ukraine and its allies.

“At present, three tankers” with Russian fuel are on their way to the United States, Russian deputy prime minister Alexander Novak told reporters on Tuesday.

A fourth was expected to set off on Wednesday, he added.

7h ago

11.24 GMT

George Chidi

Social media feeds are awash with an unprecedented flood of AI-driven disinformation ahead of November’s US midterm elections, according to experts, who warn many posts are likely “slipping through the cracks”.

As tens of millions of Americans prepare to cast their vote, social media companies have scaled back their efforts to protect voters from lies meant to manipulate elections.

While the backlash against Facebook after the Cambridge Analytica scandal prompted social media giants to bolster their trust and safety operations, a counter-backlash from the right over fears of speech restrictions – which intensified after Elon Musk’s takeover of X, formerly Twitter, and the election of Donald Trump in 2024 – has led to significant layoffs from relevant teams.

Artificial intelligence has made it easier than ever to launch a disinformation campaign. And platforms are increasingly relying on AI, rather than human intervention, to respond.

“You can run an information operation now with quality that was impossible in 2016 for super, super cheap,” said Frances Haugen, a former Facebook data engineer turned whistleblower and advocate for transparency and accountability in Big Tech. Operatives playing dirty tricks can get around content moderation rules “because you can just keep tweaking the post a little bit each time you create them, and some of them are going to get through”, she said.

AI-driven disinformation running rampant on social media before US midterms, experts warn

8h ago

11.08 GMT

President Donald Trump and secretary of state Marco Rubio on Tuesday plan to show off a newly arrived oil tanker filled with Venezuelan crude to be processed in Texas refineries, according to a congressional aide and two US officials.

The visit to Port Arthur, Texas, comes on the same day that Trump is campaigning in the state for Republican candidates in the midterms, AP reported.

The president has rallies scheduled in Corpus Christi and Lubbock. Trump is trying to shore up support for US Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight race with Democratic candidate James Talarico.

It’s not clear whether Rubio, who also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, would take part in any campaign events. But it’s the first time that he’s hitting the road with Trump as the president barnstorms the country.

The two US officials and the congressional aide spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss Rubio’s plans before they were publicly announced.

It’s highly unusual for the nation’s top diplomat to participate in political travel. Rubio’s trip would be the latest example of how Trump’s second presidency has blurred the lines between governing and campaigning. Attorney-general Todd Blanche has already been appearing at rallies alongside Republican candidates.

Rubio previously ran for president in 2016 and is considered a top prospect in 2028. He has not said whether he will run, and his political activities have been limited since becoming secretary of state.

8h ago

10.53 GMT

‘I’m still innocent,’ says Comey as Trump calls him a ‘dirty cop’

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

Donald Trump has called the former FBI director, James Comey, a “dirty cop”, Reuters reports.

The US justice department is attempting to prosecute Comey for a third time, on the grounds of sharing sensitive national security information in ⁠2016, according to court documents ⁠made public on Monday.

The case was revealed in a court document known as a “criminal information” that the justice department said ⁠it filed to stop the 10-year statute of limitations on the offense from expiring earlier this month.

The document, filed in Washington federal ⁠court, charges Comey with transmitting and conspiring to transmit national defense information. It alleges he shared classified information with a reporter from ‌the New York Times ‌in October 2016.

“I think he’s a dirty cop,” president Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, when asked about Comey. “I don’t know much about ‌it,” he said.

Comey said in a video on Instagram that “they’re back again” and ‌referenced the Justice Department, but did not provide further details. “I’m still innocent,” he added. Comey’s lawyers have already asked a judge to dismiss the case, arguing it is legally improper.

In other developments:

Donald Trump campaigned in Corinth, Mississippi in support of Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and told the crowd his rallies have “totally changed the dialogue”. “Nobody’s ever campaigned like I have for midterms,” he said.
A vocal protester then attempted to engage the president in some dialogue, on the subject of his ballroom, and where it might be most appropriately located.
Trump lashed out in racist terms at his predecessor, Barack Obama, for joking over the weekend that his renovation of the White House, with “gold everywhere”, has “the White House looking like Saddam Hussein open a Cheesecake Factory.”
Trump told reporters that Obama “doesn’t notice dirt and filth” of the White House before he rehabilitated it. Trump said then that he was “a very clean person” but, “you have to explain that to Obama” because the former president doesn’t understand and is “not smart at all.”
Trump said that the comeback victory of Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, over his far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, “looked like another rigged election, frankly.”

Explore more on these topics

Reuse this content

Michael Casey Birmingham England.

Tuesday, 27 October 2026