Good morning. Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and top aide at the Department of Homeland Security, is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government. The Department of Justice has not yet issued subpoenas or other legal demands in the criminal investigation, and a lawyer for Lewandowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The justice department under Trump has investigated several prominent critics of the president, but investigations of people close to Trump have been rare.
Lewandowski served as a top aide to Kristi Noem during her tenure as homeland security secretary. Lewandowski allegedly signed some DHS contracts despite having questionable legal authority as a special government employee, according to one DHS official. Certain grants and contracts, including those involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were put on hold at Lewandowski’s direction, according to two other sources.
US judge orders Trump administration to halt non-citizen voting investigation
A federal judge in California has ordered the Trump administration to halt investigations in nine states into whether non-citizens are registered to vote. The judge found the government’s work was relying on data that was full of errors and that it was leading to intimidation of groups providing assistance to voters. She said it should be halted until polls close on election day on 3 November.
The Trump administration has been looking for non-citizen voters throughout the country. The administration has signaled that it is a widespread problem, when in fact it is quite rare, as even its own investigations have shown.
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Where else has Trump suffered a legal setback? Donald Trump has been ordered by a US judge to cooperate with the discovery process mandated for his lawsuit against the BBC and to sit for a deposition by 11 December – or else he could be subject to sanctions, including possible dismissal of the $10bn lawsuit.
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What request has Trump claimed he made of Google? Trump has said Google rejected his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or America. Google has previously acceded to Trump’s demands, with locations labelled “Gulf of America” and “Lake America” for US users at the president’s request.
Video footage of Kohen Wiley shooting released after toddler’s death deemed ‘justified’
“The word ‘justified’ has haunted me since Monday,’” Veronica Roberson, Kohen Wiley’s maternal grandmother, has said after the Mississippi attorney general announced that the police shooting of the one-year-old baby “was justified”.
Footage of the shooting has been made public, and the family’s attorney Ben Crump said the leaked videos were “slaps in the face”. In the footage, five officers with guns drawn descend on a car. Allegedly, two women had stolen a pack of diapers. “We’re the most prosperous nation in the world and we’re going to draw guns to shoot people over misdemeanor allegations of baby diapers?” Crump said.
Flu cases rise on west coast earlier than usual as US health experts encourage vaccination
Flu cases on the west coast are on the rise months earlier than normal, prompting US health experts to stress the importance of the annual vaccination. Flu activity typically ramps up in December, hitting its peak in February. But the season has kicked into action earlier this year. Influenza vaccines can reduce severe illness and hospitalization, according to the American Medical Association, which recommends flu shots for all people aged six months and older.
‘Looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular pleads not guilty to raping teenager
The “looksmaxxing” livestreamer Braden Peters, better known by his stage name Clavicular, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges he raped a 17-year-old girl at his family’s Massachusetts home. Known for promoting an extreme devotion to male beauty, Peters, 20, is accused of giving the girl alcohol until she was drunk and then sexually assaulting her. Peters has denied the allegations.
In other news …
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A priceless pre-second world war globe coveted by the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, for his office in the Pentagon was damaged by his staff in a botched attempt to relocate it.
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A Florida police officer has been accused of stealing the house and identity of a man he found dead during a welfare check. He appeared in court on charges including official misconduct and criminal use of a deceased person’s identification.
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A select group of actors will screen-test to become the next James Bond this weekend. The Dune film-maker Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the next instalment of the 007 franchise for Amazon MGM Studios.
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King Charles has been urged, as a “human brother” whose family had benefited from slavery, to support reparations talks at a Caribbean summit.
Stat of the day: Heat killed 50,000 people in Europe’s cities this summer, research suggests
Heat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities this summer, research suggests, with scientists blaming climate breakdown for two in every three of the deaths.
Culture Pick: Tom Cruise’s Digger is a commercial flop – but also the perfect climate film for our time
It may have bombed at the box office, but Oliver Milman argues the bombastic, misanthropic epic is also the near-perfect climate change film for our era. We also have Danny Leigh interviewing Sandra Hüller, who is turning out to be the star of four – or, possibly, five – of the year’s biggest films.
Don’t miss this: How Democrat Mary Peltola is on the verge of flipping right-leaning Alaska
Since becoming the 49th state in 1959, Alaska has only once supported a Democratic candidate in a presidential election, but Democrats believe circumstances have aligned this year for them to win a slew of competitive elections in the state. Chris Stein has been in Anchorage, Alaska, to find out why.
… or this: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 review – a thrilling airport novel of a game
Keith Stuart reviews the latest instalment of the blockbuster first-person shooter, finding that with scenes in Manhattan, Paris and a North Korean airbase, the developers have thrown absolutely everything at the game. Also getting a glowing review today is Chappell Roan’s gloriously gay mini-festival.
Climate check: Marine life in Gulf of America Mexico has still not fully recovered from 2010 BP oil spill
Marine life in the Gulf of Mexico plummeted by about 60% after BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill and has still not fully recovered, according to a study. And almost every shallow-water coral reef on the planet faces a high risk of ecosystem collapse before 2075 because of global heating, according to an assessment by UN nature advisers.
Last Thing: LeBron James shrugs off Trump’s national anthem attack
LeBron James has brutally dismissed criticism from the US president after the NBA superstar was filmed making apparent warm-up movements while lined up for the national anthem. Donald Trump posted: “He’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE.” James’s response? “It must be a slow news day at the office.”
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