Good morning. An investigation has revealed that Israel is using US-made electroshock weapons on Palestinian detainees.
American company Axon is still supplying the Taser weapons despite evidence they have been used to torture prisoners. The news comes as US volunteers including a lawmaker helping Palestinians harvest olives were detained, and Heidi Levine revealed more details of her violent assault by Israeli settlers.Human rights groups have condemned allegations of the repeated torture and ill-treatment of detainees held in Israeli detention centres and prisons using electric shock devices, with Amnesty calling for restrictions on exports of such devices.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said the abuse of detainees was strictly prohibited. Who was detained by Israel near Nahalin in the occupied West Bank?
The Israeli military detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel’s former deputy attorney general. Soldiers said the area had been declared a closed military zone.
What more has Heidi Levine said about the Israeli settler attack on her? The Washington Post photojournalist who was attacked and seriously injured by Israeli settlers on Friday has described how she was saved with the help of local Palestinians.
Witnesses said her beating only ceased when young men used slingshots to aim stones at the settlers, forcing them back. What is the latest development with US diplomats in the Middle East?
The US state department has ordered some diplomats and the families of US government employees to leave Saudi Arabia, as it faces a barrage of near-daily attacks from Yemen’s Houthis. Reports have emerged of similar US withdrawals in UAE, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain amid concerns of a return to conflict with Iran after the midterm elections.
State attorneys general step up plans to counter Trump’s meddling in midtermsDonald Trump continues to make false charges of widespread voting fraud and veiled threats of interfering in the process. Photograph: Ümit Bektaş/ReutersDemocratic state attorneys general, other top state officials and civic groups have accelerated planning to thwart any federal meddling in the November midterms by Donald Trump as he continues his false charges of widespread voting fraud and veiled threats of interfering in the process.
The enhanced cooperation is significant because many secretaries of state are responsible for supervising elections, and state attorneys general are charged with defending the laws governing them. Where has Elon Musk been spending his election campaign money?
Elon Musk’s Super Pac has spent more than $500,000 in New York’s highly competitive 17th congressional district race to help Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent, hold his seat. Lawler, a moderate Republican, is fending off a challenge from Democrat Cait Conley in one of the most-watched races that could determine who controls Congress.
What has happened with letters containing white powder being sent to Congress? Nancy Pelosi’s office received “a suspicious letter” on Wednesday in what appears to be the latest incident of ill-intentioned mailings targeted at US Congress members.
The offices of more than three dozen members of Congress across the political spectrum have received envelopes containing white powder in recent days. What is Trump’s polling as the election looms?
Donald Trump’s approval rating has sunk to 36%, the lowest recorded, with most respondents expressing frustration over his handling of the US economy, cost of living and Iran war. The president was heckled at least nine times during a campaign event yesterday, and reacted to a supporter punching a demonstrator by saying: “Man, I loved that.” Supreme court blocks Trump’s bid to restrict gender care for trans prisonersThe decision marks an unusual victory for transgender rights before the nation’s highest court.
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/ReutersThe US supreme court went against Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday, refusing to allow the immediate enforcement of sweeping restrictions on gender-affirming care for transgender individuals held in prisons and federal facilities.The decision marks an unusual victory for transgender rights before the nation’s highest court, which has largely sided with the administration and other opponents of transgender rights in several major cases.Flaw in PHP computer language leads to shutdown of websites around worldPHP is used by almost 70% of websites. Photograph: ANP/ShutterstockWebsites around the globe have gone dark after a serious vulnerability was found in a computer language used to build much of the world wide web.
Several European governments took down sites temporarily as they scrambled to patch the critical weakness in PHP, a language used by almost 70% of websites.The US National Security Agency told all organisations using PHP to take their systems offline if they were unable to patch them immediately. Our technology reporter Josh Taylor has this explainer on what PHP is, and how bad the flaw is.In other news …The French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Photograph: Tessier Benoit/Abaca/Shutterstock Emmanuel Macron has accused Donald Trump and other foreign leaders of making “stupid comments” about France’s street unrest for political gain. The US president blamed France’s violence on “migrants, jihadists and communists”.
A 24-year-old Kansas man has been arrested for allegedly threatening to shoot Donald Trump. Jaden J Read allegedly wrote “I’m killing this pedo” on Facebook.
Pope Leo will not need any further treatment after undergoing lung cancer surgery last week, his doctors said, indicating that his tumour had not spread. Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney and accountant have been accused of ‘facilitating and concealing’ his crimes in a civil lawsuit filed by New Mexico’s attorney general.
Stat of the day: Ilhan Omar says US agents seized 17 items in raid designed to ‘freak’ her outIlhan Omar. Photograph: Tim Evans/ReutersThe Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar has denied allegations of immigration fraud in an interview, and said that after scouring her residence room by room for nearly five hours, agents took 17 items, including several phones.The Filter Recommends: The best global candies that Americans are missing out onCandy illustration.
Photograph: Courtesy PhotoForget the familiar favorites and try these sweets from around the world – from caffeine-boosted chocolate drops to dragonfruit gummies – all available before Halloween.Don’t miss this: Taika Waititi on robot kids, his cheese-o-meter and Klara and the SunJenna Ortega star in Klara and the Sun. Photograph: Sony Pictures EntertainmentXan Brooks speaks to director Taika Waititi, who has turned Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel about an ailing adolescent and her glitchy robot friend into a thought-provoking film.
Illustration: Ibrahim Rayintakath/The GuardianHospice and end-of-life workers discuss with Madeleine Aggeler what they’ve learned from their work and patients in their last moments, something we are all likely to have to deal with at some point.Climate check: US extreme weather survivors are a growing group – now they want to be a political forceAn extreme weather survivors meeting in Texas. Photograph: Brenda Bazan/The GuardianOliver Milman reports from Kerrville, Texas, where survivors are united on the need for urgent action after floods killed 136 people last year.Last Thing: Shark returns to canal in South Korea hours after being coaxed out to seaSouth Korean officials try to coax the shark out to sea.
Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty ImagesBless her, but Bukang-i, the nearly 10 foot long female dusky shark that became a viral sensation after getting stuck in a South Korean canal for a month, has returned to it just hours after finally being coaxed out to sea.Sign upSign up for the US morning briefingFirst Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.Get in touchIf you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com