Ed Pilkington

Louisiana health officials are warning people visiting coastal waters after the state recorded nine Vibrio vulnificus infections this year, including five deaths—well above the previous decade’s average. The bacterium can enter through cuts or scrapes exposed to seawater or brackish water and can also be contracted by eating raw or undercooked shellfish. Severe illness is more common among older adults and people with weakened immune systems, liver disease, diabetes or other chronic conditions. Doctors advise promptly washing wounds and seeking immediate medical care for signs of infection. Scientists say warming oceans are helping Vibrio proliferate and expand northward.

Dr Mark Fowler, a Tennessee physician who assists with executions, became publicly identified after a failed attempt to execute Tony Carruthers at Riverbend maximum security prison. Fowler repeatedly failed to establish an intravenous or central line, allegedly causing Carruthers significant pain before the execution was abandoned. The incident has raised concerns about Fowler’s qualifications, the state’s use of medical personnel in executions, and the risk facing Darrell Hines, a medically vulnerable prisoner scheduled for execution. Fowler is paid $3,000 per execution and has defended his role as an effort to minimize prisoners’ discomfort, while medical experts and attorneys argue that physician participation violates professional ethics and undermines claims that lethal injection is humane.

Donald Trump declined to call for Republican representative Max Miller to resign after Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, accused him of domestic abuse; Miller denies the allegations and is contesting them in court. The Senate advanced a temporary government-funding measure, while Republican senators agreed to support Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination after he withdrew a proposed $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund, though Democrats and legal experts said the agreement could be reversed. Twenty-five states sued over new Trump administration tariffs, and Customs and Border Protection halted new border-wall well drilling in New Mexico after ranchers raised concerns about groundwater depletion during a severe drought. Other developments included an ethics panel’s recommendation to censure Representative Chuck Edwards, scrutiny of US diplomatic closures, a request for former special counsel Jack Smith to testify, and reports of a measles outbreak and the first deaths in a major cyclosporiasis outbreak.

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr urged parents to vaccinate children against measles and use the MMR vaccine as confirmed US infections reached 2,371, exceeding the previous year’s total and threatening the country’s measles-elimination status. The recommendation contrasts with Kennedy’s history of promoting vaccine misinformation and his refusal to accept responsibility for the outbreak. During a combative CNN interview with Dana Bash, he blamed religious communities and global conditions, made unsupported claims about RSV, Lyme disease and Tylenol, and questioned Covid vaccine efficacy. Public-health expert Ashish Jha welcomed the MMR endorsement but said much of Kennedy’s other commentary was false and argued that the administration had not done enough to promote vaccination.

The US Senate voted 86–12 to advance the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, despite Democratic concerns that it grants Donald Trump broad, potentially unchecked authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% and waive sanctions. Several Democrats, including Jon Ossoff and Peter Welch, said they support Ukraine but want the tariff provisions narrowed. The Senate also confirmed Trump’s nominee Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence by 51–47, despite criticism of his lack of intelligence experience and refusal to acknowledge Joe Biden’s 2020 victory. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Trump had agreed to license Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors, while the US and Saudi Arabia conducted strikes against Iran-linked forces in Iraq after Iran launched missiles at US forces. The live coverage also reported controversial administration plans involving Medicare drug subsidies, childhood vaccines and ICE detention, alongside protests over Palantir’s surveillance and immigration-enforcement work.

Mumia Abu-Jamal, imprisoned in Pennsylvania since his 1981 conviction for killing Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner, has petitioned the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention after exhausting US legal appeals. His lawyers argue that racial discrimination in jury selection, alleged judicial bias, questionable witness evidence and his life-without-parole sentence violated international law. The UN has no enforcement power in the United States, but a condemnation could support efforts for a retrial or sentence commutation. Abu-Jamal, who maintains his innocence, also describes the physical and emotional effects of decades in prison, including solitary confinement, deteriorating health and impaired vision, while continuing to write and pursue a PhD.

Florida is preparing to execute James Aren Duckett and Dominick Anthony Occhicone six hours apart, which would be the state’s first same-day double execution in the modern death-penalty era. Rights groups and death-penalty experts warn that the accelerated schedule, secrecy and alleged use of expired or improperly dosed drugs could increase the risk of botched and torturous deaths. The cases also raise concerns about Occhicone’s age, Duckett’s claim of innocence and inconclusive DNA evidence, and non-unanimous jury recommendations. Florida’s unusually rapid execution pace is part of wider turmoil in US capital punishment, including drug shortages and growing challenges to unreliable forensic evidence.

Texas is facing renewed legal pressure to address extreme heat in its prisons after Jason Wilson’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit alleging that he died in a dangerously hot, unair-conditioned solitary-confinement cell. More than 85,000 of the state’s 141,000 prisoners are held in cells without air conditioning, where temperatures can exceed 115F and have reached 149F. Advocacy groups are separately seeking a federal order requiring air conditioning across the prison system, while officials acknowledge some past heat-related deaths but deny more recent fatalities. Lawyers and advocates say understaffing, inadequate cooling measures and a failure to acknowledge the crisis are endangering prisoners, with climate change expected to intensify the problem. Installing air conditioning statewide is estimated to cost $1.3bn.

The article examines the evolving US‑UK relationship as America marks its 250th anniversary, highlighting widening economic and geopolitical disparities alongside continued cultural interconnectedness. It contrasts Donald Trump’s conflicting rhetoric toward Britain with the broader American indifference described by experts. Economic data underscores the US pulling ahead of the UK, while military spending gaps reinforce Britain’s declining strategic influence. Culturally, however, British creators, performers, and media figures maintain an outsized impact across American film, television, and journalism. This surge of UK influence reflects both Britain’s outward‑looking creative ecosystem and a US appetite for perceived British clarity during a period of domestic uncertainty.

Idaho has made death by firing squad its primary execution method, contributing to a broader revival of the practice across the United States. Guardian US chief reporter Ed Pilkington explains why more states are permitting firing-squad executions, while examining claims that the method is safe and humane alongside allegations that some executions have been deliberately or seriously botched. The trend is presented as a reflection of the state of capital punishment and US prisons in 2026.

Idaho is making the firing squad its primary execution method and has opened a newly retrofitted execution chamber after lethal-injection failures. The method is now permitted in more US states, but forensic reviews of recent executions in Utah and South Carolina suggest that shooters may have missed the heart, causing prolonged suffering. Experts and lawyers have raised the speculative possibility that some misses were intentional, including a racially motivated act in the case of Black prisoner Mikal Mahdi, allegations rejected by South Carolina officials. The expansion of firing squads reflects broader difficulties with lethal injection and other execution methods while intensifying concerns over secrecy, human error and potential retributive violence.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the victories of several democratic-socialist candidates he endorsed in New York primaries carry a national message for working Americans struggling with the cost of living. He highlighted rent freezes, free childcare for two-year-olds and pothole repairs as evidence that democratic socialism can deliver practical results, while criticizing Democratic leaders for defending the status quo and offering little beyond opposition to Donald Trump. Moderate Democrats have warned that Mamdani’s politics are too extreme and will not resonate nationally, although some acknowledge that voters are dissatisfied with the current form of capitalism. The primary defeats of two incumbent Democratic representatives and other established candidates have intensified debate over Mamdani’s growing influence within the party.

Louisiana Republican senator Bill Cassidy accused Donald Trump of treating Congress as “merely an appendage” after Trump berated him and three other Republican senators for supporting a symbolic war powers resolution over the Iran conflict. Cassidy said Trump ultimately agreed to brief him through Vice-President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, prompting him to withdraw support for the resolution. Emboldened after losing Trump’s backing and facing replacement by Julia Letlow, Cassidy also criticized Trump’s domestic priorities, the war’s cost and outcome, and Justice Department proposals involving a $1.8bn fund for Trump allies and protection from IRS audits. He warned that these issues could affect his vote on Todd Blanche’s confirmation, while Senator Roger Marshall offered a more positive assessment of the war.

Parents of children with autism are increasingly paying tens of thousands of dollars for unproven stem cell treatments at US clinics, including for children as young as 18 months. The investigation examines the providers’ connections to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and reports concerns from scientists that the FDA may weaken its restrictions on stem cell therapies for autism.

US clinics are charging families up to $20,000 for unapproved umbilical-cord stem cell infusions promoted as treatments for autism, despite limited clinical evidence and FDA warnings about possible harms including infections, tumors and blindness. The market has gained visibility with support from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr and autism-therapy advocate Tracy Slepcevic, who is backing a planned 120-child trial in Mexico. Providers dispute the characterization of their work as fraudulent, but one clinic’s claim that the Right to Try Act permits autism treatments is contradicted by health-law experts, because the law applies to terminally ill patients. Parents continue to pursue the costly procedures amid intense pressure and limited alternatives.

Families of autistic children in the United States are spending thousands of dollars on unapproved stem cell infusions, often after seeing dramatic claims on social media. Clinics in Florida and Texas market umbilical-cord treatments despite limited evidence, while providers in Mexico and Thailand offer even more experimental procedures, including injections derived from sheep cells. Controlled studies by Duke University and Sutter Health found little or no meaningful improvement in autism symptoms, although serious risks have been documented at some unregulated clinics. The expanding market has gained political support from Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has criticized FDA restrictions and promoted alternative medicine, raising concerns that federal safeguards are being dismantled. Scientists and advocates warn that vulnerable children may be exposed to medical risks while families are diverted from evidence-based care and burdened by crippling costs.

Donald Trump launched a series of attacks on Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie before the Republican primary, urging voters to defeat one of the party’s most persistent critics. Massie defended his record and claimed Trump-aligned forces were desperate, but an independent poll showed Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein leading. The contest follows Bill Cassidy’s primary defeat after voting to convict Trump in the January 6 impeachment trial, reinforcing the president’s dominance over Republican candidates. At the same time, falling Republican approval of Trump’s economic performance and broader voter frustration could give Democrats an opportunity in future congressional elections.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is resisting the Trump administration’s demand for voter-roll data, warning that a centralized database could enable political retaliation and undermine state control of elections. A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Arizona, joining rulings in several other states that rejected the administration’s demands. The dispute comes amid renewed federal investigations into Arizona’s elections, continued false claims of widespread voter fraud, and a Trump executive order seeking to constrain mail-in voting through a national voter file. Fontes is also preparing for a difficult reelection campaign against Republican candidates associated with election denialism, while Arizona’s pivotal role in national elections makes the fight especially consequential.

Prosecutors released edited security-camera footage of Cole Allen, who is accused of trying to reach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner while armed, saying it showed him firing a Mossberg shotgun toward a Secret Service officer. The footage clearly shows the officer firing four shots but does not conclusively show Allen firing; prosecutors cite a spent cartridge, a possible buckshot fragment and preliminary ballistic analysis, while Allen’s public defenders challenge the government’s account. The Secret Service director said Allen was stopped after tripping over a metal-detector box and was not hit by the officer’s shots. The live coverage also reported Congress’s 45-day extension of warrantless FISA surveillance powers, the end of a lengthy DHS shutdown, Democratic criticism and a protest during Pete Hegseth’s hearing on the Iran war, and Donald Trump’s threats to reconsider US troop deployments in Spain and Italy.

The US supreme court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana v Callais that congressional maps cannot be challenged under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act without proof of intentional racial discrimination, and that race cannot be used when proposing alternative maps. The decision removes a major legal protection for Black and other minority voters, making it easier for states to redraw districts in ways that reduce their electoral influence. Louisiana and other southern states have already begun revising maps ahead of the November midterms, while Donald Trump has supported Republican efforts to gain additional seats. The ruling could therefore reshape the 2026 House elections and has broader implications for minority representation and the future of the Voting Rights Act.