‘Queen of polling’ J Ann Selzer quits after Iowa survey missed by 16 points

Pollster announces she’s moving on ‘to other ventures’ after poll wrongly predicted strong shift in state to Kamala Harris

J Ann Selzer, the celebrated Iowa election pollster, announced on Sunday that she is moving on “to other ventures and opportunities”, two weeks after her survey in the state wrongly predicted a strong shift to Kamala Harris in the days before the election.

That poll, which projected a 47% to 44% lead for the vice-president over Donald Trump on the back of older women breaking for Democrats over the issue of reproductive rights, came three days before the national vote, giving Democrats false hope that Harris could win the White House decisively. When the votes were counted, Selzer was off by 16 points as the former president won the state decisively.

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Lilly Ledbetter, equal pay champion who inspired Fair Pay Act, dies aged 86

Ledbetter sued employer Goodyear in 1998 after finding out she was paid $6,500 less than lowest-paid male supervisor

Lilly Ledbetter, an equal pay advocate whose lawsuit against her employer inspired the Fair Pay Act of 2009, died Saturday in Alabama at age 86.

Ledbetter died of respiratory failure, according to a statement from her family provided to the Alabama news organization Al.com.

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Trump campaign reportedly requests military vehicles and aircraft over fear of Iran plot – US elections live

Former president’s campaign makes unprecedented request, citing fears of an assassination attempt by Iran

As he wrapped up his remarks, Walz took a swing at Project 2025, the rightwing blueprint to remake the US government authored by people in Donald Trump’s orbit.

“I’ve also, at times, said Donald Trump doesn’t have a plan – concept of a plan, at times. That wasn’t exactly correct. He does have a plan. It’s called Project 2025,” Walz said.

This thing is a damn nightmare. His project 2025 would repeal the bipartisan infrastructure law, the Inflation Reduction Act – that would threaten hundreds of thousands of new manufacturing jobs, including those right here in Michigan. The ones that JD Vance said, those 650 jobs were table scraps, good-paying union jobs building America, and those are table scraps. He would establish, and every single economist said so, a national sales tax on everything from groceries to prescription drugs.

And the estimates is it would cost each and every one of you $4,000 he says those tariffs that Trump will pay, or that China will pay, Trump’s tariffs – you’re going to pay them. That’s the way it always works.

Let me tell you exactly what vice-president Harris and I will do. We’re going to create an American forward strategy for manufacturing, one that builds on the historic investments, bipartisan infrastructure, law, Chips act, science act, Inflation Reduction Act, creating all kinds of new opportunities, ones that empowers American workers, revitalizes manufacturing communities, leads us into an industries of the future and keep out innovating and out competing the rest of the world.

We never fear the future. You build the future, and this gives us the opportunity to do it.

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Trump holds town hall event in North Carolina as Harris campaigns in Michigan – as it happened

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Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hard-right congresswoman of Georgia, is once again facing criticism for peddling a baseless – and just plan bizarre – claim about the weather.

“Yes they can control the weather,” Greene said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

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Tactical ad breaks and lies: rightwing coverage of DNC is exactly as expected

Hard-right hosts resurrect racist Obama birther conspiracy theory and lament Democrats’ treatment of Joe Biden

As the Democratic party enjoys the afterglow of an exuberant national convention, the rightwing media has settled on consistent counter-programming: complaining about “joy”, hyping up pro-Palestinian protests and expressing a newfound concern for the treatment of Joe Biden.

The coverage, which has at times avoided the more pointed Democratic criticisms of Trump by cutting to ad breaks, has also including the criticism of women both for smiling too much and not smiling enough, and the coining of a new name for Barack Obama: “Barack-Stabber”.

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Bill Clinton says ‘Trump creates chaos’ and mocks crowd-size obsession in star-studded night at DNC – live

Former president addresses delegates amid reports Oprah Winfrey is expected to make an appearance

Kamala Harris’s campaign raised four times as much money last month than Donald Trump’s campaign, Reuters is reporting, citing federal disclosures filed late on Tuesday.

The Harris campaign told the Federal Election Commission it raised $204m in July, compared to $48m reported by Trump’s main fundraising group.

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Barack Obama calls on Americans to elect Kamala Harris – as it happened

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Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former lawyer, has turned up at the Democratic national convention, for reasons unknown.

Cohen fell out with Trump years ago, and was a witness for the prosecution in the former president’s hush-money trial in New York, which ended with him being found guilty of 34 felonies related to falsifying business documents.

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Obama to bring message of hope 20 years after famous convention speech

Ex-president headlining in Chicago on Tuesday brings memories of 2004 appeal for unity that inspired Democrats

From “skinny kid with a funny name” to elder statesman: Barack Obama, the former US president, will be the headline speaker at the Democratic national convention in Chicago on Tuesday – 20 years after he first burst on to the national political scene.

Obama, a state legislator from Illinois, was days from his 43rd birthday and months from being elected to the Senate when he was given a slot at the party’s 2004 convention in Boston. “Rising star to woo voters with upbeat keynote speech,” was the Guardian headline on 27 July 2004.

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Obama to deliver ‘forceful affirmation’ for Kamala Harris – as it happened

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Joe Biden described selecting Kamala Harris as his vice-president as “the best decision I made my whole career”, and he drew a sharp contrast between her and Donald Trump. Mocking Trump over his recent conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden said:

Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level of more than 50 years, and crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon.

When he talks about America being a failing nation, he says, we’re losing. He’s the loser. He’s dead wrong.

Guess who cast the tie-breaking vote? Vice-president, soon-to-be-president, Kamala Harris.

With a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved.

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Barack and Michelle Obama to speak on second day of Democratic national convention

Theme set for Tuesday of Kamala Harris’s ‘bold vision’ will contrast with Trump’s dystopian vision of the US

The Democratic National Convention enters its second day in Chicago on Tuesday with Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign seeking to lay out what it calls a “bold vision for America” as it seeks to move forward from Joe Biden’s emotional valedictory speech.

Carrying the flame on the second night of primetime speeches will be the Obamas, with Michelle Obama addressing the convention shortly before her husband Barack takes the stage. The couple’s endorsement of Harris in July was seminal in securing the Democratic presidential nomination for the current US vice-president, helping to bypass a potentially ugly internal fight.

What is the DNC?

Joe Biden speaks at DNC night one following surprise appearance by Kamala Harris

Pro-Palestinian protesters march before DNC

Here are the rising stars and politicians to watch this week

What to know about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

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Rising stars have the chance to shine at Democratic convention

Speeches can boost state politician to national prominence, despite awkward challenge with Harris nomination

In 2004, Barack Obama was a relatively unknown state legislator trying to become Illinois’ next senator – until his speech at the Democratic convention. When Democrats gathered in Boston to nominate John Kerry, many Americans heard Obama speak for the first time. And they were mesmerized.

“I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible,” Obama said that evening.

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Barack Obama endorses Kamala Harris for president in 2024 US election

Former president’s endorsement means US vice-president has won backing of all the party’s high-profile figures

Barack Obama has endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for US president, meaning the vice-president has now won the backing of all the party’s politically active high-profile figures for her White House bid.

The former president had conspicuously withheld his endorsement in the immediate aftermath of Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the campaign, and was initially believed to favour an open nominating contest at next month’s Democratic national convention in Chicago.

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‘Inexcusable’: should climate hypocrites get the petrostates label?

Suggestions definition of petrostate is too narrow as many rich countries that could phase out fossil fuels double down

“Drill, baby, drill!” Donald Trump’s ominous avowal to pump up the oil and gas production of the US has horrified many people around the world about the intentions of the Republican candidate, who has also declared he wants to be “dictator for a day”. Rather than the prospective leader of the free world, the election frontrunner sounds more like the tyrant of a petrostate.

That should not be entirely surprising given the country’s recent record: it has ramped up fossil fuel production to become the world’s biggest producer. As a Guardian investigation reveals, the total number of projected licences by the US for 2024 could lead to an estimated 397m tonnes of planet-heating emissions.

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Marian Shields Robinson, mother of Michelle Obama, dies at 86

Robinson, who moved to White House when Barack Obama won presidency, helped to care for granddaughters Malia and Sasha

Marian Shields Robinson, the mother of Michelle Obama who moved with the first family to the White House when son-in-law Barack Obama was elected president, has died. She was 86.

Robinson’s death was announced in an online tribute by Michelle Obama, and included details of the time she spent living in the White House, as an informal first grandmother to the Obama children.

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Biden campaign raises $25m ‘money bomb’ at event with Obama and Clinton

Chuck Schumer and Lizzo made appearances before the presidents talked onstage in event that widens fundraising lead over Trump

Joe Biden and his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, headlined a star-studded fundraiser with Bill Clinton on Thursday that organizers said raised more than $25m for the US president’s re-election campaign.

Such a haul, which Politico called an “NYC money bomb”, will widen Biden’s lead over Donald Trump in fundraising for the November election.

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Barack Obama drops in on Rishi Sunak on London trip

Former US president understood to have discussed AI and other subjects with PM on informal ‘courtesy’ visit

Barack Obama has held talks with Rishi Sunak as the former US president paid a “courtesy visit” to Downing Street during a trip to London.

The pair are understood to have discussed a range of subjects during an hour-long meeting, including one of the prime minister’s favourite topics, artificial intelligence.

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It’s too late to replace Sunak so Tories must ‘march towards the sound of the guns’, Ben Wallace says – as it happened

Former defence secretary tells colleagues there is no alternative to Rishi Sunak and to ‘get on with’ preparing for an election. This live blog is closed

Ofcom has ruled today that GB News broke impartiality rules on five occasions by using Tory MPs as news presenters.

But it has not imposed sanctions on the broadaster. It says these count as first offence, and that there may be sanctions if it happens again.

Under the Broadcasting Code, news, in whatever form, must be presented with due impartiality. Additionally, a politician cannot be a newsreader, news interviewer or news reporter unless, exceptionally, there is editorial justification.

In line with the right to freedom of expression, broadcasters have editorial freedom to offer audiences a wide range of programme formats, including using politicians to present current affairs or other non-news programmes. Politicians may also appear in broadcast news content as an interviewee or any other type of guest.

These are the first breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 recorded against GB News. Since opening these investigations, there has only been one further programme which has raised issues warranting investigation under these rules. We are clear, however, that GB News is put on notice that any repeated breaches of Rules 5.1 and 5.3 may result in the imposition of a statutory sanction.

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Jimmy Carter, Biden and Clintons pay tribute at Rosalynn Carter memorial

Jimmy Carter, 99, left hospice care at home for service for his late wife, but Trump, Obama and Bush did not attend

A tribute service for Rosalynn Carter took place on Tuesday, as politicians and public figures gathered to celebrate the former first lady’s life following her death last Sunday.

Former president Jimmy Carter, 99, attended the tribute for his late wife of 77 years, traveling from his hospice care at home to the Glenn Memorial church in Atlanta. His attendance marks a rare public appearance for the former president, who has been in home hospice care for 10 months.

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‘Joe the Plumber’, who challenged Obama on taxes in 2008, dies aged 49

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, famous for arguing with Barack Obama on the campaign trail, died of pancreatic cancer

Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, who shot to brief fame during the 2008 US presidential election as “Joe the Plumber”, has died aged 49. Cause of death was pancreatic cancer, his wife, Katie Wurzelbacher, told news outlets.

Fifteen years ago, Wurzelbacher became famous after arguing with the then Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, on the campaign trail in Toledo, Ohio. Wurzelbacher asked Obama if he would pay more taxes if the Democrat won. Obama, then a US senator from Illinois, conceded that he might.

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US-China cultural exchange at low point after tensions and Covid, data shows

Tourism, academia and literature all exhibit signs that trend of closer ties has gone into reverse

Cultural ties between the US and China are at a low point after several years of decline, according to Guardian analysis of official figures.

The Covid-19 pandemic and travel restrictions, coupled with the continuing trade war between the two countries, is diluting cultural exchanges, with visitor numbers, students and even the world of literature all affected.

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