‘Unrig the economy for working people’: the California candidate who wrote updated labor laws

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Marni von Wilpert helped draft Protecting the Right to Organize act, and now wants work toward implementing it

Legislation that would modernize federal labor law began with a handful of lawyers meeting, of all places, in an ice-cream shop.

“We wrote for hours what we would do to amend the National Labor Relations Act,” said Marni von Wilpert, a member of the San Diego city council who was then an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Bringing together “our collective experience as labor lawyers over the years, really trying to unrig the rules so that working people could have a fair shot”.

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Halting the march of the armyworm: fungus discovery offers hope to African farmers

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South African scientist’s breakthrough research shows soil fungus could be used in fight against devastating crop pest

Hearing about fields full of dead caterpillars enveloped in a mysterious white substance intrigued the South African scientist Letodi Luki Mathulwe. Something was killing off the African armyworm – one of the most devastating pests for farmers in east and southern Africa.

The white substance was a naturally occurring fungus and it was wiping out the caterpillar, which gained its name from its march-like advance through fields of crops.

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Trump plays down Air Force One plane switch as criticism grows over ‘decoy’ passengers – US politics live

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President says Secret Service wanted him on ‘different plane’ due to threat as Democrats call for congressional briefing

President Donald Trump’s administration is to spend ⁠at least $900m ​for construction projects on the White House grounds, ⁠the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing records.

Instead of ⁠securing money directly from ​Congress, the administration ‌has gathered ‌funding from other agencies and private ‌donors and directed it to an account that holds a few million dollars for routine maintenance of the ‌White House, the report said.

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Iran war and high living costs fuelling last-minute holiday bookings, Tui says

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Geopolitics and cost of living crisis have cost Europe’s largest travel company €60m so far

Holidaymakers are waiting until the last minute to book their trips because of the continuing uncertainty caused by the war in Iran and the cost of living crisis, according to Tui, Europe’s largest travel company, which said the war had cost it €60m (£51m) so far.

In the weeks after the outbreak of the war at the end of February, Tui recorded a temporary drop-off in customers wanting to travel to Cyprus or Turkey, in what the company called a “volatile market”.

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Immigration minister says poorer areas have taken ‘fair share’ of asylum seekers – UK politics live

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Anna Turley backs up Andy Burnham’s suggestion that affluent areas should house more asylum seekers in future

Just 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the part of government tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed. Sandra Laville has the story.

On his visit to Stevenage, Andy Burnham also said he would visit the town on Remembrance Day to mark its 80th birthday.

I’m going to come back to Stevenage on 11 November. We will pay our respects for Remembrance Day around that time, but I’ll be here because if I’m right, that will be 80 years to the day that the post-war Labour government created the first new town right here in Stevenage.

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Germany approves lifting curbs on spy agencies in security ‘revolution’

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Reforms comply with wishlist of intelligence services which say Germany lags behind allies and enemies

The German government has approved a draft law aimed at lifting many of the restraints on its spy agencies imposed during the postwar period as the country reels from two attacks in a month that have exposed serious security gaps.

The controversial changes, which must still pass parliament, largely comply with a wishlist pulled together by the foreign and domestic intelligence services, which have long complained Germany lags behind its allies and enemies.

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Andy Burnham to chair emergency Cobra meeting amid extreme heat

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PM touts ban on disposable barbecues as areas hit by wildfires – but some Labour MPs will be hoping for more ambitious ideas to tackle crisis

Andy Burnham will chair an emergency Cobra meeting in response to extreme heat, which has caused wildfires and plunged many parts of Britain into drought.

The prime minister will meet ministers, officials and agencies as high temperatures continue across the UK, with temperatures of 33C forecast on Wednesday and up to 38C on Thursday.

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Number of children injured in e-scooter crashes in England surges

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Calls for speed limiters or mandated helmet use after research into injuries at three paediatric trauma centres

The number of children involved in crashes on e-scooters has soared in recent years, with some as young as nine involved in collisions, research has found.

Researchers carried out a review of injuries among the under-16s at three specialist paediatric trauma centres – Alder Hey in Liverpool, and Sheffield and Royal Manchester children’s hospitals – between January 2019 and December 2024.

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At least 15 dead after overcrowded ferry capsizes on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe

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Operation under way to rescue dozens missing after boat overturned by waves at world’s largest human-made lake

At least 15 people have died and 27 are missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe.

The boat had a capacity of 90 people, but was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unknown number of children, Zimbabwe’s civil protection unit (CPU) said, citing ticket sales.

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Indonesian rescuers evacuate dozens from a ferry fire that left at least 1 dead near Bali – AP News

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  1. Indonesian rescuers evacuate dozens from a ferry fire that left at least 1 dead near Bali  AP News
  2. One dead, 172 rescued after Indonesian ferry from Bali catches fire  Reuters
  3. One dead, 172 rescued from Bali ferry fire in waters off Lombok  ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  4. Indonesian ferry catches fire off Bali, survivors recount escape  Yahoo
  5. Crews rescue 106 people and are trying to save more from a burning passenger ferry in rough seas off Bali, Indonesia  KING5.com
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Barnaby Joyce claims One Nation ‘one of the gayest parties in Australia’ as former candidate’s comments surface

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One Nation MP says failed WA candidate’s comments describing same-sex attraction as a mental illness are ‘highly offensive’

Barnaby Joyce has defended One Nation as “one of the gayest parties in Australia” after comments surfaced from one of its failed candidates describing same-sex attraction as a mental illness.

The former National turned One Nation MP was asked to respond to a series of homophobic comments made by a former Western Australian legislative council candidate for One Nation in a video last month, as first reported by ABC on Wednesday afternoon.

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Trump’s secret flight switch indicates severity of assassination threat by Iran

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Iran lost top leaders in the war and US ‘humiliation ... a form of revenge’, say experts, after administration’s flight ruse

Since the joint US-Israeli strikes in February that killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and scores of other senior Iranian officials on the first day of the war, a revenge plot to kill Donald Trump should not have appeared far-fetched.

But the US administration’s elaborate ruse to spirit Trump off of Air Force One in Turkey last month indicates a credibility to the Iranian threat that has surprised many in Washington – including the Trump aides and journalists left on the jet that may have remained the target of an Iranian missile strike.

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Drone footage shows rare bird’s-eye view of stingrays off New York coast

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With wing spans up to 3ft, the shy cownose ray species typically arrive in Long Island waters in the warmer months

Drone footage of dozens of stingrays in the ocean off New York has captivated beachgoers and marine enthusiasts, offering a rare bird’s-eye view of a species that scientists say has visited the area for decades.

The footage was captured las`t Friday off the coast of Southampton on the Long Island peninsula by Joanna Steidle, a Hamptons-based professional drone pilot known for her aerial ocean shots. It shows cownose rays gliding through the water en masse near the surface.

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‘Tolerating the Netanyahu two-step’: Why the White House can live with Israel rejecting its peace plan – Politico

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  1. ‘Tolerating the Netanyahu two-step’: Why the White House can live with Israel rejecting its peace plan  Politico
  2. Trump’s Gaza plan and Board of Peace face ticking clock  thehill.com
  3. Netanyahu calculates upsetting Trump is his least-bad option  CNN
  4. Trump-Netanyahu rift widens as election pressures pull them in opposite directions  The Washington Post
  5. The West Bank, Not Gaza, Should Be Trump’s Priority  Foreign Policy
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Just 20 of 6,600 Defra staff working on climate adaptation amid drought and wildfires

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Exclusive: England ‘desperately unprepared’ for effects of crisis including water shortages and heatwaves

Just 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within a key government department tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed.

The officials make up 0.3% of staff within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

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David Crowley defeats Francesca Hong to win Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor

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Crowley pulls off last-minute victory in tight race after polls had shown his progressive opponent as a clear frontrunner

David Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, pulled off a last-minute victory after re-entering the Wisconsin governor’s race and snagging an endorsement from Tony Evers, the outgoing governor.

The race came down to the wire, with Francesca Hong and Crowley running close to each other as each batch of results came in.

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Putin says Russia will respond in kind if EU nations seize Russian vessels – Reuters

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  1. Putin says Russia will respond in kind if EU nations seize Russian vessels  Reuters
  2. Putin threatens retaliation for Western seizures of Russian commercial vessels  ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
  3. Putin warns of tit-for-tat seizures of European vessels  Al Jazeera
  4. Putin in military uniform issues fresh threats to the West – video  Українська правда
  5. Putin Threatens Retaliation Over EU Moves to Seize Russian Ships  Bloomberg.com
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Close Trump aides — but no Cabinet officials — made secret catering truck move – The Washington Post

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  1. Close Trump aides — but no Cabinet officials — made secret catering truck move  The Washington Post
  2. Jimmy Fallon Recreates Trump’s Catering Container Escape  The New York Times
  3. First Thing: Anger after Trump’s secret flight swap appears to offer up staff and media as decoys  The Guardian
  4. What Trump’s catering-truck escape says about a war that won’t end  CNN
  5. Live updates: Trump says he was taken off of Air Force One last month due to threat  AP News
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