A rallying cry for Democrats taps into frustration over the inaccessibility of a modestly nice American existence — even for those with a decent income.
The president has tried to minimize their friendship, but documents and interviews reveal an intense and complicated relationship. Chasing women was a game of ego and dominance. Female bodies were currency.
Nick Reiner, charged with murdering his parents, Rob and Michele Singer Reiner, spent much of his life battling drug addiction, an affliction that millions of Americans face.
Dmitri N. Kozak had worked with President Vladimir V. Putin for three decades before quitting in September. His associates described his break with the Russian leader.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) wants Medicare for All back in the health care debate.
The former Congressional Progressive Caucus chair plans to present polling to her House Democratic colleagues next month as she argues for the electoral merits of Medicare for All — even in battleground districts the party must win to flip the House next fall. The research, paid for by Jayapal’s leadership PAC and shared first with POLITICO, found one in five Republicans support a “government-provided system,” as do most independents. Democrats back Medicare for All by 90 percent.
Two-thirds of voters said the federal government does “too little” to help people afford health care. Just 18 percent said the government does “too much.”
Jayapal’s Medicare for All push comes as Democrats have been largely unified on their health care messaging, pushing Republicans on the back foot about extending expiring Obamacare subsidies. Injecting Medicare for All back into the debate could also reopen a long-running intraparty fight that moderate Democrats aren’t keen to have.
In an interview, Jayapal described swing district voters’ openness to Medicare for All and a desire for “fundamental change” as a “significant shift” in recent years. She cited the rising costs of health care for making the current system less appealing to swing voters who “don't feel like they can afford health care right now” and “don't feel like they have a choice right now.”
“Whatever tropes they may have had about Medicare for all, those don't really exist today in the public's mind,” Jayapal said, arguing Democrats should now “put forward a very united and universal, comprehensive vision for health care in this country.”
Democrats are hoping to make health care a central midterm messaging — tying this fall’s federal government shutdown to a debate within the GOP over extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Jayapal hopes to nudge her party into not only pushing back on President Donald Trump’s cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and the ACA, but also “be ready with a proactive vision” for voters, she said.
Jayapal will undoubtedly face pushback from moderate Democrats over championing an issue that’s long divided the party. Medicare for All defined much of the ideological battle of the 2020 presidential primary, serving as the progressives’ flagship policy. After Joe Biden, who didn’t back it citing the price tag, won the primary, the policy largely fell out of the conversation.
Over the last five years, Medicare for All has remained popular among Democrats — and Jayapal argues her latest research shows that it’s increasingly intriguing to independents and Republicans, who are feeling the pinch of rising health care costs. Jayapal said she’ll pitch her polling to Republican members, too, though she declined to name them.
“There’s going to be some internal resistance [to Medicare for All] but it needs to be informed by polling, and in our survey, a majority of voters are in favor of it,” said David Walker, a pollster at GQR Research who conducted the survey. “We didn’t gild the lily [in the survey], we didn’t say it’d all be free.”
The poll described Medicare for All to participants as a “system [that] would still use the same doctors and hospitals as today, but take the profit motive out of health care by using a government-administered insurance system, like Medicare or Medicaid,” acknowledging “taxes will increase for many Americans,” but added, “those could be offset by not having to pay for health insurance premiums, co-pays or out-of-pocket costs.” The poll found 54 percent of voters nationally and 56 percent in battleground districts back Medicare for All.
Jaypal acknowledged confusion around the meaning of Medicare for All, and suggested adding “improved” to the slogan, as a nod to Americans’ frustrations with the existing Medicare program.
Jayapal said she intentionally used a polling firm that works closely with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee because “we wanted to make it clear this isn’t some fringe poll.” GQR surveyed 1,000 likely 2026 voters from Nov. 5 to Nov. 13, oversampling voters in battleground House seats. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
Frédéric Péchier faces a minimum of 22 years behind bars
A former anaesthetist has been jailed for life for intentionally poisoning 30 patients, including 12 who died.
A court in the city of Besançon in eastern France found Frédéric Péchier guilty of contaminating infusion bags with substances that caused cardiac arrest or hemorrhaging.
Péchier was first placed under investigation eight years ago, when he was suspected of poisoning patients at two clinics in Besançon between 2008 and 2017.
"You are Doctor Death, a poisoner, a murderer. You bring shame on all doctors," said prosecutors last week. "You have turned this clinic into a graveyard."
Péchier, who has always denied any wrongdoing, now has 10 days to lodge an appeal.
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Lina Chernykh tells the BBC her niece Matilda was a joyous child who spread love everywhere she went
The family of the Bondi shooting's youngest victim Matilda urged the community to not let her death fuel anger, as they said a final goodbye to the 10-year-old on Thursday.
Matilda was among 15 people who were shot dead when two gunmen opened fire on an event marking the start of Hannukah at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday.
Speaking to the BBC at Matilda's funeral, her aunt Lina Chernykh said the Jewish community is right to want more action to stamp out antisemitism – she does too.
But she said Matilda was a joyous child who spread love everywhere she went, and urged the community to do the same in her honour.
"Take your anger and… just spread happiness and love and memory for my lovely niece," Ms Chernykh said.
"I hope maybe she's an angel now. Maybe she [will] send some good vibes to the world."
Jewish community leaders have in recent days suggested the tragedy was an inevitable result of Australia struggling to address rising antisemitism.
The attack on Sunday, which targeted the Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, was the country's deadliest incident since 1996, when a gunman killed 35 people during the Port Arthur massacre.
Ahead of Matilda's funeral on Thursday, Ms Chernykh said the family was devastated.
"I look at their faces [and] I don't know if they will be ever happy again," she said of Matilda's parents.
Matilda's younger sister, from whom she was "inseparable", is shattered and confused, she said.
"She doesn't have enough tears to cry."
At a flower memorial on Tuesday, Matilda's mother Valentyna told mourners that the family came to Australia from Ukraine more than a decade ago, thinking it would be a safe place for them.
"I couldn't imagine I'd lose my daughter here... It's just a nightmare," she said.
Ms Chernykh told the BBC she too has struggled to make sense of what is happening.
She was gardening at her home on the Gold Coast when Matilda's mother called on Sunday.
"Truly, I was thinking something happened to my father because he's 84 years old... and she says Matilda was shot," she recalled.
"How [could] someone in Australia understand, if someone tells you your kid was shot… I couldn't understand it. I was thinking I have bad reception. I asked a few times what I'm [hearing]."
Police have designated the attack a terrorist incident, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it appears to have been "motivated by Islamic State" group ideology.
Police allege that the two gunmen were a father and son. Sajid Akram, 50, was shot dead at the scene, while his son Naveed, 24, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act.
Australia on Thursday announced it would strengthen laws to crack down on hate - including by introducing powers to cancel or refuse visas on grounds of antisemitism.
England's Ashes hopes are vanishing after they were overwhelmed by Australia amid more Snicko controversy on the second day of the third Test.
In temperatures that touched 41 degrees at the Adelaide Oval, England crumbled to 213-8 in blameless batting conditions. They are 158 runs adrift of Australia.
This was not a collapse caused by Bazballing batting, rather a fold in the face of relentless Australia bowling.
Only Ollie Pope, whose Test career is now hanging by a thread, and Jamie Smith were dismissed playing attacking shots – and Smith was at the centre of the Snicko confusion.
A day after Australia's Alex Carey was reprieved by a Snicko error, Smith first survived then was given out on the evidence of the technology, with players on both sides apparently losing faith in the decision review system (DRS).
But the debate surrounding DRS cannot mask the truth that England have wilted in the Ashes cauldron and could lose this series in as few as 10 days of cricket.
After Australia pushed on to 371 all out – the outstanding Jofra Archer with 5-53 – England's reply was in tatters at 42-3 when the tourists lost three wickets for five runs in 15 balls.
Harry Brook reined in his attacking instincts with 45 from 63 balls, while captain Ben Stokes dug a trench with a painstaking 45 not out from 151 deliveries. He found some late support in a stand of 45 with Archer, who is 30 not out.
But England were powerless to withstand the Australian excellence. The returning Pat Cummins claimed 3-54, while Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon took two wickets apiece.
At some point over the weekend, Cummins looks likely to once again become an Ashes-winning captain and the bloodletting of this England regime will begin.
Snicko cannot mask gulf in class
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A tale of two balls - Double Snicko controversy as Smith given out
At 2-0 down after two matches, this was the defining day for England. Though they began poorly, leaking 45 runs in 8.2 overs, Australia's total was far from insurmountable.
England had the opportunity to bat themselves back into the series. Instead, it was only Stokes' defiance that prevented them from bowling twice in the day.
While the Snicko controversy is unsatisfactory for a series of this magnitude, it pales in comparison to the substandard nature of England's performance.
Smith first survived when the technology adjudged a Cummins bouncer that ended at first slip came off his helmet, rather than his glove. An Australian voice on the field was heard to say "Snicko should be sacked".
In the next Cummins over, an aggrieved Smith was given caught behind attempting a wild pull shot. BBG Sports, the operators of Snicko, confirmed to the BBC it believed both decisions to be correct.
It matters little. Barring something extraordinary, Australia will bat England out of this match on their way to yet another Ashes series win in this country.
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Lyon bowls Duckett for 29 with 'beautiful' delivery
If this really is the end of the Bazball era as we know it, it is symbolic that captain Stokes was in the middle for so much of the day, watching his team crumble around him.
Perhaps the game was up even before Stokes arrived. If Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were each undone by superb deliveries from Cummins and Lyon respectively, Pope's flick at Lyon was foolish and fatal.
Pope has not repaid the faith shown in him as England's number three. Without a score in the second innings, his place for the fourth Test in Melbourne will be in huge doubt.
Joe Root survived a catch falling short of wicketkeeper Carey before he edged long-term nemesis Cummins for 19, leaving Brook and Stokes to battle through the afternoon heat.
Bar a drive off Boland for six, Brook played sensibly until he edged Cameron Green's second ball. Stokes took a horrible blow to the head off Mitchell Starc, yet was not shaken from his watchful vigil.
Cramping after almost four hours at the crease, he at least had a willing ally in Archer – two of few England players coming through this series with their reputations intact.
Awesome Australia show their class
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England suffer big blow as Cummins dismisses Root for 19
After suggestions Australia had a team past its best, or the results of the first two Tests were borne of England errors, this was confirmation the home side are simply far superior.
Despite the stifling heat, the Australia bowling was collectively brilliant, never giving England any respite. Whereas Archer often carried the visitors' attack single-handedly, Australia always had another bowler ready to examine English technique, defence and spirit.
Captain Cummins had not bowled a ball since July because of a back injury, yet was magnificent. He found movement to take the edges of Crawley and Root, then bounced out the discomforted Smith.
Lyon was overlooked for the second Test in Brisbane, but this ground is his home from home. The threat he carried exposed England's lack of a frontline spinner. Pope's gift was Lyon's 564th Test wicket, taking the off-spinner past Australian great Glenn McGrath to sixth on the all-time list.
Starc continued his outstanding series by making 54 with the bat and followed up by bowling with electric pace. An average of 90.7mph is the fastest day of his Ashes career.
Boland nagged away, having Will Jacks athletically caught by Carey, once again up to the stumps. Boland then found a gap in Brydon Carse's defence to hit the stumps. Even Green, the bit-part bowler, took the crucial wicket of Brook.
Parents should lead by example this Christmas and turn their phones off during family time, the children's commissioner for England has said.
Dame Rachel de Souza told the Press Association children were "crying out" for engagement with their relatives over the festive break, and urged them to have "phone-free time".
Nearly half of parents with children aged 18 or younger plan to allow phones at the Christmas dinner table this year, according to a recent survey.
"I can't tell you how many children tell me about sitting at dinner and the parents are on the phone," Dame Rachel said. "So this Christmas, let's turn them off."
Research by More in Common for Yondr found nearly four in 10 adults say smartphones have disrupted their Christmas in some way.
The children's commissioner said while she had been guilty of using her phone at meal times in the past, setting clear guidelines for everyone, not just children, was key.
"We have to lead as adults," Dame Rachel said. "We can't talk about banning for the kids if we're not doing it ourselves."
Her comments came as she launched a new guide offering tips for children's safety online and how to set boundaries for screen time.
Pete Etchells, psychology professor at Bath Spa University, told BBC News Christmas is a good time to lean into conversations with children about developing healthy relationships with tech.
"It's not about feeling guilty or ashamed of our tech use, but noticing it more," he said.
"And striking up conversations about what we're happy with, and what we would like to be doing differently."
'Talk early and often'
The new guide by the commissioner, available online, has been released to support parents who "may feel overwhelmed" by "mixed messages" around online safety, and is informed by child focus groups.
In it, parents can find "practical tips" and "conversation starters" on how to talk around topics such as managing screen time, dealing with negative online experiences, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Teenagers aged 13 to 18 told Dame Rachel they accepted bad things can happen online, feeling it was an inevitable part of the online world.
They also shared how they had been contacted by strangers, seen pornography, and were aware of intimate images of their peers being shared.
Dame Rachel said it was essential for parents to "talk early and talk often" with their children about their presence online.
Arabella Skinner from Health Professionals for Safer Screens told BBC News simple rules can make a difference.
She suggested creating a family plan around device use, or designing a box to store mobiles during meals.
"Children feel most secure and content when they have our full attention, eye contact, and presence," she said.
"It is so important that we, as adults, spend time with our children and not always looking at screens."
It found that children aged between eight and 14 are spending an average of nearly three hours online each day, and that up to a quarter of that time was between 2100 and 0500.
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