Hegseth announces military operation to remove ‘narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere’– live

12.58am GMT
Trump refers to part of White House residence as 'a knock-out panel' to be demolished for his ballroom

Before we move past it, let’s pause for a moment to note that earlier on Thursday Donald Trump dropped a very strong hint that he intends to demolish at least part of the original exterior wall of the White House residence to link the historic building to his new ballroom.
During his remarks in the White House East Room, Trump turned and pointed to the golden drapes over the grand window that used to lead to the roof of the East Wing, before it was entirely demolished to make room for the ballroom.
“And right behind me by the way, in about two years from now, we’ll use a much bigger room,” Trump said. “It’ll be right here,” the president said, pointing at the large window in the center of the room, which was part of the original construction and was there when the second president, John Adams took up residence in the White House in 1800.
“It’ll be right here, this will be the entrance,” Trump said, waving his hand to show the contours of the new glass hallway he plans to build in place of the original window to connect the residence to the ballroom.
“That’s a knock-out panel, it’s called a knock-out,” Trump said, using a construction term for a removable section of a wall, designed during construction to be easily removed to allow for future expansion.
“It looks pretty nice right now, but gonna look a lot better in a little while,” the president said.
Trump’s description of the grand window that has stood for centuries, as historic presidential events unfolded in the East Room — including both Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy lying in state, Lyndon Johnson signing of the Civil Rights Act, Richard Nixon bidding farewell to his staff, Bill Clinton apologizing for his affair with Monica Lewinsky and Barack Obama announcing the killing of Osama bin Laden — as something designed to be knocked out was obviously false.
But the matter-of-fact description of his plan to knock a hole in the exterior wall of the White House also contradicts his own claim, in July, that his ballroom project “won’t interfere with the current building, it won’t be… It will be near it but not touching it. It pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of.”

12.08am GMT
Trump ally refers fourth Democratic official of mortgage fraud - report

Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency known to some around the president as “Little Trump”, accused a Democratic congressman, Eric Swalwell, of mortgage fraud in a letter to the attorney general, Pam Bondi, on Wednesday, NBC News reports.
Pulte has previous made the same accusation against two prominent Democratic critics of Donald Trump, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James and Adam Schiff, a California senator, and a Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook.
After Pulte made the allegation against Cook, which Trump tried to use a grounds to fire her, Reuters reported that Pulte’s father and stepmother had filed housing claims similar to hers.
“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” Swalwell said in a statement. “Like James Comey and John Bolton, Adam Schiff and Lisa Cook, Letitia James and the dozens more to come — I refuse to live in fear in what was once the freest country in the world,” he added.
“Eric Swalwell is a principled legislator who served with distinction as an Impeachment Manager during the second impeachment of Donald J. Trump”, the House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in response to the report. “The so-called charges being contemplated against him are laughable.””Bill Pulte is nothing more than a malignant hack who is abdicating his responsibility to help everyday Americans afford a home, and is instead wasting taxpayer dollars on baseless investigations into Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies,” Jeffries added.

Updated at 12.28am GMT

11.40pm GMT

Like everyone else, we are trying to get more information on the meaning of the brief social media announcement, from the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, of what he called a new anti-trafficking military operation, “Operation Southern Spear”.
The former Fox weekend anchor’s social media accounts offered no clues, although he did share, from his personal account, defense department video of what he was up to earlier on Thursday: personally turning the screws to hang a new plaque on the outside the Pentagon that reads “Department of War”.

Updated at 12.28am GMT

10.49pm GMT
Hegseth announces 'Operation Southern Spear' Pentagon mission to remove 'narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere'

In a social media post, the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, just announced “Operation Southern Spear”, a new military mission apparently signaling that the war on drugs could soon be an actual war.
“President Trump ordered action — and the Department of War is delivering. Today, I’m announcing Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR. Led by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and [US Southern Command],” Hegseth wrote on X.
This mission, he added, “defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood – and we will protect it.”
He offered no other details, as strikes on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and a massing of forces in the region have prompted widespread speculation that US military strikes on Venezuela are imminent.
The US Southern Command (Southcom) is the US military’s combatant command that encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Bizarrely, Hegseth’s announcement of the new operation on Thursday comes nearly 10 months after US Naval Forces Southern Command announced in January that “Operation Southern Spear … will start later this month” and would use “a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking” in the Caribbean.

Updated at 11.16pm GMT

10.23pm GMT
Trump administration revokes Biden-era limits on Alaska oil drilling

The US Department of the Interior announced on Thursday that it was rescinding a 2024 Bureau of Land Management rule limiting drilling for oil in an Alaska area that is the nation’s largest tract of undisturbed public land.
“By rescinding the 2024 rule, we are following the direction set by President Trump to unlock Alaska’s energy potential, create jobs for North Slope communities and strengthen American energy security,” Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, said in a statement. “This action restores common-sense management and ensures responsible development benefits both Alaska and the nation.”
According to the Alaska Wilderness League, the so-called National Petroleum Reserve is the largest single unit of public lands in the nation, spanning nearly 23m acres across Alaska’s western North Slope that was set aside in the 1920s as an emergency oil supply for the US navy.
It is home to millions of acres of wilderness with critical habitat for migratory birds, brown bears, caribou, polar bears, walrus and endangered beluga whales. The league notes that “Alaska Native communities that live in and around the reserve have maintained a subsistence lifestyle for thousands of years based on its living resources”.

Updated at 11.27pm GMT

9.42pm GMT

While Donald Trump’s justice department has downplayed the possibility that other men were involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse of teen girls, an email released on 12 November as part of the House oversight committee’s Epstein investigation shows an exchange between the late financier and an associate where they discuss “girls” and travel.
Epstein sent an email asking “what is your schedule?” on 23 July 2010 to an associate. The latter responded the next morning saying: “the other girl name is [redacted].” The Guardian is withholding the associate’s name, as attempts to identify and contact him were unsuccessful.
That afternoon, the associate also wrote: “Can you call me/ I am with tigrane he would like to meet you he is here with me in Ibiza/with 8 top girls he said he would like to build some thing with you/can you come to Ibiza we have a huge house or how can we orgnise this/ meeting even Jean Luc could doo a great biz also/ he has the most amizing top models on stand by I told him not to do any/deals with anybody before he meet with you.” The Guardian could not identify the figure referred to as “tigrane”.
“He stoped working with IMG and Trump wi here please call me and let me/ know what is your plans/ warmest regards” the associate wrote, apparently referring to Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and friend of Epstein.
Epstein wrote “i will be in paris tom000rw night” in the chain.
Read more:

Related: Emails reveal Jeffrey Epstein and associate discussed ‘girls’ and travel

9.28pm GMT
Pentagon intelligence analysis calls sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia risky – report

As Donald Trump prepares to host Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, next week, Pentagon intelligence officials are warning that a deal to let US arms makers sell 48 F-35 fighter jets to the Saudis could give China access to the technology, the New York Times reports.
Pentagon officials told the paper that they fear “that F-35 technology could be compromised through Chinese espionage or China’s security partnership with Saudi Arabia”. The concerns were detailed in a report from the Defense Intelligence Agency, a part of the defense department.
Three weeks after Trump, reluctantly, left office in 2021, US intelligence agencies concluded that the crown prince, known as MBS, “approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi” and noted “the Crown Prince’s support for using violent measures to silence dissidents abroad”.
That intelligence assessment prompted then president Joe Biden to keep his distance from the Saudi leader during his first months in office, before dismaying human rights advocates by softening that stance later in his term, initially with a friendly fist-bump instead of a handshake. the crown prince to . Trump, in marked contrast, has warmly embraced the crown prince. During his visit to the Middle East in May, Trump effusively praised the crown prince in public remarks.

Updated at 10.03pm GMT

9.03pm GMT
BBC apologizes to Trump for Panorama documentary, but rejects demands for compensation

My colleagues, Tara Conlan and Michael Savage, report that the BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a Panorama that led to the resignation of its director general, Tim Davie, and the BBC News chief, Deborah Turness.
However, the corporation has rejected his demands for compensation, after lawyers for Trump threatened to sue for $1bn in damages unless the BBC issued a retraction, apologised and settled with him.
The BBC has also agreed not to show the edition of Panorama again.
“Lawyers for the BBC have written to president Trump’s legal team in response to a letter received on Sunday,” a BBC spokesperson said.
“BBC chair Samir Shah has separately sent a personal letter to the White House making clear to President Trump that he and the corporation are sorry for the edit of the president’s speech on 6 January 2021, which featured in the program.
“The BBC has no plans to rebroadcast the documentary Trump: A Second Chance? On any BBC platforms. While the BBC sincerely regrets the manner in which the video clip was edited, we strongly disagree there is a basis for a defamation claim.”

Related: BBC apologises to Donald Trump over edit of speech for Panorama

Updated at 9.16pm GMT

8.50pm GMT
Here's a recap of the day so far

The Trump administration is suing California governor Gavin Newsom after the state adopted new congressional maps last week. The justice department joined a lawsuit, brought by California Republicans, to block the new boundaries that voters overwhelmingly approved through Proposition 50 – a ballot initiative that would give Democrats in the Golden state five more seats in the House ahead of the 2026 midterms. This was the governor’s response to the redistricting battle that started in Texas, when the state’s GOP-run legislature gerrymandered their own map.
The federal government reopened today, after a record-breaking shutdown that lasted almost 43 days. Several agencies called their employees back to work, and the administration expects back pay to be issued to furloughed employees by early next week. Earlier, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said that the shutdown cost “$15bn a week”, and cited an estimate that 60,000 non-federal workers lost their jobs.
The White House remains on defense after a trove of documents from the Epstein estate seemed to suggest that Donald Trump knew about the late-financier’s conduct. Press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that the latest tranche of emails – one of which said that Trump “spent hours” at Epstein’s home, and another which said the president “knew about the girls” – is part of a Democratic “hoax’ to distract “from the President’s wins”.
A federal judge in Virginia said she would rule by Thanksgiving in a case brought by former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James – that alleges the prosecutor who indicted them was unlawfully appointed. Attorneys for the former FBI director and New York attorney general claim that Lindsey Halligan, who Donald Trump handpicked to be the new US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, was illegally installed because her role in office exceeds the 120-day for a role to filled by an interim appointee without confirmation from the Senate.
John Fetterman, the Democratic senator from Pennsylvania, has been hospitalized after a fall during an early morning walk. According to his spokesperson, “out of an abundance of caution” he was “transported to a hospital in Pittsburgh”. Fetterman was one of the lawmakers in the Democratic caucus who split from the party to vote for the bill to reopen the federal government. “Upon evaluation, it was established he had a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that led to Senator Fetterman feeling light-headed, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries,” his spokesperson added.

8.14pm GMT
Trump administration to sue Gavin Newsom over California's new redistricting maps

The Trump administration is suing California governor Gavin Newsom after the state adopted new congressional maps last week.
The justice department is attempting to block the new boundaries, that voters overwhelmingly approved through Proposition 50 – the ballot initiative that would give Democrats in the Golden state five more seats in the House ahead of the 2026 midterms. This move was a response to the redistricting battle that started in Texas, when the state’s GOP-run legislature gerrymandered their own maps.
Attorney general Pam Bondi called the governor’s effort a “power grab”.
“Newsom should be concerned about keeping Californians safe and shutting down Antifa violence, not rigging his state for political gain,” she added.

Updated at 8.30pm GMT

7.37pm GMT

Donald Trump signed his latest executive order today, but left the East Room of the White House without taking any questions from reporters.

Updated at 7.39pm GMT

7.20pm GMT

After the first lady handed the podium over to Donald Trump, he praised his wife’s introduction.
“I think it’s very good, especially for someone that speaks five languages at least. I think that’s pretty amazing. I couldn’t do it,” he said.

7.19pm GMT
Trump to sign executive order to help foster children transition to adulthood

Right now, we’re hearing from first lady Melania Trump as the president prepares to sign an executive order to help foster children access employment and education opportunities as they age out of the system.
“This executive order, fostering the future for American children and families, gives me tremendous pride. It is both empathetic and strategic. It will certainly be impactful,” she said.

Updated at 7.22pm GMT

7.07pm GMT
Federal judge will issue ruling on whether prosecutor was appointed unlawfully by end of the month

A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia said she would rule by Thanksgiving in a case brought by James Comey and Letitia James – that alleges the prosecutor charging them was unlawfully appointed. During today’s hearing, judge Cameron Currie did not issue a decision during the hour-long court hearing, but said she would probably rule by the end of the month.
Attorneys for the former FBI director and New York attorney general claim that Lindsey Halligan, who Donald Trump handpicked to be the new US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, was illegally installed because her role in office exceeds the 120-day for a role to filled by an interim appointee without confirmation from the Senate. Her predecessor, Erik Siebert, was also a temporary US attorney before he resigned from his position, stating he found insufficient evidence to prosecute Trump’s political enemies.

Updated at 7.08pm GMT

6.42pm GMT
Fetterman hospitalized after fall, spokesperson says he's receiving routine observation

Senator John Fetterman, the Democrat from Pennsylvania, has been hospitalized after a fall during an early morning walk. According to his spokesperson, “out of an abundance of caution” he was “transported to a hospital in Pittsburgh”.
Fetterman was one of the lawmakers in the Democratic caucus who split from the party to vote for the bill to reopen the federal government. He’s also been making media appearances recently to discuss his new book Unfettered. During his 2022 campaign for Senate, he also experienced a stroke.
“Upon evaluation, it was established he had a ventricular fibrillation flare-up that led to Senator Fetterman feeling light-headed, falling to the ground and hitting his face with minor injuries,” his spokesperson added. “Senator Fetterman had this to say: ‘If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!’”
His representative noted that he was receiving “routine observation” at the hospital.

Updated at 6.57pm GMT

6.20pm GMT

After House Democrats on the oversight committee released three emails that seemed to suggest that Donald Trump was aware of Jeffrey Epstein’s conduct, Republican representatives followed up by releasing a much bigger cache of files.
Epstein, who died by suicide in federal prison in 2019, had a sour opinion of Trump in the years before his death.
“I have met some very bad people,” Epstein wrote in a 2017 email. “None as bad as Trump. Not one decent cell in his body.”
In other messages, Epstein described Trump as a “maniac” showing signs of “early dementia”.

Related: Epstein emails: key takeaways from 20,000 pages of newly released files

5.59pm GMT

My colleague Joseph Gedeon has put together this timeline of all the critical moments from the longest ever government shutdown, which over the last 43 days has caused turmoil for thousands of federal workers, a bitter battle over food benefits for the poorest Americans, thousands of cancelled flights, and a rare Democratic stand against Trump’s second-term agenda that progressives had been demanding since the election.

Related: Timeline of US government shutdown that left workers and services in chaos

Updated at 5.59pm GMT

5.45pm GMT
Top officials present Trump with potential military options for Venezuela – report

Senior military officials yesterday presented Donald Trump with updated options for potential operations in Venezuela, including strikes on land, CBS News is reporting, citing multiple sources familiar with the meetings at the White House.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Dan Caine and other senior officials, including from the US intelligence community, briefed the president on potential military options for the coming days, and no final decision has been made, according to CBS’s sources.
Earlier this week, the US deployed the world’s largest warship, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, to the waters of the Caribbean and Latin America. The escalation of what is already the largest US military presence in the region since the 1989 invasion of Panama has led some to believe the risk of a US attack on Venezuela is growing.
In response, Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, announced what a “massive deployment” of land, sea, air, river and missile forces, as well as civilian militia, to counter the US naval presence off his country’s coast.
In the last two months, the US military has conducted strikes on at least 21 vessels allegedly ferrying drugs from South America to the United States, killing almost 80 people. As my colleague Tiago Rogero notes, so far there is no data to support the US’s claim. It is not even known how much or what kind of drugs were being carried on each boat targeted, or whether they were carrying drugs at all, as the US has released no evidence or details about the vessels or their occupants. The UN has described the killings as extrajudicial executions.
You can read Tiago’s latest piece on the situation here:

Related: Is US preparing to attack Venezuela and how has Maduro regime responded?

Updated at 5.56pm GMT

5.21pm GMT

As we’ve been reporting, Donald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffery Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed.
The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning parts of his Maga base against him.
Boebert reportedly stood firm on supporting the petition after being invited by Trump to the White House in an effort to persuade her to withdraw her signature, according to the New York Times.
The outlet reported that the meeting happened hours after Democrats on the House of Representatives’ oversight committee released a trove of emails from the files that suggested that Trump may have known more about Epstein’s underage sex-trafficking activities than he previously acknowledged.

Related: Cryptic Jeffrey Epstein emails fan fresh wave of speculation over Trump’s denials

The NYT reported that the White House sought to persuade Boebert to change her mind – enlisting Pam Bondi, the attorney general, and the FBI director, Kash Patel – before issuing “vague threats” when that did not work.
The paper, citing people “familiar with her thinking”, reported that the hardline approach had the counterproductive effect of persuading Boebert that there may be a conspiracy to conceal the contents of the files and caused her to dig in.
Trump was reported to have unsuccessfully tried to contact Mace, who is running for governor of South Carolina, by phone. She subsequently wrote him a letter explaining her history of sexual abuse and rape, and explaining that she could not change her mind on the petition.
She later wrote in a social media post that “the Epstein petition is deeply personal.”
Two other Republican representatives, the formerly fiercely-reliable Trump loyalist and Georgia representative, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have signed the petition.

Related: Trump faces prospect of congressional vote on releasing Epstein files

Updated at 5.41pm GMT

4.58pm GMT
White House economic adviser says shutdown cost ‘$15bn a week’

The director of the national economic council, Kevin Hassett, told reporters outside the White House today the government shutdown, which lasted almost 43 days, “cost about $15bn per week”.
Hassett added that the Council of Economic Advisers – a separate body – estimates that 60,000 non-federal workers lost their jobs because of the economic impact of the shutdown.

Updated at 6.11pm GMT

4.36pm GMT
Republican Nancy Mace comes to Trump's defense while committing to discharge petition

Congresswoman Nancy Mace, a Republican representative from South Carolina, explained why she signed the discharge petition to compel a vote on the House floor to release the full trove of justice department records on Jeffrey Epstein.
“The Epstein petition is deeply personal,” Mace said, going on to chronicle the several instances of abuse and domestic violence she had endured over the years. A reminder that Mace accused four men – including her former fiance – of rape, physical abuse and sexual misconduct during a nearly hourlong speech earlier this year on the House floor.
The lawmaker, who has become a staunch ally of the president in recent years, also came to his defense, as he faces questions about his knowledge of Epstein’s conduct following the release of the latest batch of emails by the House oversight committee. “As a survivor I will defend every last attack on President Trump to the death, everywhere … And all this fake news, well, it’s just noise. I will NEVER abandon other survivors,” she added. Mace is one of four Republicans who signed the discharge petition – joining Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Updated at 4.42pm GMT

4.05pm GMT
White House continues to say new release of Epstein emails is a distraction and 'hoax'

White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, has said that the latest release of emails from Jeffrey Epstein are part of “another Democrat + Mainstream Media hoax, fueled by fake outrage, to distract from the President’s wins”.
In a post on X, she added that “if not for the Jeffrey Epstein story, CNN would be forced to talk about how Chuck Schumer and the Democrats got shellacked by President Trump and Republicans in the government shutdown fight.”

3.45pm GMT

Newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails have cast further doubt on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s account of when he cut ties with the child sex offender and his denials about meeting his accuser Virginia Giuffre.
In March 2011, four months after he later claimed to have ended his relationship with Epstein, the former prince told him and the convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell: “I can’t take any more of this,” in response to allegations put to him by the Mail on Sunday.
Another email from Epstein in 2011 appears to confirm the veracity of a photograph of the then Prince Andrew holding a then 17-year-old Giuffre by the waist in 2001.
In the email Epstein said: “Yes, she was on my plane and yes, she had her photo taken with Andrew, as many of my employees have.”
Mountbatten-Windsor, who denies any wrongdoing, suggested in a 2019 BBC Newsnight interview that the photograph may have been doctored and that he had “absolutely no memory” of it being taken.
The latest emails were among thousands of documents from Epstein’s estate published by the US House oversight committee on Wednesday.
One email shows Mountbatten-Windsor asking Epstein how he planned to respond to the Mail on Sunday’s inquiry. Epstein said: “Im [sic] not sure how to respond, the only person she didn’t have sex with was Elvis.”
The former prince appeared to take up the issue with Maxwell in a separate chain, saying: “Hey there! What’s all this? I don’t know anything about this! You must SAY so please. This has NOTHING to do with me. I can’t take any more of this.”
Another email from Mountbatten-Windsor about the press query said: “Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations.”

Related: Latest Epstein emails cast further doubt on Andrew’s claim of cutting ties

3.23pm GMT

It’s worth highlighting that under the discharge petition’s rules, the vote normally requires a seven-day waiting period after it receives the necessary 218 signatures to force a vote on the House floor. In this case, House speaker Mike Johnson is working expeditiously to get it before members before Thanksgiving recess.

2.53pm GMT

Yesterday, we reported on press secretary Karoline Leavitt appearing to confirm CNN reporting that senior Trump officials meeting with Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert, one of the few Republicans in the House to sign the discharge petition that has forced a floor vote on the full release of the Epstein files.
“That’s a defining factor of transparency,” Leavitt said. “Having discussions with members of Congress about various issues. I’m not going to detail conversations that took place in the Situation Room, in the press briefing room.”
Boebert later took to social media to thank the administration for meeting with her. “Together, we remain committed to ensuring transparency for the American people,” the Colorado lawmaker wrote. CNN also reported that Boebert told the outlet that Trump did not pressure her to take her name off of the discharge petition, and that while Epstein came up, other topics were also covered.

Updated at 3.05pm GMT

2.40pm GMT

As Mike Johnson moves to schedule a vote on the House floor to release the full tranche of Epstein files, Democratic congressman Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie, who co-led the discharge petition, will hold a press conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
They’ll be joined by Epstein survivors who are set to discuss why releasing the records is so important. Also speaking, congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Maga firebrand who has notably broken from her party on the issue, seemingly defying Donald Trump’s claims that the continued focus on Epstein is a “hoax”.

2.22pm GMT
Lawyers for Trump's political enemies to argue that US attorney prosecuting them was unlawfully installed

As we posted earlier, we’ll be keeping an ear on arguments at a federal court in Virginia today. Lawyers for former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James – two of Donald Trump’s most prominent political adversaries facing indictments – will appear before a judge to make the case that the interim US attorney prosecuting their clients, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed to her role.
A reminder that Halligan was installed in her position after Trump put pressure on her predecessor, Erik Siebert, to resign, after he told the justice department that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to charge Trump’s foes. Attorneys for Comey and James will argue that Halligan’s appointment violates a federal law they said limits the appointment of an interim US attorney to one 120-day stint.
If is deemed to be unlawfully appointed, then the charges against Comey and James could be invalidated since Halligan was the only federal prosecutor to present evidence to the grand juries in both matters.
Thursday’s arguments are before Cameron Currie, a South Carolina-based federal judge appointed by former Democratic president Bill Clinton, who was assigned to decide the issue given the role federal judges in Virginia played in Siebert’s appointment. A decision is not expected on Thursday.

1.48pm GMT
Grijalva says her swearing-in 'highlighted the corruption' of Trump administration

Shortly after being sworn-in as an official member of congress, representative Adelita Grijalva spoke to MSNBC about her decision to vocally commit to signing the discharge petition that forces a vote on the House floor to compel the justice department to release all files on Jeffrey Epstein.
“I think it’s so much about what is going on with this administration, and the obstruction of me getting sworn in has highlighted the corruption, has highlighted the cover-ups have highlighted the cracks and what we need to do as American people, as elected people in these positions, Grijalva said. “What people want to see me doing, specifically, and really Democrats in general, is fight for us. Don’t just fight. Don’t just throw mud for nothing. Stand up and do something for working people.”

Updated at 3.06pm GMT

1.17pm GMT

Donald Trump is in Washington today, per his official schedule. He doesn’t have any public events until 2pm ET, when he’ll sign an executive order in the East Room. On Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that this would be related to helping “young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood”. The president will be joined by the first lady, Melania Trump, for the signing.

Updated at 1.17pm GMT

12.51pm GMT

The New York City mayoral election may be remembered for the remarkable win of a young democratic socialist, but it was also marked by something that is likely to permeate future elections: the use of AI-generated campaign videos.
Andrew Cuomo, who lost to Zohran Mamdani in last week’s election, took particular interest in sharing deepfake videos of his opponent, including one that saw the former governor accused of racism, in what is a developing area of electioneering.
AI has been used by campaigns before, particularly in using algorithms to target certain voters, and even, in some cases, to write policy proposals. But as AI software develops, it is increasingly being used to produce sometimes misleading photos and videos.
Read how the use of AI-generated campaign videos – labeled or unlabeled – are likely to permeate future US elections:

Related: Lies, damned lies and AI: the newest way to influence elections may be here to stay

12.49pm GMT

Compared to earlier in the year, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has shown a little less self-doubt among Democrat voters.
The latest poll showed 39% of Democratic voters said they agreed with a statement that the party “has lost its way,” compared to 49% in an August poll. Among Republicans, 22% said their party has lost its way, little changed from 19% in August.
The poll found that Democrats viewed New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, just as favorably as they viewed Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom, at 67% compared to 65%, respectively.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll surveyed 1,200 US adults nationwide online.

Updated at 12.49pm GMT

12.13pm GMT

The dollar eased on Thursday after US President Donald Trump signed a deal to end the government shutdown, while the yen hit a record low against the euro after Japan’s new prime minister said she wanted the central bank to go slow on rate hikes.
The pound briefly touched a session low, before recovering, after a report showed the UK economy barely grew in the third quarter of the year.
The Australian dollar, meanwhile, hit a two-week high thanks to official data that showed a steeper drop in the unemployment rate from a recent four-year high, reducing the possibility of further rate cuts.

11.52am GMT
Federal workers told to return to office after shutdown ends; travel issues also set to improve

Several federal agencies, including the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, told their staff to return to the office on Thursday after Trump signed the spending bill, according to US media.
Travel delays looked set to improve but not disappear with almost 1,000 flights cancelled on Thursday, according to tracking website FlightAware. Authorities said air traffic controller shortages were easing and the transportation secretary on Wednesday released a fresh order for six percent of flights to be frozen - lower than the eight to 10 percent expected under the previous emergency directive.
The deal also restores federal workers fired by Trump during the shutdown, while air travel that has been disrupted across the country will gradually return to normal.

Updated at 12.35pm GMT

11.32am GMT

Stock markets wavered on Thursday after President Donald Trump signed the spending bill to end a record-long US government shutdown.
Paris rose and Frankfurt fell in European midday deals. London dropped after data showed the UK economy slowed in the third quarter, dealing another blow to the Labour government ahead of its annual budget this month.
Shares in luxury fashion label Burberry jumped around five percent on London’s top-tier FTSE 100 index after the British group narrowed first half losses thanks to sizeable cost-cutting.
In Asia, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta all rose. Sydney, Wellington and Taipei fell.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor: “The ending of the US government shutdown has sparked risk-on sentiment with US futures pointing to a higher open.”

11.12am GMT
Democrats more enthusiastic than Republicans about 2026 midterms - poll

Democrats appear more enthusiastic than Republicans about voting in next year’s congressional elections following the party’s victories in recent state and local contests, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, which showed Republican President Donald Trump’s approval steady at 40%.
The six-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, showed 44% of registered voters who called themselves Democrats said they were “very enthusiastic” about voting in the November 3, 2026, elections, compared with 26% of Republicans who said the same. Some 79% of Democrats said they would regret it if they didn’t vote in the election, compared to 68% of Republicans.
Voters picked Republicans over Democrats - 46% to 34% - when asked which party was better on immigration, but only 14% said that was the most important issue for next year’s elections. By comparison, 26% said the most important issue would be democratic values and norms, and voters overall favored Democrats on that issue 43% to 34%.

Updated at 12.34pm GMT

10.53am GMT

Emerging market stocks extended gains on Thursday after US President Donald Trump signed legislation ending the longest government shutdown in history, while South African markets rallied on optimism over the budget review.
An index tracking emerging market stocks was on track to extend gains to the fourth session, up 0.23%, echoing strength across broader Asian equity markets.
A separate index for EM currencies was up 0.13%, with a softer dollar allowing currencies elsewhere to shine.
Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at In Touch Capital Markets, said: “It seems that investors are bracing for major US data releases to be on the soft side, which would strengthen the case for the Fed to consider lowering interest rates at its last meeting and, more importantly, to continue easing monetary policy over this 12-month horizon.”

10.39am GMT

Donald Trump was described as “that dog that hasn’t barked” in an email by Jeffrey Epstein. Don’t tell Kristi Noem, who has a way of dealing with troublesome hounds.
The US president would love nothing more than to let sleeping dogs lie, but that hope was dashed on Wednesday when Democrats released emails suggesting that Trump was aware of Epstein’s conduct and had spent hours with one of the disgraced financier’s victims.
Read how the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who says a prayer before each briefing, was dispatched to the podium to defy the laws of moral physics by explaining why the true wrongdoers here were Joe Biden and the Democrats:

Related: Nothing to see here: Trump press chief in full denial mode over Epstein

10.19am GMT
Lawyers for James Comey and Letitia James expected to ask judge to dismiss cases

Lawyers for two of President Donald Trump’s foes who have been charged by the justice department are expected to ask a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss the cases against them, saying the prosecutor who secured the indictments was illegally installed in the role, reports the Associated Press (AP).The challenges to Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia are part of multi-prong efforts by former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James to get their cases dismissed before trial.At issue during Thursday’s arguments are the complex constitutional and statutory rules governing the appointment of the nation’s US attorneys, who function as top federal prosecutors in justice department offices across the country.The role is typically filled by lawyers who have been nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate. Attorneys general do have the authority to get around that process by naming an interim US attorney who can serve for 120 days, but lawyers for Comey and James note that once that period expires, the law gives federal judges of that district exclusive say over who can fill the vacancy.But that’s not what happened in this instance, reports the AP. After then-interim US attorney Erik Siebert resigned in September while facing Trump administration pressure to bring charges against Comey and James, attorney general Pam Bondi – at Trump’s public urging – installed Halligan to the role.Siebert had been appointed by Bondi in January to serve as interim US attorney. Trump in May announced his intention to nominate him and judges in the eastern district unanimously agreed after his 120-day period expired that he should be retained in the role. But after the Trump administration effectively pushed him out in September, the justice department again opted to make an interim appointment in place of the courts, something defense lawyers say it was not empowered under the law to do.According to the AP, prosecutors in the cases say the law does not explicitly prevent successive appointments of interim US attorneys by the justice department, and that even if Halligan’s appointment is deemed invalid, the proper fix is not the dismissal of the indictment.Comey has pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false statement and obstructing Congress, and James has pleaded not guilty to mortgage fraud allegations. Their lawyers have separately argued that the prosecutions are improperly vindictive and motivated by the president’s personal animus toward their clients, and should therefore be dismissed.

Updated at 12.32pm GMT

10.08am GMT
Newly released emails reveal Epstein kept close eye on Trump

A tranche of documents released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday revealed that Jeffrey Epstein’s staff kept him apprised of Donald Trump’s air travel as it related to his own transportation – and that the late sex trafficker kept up with news about his former friend years after their relationship soured.
This disclosure of about 20,000 pages from Republican members of the committee related to Epstein comes as Trump continues to battle with the political fallout related to their past friendship – and his justice department’s failure to release documents as he had long promised on the campaign trail.
Most of the discussions reviewed by the Guardian surrounding Trump’s location appeared to relate to flight logistics, as he and Epstein often used the same airports.
On 25 November 2016, just weeks after Trump won the presidential election, Epstein’s pilot, Larry Visoski, wrote:

Trump is still scheduled to depart Sunday between 4 and 6 pm,, Let me know if we are firm for wheels up Saturday at 6pm still?

Epstein replied: “will let you know tomorrow morning.”
But other emails tracked Trump’s movements more generally. Epstein received a heads-up on 2 December 2017: “Trump in our neighborhood today. Looks like he is going to 740 Park for a fundraiser.” The sender’s name was redacted in the email release, but it was signed by Richard Kahn, Epstein’s accountant.
One visitor waiting outside Epstein’s home made a joke about Trump while waiting to get inside. “[I’m] at the door but i will wait for my time. . i dont want to come early to find trump in your house,” they wrote, adding two smiling emojis. Their name was redacted in the email.
The cache of filings also indicates Epstein’s associates forwarded numerous news articles related to Trump, including reports that involved controversies surrounding the president. The news coverage included a January 2019 story on Trump ally Roger Stone’s arrest, and an article on Michael Cohen’s discussions with prosecutors.

Related: Newly released emails reveal Epstein kept close eye on Trump

9.50am GMT

After 42-day standoff, government is back open – and the minority party won no concessions from the party in power, writes Guardian US’ senior politics reporter Chris Stein in this analysis piece:

Related: Democrats sift through shutdown’s ashes after resistance finally breached

9.34am GMT
House passes funding bill to end US shutdown – see how lawmakers voted

The US House of Representatives voted to pass the funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in US history. You can see how lawmakers voted via this interactive:

Related: House passes funding bill to end US shutdown – see how lawmakers voted

9.20am GMT

The longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative’s passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators. The legislation restarts federal operations but does not include the healthcare funding the minority party demanded.
You can watch the Guardian’s video report on it here:

9.07am GMT
Trump signs funding bill to end longest US government shutdown

The longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday after more than 42 days, following the House of Representative’s passage of a bill negotiated by Republicans and a splinter group of Democrat-aligned senators.
The compromise sets the stage for government operations to return to normal through January, while leaving unresolved the issue of expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare health plans, which most Democrats demanded be extended in any deal to reopen the government.
After it was unveiled over the weekend, the Senate approved the compromise on Monday, and the House followed suit two days later by a margin of 222 in favor and 209 against, with two not voting. Donald Trump signed the bill on Wednesday night, saying “we’re sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion, because that’s what it was … the Democrats tried to extort our country”.
Six Democrats broke with their party to vote for the bill: Adam Gray of California, Tom Suozzi of New York, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Jared Golden of Maine. Two Republicans, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida, voted against it.
House Republican leadership said in a statement:

The Democrat shutdown is finally over thanks to House and Senate Republicans.
There is absolutely no question now that Democrats are responsible for millions of American families going hungry, millions of travelers left stranded in airports, and our troops left wondering if they would receive their next paycheck.

In remarks on the House floor shortly before the vote, the Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries had pledged to continue to press for the subsidies’ extensions.
He said:

This fight is not over. We’re just getting started.
Either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year, or the American people will throw Republicans out of their jobs next year and end the speakership of Donald J Trump once and for all. That’s how this fight ends.

The spending standoff was the biggest battle between congressional Democrats and Republicans since Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. It resulted in unprecedented disruptions to government services, with the Trump administration ordering cuts to commercial air travel across the country, and the first-ever halt to the largest federal food aid program.

Related: Trump signs funding bill to end longest US government shutdown

Updated at 9.09am GMT

8.54am GMT
House to vote on Epstein files next week

Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, said on Wednesday he would put the bill compelling the release of government files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the House floor next week.
“We are gonna put that on the floor for [a] full vote next week, [as] soon as we get back,” Johnson told reporters, as the chamber gathered to debate legislation to reopen the government.
Johnson, who opposes the bill, made the announcement just hours after swearing in Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who took her oath of office seven weeks after she won a late September special election to succeed her father, the longtime representative Raúl Grijalva, who died in March.
Grijalva’s swearing-in cleared the path for the vote to release the Epstein files, as she became the 218th and final signature on a discharge petition that automatically triggers a House floor vote on legislation demanding the justice department release the files. In her floor remarks on Wednesday, Grijalva said:

Justice cannot wait another day. Adelante.

Under the rules governing discharge petitions, Johnson would not have been mandated to require a vote until early December, so his announcement that the vote would take place next week is earlier than expected.
Even if the bill passes the House, it still needs to get through the Senate and be signed by Trump. Senate leaders have shown no indication they will bring it up for a vote, and Trump has decried the effort as a “Democrat hoax”.
More on this story in a moment, but first here are some other key developments in US politics:

A tranche of documents released by the House oversight committee on Wednesday revealed that Jeffrey Epstein’s staff kept him apprised of Donald Trump’s air travel as it related to his own transportation – and that the late sex trafficker kept up with news about his former friend years after their relationship soured. This disclosure of about 20,000 pages from Republican members of the committee related to Epstein comes as Trump continues to battle with the political fallout related to their past friendship – and his justice department’s failure to release documents as he had long promised on the campaign trail.
The US House of Representatives voted to pass the funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in US history. Trump signed the bill into law on Wednesday night. The legislation comes in the wake of a Senate-brokered compromise in which a handful of Democrats voted to forego the extension of expiring healthcare subsidies, which have been at the heart of the long impasse.
Trump has said he feels he has “an obligation” to sue the BBC over its editing of one of his speeches, as a deadline looms for the corporation to respond to his billion-dollar legal threat. The US president accused the broadcaster of having “defrauded the public” with an edition of Panorama last year that spliced together two parts of a speech he made on 6 January 2021 and has given it until Friday to respond.
Trump has repeated a request to Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, for a pardon for Benjamin Netanyahu, who is on trial in three separate corruption cases. The Israeli prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the ongoing court cases. No rulings have been delivered, and his supporters have dismissed the trials as politically motivated.

Updated at 12.31pm GMT