Vance uses false claims to blame shutdown on Democrats as Wh...

Good morning.

The vice-president, JD Vance, used false claims to blame Democrats for the government shutdown as the White House warned that worker layoffs were imminent.

Federal departments have been closing after a deadlocked Congress failed to pass a funding measure. The crisis has higher stakes than previous shutdowns, with Trump racing to slash government departments and threatening to turn furloughs into mass firings.

Vance made false claims about why Democrats had withheld their votes, saying they want “billions of dollars of funding to healthcare for illegal aliens”, which Democrats reject as “Republican LIES”.

How many federal workers will be affected? About 750,000 federal employees are expected to be placed on furlough, an enforced leave, with pay withheld until they return to work. Essential workers such as military and border agents may be forced to work without pay, and some are likely to miss paychecks next week.
How did we get here? As the messaging war over the shutdown intensifies, Democrats, motivated by grassroots anger over expiring healthcare subsidies, have been withholding Senate votes to fund the government as leverage to try to force negotiations. They are betting that voters will blame Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress.
Will they? It’s hard to call. A Marist poll released on Tuesday found that 38% of voters would blame congressional Republicans for a shutdown, 27% would blame the Democrats and 31% both parties. In the meantime, people will feel the consequences of government services shutting down.

Israeli naval forces board pro-Palestinian flotilla 75 miles from Gaza

A number of boats from a pro-Palestinian flotilla have been boarded by Israeli forces roughly 75 miles off the coast of Gaza, as the vessels attempted to breach the maritime blockade of the war-torn territory and bring aid.

The raid of 13 boats began with the flotilla’s leading vessel, Alma, whose crew – including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg – were arrested and detained by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday.

What are the details of the blockade? Israel’s naval blockade was imposed in 2009 by Israel, an intensification of its 2007 blockade of Gaza in response to Hamas seizing control of the territory. It has been condemned by the UN as “a direct contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law”.
What has happened in the past? In 2010, 10 Turkish activists were killed by Israeli commandos who raided the Mavi Marmara ship leading an aid flotilla towards Gaza.
What’s the latest on Israel’s attack on Gaza City? The Israeli military has issued what it said was its final warning for Gaza City residents to flee as it intensified its bombardment and offensive on Wednesday.
This is a developing story. Follow live coverage here.

US flags for Trump’s UK visit had to be changed for $70,000 to brighter red

Dozens of US flags used for Donald Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to the UK last month had to be replaced because the stripes were the wrong shade of red, a government supplier has claimed.

The switch of the 66 hand-sewn flags that had been due to be used along the Mall in London and at Windsor Castle cost an estimated £52,800 ($71,300) in public funds. The US embassy has not commented.

Wait, what? “The Americans decided that the red [British flag] use, which is called R01, wasn’t right for them, and that they wanted a cherry red instead, so we had to buy all new flags for this visit,” the supplier told the Telegraph. “Countries find it insulting if we get our colours wrong.”

In other news …

Denmark’s prime minister said Europe was in the “most difficult and dangerous situation” since 1945. The warning came as French military personnel boarded a Russian “shadow” vessel suspected of being a launchpad for drone flights into Denmark.
Pope Leo strongly criticized Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, questioning whether they were in line with the Catholic church’s “pro-life” teachings.
Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook, will keep her job for now despite Donald Trump’s extraordinary attempt to remove her from the central bank’s board with immediate effect.
Anti-government demonstrations have gripped Morocco this week as young people fill the streets of cities and destruction and violence have broken out in several places.
A general strike paralyzed Greece on Wednesday as unions stepped up industrial action against labor laws that introduce a 13-hour work day in a country that already puts in some of the longest hours in Europe.

Stat of the day: White House puts hold on $18bn for New York rail tunnel and subway expansion

The Trump administration said on Wednesday it was putting a hold on roughly $18bn to fund a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and the city’s expanded Second Avenue subway project – because of the government shutdown.

Don’t miss this: Trump 2.0 – the politics of pure stupidity

If the first term of Donald Trump provoked anxiety over the fate of objective knowledge, the second has led to claims we live in a world-historical age of stupidity, accelerated by big tech. But, William Davies asks for the long read, might there be a way out?

Climate check: AI flood forecasting gives hope to people in vulnerable areas

A new AI flood forecasting tool is giving hope that earlier warnings can be given and lives saved to avoid catastrophic floods. Researchers showed that they could boost flood prediction accuracy as much as sixfold. It comes after Super Typhoon Ragasa last month swept through Asia, killing at least 14 people.

Last Thing: He worked at the world’s best restaurant, now he wants to make US school food better

After spending three years in Copenhagen as executive chef of Noma – considered by many to be the best restaurant in the world – Dan Giusti left fine dining 10 years ago to start Brigaid, a for-profit company dedicated to improving food service programs in public schools, hospitals, prisons, assisted living facilities and other institutions.

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