Explosive book targets Jared Kushner’s role in US foreign policy | First Thing

Good morning. A book that contains incendiary claims about Jared Kushner’s financial dealings during Donald Trump’s first term has ignited a political and media storm. The book, by the author Matthew Cole, drew a furious response from Kushner, who called its claims “completely insane”.

It contains numerous allegations about Kushner, who has served as one of Donald Trump’s top diplomatic envoys in the Middle East. The most explosive are claims linking him to huge bank accounts allegedly funded by Gulf states. Kushner continues to steer US foreign policy despite having no official role. The Guardian contacted Kushner’s legal counsel and received no response.

California election official says federal agents threatened him over ‘voter fraud’ in leadup to midterms

A California county elections official has spoken out about the Department of Justice’s campaign against purported “voter fraud”, saying federal officials provided him a disorganized list of names filled with inaccuracies – and threatened to criminally prosecute him if he did not take action. Meanwhile, a federal judge has declined to order California officials to segregate and not count ballots from people the Trump administration claimed were non-citizens.

More developments in the midterms:

• Barack Obama offered a closing argument for Democrats in the final week of the campaign. “These are not serious people,” he said of Trump and the Republican party. “And we’re all paying the price for their lack of seriousness.”

• The campaign of the Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola was behind an effort to recruit a challenger with almost the same name as the Republican US senator Dan Sullivan. Both men will appear on the ballot in next week’s midterm elections, the New York Times reported on Wednesday. Peltola’s campaign has denied involvement with the other Dan Sullivan, who will be listed on the ballot as “Sullivan, Daniel J Jr”.

• Two rightwing influencers have been charged with felonies in Minneapolis over attempts in the state’s election primary to disguise themselves in what they called “Muslim garb” and claim they were local voters.

• If you are having trouble keeping track of all the ways Trump and his administration have been attempting to disrupt the midterms, this four-minute video explainer has you covered. And the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, David Smith, has this analysis piece looking at Trump’s midterm rally bigotry, with the president’s repeated attacks on Muslims and his strange obsession with people’s bodies.

Israel’s choice: Netanyahu again or a Palestinian-backed coalition

Emma Graham-Harrison is in Tel Aviv for the Guardian, and has this analysis piece on where Tuesday’s vote has left Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition has lost its mandate, and the opposition in total have a firm majority. However, most of Israel’s Jewish opposition have ruled out governing alongside Palestinian-led parties.

The self-imposed ban on a broader opposition alliance, if it holds, offers Netanyahu the prospect of turning his defeat into another term in office – or at least a prolonged mandate as a caretaker prime minister and perhaps another round of elections.

Dolores Huerta, California labor leader and civil rights champion, dies aged ۹۶

Dolores Huerta, a celebrated ۱۹۶۰s labor union leader and civil rights activist, died on Wednesday in California at the age of ۹۶, her family said. With Cesar Chavez, Heurta co-founded the United Farm Workers union (UFW), which was credited with improving pay and conditions for agricultural workers through strikes, boycotts and protests in the ۱۹۶۰s and ۱۹۷۰s. Thalia Juarez has compiled this gallery of Huerta’s life in pictures, and Maanvi Singh has gathered the widespread tributes being paid to her.

US lawmakers demand action on overcharging at ۷-Eleven, Dollar General and other chains

Thirty-four members of Congress are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports of widespread overcharging by some of America’s most recognized brand-name retailers.

The ۲۸ October letter to the FTC comes in direct response to Guardian investigations of four of the country’s largest dollar-store and convenience-store chains. Both investigations revealed pervasive mismatches between shelf labels and register prices.

• What else has the FTC announced? The agency is demanding some of the US’s biggest airlines, ride-share companies and retailers divulge how they are using algorithms and loyalty programs to target customers and drivers with different prices and wages. Nine companies – Delta, United, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart – were named in the inquiry.

In other news …

• Spain is beginning a mourning period after a high-speed train crash, as the search continues for victims in the wreckage. Sixty-nine people were killed in the derailment near the town of Urda, in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha.

• Flávio Bolsonaro declared himself the “true president” of Brazil after losing last Sunday’s presidential election and fleeing to Miami.

• Leaked data identifying more than ۴۱,۰۰۰ employees and contractors for the US Department of Homeland Security has been released by a non-profit group in an unprecedented act.

• The embattled CBS leader Bari Weiss has downplayed concerns about weak ۶۰ Minutes ratings, saying the flagship show is doing “tremendously well”.

• Shares in Google’s parent company, Alphabet, fell by more than ۱۰% as it reported lower-than-expected profit and a slowdown in its ad business while maintaining big spending on AI.

• The EU has backed away from its offer to Canada to start talks on becoming an “associate member” after disagreements between member states, just as an EU-Canada summit was set to begin in Montreal.

• The Milwaukee Brewers captured their first World Series crown on Wednesday night, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays ۴-۱ to complete a four-games-to-one victory and end more than half a century of waiting for baseball’s biggest prize.

Stat of the day: Three plead guilty in $۹m romance fraud targeting older Americans

Twenty-two-year-old twin brothers from Ghana and an American woman, ۵۳, targeted older adults in ۲۵ US states, officials say. Authorities say the victims, misled by false stories, wired money to bank accounts controlled by the conspirators.

The Filter Recommends: Everything we love to stay cozy during cold months

Here are some of our writers’ best ways to stay toasty and occupied during cold weather, from teas to pajamas.

Don’t miss this: Fake film deals and emails from top agents – who is behind the explosion in literary scams?

Writers are being bombarded daily with invitations from fake book groups and offers to publicise their work. For the scamming industry, Snigdha Poonam writes, aspiring authors can be a soft touch.

Climate check: A new wave of electric ferries is here in the US – and some even fly

Replacing diesel-powered ferries with electric vessels could reduce emissions and improve air quality.

Last Thing: Psychics push back against AI-generated readings

AI-generated psychics are a growing presence on TikTok Live, but human practitioners say they lack the empathy and connection central to divination. To be fair, I’m not entirely sure I’d trust either machines or people in that industry.

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