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Netflix viewers say this drama is the “best” on the streaming platform – and it’s so good it has them rewatching it over and over again. So have you checked this out yet?

Looking for a Netflix series that’ll have you glued to your seats until the crack of dawn? Some shows are simply so binge-worthy that you can’t resist watching the entire season before midnight.

Thankfully Netflix is so good for new shows, with the streaming giant releasing fresh TV series and movies every single week. New content is added almost daily with multiple major original shows dropping on a weekly basis. Now if you’re on the hunt for something binge-worthy, we might have just the drama series for you. But we’re warning you, it’s so good, viewers say they have to rewatch it after binging it the first time.

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Social media is often a great place for recommendations as just recently Reddit users couldn’t help but praise Maid, a 10-episode drama available to watch now.

The post began: “Please recommend any good gripping limited series on Netflix. As most of the series have a good start and as they progress they get deviation. How is the Burroughs is it good to watch?”

Many raced to the comments section to mention Maid as one wrote: “It’s a fantastic short series. It’s one of the best I’ve seen on Netflix.” While another added: “I second this, incredible show.”

A third commented: “The emotions! Best thing to ever come out of Netflix.” And a fourth chimed in: “I agree. I just rewatched and it was even better the second viewing!”

What is Maid about?

The Netflix limited series is a 10-episode drama about Alex, a young mum who flees an emotionally abusive relationship with her partner Sean.

Inspired by Stephanie Land’s best-selling memoir, Maid: Harm Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive, it chronicles her real-life experience working as a housecleaner while living on a government assistance and striving to write and attend college.

This series centres Alexandra “Alex” Russell, played by Margaret Qualley, who finds work with a low-wage cleaning company to support herself and her two-year-old Maddie while facing severe financial instability and homelessness.

She leaves her partner Sean Boyd (Nick Robinson) as she also deals with a complex, unpredictable mother (Andie MacDowell) who tries to break toxic cycles to build a safe future for her daughter.

The limited-series, which dropped on Netflix on October 1, 2021, had been viewed by an estimated 67 million households, becoming the streaming giant’s fourth most-watched shows that year.

In the streaming rankings for the week of October 4-10, 2021, Maid doubled its viewing time from the previous week and climbed to second place behind Squid Game, which released a month before, with 1.9 billion minutes of viewing time.

You can watch all 10 episodes of the Maid on Netflix UK now.

STAR of Slow Horses Olivia Cooke has revealed how a dibilitating health condition left her unable to work for half of 2026.

The 32-year-old was struck down with the shingles virus at the end of last year, forcing her to take an extended break from her acting jobs.

She contracted the infection while in New York, having to jet back to the UK for treatment.

Olivia subsequently spent weeks holed up in her London home in order to fully recover.

Speaking to GQ Hype, she detailed how much it exhausted her, saying: “I had a two-month period where I couldn’t do small talk.

“Someone was like: ‘How are you?’ And I was like: ‘Yeah, I’ve had shingles’.”

MOVING ON

Slow Horses fans convinced Jack Lowden has landed Bond role after series 6 ending

FAMILIAR FACES

Full list of new cast for Slow Horses season 7

The House Of The Dragon actress admitted that constantly working contributed considerably to the illness.

“I feel like the past two years, I’ve been, like, jobs, jobs, jobs, and I got really burnt out,” she said. “Your body has a way of flooring you to make sure that you do actually lie down.”

During her rest period, Olivia passed the time cooking and rearranging her house in East London, which she shares with partner Ralph Davis, describing herself as “a real housewife”.

“I was cooking different meals every day and sorting my cupboards out.

“I was like a real housewife, like, horribly, but I enjoyed it.”

It also gave her the opportunity to take time away from social media, deactivating Instagram.

“I was just like, I’m on this too much – it’s not nourishing,” she explained. “I think the celebri-fied nature of being an actor has now snowballed into this monster.

“And I just think we need to get off this train and realise that we make these TV shows and films, yes, for escapism, but also because it’s artful and it’s creative and it’s not for followers or for a brand deal.”

Despite being back on the social media platform, Olivia’s approach to it has changed.

“Even replying to a DM from someone that is semi-famous or wholly famous, that’s anxiety,” she added. “Why do I then now feel like I have to be smart and charming for this person that I don’t know?”

Olivia is currently filming A Talent For Murder, in which she’ll portray an American heiress on the run.

In Slow Horses, she stars opposite Bond contender Jack Lowden.

It was another bold statement from United States President Donald Trump: An edict in his usual inflated style, claiming that the US had almost sealed Iran off from the rest of the world.

“Very little gets into, or out of, Iran!” the US president posted on his Truth Social account on Sunday, a day after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced its latest plan to choke Tehran’s military supply networks.

On Sunday, CENTCOM announced Task Force Iron Gate – a unit targeting land routes and the Caspian Sea, which will aim to prevent Iran from using ground routes to transport advanced weapons and other materials.

Trump’s message on Truth Social claimed that the task force was “in full force and effect” in Iran – and that between this and the US naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the US had virtually cut off what enters and exits the country.

But analysts say a small intelligence-focused unit cannot seal Iran’s borders or stop its extensive procurement networks without regional cooperation.

They did warn, however, that attempts to disrupt these networks could draw neighbouring countries into the conflict and undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts in the US-Israel war on Iran.

“I see Task Force Iron Gate as a desperate attempt to extend the American naval blockade into Iran’s continental supply networks without deploying American troops along its borders,” Andreas Krieg, an associate professor of defence studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

An ‘intelligence fusion cell’

Task Force Iron Gate aims to find out where “weapons systems are coming in, how they could potentially be cut off” and how “Iran is transporting its energy”, Michael Mulroy, a former US deputy assistant defence secretary for the Middle East, has told Al Jazeera.

Based in Tampa, Florida, the unit will coordinate with other US government agencies “on preventing the movement of advanced weapons systems, dual-use technologies, sanctioned materials and illegal revenue streams across Iran’s land borders and the Caspian Sea”, CENTCOM has said.

Analysts said the task force could coordinate sanctions enforcement, pressure foreign suppliers, and work with partner countries to disrupt smuggling.

According to Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, the US mission would rely on a combination of satellite imagery, drones, intercepted communications, financial intelligence and intelligence-sharing.

“Then, frankly, I would expect some use of force – strikes or discreet ground operations – to confiscate components, whether done by US forces or the Israelis,” the analyst told Al Jazeera.

“They would want to pass some intelligence on and bring legal and economic pressure to bear outside the Middle East if they think dual-use components are coming from the West … but if the target is supplies from Russia and China, that will be tougher.”

While CENTCOM’s announcement did not explicitly identify Iran’s weapons trade with Russia, analysts say the unit could be seen as an attempt to disrupt supply networks that include Russian connections.

US media have reported that Russia has sent drone components and explosives to Iran via the Caspian Sea. There are also claims that Russian technology could be helping Iran develop advanced supersonic cruise missiles.

Krieg agreed the task force would combine methods, but stated that it would operate largely as an “intelligence fusion cell”.

“Twenty people cannot police thousands of kilometres of frontiers,” he said.

“The objective is not necessarily to stop every shipment, but to make Iranian military procurement progressively more expensive, slower and riskier,” he added.

The obstacle the US mission will face, however, is political rather than technological, he argued. Iran’s neighbours will be largely unwilling to cooperate.

“Iraq offers Washington some leverage, but Iranian-aligned networks remain deeply embedded in its economy and security institutions,” he explained.

Azerbaijan could cooperate discreetly, while Turkmenistan would be “extremely reluctant” to jeopardise its neutrality or relationships with Russia and China, said the professor.

Pakistan is particularly unlikely to participate openly because it is currently mediating between Washington and Tehran, he added. Turkiye also has little interest in turning its border with Iran into another confrontation, said Krieg.

“Without these countries’ cooperation, Washington can disrupt individual networks but cannot effectively seal Iran’s borders,” he said.

Rami Khouri, a public policy fellow at the American University of Beirut and a non-resident senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC, has previously told Al Jazeera that Iran’s history as a trading nation for thousands of years makes the US mission near impossible.

“There’s an enormous web of contacts that Iran has had for thousands of years with traders and partners and allies all over the region, especially in Asia – it’s virtually impossible for the US to seal off every one,” he said.

“There are people all over the region who have links with Iran, some very close, some just commercial,” he said.

Mission creep or mission impossible?

Krieg expressed concern about the potential for mission creep — that the task force’s action could widen the war to new arenas.

“Intelligence gathering can quickly become pressure for seizures, border closures or military strikes against suspected logistical infrastructure,” he said.

“This would extend America’s economic war into the sovereign territory of neighbouring states.”

Iran’s response in turn would likely be asymmetrical, “intensifying maritime coercion in Hormuz and potentially using the Houthis to increase pressure around Bab al-Mandeb and Saudi Arabia”, Krieg added.

Joe Kent, a former top US counterterrorism official, has also argued that the new task force is an attempt by CENTCOM to subvert ongoing diplomatic efforts.

“This is CENTCOM inviting Iran to escalate while the vice president is attempting to negotiate with the Iranians,” Kent, who resigned in March in protest against the US’s war on Iran, said on X following the US military’s announcement.

“This is, as CENTCOM calls it, ‘policy by CONOP’, when the military finds a way to subvert the White House without blatantly disobeying the President, by taking actions that will ensure a war escalates or perpetuates.”

The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, has reported that CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is among the many officials, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pressing Trump to renew attacks on Iran.

Some analysts, however, argue that without US access to the Caspian Sea, troops on the ground, or cooperation from neighbouring states, the task force will have limited practical impact.

Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor of contemporary history and politics at Qatar University, has told Al Jazeera that the new initiative may just be symbolic because of the lack of US military presence on the Caspian Sea.

“America has no access to the sea, unless some of the neighbouring countries like Azerbaijan or Armenia or others collaborate [with them] … And they’re not collaborating on this because they don’t want to upset Russia,” said Zweiri. “It will require … troops on the ground, and this is unlikely to happen.”

A woman has sparked debate after sharing an awkward encounter with a stranger on a flight, but some believe she was right to stand her ground rather than make small talk

When boarding a plane, most people worry about their seating arrangements and whether they’ll have enough legroom. But one traveller was left feeling uncomfortable after a man deliberately changed seats to sit next to her on a plane before striking up a conversation.

She had simply wanted to spend the flight relaxing and listening to music, rather than making small talk with a stranger for two hours. Taking to Reddit, she explained: “This happened on a flight last week and I still can’t stop thinking about it. I was flying by myself. I picked a window seat on purpose so I could sleep and avoid talking to anyone.

“I had my headphones on before I even sat down. The middle seat beside me was empty when we got on. Maybe ten minutes before take off, a guy who had an aisle seat a few rows back decided to switch and planted himself right next to me.”

She says the man didn’t ask whether the seat was available or if she minded him sitting there, instead making himself comfortable before immediately starting a conversation.

She continued: “He asked where I was going, how long the flight was for me, whether it was work or leisure.

“I answered the first two because he caught me off guard. Then I kind of turned back toward the window and put my headphones back on.”

However, the man allegedly continued trying to get her attention, even tapping her arm and insisting he was “only trying to be nice” and that chatting would help the flight go faster.

‘He went quiet and sulky’

She added: “I told him I was really hoping to sleep and wasn’t up for talking. He gave a little laugh and said, ‘come on it’s only two hours.’

“I said pretty plainly that I really didn’t want to chat and turned away again. After that he went quiet and sulky and I heard him mumble something about people being antisocial.”

When she arrived at her destination, she met up with a friend and explained what had happened – but their reaction left her questioning whether she’d been unreasonable.

She said: “The friend I was meeting at my destination said I was rude and could have just talked to him for a while.

“But I had my headphones in. He changed seats to sit next to me. He ignored the first hint. And he kept pushing after I was direct.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong but his huffy reaction made me doubt myself for a second.”

‘A stranger who won’t take a hint sounds exhausting’

Wanting to know whether others would have handled the situation differently, she turned to social media to ask for their opinions.

One user said: “The arm tapping after the headphones went back on is what really makes it creepy.

“At that point he knew the conversation was over and decided his need for company mattered more than someone else’s comfort.

“Two hours next to a stranger who won’t take a hint sounds exhausting. Is this conversation helpful so far?”

Another added: “‘Trying to be nice’ would have been his leaving the person alone who put out all the signals that they wanted to be left alone, and then used clear words to say so.

“They were being very rude and quite selfish, the exact opposite of what they purported being.”

A third user said: “I fail to see why your friend has to get involved in your perception of ‘I do not want to talk to this guy’. I would have cut him off faster.”

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USS Theodore Roosevelt moored at Changi Naval Base in Singapore last night just before midnight Eastern Time, her final stop before continuing on to the Middle East. The Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (CSG) will join the George H.W. Bush and George Washington CSGs, which are both now prepared, locked, and loaded should the commander in chief follow through on threats to renew military action against Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections. Roosevelt and the three escorting warships will transit the Strait of Malacca next before heading west toward the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), a journey that will likely take one to two weeks.

Meanwhile, the U.S. quietly launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, according to a report first published by The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. officials cited by The Journal said the strikes were reactive and for defensive purposes, but the paper notes they were the latest in a “series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against the country in recent weeks.” However, it’s possible that CENTCOM began shaping operations to prepare the battlefield if the go order is given. The U.S. military did not announce the strikes publicly, a noteworthy deviation from past operations that were typically disclosed, but U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox on Tuesday it was “just a minor attack” on a recently built “anti-aircraft facility.”

Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring and visualizing America’s flattop fleet, including deployed CSGs and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARGs), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here.

How Fast Can The Theodore Roosevelt CSG Get To The Middle East?

The Theodore Roosevelt CSG completed combined exercise Keen Sword 27, which involved four other allied navies, on October 29. After being topped off by fleet replenishment oiler USNS Tippecanoe the following day, Roosevelt and her three escorts – guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin and guided-missile destroyers USS Paul Hamilton and USS Decatur – entered the South China Sea via the Luzon Strait and steamed southwest toward Singapore. A U.S. official told Axios that the group will spend a few days in Singapore but “won’t reach CENTCOM’s area of responsibility before mid-November.”

According to MarineTraffic, Roosevelt switched on her Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponder about 100 nautical miles east of Malaysia at 11:25 Eastern Time on November 5, broadcasting a precise position publicly for the first time since departing Yokosuka on October 19. The flattop moored at Berth 3/4 at RSS Singapura–Changi Naval Base approximately 12 hours later, followed by the other three warships over the next few hours.

The next leg of Roosevelt’s transit to the CENTCOM AOR runs north through the narrow Strait of Malacca and west across the vast Indian Ocean. In August, USS George Washington completed the journey from the Strait to the Arabian Sea in just over one week. A few days in port and a roughly 10-day cruise support the reporting of a mid-to-late November arrival.

Elements of the Makin Island ARG, which is also reportedly bound for the Middle East, were still in Yokosuka, Japan, as of publication. The three-ship amphibious group, packed with more than 2,200 Marines, will likely replace the Boxer ARG, which is approaching eight months deployed and due for relief. The fleet of amphibious warships is stretched thin, with only 31 in the fleet, but Navy and Marine leaders believe at least 40 are required.

Which Carriers Are On Station If The U.S. Launches Post-Midterm Strikes Against Iran?

USS George Washington, with Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 embarked, and USS George H.W. Bush, with CVW 7 aboard, are both operating in the Middle East. The composition of both CSGs is fluid as CENTCOM frequently rotates destroyers and cruisers assigned to strike groups with those on independent deployments. Imagery posted on DVIDS, the military’s content-sharing platform, shows Bush launching and recovering F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers on November 4, and Washington conducting a fueling-at-sea evolution alongside fleet replenishment oiler USNS Oscar V. Peterson on November 3.

Washington left Yokosuka, where she is forward-deployed, 167 days ago on what was expected to be a routine three-month patrol in the Western Pacific. However, the flattop was redirected to the Middle East to relieve the battle-worn USS Abraham Lincoln, leaving the roughly 5,000 Sailors aboard unprepared for an unexpected, and potentially extended, combat deployment. Bush, whose crew knew what their mission was upon departure, has been deployed for 220 days. Neither carrier has broadcast AIS since arriving in theater.

An author on the WSJ article referenced above, Shelby Holliday, embarked on Washington in mid-October and provided a firsthand account of life aboard the carrier in a series of must-watch videos on YouTube and Instagram. Sailors spoke candidly about the deployment, and some hinted at what could come next.

Holliday’s interview with the “Gun Boss,” Cmdr. Brian Garcia, showcased AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER (Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response) air-launched cruise missiles and GBU-31(V)4/B JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bombs equipped with BLU-109 bunker-buster penetrators. “We’re getting more of these weapons right here, and a couple other items that they feel we’re going to need for whatever the mission set sets forward in the future,” Garcia said. When asked what the magazine room looks like before an escalation, he responded, “This is it right here. This is the preparation that we’re ready for; we don’t need to ramp up because we’re already prepared.”

Where Is The Rest Of The American Aircraft Carrier Fleet?

• On the West Coast, USS Ronald Reagan returned to her homeport in Bremerton, Washington, on November 3 after departing San Diego the week before. Reagan was completing flight deck certification and carrier qualifications following a lengthy maintenance availability. USS Abraham Lincoln, which will conduct a homeport shift from San Diego to Bremerton by the end of the year ahead of a Drydock Planned Incremental Availability, remains moored at Naval Air Station North Island. Also pierside in San Diego, USS Carl Vinson has not been at sea since completing a 25 days of Tailored Ship’s Training Availability and Final Evaluation Period in September.
• On the East Coast, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returned to Naval Station Norfolk yesterday after a one-day underway, according to AIS data. USS Nimitz has been operating at an undisclosed location in the Atlantic Ocean conducting Carrier Air Traffic Control Center certifications with CVW 1, as well as carrier qualifications, since October 27.
• Three carriers are currently offline in various states of maintenance: USS John C. Stennis, USS Gerald R. Ford, and USS Harry S. Truman. Stennis is at the tail end of a yearslong Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH), while Truman just began an RCOH. Ford began a post-deployment availability in July, and work is expected to be finished by March 2027.
• The future USS John F. Kennedy, the Navy’s second and newest Gerald R. Ford class supercarrier, returned to Norfolk on November 5 after 13 days at sea conducting Aircraft Compatibility Testing with Super Hornets and Growlers. In mid-October, an F-35C assigned to the Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 made the first arrested landing on and launch from a Ford class. Kennedy, still considered a Pre-Commissioning Unit, is expected to enter the fleet in spring 2027, around the same time Nimitz will begin the process of deactivation.

The Big Deck Fleet At A Glance

Overall, three U.S. carriers are deployed, three are working up in various states of readiness, three are in maintenance, one is post-deployment preparing for an upcoming availability, another is being used primarily for training before deactivation, and the next to be commissioned will be delivered to the fleet in 2027. Two amphibious assault ships are deployed, one is forward-deployed, two are getting ready for upcoming deployments and currently in port, and four are in maintenance.

Note: Positions are general approximations. Non-deployed LHA/LHD amphibious warships are not shown on the graphic.

Contact the author: ian@twz.com or @ianellisjones

US President ⁠Donald ⁠Trump says he made a deal with ⁠Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that ⁠Washington would no longer be providing funding to Israel after the end of this ‌year.

“Now, as far as paying Israel, Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that we give Israel $4bn ⁠a year, and ⁠we made a deal months ago that we’re stopping,” Trump told ⁠Fox News’ Fox and Friends after voting in the midterm elections began.

“We’ve ⁠already agreed that ⁠by the end of this year we won’t be paying Israel. ‌Now we’ll help Israel if they need it.”

It was not immediately clear what form of aid Trump was discussing.

Military aid to Israel, and US political campaign contributions from Israel’s backers to candidates, have been a flashpoint for both Democrats and Republicans this year.

Harsh public criticism of Israel by US political leaders in recent years marks a dramatic shift from decades of staunch bipartisan backing.

The US House of Representatives defeated an amendment to cut off aid to Israel in July, despite nearly half of Democrats supporting it, reflecting a growing rupture between US progressives and Israel over its genocidal war in Gaza.

The House voted 314 to ‌104 to defeat the measure, offered as an amendment to a State Department spending bill by outgoing Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, an outspoken Republican critic of US policy in the Middle East.

Nearly two-thirds of California voters are worried that the Trump administration may try to halt the vote count early, stoking disquieting levels of election anxiety on the eve of the midterms, a new poll shows.

Those fears arise as the Justice Department continues its aggressive efforts to challenge or wrest control over state voting processes, including threatening to prosecute uncooperative elections officials in California, after years of baseless claims of widespread election fraud by the Republican president.

Among California voters, 63% worry that the federal government may attempt to stop the counting of votes in California and other states in the days following Tuesday’s election, according to the poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by The Times. Around half of voters — 49% — are not confident that the state’s election will be free of federal interference, the survey found.

“Both of the items, together, I think should raise alarms for threats against democracy in California,” said Matt Barreto, director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.

California voters also have grievances with the state’s ballot propositions, a slate of 14 measures that include new taxes on billionaires and funding for cancer research. More than 8 in 10 of the state’s likely voters said that this year’s propositions were worded in a way that made them hard to understand and that special interests groups have too much influence over which propositions appear on the ballot.

Those concerns were shared across partisan lines, unlike how Californians felt about the threats posed to integrity of elections by the Trump administration. The high level of fear in the state reflects the fact that registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by nearly 2 to 1 in California.

While 58% of Democrats are not confident the election will be free of federal interference, 27% of Republicans feel the same way, according to the poll. Similarly, 85% of Democrats are worried about the vote count being halted, compared with 22% of Republicans. A majority of California voters not affiliated with either party also expressed fears of interference by the Trump administration.

“I think voters are reflecting the reality,” Barreto said. “For the past month, the president and the Department of Justice have been attempting to directly interfere and take over California elections and voters are aware of that.”

The Department of Justice has sued California requesting the state set aside some 20,000 ballots the federal government has flagged as being potentially from noncitizens. Federal prosecutors have threatened criminal actions against election officials who refuse to comply. On Monday, the Trump administration escalated its effort to discount the flagged California ballots to the Supreme Court, which rejected its request to set aside the ballots.

Over the weekend, Newsom sent a letter to U.S. District Court judges across California sharing his “grave concerns federal agents will seek search warrants to seize ballots and ballot materials before the election results are certified” and urging judges not to comply.

Newsom wrote that President Trump’s history of weaponizing the Department of Justice to carry out his partisan agenda supports “legitimate concerns about further attempts to disenfranchise voters and undermine election integrity.” Newsom said this could include an attempt to prevent the certification of California’s election.

Concerns have also been raised about the presence of immigration agents around voting centers and performing door knocks and street stops to try to identify voter fraud.

Court rulings have recently dealt a series of blows to the Trump administrations efforts to intervene in the state’s voting process. Nonetheless, distress over election integrity remains extremely high, according to the poll.

Fears of federal meddling in the election are slightly higher among voters of color; 64% of Black voters and 54% of Latino voters said they are not confident the election will be free of interference, compared with 44% of white non-Hispanic voters, according to the poll.

Voters of color tend to lean more liberal, but the historic and ongoing efforts to disenfranchise minorities probably also contribute to this disparity, Barreto said.

Black voters have been a target of voter suppression efforts from the post-Civil War Reconstruction era through the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, he said. More recently, the Trump administration has singled out Latino Californians, accusing them of being noncitizens and voting illegally.

Professor Eric Schickler, co-director of the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, described the level of alarm over election integrity in California and across the nation as without precedent.

He noted that both parties are distrustful about different things, with Republicans focused on allegations of fraudulent voting and Democrats fearful that the federal government may attempt to overturn results.

The last time America saw extreme political polarization paired with widespread claims of illegitimacy over election outcomes was during the Reconstruction era in the late 19th century, when there were widespread accusations of voter suppression in the South and of people voting illegally in the North, he said.

“That hasn’t happened really in the United States for well over a century now,” Schickler said, “so what we’re seeing now is really unusual, especially for a modern and long-lived democracy.”

Schickler said his highest level of concern with possible federal efforts to halt California’s vote count would be with congressional races. A handful of California races could play a pivotal role in deciding which party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, he said current polling data do not indicate that a Democratic path to victory in the lower house will rely on Golden State voters.

Trump in the past has criticized California for being one of the slowest states in the nation to finish tabulating its election results due to its large population and high number of voters who mail in their ballots. He’s also complained about late arriving ballots. Votes processed after election day in California typically contain a higher proportion of Democratic ballots than those processed on election night.

In addition, to highlight the unprecedented anxiety many California voters are feeling, the poll also shines a light on frustrations voters have with the state’s ballot propositions. Among likely voters, 82% agree that the wording of this year’s propositions made them hard to understand and 82% also agree that special interest groups have largely taken over which initiatives qualify.

In addition, 62% of likely voters feel that there are too many propositions on this year’s ballot. There are 14 statewide propositions, with many voters also seeing additional initiatives at a county and city level.

“The initiative is meant to be an outlet for voters when special interest groups lead legislators to fail to respond to their concerns,” Schickler said. “But now most voters believe the initiative process is itself too beholden to special interests.”

In the last 20 years, California’s ballot initiative campaigns have become increasingly controlled by large corporations or union groups. Part of this is due to the fact that it takes at least $50 million to run an effective campaign capable of reaching the state’s 23 million registered voters, making it challenging, but not impossible, to run a grassroots campaign, Barreto said.

The poll surveyed 2,787 registered voters in California from Oct. 19 to 25 in English and Spanish and has an overall estimated margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. Among likely voters, the estimated margin of error is about 3 percentage points in either direction.

Times staff writer Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

In some ways, wheelchair rugby league is the same as the running game. Teams of five players have six tackles to score. Tackles on the ball carrier are made by pulling off a tag attached to each player’s shirt. A try scores four points, with two points for penalties and conversions, which are taken by punching the ball off a tee over the posts.

The game is played with an oval ball and lasts for 80 minutes, with a maximum of two non-disabled and three disabled players allowed on the field at any one time.

But unlike the running game, the balance of power lies not in Australia and the Pacific Islands, but firmly in Europe.

England’s main title rivals are France. The old enemies have met in the past three finals, the French winning in 2013 and 2017 before being beaten 28-24 in Manchester four years ago.

Ireland, ranked third in the world, are also genuine contenders and began their World Cup campaign by thrashing the USA 110-10.

But Australia, who are hosting every match in Wollongong, have their strongest ever squad and thumped New Zealand 112-14 in their Group B opener. An Australian sweep of the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments, all taking place concurrently, for the first time by any nation is not out of the question.

Bayley McKenna is their first non-disabled captain, having picked up the sport in 2006 to support his father, who was paralysed in an accident.

McKenna is far from the only non-disabled person in this tournament – England’s Brown is too, he likewise entered the sport alongside a disabled family member, his brother.

Non-disabled players are crucial to the sport’s survival, helping teams fill their squads and boost interest. But McKenna was targeted by social media abuse during the last World Cup by those who thought he shouldn’t be playing in a wheelchair sport.

“I would have copped about a dozen messages from people all around the world saying, ‘you’re a fraud, you shouldn’t even be in the chair, this is a sport for disabled people’,” he told ABC, external.

“These guys were coming at me, like, ‘you’re lucky you’re not out there on the street by yourself’.

“There is such a stigma around able-bodied athletes playing in wheelchairs. It is ridiculous. I’d be lying to you if I said I was going into this World Cup not expecting it.”

Australia gave England a couple of good games in a two-match Test series last year, indicating the big two in wheelchair rugby league may not be so exclusive for long.

So don’t turn away, England fans. The Rugby League World Cup has plenty left to give.

Oct. 30, 2026 8:59 PM PT

A federal judge in California on Friday barred the Justice Department from threatening or coercing election workers to stop processing ballots.

The order issued by U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson in the Northern District of California was in response to a suit filed earlier Friday by labor unions seeking to bar the Justice Department from intimidating election workers.

Notably, the emergency order was issued without the Department of Justice weighing in on the case.

“Election Day is around the corner,” wrote Thompson, who was nominated by former President Biden. “Ballots have already been issued. Americans have already begun voting. Workers have already begun processing ballots. Given the consequences of inaction, the Court sees no reason to delay its ruling.”

It also bars the Justice Department from demanding local election officials segregate or not count ballots that the federal government deems may have been cast by ineligible voters.

“This ruling is a victory for the workers who make our elections possible and the communities they serve,” April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement Friday night.

The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, has warned that “any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy.”

On Thursday, the Associated Press obtained subpoenas issued to election officials in Los Angeles County. The subpoenas request any documents and communications related to letters sent in July and October by federal officials to state election officials outlining the allegations about noncitizen voters. They also seek any information about efforts to prevent noncitizen votes from being counted. At least three L.A. County election officials have been asked to appear before a grand jury the day after the election.

It is unclear whether the Justice Department intends to bring criminal charges against anyone. The department does not typically subpoena people whom it regards as targets of a criminal investigation to appear before a grand jury.

Outside groups win access to the disputed list

In another Friday ruling, another federal judge ordered the Trump administration to share the disputed list of names with lawyers for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the UCLA Voting Rights Project. They want to examine who is on the list and assess its impact on eligible voters.

It will be the first time that a nongovernmental organization will have the opportunity to evaluate the merits of the list of some 20,000 names. The federal government promptly appealed the decision on Friday evening.

The Democratic candidate for California governor, Xavier Becerra, is an advisor to the UCLA Voting Rights Project.

The two groups sued the Homeland Security Department in early October to prevent it from using federal immigration data to challenge state voter rolls. The lawsuit cited examples in other states where the federal government’s data have been proven to mistakenly include thousands of citizens. It argued that the data-matching methods risk disenfranchising or deterring citizens from voting. On top of that, plaintiffs argued, the lists could disproportionately target naturalized citizens who are legally entitled to vote.

The Justice Department argues that there is just as much to lose if the ballots aren’t separated.

“Every ballot cast by an ineligible voter cancels out the vote of an American citizen,” Kiersten V. Pels, a spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email. “The Department makes no apology for protecting those votes.”

In a separate but related 9th Circuit Court decision on Friday, a panel of judges ruled that federal investigations into illegal voting by noncitizens will remain on hold in nine states until after election day.

The judges, all nominated by Democratic presidents, found that the aggressive and public investigations led some citizens to decide not to engage in election-related activities out of fear of being wrongly targeted.

The judges said the investigations, which are looking into alleged illegal voting in past elections, can resume after the midterms wrap up Tuesday.

Riddle, Mulvihill and Swenson write for the Associated Press. AP writer Swenson reported from New York; Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, N.J.

Alonso is one of a number of managers who have become increasingly guarded when discussing team news in media conferences.

Last month, he said: “I prefer not to give more information than needed.”

On that occasion, his side went on to lose 3-0 at Brentford, having kept several injury concerns, including one involving Joao Pedro, under wraps.

Yet such is the popularity of Fantasy Premier League – a game played by more than 11 million people according to official figures – that many staff members, players and relatives of footballers also take part.

By identifying leagues or teams linked to players, staff or family members through the game, which provides an open database of participants, it can be possible to infer what is happening behind closed doors at various training grounds.

Previously, the highest-profile case involved Jack Grealish’s absence from Aston Villa‘s match against Leicester City in February 2021.

Leicester’s manager at the time, Brendan Rodgers, admitted he had heard about the issue before the match, while Villa boss Dean Smith reportedly banned figures inside the club from playing FPL after the 2-1 defeat.

Later that year, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola described the situation as “unethical and unprofessional”.

There have been many further examples, claiming to suggest players from clubs like Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester and Newcastle made revelatory changes to their teams.

Often that information is widely shared on social media, but it is also known that some top FPL players will withhold information for smaller circles to gain a competitive advantage in the game itself.

BBC Sport was able to find accounts that trackers claim are linked to staff, players and family members at clubs across the Premier League.

One of the experts in finding these club-linked accounts is FPL Focal, who told BBC Sport: “I am sure there are many more that have not been found. I have noticed some players have started using aliases. I’ve also had a couple of requests over the years to remove accounts, which I have always respected.

“The FPL leaderboard is completely public, so it is straightforward to look players up. Verifying that an account genuinely belongs to a player takes a bit more time.”

The United States is once again at war in the Middle East, and most Americans say it isn’t worth the cost.

Al Jazeera’s Josh Rushing asks why the US keeps fighting: oil, a $2.4 trillion defence industry, lobbyists or a political system that rarely holds anyone to account?

Retired General Mark Kimmitt and journalist Spencer Ackerman debate why, and whether voters can end the forever wars.

Contributors:

Mark Kimmitt – Retired US Army brigadier general and former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs

Spencer Ackerman – Journalist, author and writer of the Forever Wars newsletter

UN experts have called on the Indian government to stop the use of “excessive force” in the wake of the crackdown on opposition and student protests in India.

In a statement on Tuesday, the two dozen independent experts pressed for an impartial investigation into Indian authorities’ conduct, saying that demonstrators had sustained injuries and some reported being subjected to ill-treatment.

“Protesters have sustained injuries, with some reporting being subjected to ill-treatment. The experts expressed particular concern about reports of sexual violence and other forms of gender-based abuse in the protests and related detentions,” according to the statement.

UN experts are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and document specific human rights crises but are independent of the organisation itself.

India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), along with other opposition parties and student organisations, has led protests this month demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, after 130 million names were removed from voter lists.

The protesting groups said the removal disproportionately affected poor and homeless people as well as ethnic minorities including Muslims, who are unlikely to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP and India’s Election Commission deny the accusations. The Election Commission said it was removing duplicate, deceased, shifted and otherwise ineligible voters and that anyone excluded in error can pursue appeals.

‘Deployed force’

“Despite the non-violent nature of the assemblies, law enforcement agencies have reportedly deployed force against unarmed students including by means of police so-called lathi charges, and have prevented thousands from joining the protests,” the UN experts said.

Lathi charges are coordinated movements by a policing force using sticks to disperse crowds.

“We call on the authorities to immediately cease the use of excessive force, rescind blanket assembly bans, and refrain from the misuse of digital surveillance, including through biometrics, and internet disruptions,” they added.

India has repeatedly dismissed such criticism and cast it as interference in the country’s internal affairs, including when the UN human rights office earlier this month expressed concerns over mass detentions in relation to the latest protests.

Passengers were not happy after airline Ryanair poked fun at one type of passenger onboard their planes – encouraging them the ‘stop’ making a key mistake onboard

Ryanair has hit out at passengers who make one key mistake when traveling on one of their planes for a short haul flight. This follows the airline previously advising passengers to ‘please stop wearing’ jeans during flights.

When flying many people have three basic priorities, having a good seat, being as comfortable as possible while onboard, and spending as little money as possible. And while remaining seated in the same spot for extended periods can be decidedly uncomfortable, particularly when you’re short on legroom, people have started to take further steps to help pass time while onboard aeroplanes.

With cabin humidity on many commercial flights dropping below 20%, which is drier than a desert, many people opt to take facemasks, moisturiser and eye cream onboard in their hand luggage.

The thought behind the process it to prevent passenger’s skin from feeling tight, dull, or irritated upon arrival. Ryanair has established a reputation on social media, where they frequently poke fun at their own passengers, and jokingly threaten to introduce even more regulations and charges than they currently impose – such as extra legroom seats or late check-in fees.

What shouldn’t passengers do when on a short haul flight with Ryanair?

Nevertheless, Ryanair has now criticised travellers who insist on keeping their skin moisturised while onboard one of their aircrafts. Posting on their Facebook page, the airline issued a statement to their passengers.

They wrote: “Stop doing skincare onboard, it’s a 2-hour flight.” However, many passengers were furious with the airline and quickly flocked to the comment section to express their own views.

One person said: “Stop measuring my bag with a ruler like it’s national security, it’s a 2-hour flight.”

A second person added: “Please tell the cabin crew to put a smile on their face – It’s just a 2-hour flight.”

A third added: “Carry on like this and I’ll allow my husband to bring his foot file and use it on our trip over to UK on the November 5.”

A fourth said: “What are these bizarre Ryanair posts about?! You’d think their marketing team would manage social media in a more sophisticated way?!”

Others, however, commented on the post to express their own bugbears on short haul flights.

One person said: “Travel pillows for 1-2 hour flights still intrigue me more than skincare.”

A second added: “Skincare? I’ve actually seen a man clipping his nails! This should be strictly prohibited under financial sanctions!”

A third said: “Don’t start clapping before the plane has even landed!”

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“The Palestinian question is the greatest historical injustice of this century,” China’s foreign minister said.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting in Azerbaijan that Israel should stop and reverse its “forced establishment” of West Bank settlements, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Wang told Herzog that China has consistently viewed the Palestinian question as the greatest historical injustice of this century, the ministry said in the statement on Friday.

Wang emphasised that the “two-state solution” is the right path to a resolution and said the immediate priority is to fully open access to the Gaza Strip so a humanitarian “catastrophe” is not allowed to spread.

Wang added that China is willing to work with the international community to push all parties to return to dialogue as soon as possible and seek a political settlement.

Wang is attending the Seventh Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, as the special representative of President Xi Jinping, China’s state news agency Xinhua reported.

China urges new Middle East framework

In September, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Cairo for the first time in a decade and called on Middle East countries to oppose external influence and consider reshaping the region’s security order.

Xi’s rare visit arrived as Beijing seeks to expand its influence in the region amid the US-Israel war on Iran.

The talks covered the US-Israel war on Iran, with both presidents urging “diplomatic solutions” to reach a “comprehensive agreement to end the war”, according to a statement from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s spokesperson.

In March, China criticised the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, with Beijing demanding an immediate halt to the joint attacks. Wang told his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, that the attack on Iran came as negotiations between Washington and Tehran had “made significant progress, including addressing Israel’s security concerns”, China’s foreign ministry said in a statement following the start of the war.

China was Iran’s largest trading partner, buying up to 90 percent of its oil, according to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In 2021, Beijing signed a 25-year “comprehensive strategic partnership agreement” with Tehran.

At the same time, Beijing has spent the past decade cultivating closer ties with Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and remains a top trade partner of both the US and Israel.

The Trump administration on Thursday sued California over its handling of voter fraud claims, asking a federal court to immediately bar the state from counting ballots from about 20,000 voters statewide — many in Los Angeles County — whom the administration alleges are “likely noncitizens.”

The lawsuit is highly unusual, particularly given that California voters have already begun voting in the Nov. 3 midterms via mail ballots, experts said.

It’s also highly inappropriate and based on questionable federal data that have proved wildly inaccurate in other states, state officials said.

“This is a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters just three weeks before Election Day,” Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X. “Courts have made clear the federal government has no role in running state elections. We will defend free and fair elections in the Golden State and call out every authoritarian attempt to undermine our democracy.”

U.S. Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche, in his own statement, defended the lawsuit.

“State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America,” he said. “If found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nation’s representative system of government.”

The lawsuit states that “as part of an investigation into unlawful voting,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services conducted a “multiagency and multilevel review” of state voter and federal citizenship data and determined with “high confidence” that around 20,000 “likely noncitizens” are registered to vote in the state.

It then forwarded those names to Homeland Security Investigations, which conducted its own investigation and concluded the same, the lawsuit says.

“This means that, consistent with state law, nearly 20,000 noncitizens in California have been sent a vote-by-mail ballot to participate in the federal election (or will receive one), with many addresses listed in Los Angeles County,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit comes two days after Acting Deputy Atty. Gen. Trent McCotter wrote to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Dean Logan, head of the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, giving them 48 hours to set aside the same ballots in order to investigate those voters’ citizenship status.

McCotter had said the Trump administration would be forced to file for emergency relief in the courts if Weber and Logan did not comply.

The lawsuit comes about three months after Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote his own letter to Weber, alleging that there may be more than 190,000 noncitizens registered to vote in California.

The lawsuit makes no mention of that prior estimate, or why Homeland Security’s initial estimate was so much larger than its current estimate. It does say that USCIS identifying with “high confidence” that a voter is a likely noncitizen “means that the match between voter information on the voting roll and USCIS’ internal records is strong and consistent based on multiple identifiers that support a strong identity link.”

It also said, “The Federal Government notified California months ago that numerous noncitizens may be registered to vote in California. Despite knowing that California must send vote-by-mail ballots to every registered voter, the State made no serious attempt to work with the Federal Government to determine whether noncitizens are registered to vote.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for more information as to how the 190,000 figure dropped to 20,000.

In a letter back to McCotter, Weber noted both figures and accused the Trump administration of pushing forward to disenfranchise voters at the last minute before the midterms based on shoddy data work and no certainty that those voters are ineligible.

“Nowhere has the federal government clarified the basis for suspecting — not even confirming with any level of certainty — the listed individuals are non-citizens. And as one court recently noted, the federal government’s citizenship records are ‘known to be unreliable,’” Weber wrote, referring to a case brought against the Justice Department by the organization Common Cause. “To give just one example, in a similar incident in the State of Nevada, DHS initially alleged that Nevada’s voter roll included nearly 16,000 potential non-citizens. However, after working with the State of Nevada, DHS officials failed to establish that a single non-citizen was on the voter rolls.”

Weber called it “remarkable” that the Justice Department would demand that her office “review and confirm the citizenship status of each of the approximately 20,000 individuals on the list on the eve of an election and within a mere 48 hours” despite providing no clear evidence that those individuals are wrongly registered.

“This is an emergency of the DOJ’s creation,” Weber wrote. “California’s election administration will continue to be governed by applicable federal and state law, not by unsubstantiated claims and outrageous demands.”

First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, the lead federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, posted about the lawsuit on X, noting the 48-window given to Weber and Logan had lapsed and writing, “Time is up for California.”

“This is not political or controversial,” he wrote. “We will not allow California to dilute the votes of American citizens.”

The Trump administration’s lawsuit says that while the U.S. “actively investigates and prosecutes incidents of unlawful voting,” it “is not practicable or feasible for the United States to investigate before the 2026 election concludes thousands, let alone tens of thousands, of individuals that two federal investigative offices identified on the California voter roster as likely being sent vote-by-mail ballots.”

Because of that, it argues, “California is thus knowingly imposing an obstacle on the United States’ ability to enforce [federal election law] by facilitating unlawful voting rather than working with the Federal Government to prevent it,” and the state is therefore legally barred from sending mail ballots to the 20,000 voters Homeland Security has flagged.

It asks the federal court in the Central District of California to declare the state’s actions — including providing and counting ballots for those 20,000 people — to be barred by law and in violation of the Supremacy Clause, and to issue an injunction barring the state from counting those ballots in federal elections “until those individuals’ citizenship status can be verified.”

The Trump administration’s attempts to use immigration data to reach conclusions about California voter rolls and intervene in California’s election is already being challenged in a separate federal case in the district of Washington, D.C., brought by attorneys with the UCLA Voting Rights Project on behalf of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, and a California voter named Pedro Trujillo.

The UCLA attorneys filed their own emergency petition Thursday to preclude the Justice Department from moving forward with such actions against California, citing the letters McCotter sent to Weber and Logan.

A judge in that case ordered the parties to meet and file a status report with the court by Friday as to when each side would be able to brief the court on the issue.

Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.