US health secretary falsely claims at Mike Rogers rally that Arabs have never won major prizes in science or literature

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, faced backlash on Wednesday for a “wildly racist tirade” during a campaign stop in Michigan in which he falsely asserted that Arabs never won major awards in science or literature.

Kennedy was speaking at the Monday night event in Grand Rapids in support of Mike Rogers, the Republican US Senate candidate who is trailing his Democratic midterms opponent Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim, in polling.

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© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

© Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Vice-president tries to link El-Sayed to Paris protests and claims he would lead rioters in ‘burning down’ Detroit

JD Vance has escalated his inflammatory attacks on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan who has faced an onslaught of Islamophobia, claiming he would lead rioters in “burning down” Detroit.

El-Sayed, who would become the country’s first Muslim senator if he wins next week’s election, has been branded a “jihadist” by Donald Trump, the US president.

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© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

Stumping for the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed that Arabs did not win global awards for science and “don’t produce literature.”

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

More than elsewhere in the country, U.S. policy toward Israel is at the forefront of the race between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed.

© Rosem Morton for The New York Times

As the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan seeks to overcome intraparty tensions, his opponent in the primary, Haley Stevens, said a PAC’s ad was “fearmongering about Israel.”

© Nick Hagen for The New York Times

Democrats in the midterms are finally backing Medicare for All as a campaign issue amid a rising tide of voter support

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic US Senate candidate, starts this day on the campaign trail in Escanaba, Michigan, where nearby Wisconsin dairy country spills into dense forests and the sandy shores of Green Bay.

This is the upper peninsula – the “UP” – a rural slash of land north of Michigan’s mitt. Electorally, it’s crimson. Donald Trump won some districts near Escanaba by more than 41%. But at the county fairgrounds, past sheds labeled “Beef” and “Swine”, hundreds of locals on the political left have gathered in the hangar-size 4H Club meeting hall to hear El-Sayed speak.

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© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images

The president contended that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a Muslim, would “invite hordes of jihadis to our shores” as he sought to bolster the G.O.P. candidate in a tight Senate race.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Trump again congratulated Ohio senator’s rear end before his cheeky comment about rapper being ‘hard to miss’

Donald Trump reiterated his apparent love for ample backsides during a rally in Michigan on Sunday where he encouraged the crowd to compliment rapper Nicki Minaj’s behind.

Trump’s cheeky comments about Minaj’s derriere came as he explained his recent observation on the Republican Ohio senator Jon Husted’s rear end. Earlier in October, Trump said of the former college football player: “I don’t do this with men very often. I started examining his body, because I didn’t know he was a great athlete. And I looked and I watched up and down. I looked at his ass and I looked at the whole – and then I looked at his hands. Look at his hands. He’s got these, like, claws.

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© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Former president speaks to crowd of thousands in support of Abdul El-Sayed for US Senate and Democratic ticket

Barack Obama told a Detroit crowd on Saturday that Abdul El-Sayed was “fighting for change, real change, that will get money out of politics and put money in your pocket”, as he threw his weight behind the Democratic Senate candidate and the rest of the ticket on the first day of early voting in Michigan.

Obama said in front of thousands of onlookers at Cass technical high school in Detroit that El-Sayed would “finish the job we started with the Affordable Care Act and guarantee quality, affordable healthcare to every single American”.

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© Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

© Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

© Photograph: Paul Sancya/AP

This live blog is now closed. For more on the rally, read our full report:

• Obama rallies Michigan crowd for El-Sayed, saying he’s ‘fighting for real change’

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Donald Trump voted in West Palm Beach, Florida today, telling reporters at the polls that he voted straight Republican on his ballot. Trump has historically mailed-in his ballot rather than voting in-person.

Speaking from the polling site, Trump defended an ad from Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, his administration’s lawsuit seeking to block certification of the Alaska Senate race if Repubican senator Dan Sullivan loses his race and the war in Iran.

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© Photograph: Kyle Mazza/CNP/Kyle Mazza - CNP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kyle Mazza/CNP/Kyle Mazza - CNP/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Kyle Mazza/CNP/Kyle Mazza - CNP/Shutterstock

Conflict between Michigan’s Black and Arab communities could get in the way of Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s pitch in the critical Senate race.

© Emily Elconin/Reuters

Supporters of Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, have described his Democratic opponent, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, as un-American and worse.

© Emily Elconin for The New York Times; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The transfer came a day after the news that the pro-Israel lobby was planning to contribute as much as $9 million to defeat the Democratic nominee for Senate.

© Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Abdul El-Sayed accused Mike Rogers of being overly devoted to President Trump. Mr. Rogers accused Dr. El-Sayed of not enough loyalty to the country. It was still more cordial than their last debate.

© Pool photo by Robin Buckson

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee generally supports Democrats, but it has spent heavily against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal critic of Israel. Its general election spending comes after initial concerns from the campaign of Mike Rogers, the Republican.

© Nick Hagen for The New York Times; Emily Elconin for The New York Times

In the final weeks of Michigan’s Senate race, the Democratic nominee finds himself facing both ugly attacks and pointed questions about family members. He has pushed back forcefully.

© Zbigniew Bzdak for The New York Times

DTE Energy, among the US’s biggest utilities, is requesting approval to build two new gas plants to meet datacenter demand

Michigan utility customers may pay $6.4bn for two new gas plants to meet datacenter demand, drawing outrage from residents.

The potential burden on ratepayers, especially residential customers, is a microcosm of similar tensions nationwide, highlighting how the utility industry benefits from unchecked datacenter growth.

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© Photograph: UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

© Photograph: UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

© Photograph: UCG/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Against a backdrop of rising Islamophobia, Michigan Senate hopeful has challenged premise of repeated questions on Muslim Brotherhood, Israel and faith

As a candidate positioned at the center of what researchers say are the worst Islamophobic attacks seen since the aftermath of 9/11, many would expect Abdul El-Sayed to simply defend himself and move on.

Instead, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan has repeatedly demanded those who question his positions on Israel, the Muslim Brotherhood and his faith, explain the premise of their inquiry. Rather than let others put his loyalties on trial, he has tried to put their assumptions on trial.

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© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

© Photograph: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Mike Rogers and Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the candidates in the tight race, defended their economic policies at the Detroit Economic Club.

© Pool photo by Paul Sancya

Timmy Teepell’s firm paid $250,000 by America Next, which has been trying to gin up ‘organic’ opposition to El-Sayed

• Man who heckled El-Sayed is former Josh Hawley aide, records show

The man who attempted to ambush the Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed with a question about his supposed allegiance to the Muslim Brotherhood – which El-Sayed parlayed into a viral clip for his campaign – is the son of a political operator who recently received $250,000 for “canvassing and influencer marketing” against El-Sayed, the Guardian has learned.

In the now-famous exchange, a man – first identified by the Handbasket as Thomas “Tommy” Teepell – asked El-Sayed if he would “disavow” the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed said he would, but then asked: “What are you implying? Do you assume that I wouldn’t?” What followed was a five-minute exchange that has drawn over 50m views across several social media platforms, in which El-Sayed queries the man about the guarantees of religious freedom in the constitution.

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© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign in Michigan released a new ad highlighting his faith, which Republicans have used to attack him in a tight Senate race.

© Zbigniew Bzdak for The New York Times

Thomas Teepell, who worked for Republican senator, demanded El-Sayed disavow Muslim Brotherhood

A man who heckled the Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed and demanded he disavow the Muslim Brotherhood at a Michigan town hall is a former aide to the Republican senator Josh Hawley, according to congressional staff records.

At the event on Saturday, an attender who gave his name only as “Tommy” shouted from the crowd, asking whether El-Sayed would disavow the movement. El-Sayed answered: “Sure, yeah, absolutely,” then turned the question around, asking whether the man assumed he wouldn’t.

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© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Katie McTiernan/Anadolu/Getty Images

Jan Crawford had praised man who asked Democratic candidate whether he would disavow Muslim Brotherhood

CBS’s chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford has apologized for and deleted a social media post praising a man who questioned Democratic Michigan US Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed about the Muslim Brotherhood during a town hall on Saturday.

On Sunday, Crawford, who initially joined CBS in 2009, wrote on X: “Earlier, I tweeted a video from an Abdul El-Sayed town hall. I deleted that tweet because it was a violation of CBS News standards. I apologize.”

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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The transfer represents an unusually large amount for a House member to give to a Senate race.

© Shane Goldmacher/The New York Times

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in a swath of Michigan including areas won by President Trump, making a progressive pitch in a key Senate race.

© Zbigniew Bzdak for The New York Times

El Niño will likely shift weather patterns to bring more rain, but much snow still isn’t forecast for the northern states

Winter in the United States looks like it will generally be wetter and warmer, but not necessarily snowier, according to the federal government’s seasonal outlook and other meteorologists’ forecasts. You can thank or blame El Niño.

El Niño is likely to shift weather patterns to bring more moisture, but with it higher temperatures. That should help erase persistent western drought, but it is unlikely to make northern snow-lovers happy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said on Thursday.

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© Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu/Getty Images

Statehouses make health-care policy, guide education, and may redraw congressional districts ahead of 2028. With the stakes high, more than 6,100 legislators will be elected Nov. 3.

© Ashley Wu/The New York Times

With the midterms nearing, some are venting frustration with the president while others are standing by him.

© The New York Times

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan is the first Democrat running in a battleground Senate race to publicly call for a pause on artificial intelligence development.

© Nick Hagen for The New York Times

Two major Republican super PACs are said to be withdrawing cash from the races of the incumbent Representatives Thomas H. Kean Jr. of New Jersey and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa in an effort to triage the midterm map.

© The New York Times

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan is the first Democrat running in a battleground Senate race to publicly call for a pause on artificial intelligence development.

© Nick Hagen for The New York Times