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Top stories: World laughs at Trump’s ‘accomplishments’

Donald Trump addressed the UN general assembly on Tuesday, boasting that his administration had “accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”, which led many of the world’s most powerful people to laugh at him on live TV. Trump insisted the US would “reject the ideology of globalism and … embrace the doctrine of patriotism”.

- Tough crowd. Trump is used to making speeches to diehard fans; he won’t take kindly to the UN’s open derision, writes Julian Borger in New York.

- Plan for Iran. Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, said there would be “hell to pay” if Tehran continued to “lie, cheat, and deceive”, but other world powers have agreed a plan to sidestep the US sanctions.

Trump dismisses Kavanaugh accuser

Play Video 1:02 Donald Trump criticises second woman to accuse Brett Kavanaugh – video

Trump also used a televised meet-and-greet with the president of Colombia to disparage Deborah Ramirez, the woman who has accused supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of thrusting his penis in her face at a party when they were both students. Ramirez “has nothing”, Trump said of the alleged incident, which Kavanaugh denies. “She was totally inebriated and all messed up and she doesn’t know.”

- Frat boy or family man? Kavanaugh’s confirmation battle has become inextricably intertwined with the #MeToo movement, reports Sabrina Siddiqui in Washington DC.

- A woman’s touch. The GOP has enlisted a female lawyer to question Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford when she testifies to the Senate judiciary committee on Thursday. All 11 Republicans on the panel are men.

‘America’s Dad’ gets three to 10 years for sexual assault

Play Video 1:33 ‘I sincerely hope you suffer now’: Bill Cosby’s accusers react to sentencing – video

Kavanaugh probably won’t thank Bill Cosby’s spokesman for claiming both men are victims of a “sex war”, thus linking the supreme court nominee to Cosby just as the 81-year-old comedian was led from a courtroom in handcuffs, sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for sexual assault. Cosby was found guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004.

- ‘I had to testify.’ Cosby “took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it,” Constand wrote, in a powerful impact statement submitted at the sentencing hearing.

Hurricane Florence still causing record floods in Carolinas

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Flood waters from Florence are set to pour into Georgetown Photograph: Reuters

A week after the storm abated, Hurricane Florence is still making waves in Georgetown, South Carolina, where 9,000 residents are bracing for record floods as water that fell inland finally reaches the coast. Officials said they expected nearby rivers to crest in the small hours of Thursday, potentially spilling up to 10ft of water into the streets of the small town, which had avoided the worst of the storm’s early impact.

- Get out of town. The community was under voluntary evacuation on Tuesday night, though many at-risk residents vowed to stay put.

- Death toll. Hurricane Florence and its aftermath have resulted in the deaths of more than 40 people in at least three states.

Crib sheet

- The Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has said he is prepared to meet the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, “to break the shell of mutual mistrust” between the two nations.

- New Englanders are conflicted about the region’s signature coffee-and-donuts brand’s decision to rebrand itself simply as Dunkin’.

- A US Army reservist has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, amid trade war tensions between the two superpowers.

- The Bulgarian music star and convicted sex trafficker Ivan Glavchev has been ejected from the country’s Celebrity Big Brother contest following protests from women’s rights campaigners.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Koch brothers. Illustration: Joe Magee

How the super-rich are slowly reshaping America

Whether Trump acknowledges it or not, the Koch brothers remain one of the most powerful forces in rightwing US politics. A group of researchers have spent five years investigating how their organisation, Americans for Prosperity, has won victory after victory for conservatives. So has Big Money turned America into an oligarchy? Our series examines the clout of the super-rich.

Has Facebook created its first great TV show?

Could the next big thing in television be … Facebook? The social media giant has its first streaming hit on its hands with Sorry For Your Loss, a critically acclaimed drama about grief starring Elizabeth Olsen and Janet McTeer. It’s good enough that “you could realistically find this show anywhere: on HBO, AMC, Showtime, Netflix or Hulu,” writes Stuart Heritage.

The man who beat Monsanto

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Dewayne Johnson Photograph: Josh Edelson/AP

DeWayne Johnson may only have months to live, but his legacy could be felt for generations: he’s the first person to successfully sue Monsanto for hiding the cancer risks of its herbicides. Now he and the global agrochemicals company are locked in a fight to the death – literally – as Johnson tells Sam Levin in California.

The American teen held captive by a South Korean cult

A Chicago teenager travelled to South Korea with her mother for what she thought was a six-week vacation – only to find herself trapped at Grace Road Church, a cult whose leaders have now been arrested and exposed as violent and abusive. Kate Lyons heard her story.

Opinion

Don’t be fooled by good news about bike lanes or electric vehicles, warns George Monbiot – if we keep pursuing economic growth, we’ll keep burning more fossil fuels to achieve it.

Ecological collapse cannot be prevented through consumer choice or corporate social responsibility: the response to our greatest predicament must be determined by scientific research, and planned, coordinated and led by government.

Sport

Jordan Mailata, the 6ft 8in Australian who just joined the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive tackle, had never seen an NFL game before he took part in one, he tells Dave Caldwell.

The migrant workers building infrastructure in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup are still being exploited and mistreated despite promises of reform, an Amnesty report concludes.

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