Good morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 6 November.

Top stories

As early voting begins in the US midterm elections, Facebook has joined Fox News, CNN, NBC News and others in refusing to air Donald Trump’s racist anti-immigration campaign ad. The 30-second anti-immigration advert, paid for by the Donald Trump for President campaign, was tweeted out by the president last week and aired during an NFL game on NBC on Sunday night and on Fox News. CNN previously had declined to run the advert, which it described as “racist”. Asked about organisations pulling his advert on Monday, Trump said: “I don’t know about it … we have a lot of ads … a lot of things are offensive.”

Trump also claimed in a tweet there would be “Maximum Criminal Penalties” for “ILLEGAL VOTING”, in what critics called a naked attempt to scare voters from the polls. There have already been complaints about malfunctioning voting machines in Texas and Georgia, where the Democrat Stacey Abrams has condemned her opponent in the governor’s race, Brian Kemp, as abusing his power. Kemp announced an unexplained investigation into alleged “cybercrime” by the state Democratic party. We will have live coverage as all the results come in throughout Wednesday (Australian time). In the meantime here is everything you need to know about the midterms.

Single parents in Australia have been told they must attend events such as “story time” with their child or lose their welfare payments under a new government program, Parents Next. More than 60, 000 parents have been placed on the program after receiving a call from Centrelink assessing whether they are at risk of “long-term welfare dependency”. Since July, these parents – overwhelmingly single women – must meet a fortnightly participation plan negotiated with a case worker. If they don’t, their parenting payment – $384.25 for a single person – can be suspended or terminated. Parents say they have been forced by their providers to attend activities such as swimming lessons or playgroups, or told to sign up to education courses at their own expense, even if they already hold qualifications.

Dozens of pupils have been kidnapped from a boarding school in Cameroon, in an attack reminiscent of Boko Haram’s 2014 abduction of schoolgirls in Nigeria. Suspected secessionists arrived at Presbyterian secondary school Nkwen in Bamenda, the capital of the English-speaking north-west region, on Sunday night. They kidnapped the principal, a teacher and a driver, as well as 79 students, according to the regional administrator.

Labor has pulled further in front of the Coalition as voter disapproval of Scott Morrison jumps nine points in a month, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The survey put Labor ahead of the Coalition 54% to 46% on the two-party-preferred measure, compared with 53% to 47% a fortnight ago. Morrison’s net approval rating has been in positive territory since he took the Liberal leadership, but the result this fortnight means the prime minister’s rating has slipped from +15 to +4.

Sperm whales have been sighted in the Arctic, which scientists have interpreted as a sign of a changing ecosystem. While a number of whale species thrive year-round in the Arctic, the physiology of the sperm whale makes it difficult for them to navigate colder waters. Their heads and upper parts of the body are soft and contain an oily fat – long prized by whalers – that turns waxy in cold waters. They are also ineffective at breaking through ice. “Inexperienced whales exploiting a northern habitat may not know to leave early enough before the sea ice forms,” said Brandon Laforest, a marine biologist with the World Wildlife Fund.

Sport

The race that stops – and divides – a nation is upon us again, for the 158th time. We will have live coverage of the build-up with Luke Henriques-Gomes from 10.30am AEDT, while Calla Wahlquist will be out and about at Flemington, before the race itself at 3pm, in which overseas raiders are again likely to dominate.

Simone Biles is America’s greatest athlete – and then some. Observers have long since exhausted the well of superlatives when it comes to the tiny athelete from suburban Houston, writes Bryan Armen Graham. Turns of phrase, margins of victory, records broken: these languages are entirely ill-suited for translating her unique physical genius, which must be seen to be believed.

Thinking time

When Yarrie Bangura was researching how to build her ginger tonic business, she turned to an online search engine. “Black business women,” she typed; “brown-skinned women doing business.” Bangura, a refugee from Sierra Leone, who arrived in Australia with her family 15 years ago, needed to know others had succeeded before her. “I had no self-esteem,” she recalls. “I was fearful because I was scared that I am dreaming too big and I am stepping beyond my boundary.” Bangura and other refugees celebrated their business, creative and culinary success this weekend at the New Beginnings festival in Sydney.

It was designed to be a political masterstroke. When Malcolm Turnbull announced his new funding system for public and private schools, he stood beside businessman David Gonski, whose surname is synonymous with Julia Gillard’s popular reform model. Samantha Maiden explains how a drastic miscalculation over the fury Gonski 2.0 would generate from the Catholic sector ended up costing the Coalition a capable education minister in Simon Birmingham and $1.2bn in additional funding to appease Catholic and independent schools.

To prepare for her role as Dr Klemperer in the remake of Suspiria, Tilda Swinton wore fake male genitalia. “While her commitment to the part might sound excessive, we’re seeing this kind of thing happen more in movies,” writes Steve Rose. “You could draw an inappropriately shaped line from Mark Wahlberg’s lovingly crafted accessory in Boogie Nights … to the abominably proportioned monster on display in The Greasy Strangler, stopping in between at movies such as The Overnight, in which Jason Schwartzman and Adam Scott compare sizes.”

Media roundup

The Liberal MP Chris Crewether is facing mounting pressure over his eligibility under section 44 of the constitution, in what the Australian says could prove the first test for Scott Morrison’s minority government. A bid to revive Sydney’s nightlife would allow shops and businesses to trade around the clock, writes the Sydney Morning Herald, with small bars in inner-city areas such as Glebe and Surry Hills allowed to stay open later. And the Queensland government has intervened to give the green light for a billion-dollar development on a remote Queensland island against the wishes of the local council, the ABC reports.

Coming up

The Reserve Bank meets today to decide on a potential change to interest rates.

A judge will decide whether the Daily Telegraph will be able to amend its defence in the Geoffrey Rush defamation trial and call a new witness.

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