Rouhani says new US sanctions put Iran in ‘war situation’ ... Kobach took donations from white nationalist sympathisers ... Xi Jinping promises greater openness amid US-China trade war

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s headlines. If you’d like to receive this briefing by email, sign up here.

Sign up for the US morning briefing



Top story: midterms become a tale of two presidents

Donald Trump and Barack Obama took to the campaign trail on Sunday, both making a final bid to convince midterms voters that theirs is the more compelling vision of America. For Trump, stumping in Georgia, that vision was a fearful one, of a nation overrun by “criminal aliens” and “predators” should Democrats regain power. Speaking at a rally in Indiana, Obama urged a turn away from Trump’s divisive and dishonest politics, driven by “blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly lying”.

Romney’s return. Obama’s 2012 presidential rival Mitt Romney is on the brink of reaching Washington as the new US senator from Utah. Will he make life difficult for Trump?

Marijuana map. Four US states will vote on new cannabis legislation on Tuesday. Sam Morris explains how that could affect the weed legalisation picture nationally.

Rouhani says new US sanctions put Iran in a ‘war situation’

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An Iranian woman holds a placard of President Rouhani during a rally in Tehran to mark the 39th anniversary of the Iran hostage crisis. Photograph: UPI/Barcroft Images

Iran has launched air defence drills in response to the reimposition of US sanctions, with the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, saying the country now faces “a war situation”. The new sanctions took effect on Monday, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the sanctions – focused on oil, shipping and banking – would not hurt the Iranian people.

No deal. The sanctions, which place an embargo on oil and seek to cut off Iran’s banking sector from global markets, are the most punitive measures imposed by Washington since the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Kobach took donations from white nationalist sympathisers

Facebook Twitter Pinterest This guy: Kris Kobach has a long history of associations with groups that espouse white nationalist views. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Kris Kobach, the Republican candidate for governor of Kansas and a close ally of Trump, has accepted thousands of dollars in donations and longstanding support from white nationalist sympathisers and groups espousing white supremacist views, according to recent financial disclosures. Kobach, currently the Kansas secretary of state, is best known for his commitment to harsh voter ID laws that critics say are aimed at suppressing the political power of minority voters.

Dodge City. Kobach’s gubernatorial race against Democrat Laura Kelly grew more controversial last week as it emerged the sole polling place in Dodge City, Kansas, was to be moved from the city centre, drawing criticism from the ACLU and others.

Xi Jinping promises greater openness amid US-China trade war

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Xi Jinping speaks at the opening ceremony of the first China International Import Expo in Shanghai. Photograph: POOL/Reuters

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to lower import tariffs and increase access to the Chinese market, in comments apparently depicting his country as a champion of globalisation, with fears growing for the Chinese economy amid its trade war with the US. Speaking at a trade fair in Shanghai on Monday, Xi insisted: “China will not close its door to the world and will only become more and more open.”

Human rights review. China’s human rights record will be examined by the UN on Tuesday, under a process known as the “universal periodic review”, focusing on Beijing’s treatment of ethnic minorities, detention of activists and suppression of religious and civil freedoms.

Crib sheet

Today in Focus: Inside the campaign to stop Brexit

On today’s podcast, host Anushka Asthana hears from the man behind the growing campaign for a second Brexit referendum, while Hadley Freeman reflects on a new wave of American antisemitism.

Must-reads

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A lion caught by a camera trap in Mozambique’s Limpopo national park. Photograph: Courtesy of Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme

Lion poaching: the brutal new threat to Africa’s prides

There are fewer lions left in Africa than elephants, so conservationists were deeply troubled when poachers targeted entire prides with poisoned meat. Damian Carrington joins an anti-poaching patrol in Mozambique’s Limpopo national park.

Guido Guidi: ‘Many times I’m not looking when I press the shutter’

The photographer Guido Guidi rarely travels far from his home near Bologna, but his everyday images are an unmatched record of life in an Italy beyond the edges of the picture postcard. “The centre is where you are,” he tells Charlotte Higgins.

Seven ways to address your insomnia

Finding it hard to sleep at night? It could be the midterms, or it could just be the coffee. Joanna Moorhead suggests seven ways to combat insomnia, from watching your diet to keeping a sleep diary.

The swanky Rio restaurant that serves the homeless

Rio’s chic Refettorio Gastromotiva restaurant serves food donated by companies that would otherwise throw it away, prepared by trainee chefs from favelas and other low-income communities. Its diners are the local homeless, who eat there for free. Dom Phillips reports.

Opinion

The midterms are a referendum on the sitting president, writes Allan J Lichtman. So this week’s result will rest on which emotion proves more powerful in driving turnout: love or hate of Donald Trump.

Two-thirds of respondents to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll taken in late October said that Trump will be a factor in their midterm votes … A similar poll taken before the midterm elections of 2014 found that then president Barack Obama would be either a minor or a major factor in voting for only 47% of respondents.

Sport

A distinctive statue of Mo Salah has been unveiled in Egypt, drawing widespread ridicule. Meanwhile, Salah’s Liverpool held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Here are 10 talking points from the weekend’s action in the Premier League.

Floyd Mayweather will square up to the kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa for a New Year’s Eve fight in Tokyo, organised by the Rizin Fighting Federation, a Japanese mixed martial arts company.

Sign up

The US morning briefing is delivered by email every weekday. If you are not already receiving it, make sure to subscribe.

Sign up for the US morning briefing

Support the Guardian

We’d like to acknowledge our generous supporters who enable us to keep reporting on the critical stories. If you value what we do and would like to help, please make a contribution or become a supporter today. Thank you.