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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Kris Swales

Afternoon Update: Mamdani’s historic victory; Coalition at odds over abortion comments; and how to not micromanage kids

New York City mayoral election winner Zohran Mamdani celebrates during an election night event in Brooklyn.
New York City mayoral election winner Zohran Mamdani celebrates during an election night event in Brooklyn. Photograph: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Democrat Zohran Mamdani has been elected as the 111th mayor of New York City, seeing off former governor Andrew Cuomo. The city’s first Muslim mayor has energised voters and provided a blueprint for other progressives to follow. He now faces a daunting task: making his campaign pledges a reality.

On an elections day seen as an early referendum on the president as the government shutdown drags on, Democratic candidates also triumphed in New Jersey and Virginia, where Abigail Spanberger was elected the state’s first female governor.

Donald Trump suggested the Republicans lost because his name was not on the ballot. In his victory speech, Mamdani declared “if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him”.

Top news

In video

A UPS cargo plane has crashed near the Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport in Kentucky, leaving at least seven dead and 11 injured. The state’s governor, Andy Beshear, said he expects those numbers to grow.

What they said …

***

“We shouldn’t be using straightforward legislation as some sort of Trojan horse for personal opinions on this.” – Jane Hume

The senator was among the Liberal party women who reacted with “a bit of horror” after Coalition colleagues raised concerns about the potential for women to seek late-term abortions in order to access paid parental leave.

Full Story

Trump builds his palace while Americans face going hungry

The US president’s moves to build a US$300m ballroom at the same time as a government shutdown leaves millions of poor Americans facing a possible freeze on their food stamps.

Washington bureau chief, David Smith, speaks to Reged Ahmad about how the construction project is revealing a stark wealth divide and whether the Democrats can seize the moment.

Listen to the episode here.

Before bed read

On the eve of her children’s exams, columnist Ranjana Srivastava’s friend sent her some very practical advice for modern parents: try a more hands-off approach. Now, Srivastava no longer micromanages her children’s homework, their devices, their study or their sleep. “It has been instructive (and humbling) to discover how little my kids ‘miss’ the role I had taken so seriously,” she writes.

Daily word game

Today’s starter word is: LIER. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.

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