Good morning.
The collective wealth of the top 10 US billionaires has soared by $698bn in the past year, according to a report from Oxfam America on the growing wealth divide.
The report warns that Trump administration policies risk driving US inequality to new heights, but points out that both Republican and Democratic administrations have exacerbated the US’s growing wealth gap.
Using Federal Reserve data from 1989 to 2022, researchers calculated that the top 1% of households gained 101 times more wealth than the median household during that time span and 987 times the wealth of a household at the bottom 20th percentile of income. This translated to a gain of $8.35m per household for the top 1% of households, compared with $83,000 for the average household during that 33-year period.
How have Trump’s policies affected the figures? Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill”, passed by Congress in May, has been one of the “single largest transfers of wealth upwards in decades”, according to the report, by cutting tax for the wealthy and corporations.
Ukrainian video game-style drone attack system goes ‘viral’
A video game-style drone attack system has gone “viral” among Ukrainian military units and is being extended to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations, the nation’s first deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has told the Guardian.
Drone teams competing for points under the “Army of Drones Bonus System” killed or wounded 18,000 Russian soldiers in September, with 400 drone units now taking part in the competition, up from 95 in August, Ukrainian officials said.
How does it work? The system, which launched more than a year ago, rewards soldiers who achieve strikes with points that can be exchanged to buy more weapons in an “Amazon-for-war” online store called Brave1 filled with more than 100 different drones, autonomous vehicles and other drone war material.
Trump says Maduro’s days are numbered but ‘doubts’ US will go to war with Venezuela
Donald Trump has sent mixed signals about potential US intervention in Venezuela, playing down concerns of imminent war but saying its leader Nicolás Maduro’s days are numbered.
The president’s remarks, made during a CBS interview released on Sunday, come as the US amasses military units in the Caribbean and has conducted multiple strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, killing dozens.
Is Trump planning to go to war with Venezuela? Asked this during 60 Minutes, Trump said: “I doubt it. I don’t think so.” However, when asked if Maduro’s days as president were numbered, he replied: “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.”
In other news …
Israel has announced that the remains of three hostages have been handed over from Gaza and will be examined by forensic experts, as a fragile month-old ceasefire holds.
One of the monkeys that escaped after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway on 28 October was shot and killed early yesterday by a homeowner who said she feared for the safety of her children.
A top FBI official with 27 years standing has reportedly been fired by the bureau after its director, Kash Patel, became enraged by press stories revealing Patel had used a government jet to travel to see his girlfriend sing the national anthem at a wrestling match.
George Clooney has said he feels it was a “mistake” for Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden in the 2024 US presidential election, adding that he had no regrets for calling on the Democrats to find a new presidential nominee.
Stat of the day: why Zohran Mamdani holds a double-digit lead in the New York mayoral race
For someone who seldom stops smiling, Zohran Mamdani, the clear frontrunner for New York City mayor, certainly does provoke a lot of negative reactions with ads, headlines and social media posts all targeting him. But the democratic socialist currently holds a double-digit lead in the race and looks like a shoo-in ahead of Tuesday’s vote. Research from the Harvard Institute of Politics that heard from young people during the recent early voting period might explain why.
Don’t miss this: how the ghost of Ronald Reagan has spooked Trump over tariffs
Halloween came early for Donald Trump, writes Sidney Blumenthal. Ronald Reagan spooked him. Trump had a startled reaction to a TV ad that featured excerpts from Reagan’s radio talk in April 1987 in which he explained the danger of trade wars. “Canada is trying to illegally influence the United States supreme court in one of the most important rulings in the history of our country,” Trump claimed.
… Or this: rise in British Thanksgivings driven by growing appetite for American foods
Thanksgiving was once a holiday British people knew only from American films, but a growing appetite for American cuisine and a rising number of American expats now living there are driving a rise in Thanksgiving celebrations in the UK, with retailers and restaurants reporting increased sales and bookings in the run-up to the occasion.
Climate check: Exxon funded thinktanks to spread climate denial in Latin America, documents suggest
Exxon funded rightwing thinktanks to spread climate change denial across Latin America, according to hundreds of previously unpublished documents that reveal a coordinated campaign to make the global south “less inclined” to support the UN-led climate treaty process.
Last Thing: ‘That’s the technical term’ – Salman Rushdie’s therapist says he is free from PTSD because he’s a ‘badass’
Salman Rushdie says he has been free of the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after almost dying from being stabbed during an attempted assassination in 2022, prompting his therapist to humorously conclude that it’s because the famed novelist is a “badass”, adding: “That’s the technical term.”
Sign up
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
