‘The valley has been left behind’: how one of California’s poorest areas became its toughest political battlegroundRising costs and threatened healthcare benefits are testing voters’ loyalty to Trump as Democrat Randy Villegas challenges David Valadao Vanessa Martinez used to work two jobs to make ends meet. Now she works three. In another era, the 26-year-old from California’s hardscrabble Central valley could have been a poster child for the American Dream, the…The Guardian2d agoWhole story →Health
Anatomy of a lie: James Talarico got the flu – sending rightwing midterm misinformation machine into overdriveClaims that James Talarico suffered a mental health crisis spread across rightwing media, offering a warning about disinformation ahead of the US midterm election Where is James Talarico? The question ricocheted around rightwing echo chambers before metastasising into a conspiracy theory – and a reminder of the persistent danger of disinformation in the…The Guardian3d agoWhole story →CultureHealth
Why one of the US's reddest counties is losing faith in Trump – videoAs the midterm elections loom, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to rural West Virginia, a Republican party stronghold, to explore how soaring gas prices, war in the Middle East and datacenter expansion are affecting Donald Trump's popularity among his base. Although the state remains staunchly Republican, there are signs of a new politics…The Guardian3d agoWhole story →FoodPlanet
