today’s international story

US shutdown enters its second day

What happened
The US federal government shut down for the first time in six years yesterday, and while budget fights in Congress aren’t a rare occurrence, political analysts say this time could be different. Donald Trump’s vow to purge thousands of federal employees, combined with entrenched partisan clashes over Medicaid subsidies, could make restarting the government far more fraught than in past shutdowns.

Who said what
A 35-day closure during Trump’s first term became the longest government shutdown in US history. But this event is “like no federal funding crunch before it”, said CNN. At the heart of this battle is a disagreement over the funding of Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies.

Democrats are “focused on these enhanced subsidies from the Affordable Care Act”, said The Wall Street Journal’s flagship podcast, which are set to run out at the end of the year. This could mean that “tens of millions of Americans lose their health insurance starting in January because they can no longer afford to pay sky-high premiums”, said former US secretary of labour Robert Reich on Substack.

What next?
Both sides remain at an impasse. History shows that “multi-week shutdowns are relatively rare, but have become more common in recent decades”, said NPR.

Today’s policing story

Police evict ‘African tribe’ from Scottish woodland

What happened
A self-proclaimed “African tribe” has been removed from a Scottish wood by police. Kofi Offeh, his wife Jean Gasho and their “handmaiden”, US national Kaura Taylor, had pitched tents on council-owned land near Jedburgh after they were evicted from private land last month, establishing a “Kingdom of Kubala”.

The three say they are reclaiming land stolen from a black Jewish tribe centuries ago, and videos show them bathing in a stream, praying by a river and wearing foraged leaves. Offeh, 36, “insists that he is the messiah and a descendant of the biblical King David”, said The Times.

Who said what
Scott Hamilton, Conservative deputy leader of the Scottish Borders Council, said the situation was “ludicrous” and claimed that the group had refused to engage with the council or adult protection services. “All they wanted was publicity,” said Hamilton.

Relatives of Taylor, a former chess prodigy from Texas, say she has been “brainwashed”. “This cult is crazy,” said her mother Melba Whitehead.

What next?
Selkirk Sheriff Court ruled on Wednesday that the trio cannot return to their original campsite.

It’s not all bad

Scientists say a global shift to a plant-rich “planetary health diet” could save 15 million lives each year and slash food-related emissions in half by 2050. The flexible diet, which allows moderate meat and dairy consumption, emphasises vegetables, grains, nuts and legumes, and can be adapted to local cultures. Researchers describe the findings as proof that transforming how the world eats is not only achievable, but could create healthier lives, thriving ecosystems and a fairer food system.

under the radar

Etsy witches and the rise of digital spell-casting

Days before the fatal shooting of Maga activist Charlie Kirk, US news blog Jezebel published an article declaring that its staff had paid witches on Etsy to curse him. The bizarre coincidence of the post’s timing has put a spotlight on the thriving market for online spells.

Digital selling platform Etsy has become the “go-to site for spell-casting services”, said Taylor Crumpton in Time. Although these products were banned on the website in 2015, they are still being sold under the label of “entertainment services”.

Witches have had a serious rebrand in the past few decades. Gone are the days of being social pariahs; the “expansive and multi-dimensional” depiction of witches in pop culture has brought with it a more positive view of witchcraft, said Crumpton.

One of the best-selling spells promises the purchaser a “perfect wedding day”, said Meena Alexander in Glamour. Nici, who runs the Etsy shop MoonstoneMysticMagic, told Alexander that American, British and Australian women made up most of her customer base, and their purchases were usually “wedding-related”. At £10, it is a small price to pay for a “sense of peace and empowerment as they face a life milestone”.

While wedding spells are the most popular, you can pay to “cast a spell for just about anything, on just about anyone”, said Kate Morgan in The Washington Post. We live in a “world full of scammers wanting to earn a quick buck amid the cost-of-living crisis”, said Hatti Rex in Dazed. Online charms are comparatively harmless, but the practice is essentially “monetising people’s search for meaning” and, ultimately, using the digital marketplace to trade in “hope, fear and heartbreak”.

on this day

3 October 1888

The “New Zealand Natives”, the forerunner of the All Blacks, played their first game on UK soil, beating Surrey 4-1 and performing an on-pitch haka. The Black Ferns, who finished third in the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup, also have their own unique haka, which was first performed in 2013.

Today’s newspapers

‘Terror at the synagogue’

The Mirror leads on the deadly attack at a synagogue in Manchester. There were “7 minutes of evil”, says The Sun, praising Rabbi Daniel Walker, who “calmly locked others behind his temple’s doors”. The attacker was an “Islamic terrorist” not previously “known to counter-terrorism police”, says the Daily Mail, but the Israeli government has “blamed Keir Starmer”, says The Telegraph. The prime minister returned to London early from a diplomatic trip to Copenhagen and described the attack as a “terrorist incident” during a televised address to the nation, says the FT.

See the newspaper front pages

tall tale

Alien shrine abducted

Authorities in Flanders have removed a monument to a UFO sighting, the only one of its kind in western Europe. Former paratrooper Marin Vandercruysse, who claimed to have seen five UFOs in 1955, died five years ago, still convinced that aliens would come again. His family was reportedly behind the removal request, having become unhappy with the memorial’s notoriety. “We’re losing a piece of Belgian folklore,” Frederick Delaere, who runs a reporting centre for sightings, told The Times.

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Harriet Marsden, Will Barker, Deeya Sonalkar, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Marian Femenias-Moratinos.