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A new report shows California has the highest poverty rate in the US, alongside Louisiana, and rates have shown little improvement.

Despite the abundant wealth in the state – more billionaires live in California than anywhere else in the US – in 2024 about 7 million people, or 17.7% of residents, could not afford to cover their basic needs. In 2021, California’s poverty rate reached a historic low of 11%, but as pandemic-era policies came to an end, rates surged in the state and across the US, according to the report from the California Budget and Policy Center released last week.

The research and analysis non-profit found that poverty rates in California remained “statistically unchanged” from 2023 levels, and that people of color, renters and children were among the most affected. Child poverty in the state has more than doubled since 2021.

“These figures reflect a troubling trend that began with the rollback of historic anti-poverty investments that were created to mitigate the harm of the Covid-19 pandemic – underscoring that poverty is a policy choice,” the report states, adding that policies such as the federal child tax credit were associated with a historic decline in poverty.

“When Congress allowed these effective policies to expire, they immediately reversed progress, causing the largest increase in the national poverty rate in 50 years, and a significant spike in California’s poverty rate.”

California made significant investments during the pandemic and enacted temporary economic protections for residents, including providing motel rooms to unhoused people, an eviction moratorium and rental assistance. But poverty in the state rose as those programs came to an end.

Now cuts at the federal and state levels are likely to cause poverty rates to rise further, the report states. The authors point to Donald Trump’s federal budget, signed into law earlier this year, which will cut healthcare, food assistance and other support for millions of people, as well as a state budget that includes “significant reductions” in healthcare. Experts have warned Trump’s budget will have a major impact on the country’s social safety net, and described it as the “harshest bill we’ve ever seen since budget deficits became an issue 40 years ago”.

The report calls for “bold action” from state leaders, including implementing a graduated corporate tax rate and ending some corporate tax breaks, among other recommendations.

“For California to be a state for all to thrive – regardless of race or ethnicity, gender, and other identities – state leaders should take bold action to mitigate the rise in poverty and present a different vision for California than the one the federal government has put forth in recent months,” the report stated.

Keir Starmer will reportedly recognise a Palestinian state over the weekend after Donald Trump concludes his state visit to the UK.

The prime minister has previously said he plans to recognise Palestinian statehood before the UN general assembly in New York this month if Israel does not meet a series of conditions to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

High-level meetings at the UN summit involving world leaders begin on 23 September. According to the Times, Starmer has held off on formally announcing the UK will recognise a Palestinian state until after Trump leaves for fear it could dominate a Thursday news conference the two men plan to hold at Chequers.

The prime minister has found himself at odds with the US administration over the move, which is opposed to giving official recognition to the state. However, other nations including France, Australia and Canada have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering.

In July, Starmer announced he would recognise Palestine’s statehood after mounting pressure from Labour MPs over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza. But the Labour leader suggested British recognition was conditional and he would refrain if Israel committed to a ceasefire and long-term sustainable peace that delivers a two-state solution, and allow the UN to restart the supply of aid.

All three conditions are, however, unlikely to be met given the Israeli government opposes these terms. Israeli forces are undertaking a major ground offensive in Gaza, with thousands forced to flee in recent days.

The state of Palestine is already recognised by 147 of the UN’s 193 member states.

Elsewhere, Sadiq Khan has for the first time described the situation in Gaza as a “genocide”. The mayor of London told an audience at a people’s question time event on Wednesday: “I think what’s happening in Gaza is a genocide.

“When I see the images of the children starving – 20,000 children have starved because of the policies of the Israeli government – when I see the health system in Gaza collapsed, when I see the lack of supplies reaching people in need, when I see the famine that is manmade, when I read the interim judgment of the ICJ, and then see a UN commission report this week, I think it’s inescapable to draw the conclusion in Gaza we are seeing before our very eyes a genocide.”

On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry said it had reasonable grounds to conclude Israel was committing a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Israel’s foreign ministry said it categorically rejected the report, denouncing it as “distorted and false”.

Senator Bernie Sanders said Tuesday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, calling the conclusion “inescapable” and becoming the first US senator to use the term.

“Over the last two years, Israel has not simply defended itself against Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “Instead, it has waged an all-out war against the entire Palestinian people.”

Sanders had long received flak from supporters and protesters alike for avoiding the term, which he previously said made him “queasy” when protesters chanted it last year during a speech in Ireland.

On Monday, an independent UN commission of experts concluded that Israel’s actions “meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide convention”.

“I agree,” Sanders wrote in a statement on his Senate webpage titled, “It Is Genocide. The intent is clear.”

Sanders cited the casualty figures: at least 65,000 Palestinians killed and 164,000 wounded out of a population of 2.2 million, with figures from an Israeli military database suggesting that 83% of those killed were civilians. He also pointed to Israeli officials’ statements as proof of intent, quoting defense minister Yoav Gallant calling Palestinians “human animals” and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich vowing “Gaza will be entirely destroyed”.

While Sanders said Israel had a right to defend itself after the 7 October attack that killed about 1,200 people, he argued the response has targeted all the Palestinians in Gaza.

“We, as Americans, must end our complicity in the slaughter of the Palestinian people,” he wrote. “Having named it a genocide, we must use every ounce of our leverage to demand an immediate ceasefire, a massive surge of humanitarian aid facilitated by the UN, and initial steps to provide Palestinians with a state of their own.”

He now joins a small but growing list of House members including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, as well as Vermont representative Becca Balint, who also called it a genocide earlier in the day.

“Today, I believe the Israeli government is committing a genocide against the Palestinian people,” Balint wrote in an op-ed in the Courier. “As the granddaughter of a man murdered in the Holocaust, it is not easy for me to say that.”

Last week, Democratic senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley unveiled a report following their recent trip to the Middle East, where they say they’ve come to the “inescapable conclusion” that ethnic cleansing is being committed in Gaza and that the United States is complicit.

The statement also comes as several countries including Australia, France, Luxembourg, Malta, Canada and the UK plan to recognize Palestinian statehood at next week’s UN general assembly in New York.

Still, the Trump administration has backed Israeli actions since coming into office. In March, the White House said Trump “fully supports” Israel’s operations in Gaza, while Trump has suggested the US take control over the strip to help facilitate Palestinian departures. In the US, the administration has simultaneously expanded efforts to silence dissent from pro-Palestine voices, with the state department issuing broad orders to consulates in March to vet student visas over “terrorist activity”, which include social media posts.

Sanders has previously led Senate efforts to block offensive weapons sales to Israel through joint resolutions of disapproval, and while getting half of Democratic party members in the chamber to support it, the efforts have not succeeded in stopping arms transfers.

Now, the independent lawmaker called again for ending US military aid to “[Benjamin] Netanyahu’s genocidal government” and demanded an immediate ceasefire.

“The very term genocide is a reminder of what can happen if we fail,” Sanders wrote. “That word emerged from the Holocaust – the murder of 6 million Jews – one of the darkest chapters in human history. Make no mistake. If there is no accountability for Netanyahu and his fellow war criminals, other demagogues will do the same.”

A San Francisco supervisor was recalled Tuesday after he successfully pushed to turn a stretch of coastal highway used heavily by neighborhood motorists into a car-free park despite strong objections by some of his constituents.

Joel Engardio became the fifth elected official in San Francisco to be ousted in a recall vote in four years. He conceded, saying in a statement that he accepted the outcome and still stood by his decision to help create a park called Sunset Dunes.

“Sunset Dunes is a success. It’s good for the environment, good for our local economy, and it’s bringing joy to people of all ages,” Engardio wrote. “Very soon, we will wonder why this was ever a controversy. We won’t be able to imagine San Francisco without a coastal park and all the benefits it offers.”

The recall highlights a San Francisco in flux and a still cranky, even emboldened electorate as leaders prepare to make tough decisions about the city’s future, such as how to build more housing. And while San Francisco prides itself on its environmental values and open public spaces, people still rely on cars to get around. That’s especially true in the residential and more suburban-feeling Sunset neighborhood, which has a high population of Chinese families.

Recall backers say Engardio failed to listen to constituent concerns about the impact that closing the Great Highway to vehicles would have on their quality of life and on traffic safety. The closed portion is entirely within the district.

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The recall was fueled by many of the same people who tossed out three liberal school board members and the politically progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin in 2022. Engardio, a crime victims’ advocate in his first term, supported those recalls and was elected that year to a seat on the city’s board of supervisors.

Last year, he was one of five city supervisors who placed a proposal to permanently ban cars from a 2-mile (3.2km) stretch of the Great Highway on the November 2024 ballot. Measure K passed citywide, but failed in his district. Petitioners submitted 10,500 valid signatures in May to qualify the recall attempt for Tuesday’s ballot.

Mayor Daniel Lurie, a moderate Democrat like Engardio, will name his replacement. Engardio was up for re-election next year.

Top former officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) accused Robert F Kennedy Jr of hobbling the country’s ability to respond to outbreaks and disease threats.

The two officials testified at a hearing on Wednesday before the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) committee. Susan Monarez, the CDC director chosen by Kennedy, was fired after less than a month. Debra Houry, chief medical officer at the CDC, resigned after serving under six CDC directors during both Republican and Democratic administrations.

On the morning of 25 August, Kennedy demanded that Monarez “commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation, regardless of the scientific evidence”, she testified. He also directed her to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause, she said.

“He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign. I responded that I could not pre-approve recommendations without reviewing the evidence, and I had no basis to fire scientific experts,” Monarez believes that’s the true reason she was fired, she said.

Kennedy was “very upset” and “tense” in their meeting. He spoke of the CDC and its employees in a “hurtful and disparaging” manner, Monarez said.

“He called, in that context, CDC the most corrupt federal agency in the world. He emphasized that CDC employees were horrible people,” she said. “He said that CDC employees were killing children, and they don’t care.”

Monarez went on to say that based on what she observed during her tenure, “there is a real risk that recommendations could be made restricting access to vaccines for children and others in need, without rigorous scientific review. With no permanent CDC director in place, those recommendations could be adopted.”

She continued: “The stakes are not theoretical. We already have seen the largest measles outbreak in more than 30 years, which claimed the lives of two children. If vaccine protections are weakened, preventable diseases will return.”

Also on 25 August, Monarez said Kennedy told her “the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September, and I needed to be on board with it”. She said Kennedy had the support of the Trump White House, with Kennedy claiming to her that “he spoke to the President every day about changing the childhood vaccine schedule”.

The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, ACIP, which has been replaced with Kennedy’s handpicked advisers, will meet on Thursday and Friday. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana who chairs the committee, recently called for an indefinite postponement of the ACIP meeting.

“If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership,” Cassidy, who is a physician, said on 28 August.

ACIP will reportedly take up a vote on the current recommendation that the hepatitis B vaccine be given at birth.

“Folks know I’m a physician – as it turns out I am a hepatologist, which is a liver specialist,” Cassidy said. “I have seen people die from hepatitis.”

More than 90% of children infected at birth develop chronic, lifelong infections and risk liver cancer, he said.

“Now that we’ve controlled it, do we let the genie out of the bottle if the recommendation goes away?” Cassidy asked.

Debra Houry also testified to seeing political interference and said she “resigned because CDC leaders were reduced to rubber stamps, supporting policies not based in science, and putting American lives at risk.” She said Kennedy “censored CDC science, politicized its processes and stripped leaders of independence.”

Approximately 80% of center directors are now acting because career officials have been fired, resigned or retired, Houry said.

These unprecedented changes come as the CDC and its employees face violence and threats. On 8 August, a shooter unloaded more than 500 rounds on the CDC headquarters, with 180 bullets hitting the building. Houry said her staff was “traumatized”.

Kennedy did not call Monarez following the shooting, Monarez testified. Such violence following decades of misinformation and harassment of scientific officials has sweeping repercussions. Some CDC staff will now not put their names on scientific reports on vaccines to protect themselves and their families.

Houry first learned that Kennedy had changed the CDC’s Covid vaccine guidance in a Twitter/X post.

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“CDC scientists have still not seen the scientific data or justification for this change,” she said.

Houry testified that she has never briefed the secretary, nor have her center directors – even as the worst measles outbreak in decades unfolded. She also pushed back on misinformation from the secretary: “He said things like vaccines had fetal parts, and I had to send a note to our leadership team to correct that misinformation. We were also asked to include things like budesonide and clarithromycin in our toolkits for physicians, and I couldn’t allow that, as there wasn’t evidence for that and would result in harm.”

The new restrictions on Covid vaccines have led to chaos and confusion with the updated vaccine rollout, though Kennedy testified before the finance committee on 4 September that “anybody can get the booster.”

“My mom lives in Virginia, and she was unable to get it,” Houry said.

The HHS also interfered with information about thimerosal (also known as thiomersal), a preservative demonstrated to be safe, and allowed an “unvetted presentation” on thimerosal to occur in the June ACIP meeting, she said.

“That kind of last-minute alteration undermines confidence and the deliberations that follow,” Houry said.

The vaccine advisers ultimately voted to ban thimerosal, which is used in about 4% of flu vaccines in the US. If vaccine-preventable diseases are allowed to continue rising, “it’s going to be heartbreaking,” Houry said.

Houry added that she’s “concerned about the future of CDC and public health in our country.

“We are not prepared, not just for pandemics, but for preventing chronic health disease, and we’re going to see kids dying of vaccine-preventable diseases,” she continued.

Kennedy said in the finance committee hearing a few weeks ago that Monarez told him she was untrustworthy. Monarez then said in Wednesday’s hearing: “He told me he could not trust me because I had shared information related to our conversation beyond his staff. I told him, if you cannot trust me, then you can fire me.”

The issue under debate on Wednesday went beyond the circumstances of Monarez’s and Houry’s departure, said senator Bernie Sanders.

“It is about Secretary Kennedy’s dangerous war on science, public health and the truth itself. It is absurd to have to say this in the year 2025, but vaccines are safe and effective.”

More than 100 liberal philanthropies and institutions have issued a letter condemning “acts of political violence” and pre-emptively opposing an expected Trump administration crackdown on ideologically left-leaning funding in the wake of the death of Charlie Kirk last week.

The groups, including the Ford Foundation and George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, denounced the recent murders of Kirk and of Melissa Hortman in Minnesota, saying such acts “have no place in our democracy”.

The letter – published on Medium – said: “Our country is built on the premise that everyone has the right to express themselves, even when others don’t agree with or like what they say. No one should fear for their safety simply for expressing their views.”

It went on to warn that “organizations should not be attacked for carrying out their missions or expressing their values in support of the communities they serve.

“We reject attempts to exploit political violence to mischaracterize our good work or restrict our fundamental freedoms, like freedom of speech and the freedom to give. Attempts to silence speech, criminalize opposing viewpoints, and misrepresent and limit charitable giving undermine our democracy and harm all Americans.”

The statement comes after officials in the Trump administration signaled a potential crackdown on unnamed left-leaning groups it claims promote violence and terrorism.

Standing in as host of the Charlie Kirk Show podcast on Monday, JD Vance said that “leftwing extremism” was “part of the reason” Kirk was assassinated last week.

“We have to talk about this incredibly destructive movement of leftwing extremism that has grown up over the last few years and, I believe, is part of the reason why Charlie was killed by an assassin’s bullet,” the vice-president said.

Vance called out the “generous tax treatment” that Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation receive, pointing to a report in the Nation, titled Charlie Kirk’s Legacy Deserves No Mourning, that he claimed was used to justify Kirk’s death and part of a campaign to incite violence against conservatives.

“I read a story in the Nation magazine about my dear friend Charlie Kirk,” Vance said during the podcast. “George Soros’ Open Society Foundation funds this magazine, as does the Ford Foundation and many other wealthy titans of the American progressive movement.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, claimed that Kirk’s final message to him called for a coordinated effort against unnamed leftwing groups accused of promoting violence. Miller pledged that the federal government would use “every available resource” to dismantle them.

A senior White House official told the Washington Post it was compiling a list of “leftwing organizations” that it says are linked to political violence but had not decided on what actions it may seek to take.

Bhaskar Sunkara, the president of the Nation, said on X that the publication had never received funds from the Open Society Foundations. Both the Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation said they do not currently fund the Nation. A spokesperson for the Open Society Foundations called Vance’s accusations “disgraceful” and said the group’s work was “entirely peaceful and lawful”.

The author of the opinion piece, Elizabeth Spiers, later said her article “explicitly stated that no one should ever be killed for their views” and suggested Vance either misunderstood her piece or was deliberately misrepresenting her words.

In her article, Spiers described Kirk as “an unrepentant racist, transphobe, homophobe, and misogynist who often wrapped his bigotry in Bible verses because there was no other way to pretend that it was morally correct”.

The dispute comes as the administration seeks to bind itself tightly to Kirk’s legacy. Trump, Vance and the White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, are expected to travel to Arizona for Kirk’s stadium-set memorial service on Sunday.

The agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, are also expected to attend.

The letter published on Wednesday now seeks to defuse the conflict between the administration and progressive philanthropies and non-profits by joining together to form a collective front that has eluded other institutions and businesses, including universities and law firms, that have come under administration pressure.

Signatories to the letter, include the MacArthur Foundation; the Knight Foundation; the Omidyar Network, funded by the eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar; and the Schmidt Family Foundation, supported by the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

“At a moment that is fragile and fraught, we must rise to the higher standard we all collectively desire,” the letter concluded.

“Now is a moment for leadership that drives unity rather than sows further division. Our organizations will continue focusing on helping people across all backgrounds, geographies, ideologies, and belief systems, to heal, thrive, and live peacefully together, protected by the freedoms guaranteed in our Constitution.”

“Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!” King Lear, Act III, Scene 2

A fierce wind and strong swell had turned the Atlantic into a rollercoaster and when the troupe made landfall on the Isles of Scilly, several members felt rather wobbly and looked a little green around the gills.

The life of a touring actor is not always glitz and glamour, but the first visit of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to Scilly – to perform King Lear – got off to a particularly rocky start.

“It was a rough crossing,” said Oliver Senton, who plays Lear, as the 15-strong cast and crew recovered on the harbourside of St Mary’s, the largest of the islands, 30 miles off the south-west coast of mainland Britain. “We’re more used to being in a van or train when we’re going place to place. But it’s wonderful to be here, breaking territory, bringing theatre to new places.”

Might he tap into this stormy weather for the famous scene in which Lear rages against the storm? “Well, I’d say the storm for Lear is inside him – the weather is a reflection of his feelings,” Senton said. “But when you do a great play like this, you start to see echoes of it everywhere – in things you’re watching and reading and what people say to you, even in the rain and wind.”

The show is a pared-down version of King Lear – about a third of the full-length – mainly aimed at young people and their families. Backed by a grant from Arts Council England, the idea is to take the play to audiences who may not usually have access to world-class Shakespearean actors.

Before the tour, the director, Justine Themen, travelled around England, asking young people from Blackpool to Norwich what was on their minds. “They said they were concerned political leaders weren’t listening, especially around the climate crisis, and they were concerned with relationships with leaders in their own lives – parents and teachers,” said Themen. “All issues of justice, really.”

Lear seemed the best play to dig into such themes. Themen said there were “Lear-like” leaders in the world acting in an autocratic way and not engaging with the needs and wants of their modern kingdoms.

Lear’s storm seemed a good way to think about the climate crisis, and the youngsters were drawn to the idea of the king asking his daughters to spell out how much they loved him. “They were fascinated by that,” Themen said.

The storm meant the visit to Scilly was delayed by a day and once they were there the logistical challenges were many, including getting the troupe to and from their various B&Bs scattered throughout the island.

There was an anxious wait as their props were unloaded from the ferry and transported to the Five Islands Academy, where the RSC players were putting on four shows in the school hall. But everything fell into place and the first show, watched mostly by adult islanders (though some children also attended), was warmly received.

In this reimagining, the tragic ending is softened when the king’s Fool tells the audience to challenge leaders if they do not approve of what they are doing. Asked to shout out what they could do to make things better, Hattie, 11, called: “Work as a team.” Later she said she had liked the play, though found the blinding of Gloucester scary.

Jeremy Brown, the creative director for Culture on Scilly, was emotional at the final curtain. “To bring this quality of work to this little corner of the world is unreal and, I think, life changing for all of us,” he said.

Rachel Lewin, the headteacher of Five Islands Academy, agreed. “It was so powerful,” she said. “There’s nothing like live Shakespeare. You can study it, as we do, and watch the films, but there’s nothing like being in the room with the raw emotion.”

The production is also being taken to schools and community venues on the Isle of Wight and to cities including Southampton and Peterborough. RSC creative assistants also go into schools to work with pupils on the play.

Jacqui O’Hanlon, the RSC’s director of creative learning and engagement, said access to arts in schools was at a crossroads after years of erosion – but culture was all the more vital as a way of people understanding one another better. “We need a society able to disagree agreeably.”

After the performance, Nkhanise Phiri, who played the Fool, was beaming. She had begun the day clinging to the arms of her seat on the Scilly ferry as it lurched, trying to pretend it was a fun rollercoaster. But it had been worth it.

“It’s really important to bring Shakespeare to areas like this and make it accessible. It feels different being on an island. You’re aware of the water, the rain, nature. You have to adjust to each space, each audience. It’s a challenge – but good.”