US politics live with Shrai PopatUS news Early voting begins in midterms as campaign shifts focus to cost of living and Iran war – US politics live Campaigning or control of Congress is expected to ramp up as some states open early voting LIVE Updated 30m ago Taz Ali Fri 18 Sep 2026 12.00 BSTFirst published on Fri 18 Sep 2026 11.40 BST Share Key events 30m ago Trump officials sending undocumented children to Texas sparks fears of mass deportation 50m ago Early voting begins in midterms as cost of living and Iran war loom large A view of the dome of the US Capitol building Key events 30m ago Trump officials sending undocumented children to Texas sparks fears of mass deportation 50m ago Early voting begins in midterms as cost of living and Iran war loom large The Trump administration has started sending a majority of undocumented children who came to the US alone and have new immigration court cases to Texas, where government facilities for them are unlicensed, their chances of getting a lawyer are low and advocates fear that “a deportation churn-out factory” awaits them, the Guardian has learned.
Unaccompanied minors wait in Texas to be transported by the US Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande River from Mexico.
Almost 80% of children in federal custody who arrived unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian and who were placed in immigration court proceedings in July – and over 90% in August – have been funneled into shelter networks somewhere in Texas, a dramatic upswing from the months prior, according to analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian from researchers at the immigration data insights platform bklg.org.
This is understood to amount to a total of 925 children in the care of the Health and Human Services (HHS) department’s office of refugee resettlement (ORR) and in open immigration court proceedings based in Texas, with 651 sent there in July and August alone.
The midterm elections are less than two months away, but some states begin early voting today, marking the start of a crucial stretch of campaigning for control of Congress.
Virginia begins early in-person voting, while voters in Minnesota, Idaho and South Dakota can cast absentee ballots in person, as the campaign turns increasingly on the cost of living and the continuing war in Iran.
The start of early voting comes at a time of deep angst among many US citizens about issues including rising gas.
In its analysis of the US economy, the Wall Street Journal reports that mortgage rates are nearing 7%, consumer prices rose 3.4% in the year to August and gas prices are close to their highest levels since 2022.
“We are seeing what happens when a president launches a war of choice without anticipating the unintended consequences,” Aaron David Miller, a former adviser on Middle East policy to Republican and Democratic administrations, told Reuters.
Trump will take his case to the UN on Tuesday, where he is likely to present the Iran war as a victory despite having initially promised the military campaign would be over within weeks.
The conflict has instead entered its seventh month, with Iran still able to disrupt regional shipping and the war putting further pressure on global energy prices.
In other developments: The Trump administration has approved a potential sale of 48 advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, worth an estimated $24.3b.
The Department of State said the propose sale “will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense”.
The move comes despite concerns from intelligence agencies that China could potentially gain access to, or steal, sensitive F-35 technology through Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Times.
The newspaper reported: One detailed report, issued months ago by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, raised questions about whether the Americans and Saudis would be able to secure sites with F-35 technology.
It also raised concerns about the access that Chinese military personnel have to Saudi bases and the prevalent use by Saudi Arabia of Chinese technology in telecommunications infrastructure and defense installations.
Former staff members of the US Institute of Peace have asked a federal appeals court to prevent the Trump administration from carving the president’s name into the facade of its headquarters in Washington, which was renamed the ‘“Donald J.
Trump United States Institute of Peace” last year.
Lawyers for the institute’s ousted board members argued that engraving Trump’s name on the building would cause “irreparable harm” by undermining the organization’s independent mission.
The USIP dispute comes as another Washington cultural institution faces a court battle over changes under Trump.
A federal judge has ordered the Kennedy Center to give 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolition as Trump has threatened.
The president said the centre could be “ripped down” amid a dispute over plans to put his name on the building and a proposed $257m renovation.
The center is currently closed due to what its Trump-backed leadership described as safety issues caused by age and structural deficiencies.
Traffic cones keep cars from entering the driveway at the Kennedy Center in Washington, which was ordered to be closed for repairs by its board.
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