Hegseth promises execution live stream as Trump appears to ‘pause’ war on Iran | First Thing

Pete Hegseth: ‘We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it.’ Photograph: Eric Lee/Reuters View image in fullscreen Pete Hegseth: ‘We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it.’ Photograph: Eric Lee/Reuters First Thing: Hegseth promises execution live stream as Trump appears to ‘pause’ war on Iran US president says US will not attack Iran before midterms, while defense secretary says Nidal Hasan will face a firing squad next month. Plus, Sofia Coppola looks back on her glittering directorial career Good morning. The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad will be livestreamed next month, in a radical departure from the previous norm. Hegseth said: “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” Hasan opened fire at a medical processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, on 5 November 2009, killing 13 people and wounding dozens more. A military jury sentenced him to death in 2013 and he has been held at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas ever since. The last known case of a military firing squad in the US was in November 1945. Why is Hegseth being criticised over the Iran war? The Democratic senator Chris Murphy said Hegseth was “determined to hide the cost and the consequences of this war from the American public”. Murphy claimed the Pentagon blocked him from visiting a military base in Qatar and that an Iranian strike on the US embassy in Riyadh was far worse than the public were led to believe. What has Donald Trump said about the US war on Iran? The US president has promised not to attack Iran before November’s US midterm elections, outlining a pause on the protracted war he has struggled to end after almost eight months. A Reuters/Ipsos survey from late September found that only about a third of Americans approved of the strikes on Iran. Billionaires fund California ballot measure to make voters show ID at polls View image in fullscreen Voters in Orange County, California. Photograph: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images Billionaires across the US are spending vast sums to support California’s Proposition 39, a measure that would require voters to show identification before casting their ballots. The measure is being promoted amid a nationwide push by the Trump administration to restrict voting. California Republicans have long sought to advance a voter ID initiative in the state. Various out-of-state conservative donors have given millions of dollars in support. Why are some voters calling Missouri’s elections ‘dizzying and embarrassing’? Thanks to a protracted legal battle over an effort by Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional map, some voters are no longer sure which congressional district they live in or who will be on their ballot paper for the midterms. What happened in last night’s crucial midterm debates? Rachel Leingang, George Chidi and Auzzy Byrdsell have rounded up the key takeaways from debates in the battleground states of Michigan, Georgia and Maine. Trump made clear that media ban was due to critical coverage, court told View image in fullscreen The CNN booth at the White House. Photograph: Evan Vucci/Reuters A lawyer who has represented numerous media companies that have sued the Trump administration over access issues has told a court that Donald Trump’s own words are one of the strongest parts of their case, after the US president made clear in a recent interview with Time magazine that he chose to bar three news organizations because of their critical coverage of him. CNN, MS Now and Politico were asking the judge to extend the temporary restraining order he issued on 24 September requiring the White House to lift the ban for 14 days. The district court judge Timothy Kelly – a Trump appointee – said he would extend it until next Tuesday. That means the White House will be forced to allow journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico to continue accessing the building until then. Film shoot appearing to echo Renee Good killing roils Montana town View image in fullscreen Flowers and photos are left at a memorial site for Renee Good. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP A Daily Wire film production that appears to re-enact elements of Renee Good’s killing has been allowed to continue filming in a rural Montana town. The project, which reportedly stars Danny Trejo and Harvey Keitel, follows an ICE agent’s effort to escape a mob seeking to free an immigrant he has detained, according to its logline. In one video of the shoot that surfaced online, a female actor portraying a protester can be seen driving a beat-up car into a flock of law enforcement agents, knocking one officer down as another fires his weapon. Then, the car abruptly lurches back. That scene drew backlash – and real protesters – over its resemblance to an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of Good in January. In other news … View image in fullscreen SpaceX Crew-12 members. Photograph: Anil Menon/Nasa/AP Four astronauts have returned to Earth from the International Space Station after a medical relief mission. The crew hurried to the ISS eight months ago after an astronaut fell ill in space. The DoJ is seeking to charge the ex-Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson, who gave key testimony on the January 6 attack on the Capitol. She said she had been told that Trump lunged for the wheel of an SUV to try to join the mob. An ICE agent shot and injured a man in New York City during an enforcement operation, federal officials said. Trump says he is considering asking the FBI to investigate the death of Nolan Wells. Wells’s cause and manner of death are still undetermined, and a Jackson County grand jury declined to indict anyone in his case. Stat of the day: Thousands turn out to welcome weary USS Lincoln sailors after grueling deployment View image in fullscreen The USS Abraham Lincoln returns. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters Thousands of people flooded to greet the USS Lincoln’s long-awaited return. It left San Diego last November, expected to return in the spring, until the US and Israel launched the war with Iran. Culture pick: As pointless as a film based on a toy car could be … View image in fullscreen A still from Matchbox the movie. Photograph: Apple TV Enjoy a review that gives something an absolute battering? I can recommend Benjamin Lee on Matchbox, who says “John Cena and Jessica Biel collect paychecks in a soulless and synthetic slab of corporate product”. Elsewhere, Rich Pelley speaks to someone who has been behind films with a lot more soul. Sofia Coppola is, as you’d expect, a compelling read. Don’t miss this: ‘Delights await!’ – Margaret Atwood and other writers on Nobel winner Anne Carson View image in fullscreen Anne Carson. Photograph: Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency/AP The Handmaid’s Tale author is joined by Emily Wilson, Ocean Vuong and the Booker-shortlisted writer Rebecca Perry in celebrating the newly announced Nobel laureate. … or this: How a plant selfie in Colombian jungle led to ‘jaw dropping’ giant waterlily find View image in fullscreen Jeremiah Harris in one of the pictures he posted on Instagram that was seen by a waterlily expert. Photograph: Jeremiah Harris The species, with leaves large enough to be seen from space, is already considered critically endangered – but plans are afoot to protect it. Climate check: Millions on alert as Hurricane Isaias set to bring dangerous storm surge View image in fullscreen Storm preparations in Alabama. Photograph: Octavio Jones/AP Millions of people from Louisiana to Florida were under hurricane warnings as Hurricane Isaias heads toward the US Gulf coast, with weather officials warning of hurricane-force winds, heavy rainfall and flooding. Storm surge warnings are already in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Suwanee River in Florida. When it makes its expected landfall, experts say it will be the biggest test for Fema since the Trump-imposed cuts on the agency. Last Thing: Astronomers detect mysterious burst of energy from a galaxy far, far away View image in fullscreen The MeerKat radio telescope. Photograph: Brendon Wainwright/Wikipedia I love a space mystery, and scientists have detected a fast radio burst that traveled for more than 10bn years before reaching Earth. The burst is believed to be the farthest yet detected, more than double the previous distance record. And nobody knows what they are. If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com Explore more on these topics US news First Thing newsletter news Share Reuse this content