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Received — 18 October 2026 ⏭ El País - English

‘Water is for people!’: Voters across party lines push back against data centers ahead of the midterms

18 October 2026 at 05:00

In Santa Teresa, a town in the remote New Mexico desert, a group of residents rises up during a town council meeting, holding signs painted with marker pens: “We don’t want data centers! Water is for humans, not data centers!” In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a similar scene unfolds: a group of local residents interrupts deliberations in the state legislature carrying banners that read: “We don’t want to be a data center city.” In Memphis, the city where Elvis Presley was born, a recent meeting of the county board of supervisors to consider a possible slowdown in the construction of new data centers ended in a fistfight between supporters of the tech facilities and their opponents.

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© Eric Cox (REUTERS)

Construction of a Meta data center in Middleton Township, Ohio, May 13, 2026.

Election calculator: Who will control the Senate after the midterms?

18 October 2026 at 05:00
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The battle for the Senate in the midterm elections will determine how much room Donald Trump has to maneuver during the second half of his term: no legislation reaches the White House without first passing through the upper chamber.

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David Jolly, the former Republican seeking to flip Florida for the Democrats: ‘We are seeing overenforcement and cruelty’

18 October 2026 at 05:00

David Jolly, the Democratic candidate for governor of Florida, does not need to be asked about U.S. President Donald Trump to distance himself from his former party and its leader.

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© Rebecca Blackwell (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

David Jolly in North Miami, Florida, on October 7.

Fiber-optic drones and cartel members at the front: Ukraine’s imprint on Mexico’s narco groups

18 October 2026 at 05:00

The video released by Al Jazeera lasts just 25 seconds but has once again reignited public debate. The footage shows at least 10 fighters in a forest, “coming back from a mission,” as one of them can be heard saying. The group of soldiers, who are Mexican, Colombian, and Panamanian — as acknowledged by the person filming — is allegedly part of Ukraine’s front line in the war launched by Russia.

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© Scott Peterson (Getty Images)

An attack drone in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, in February 2024.

From Ukraine to the Strait of Hormuz, the second energy crisis in five years is undermining resistance to the green transition

18 October 2026 at 05:00

The second energy crisis in less than five years — both triggered by wars, first in Ukraine and then in the Middle East — is dismantling resistance to a shift away from fossil fuels. Month by month the debate over electrification gains momentum: powering economic sectors that still rely on coal, oil, and gas with electricity. If there were few arguments left —environmental, economic, and strategic autonomy — in favor of a rapid electrification, gasoline and diesel prices in Europe have delivered the final blow.

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© ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH (EFE)

An woman walks past an anti-American billboard in Tehran’s Enghelab Square in mid-September.

Mark Galeotti, organized crime expert: ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions. So is the path to techno-authoritarianism’

18 October 2026 at 05:00

“The gang was disciplined, ruthless, well ordered. Its thugs swaggered around the city as if they owned it. Maybe they did: everyone knew who they were, and the corrupted police never dared take them on.” Mark Galeotti, 60, opens his latest book, Homo criminalis. How Crime Organizes the World, with a fictionalized scene from Miguel de Cervantes’s tale Rinconete y Cortadillo, about a brotherhood of thieves that evokes The Godfather or Peaky Blinders. It was the year 1613.

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The author and organized crime historian Mark Galeotti, in a courtesy photo.

Could the Guggenheim in New York have been pink? Debunking the white and gray myths of modern architecture

18 October 2026 at 05:00

This past May, an AI-modified image of the Geisel Library in San Diego led to a humorous architectural meme. Shared on X, it showed the exposed concrete walls of William Pereira’s imposing building (usually categorized as “Brutalist”) painted with garish colors, protective deities and classical Greek motifs. The image was accompanied by a message: “There’s a common misconception that Brutalist buildings were unpainted, but thanks to microscopic analysis of the exteriors we can now recreate what they looked like in their prime.”

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© Phenster/Mark Kuipers

The De Bijenkorf shopping center in Eindhoven, in the Netherlands.

Foucault, the pyrotechnician who stood by trans people

18 October 2026 at 05:00

Recently, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who leads the world’s most powerful military, declared that he will be restricting who can join the ranks: “No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors.” And, not long before that, Trump proclaimed that there are only “two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable.”

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© Martine Franck (Magnum Photos / CONTACTO) (EL PAÍS)

The French philosopher Michel Foucault in his Paris home, 1978.

Hire a human: The future where AIs get people to do physical labor is upon us

18 October 2026 at 05:00

Hungarian artist Peter Weiler wanted to test a new platform called RentAHuman: the website’s slogan is “physical labor for AI” and it is designed for artificial intelligence agents to hire people to do jobs. Weiler wanted to test the platform and offered money for a person to hold a sign in a square in downtown Budapest that read in Hungarian and English: “An AI hired me for this job.” Last Thursday someone did that job for two hours for a fee of $70.

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© Cedida por Peter Weiler

A human hired through the RentAHuman platform holds a sign reading "An AI hired me for this job" in downtown Budapest, Hungary.

Monica Barbaro: The dancer who quietly became a Hollywood star

18 October 2026 at 05:00

© Jeff Spicer (Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

Success may have taken its time, but Monica Barbaro has firmly established herself as one of Hollywood’s most promising talents. After years of searching for her breakthrough, the 36-year-old Californian first drew widespread attention as a fighter pilot in 'Top Gun: Maverick' before winning over the industry with her portrayal of Joan Baez in 'A Complete Unknown,' a performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination. Now, with high-profile projects on the horizon such as the much-anticipated 'Artificial,' a romance with fellow actor Andrew Garfield, and a personal style that balances sophistication with effortless ease, Barbaro has become one of the names worth watching, both on and off the screen.

© JB Lacroix (WireImage)

Acting was not part of Monica Barbaro’s earliest ambitions. Her mother, a professional dancer, enrolled all three of her children in ballet classes. Although she discovered through small school theater productions that acting was her true passion, her family’s encouragement led her to focus exclusively on ballet. She enrolled in the dance program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the United States, and initially approached acting only through elective courses.

© ANGELA WEISS (AFP via Getty Images)

Today, with the dream she first nurtured as a teenager finally fulfilled, Monica Barbaro is grateful for what dance brought to her craft as an actress. “Dance gave me a completely different way into character. People reveal themselves through their body language,” she said. In the photograph, taken in 2018, the actress wears a floral dress by Brock Collection.

© Steve Granitz (FilmMagic)

Monica Barbaro logged more than 40 hours of flight time to portray a military pilot in 'Top Gun: Maverick,' her first major role in a big-budget Hollywood production. During filming, she even shot some scenes aboard a two-seat F/A-18, enduring forces of up to eight Gs, and went so far as to earn her pilot’s license. All in pursuit of meeting the exacting standards set by Tom Cruise, who, she says, has become one of her most important mentors in Hollywood. "He'll see a person, see their potential and just bring out the best in them," she said of Cruise.

© Gilbert Flores (Penske Media via Getty Images)

The role that definitively established Monica Barbaro as one of Hollywood’s most exciting breakthrough talents was her portrayal of Joan Baez in 'A Complete Unknown,' the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. Barbaro sings and plays guitar herself in the film, despite not knowing a single chord when she landed the part. After months of intensive preparation, her portrayal of Baez emerged as one of the film’s standout performances, earning her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Chalamet later explained that the filmmakers were looking for an actress with gravity and quiet power, someone capable of holding her own opposite his Dylan and even intimidating him slightly. Although the Oscar ultimately went to Zoe Saldaña for 'Emilia Pérez,' the nomination confirmed that Barbaro had moved beyond the status of rising star to become one of the defining talents of a new generation of actors.

© Jerritt Clark (Getty Images for W Magazine)

Parallel to her professional breakthrough, which unfolded amid the awards ceremonies and industry parties surrounding the Oscars, the California-born actress embarked on her first high-profile public relationship. In January 2025, entertainment media began reporting rumors of a romance with actor Andrew Garfield, best known for films such as 'The Social Network.' Those rumors have gradually been borne out by the couple’s repeated public appearances together. Although both have been notably protective of their privacy, Garfield has spoken warmly about Barbaro, calling her a “supremely talented” actress. “I think she is truly incredible,” he said. “I could wax lyrical more, but I'll leave it there.”

© Neil Mockford (GC Images)

In July 2025, the couple made their first official public appearance together at the Wimbledon Championships in London. They embraced the tournament’s traditional aesthetic with coordinated all-white looks, and Barbaro opted for an outfit by Ralph Lauren.

© Aeon (GC Images)

Fate would have it that their romance also blossomed on a film set, as both are part of the cast of 'Artificial,' the highly anticipated new film from Luca Guadagnino, the director of 'Call Me by Your Name.' Widely seen as a potential awards-season contender, the film is based on the story of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, and the turbulent days surrounding the brief dismissal and subsequent reinstatement of its controversial chief executive, Sam Altman, who is played by Andrew Garfield. Monica Barbaro, meanwhile, portrays Mira Murati, the company’s former chief technology officer and one of the most influential figures in the artificial intelligence industry, widely regarded as a pioneering leader in the field.

© Neil Mockford (GC Images)

“[Andrew Garfield] is one of the best actors of his generation, our generation,” the actress has said of her co-star. “I just learned a lot from his approach to the material and to developing character, and I felt very fortunate to get to witness that in real time.” Barbaro has also said that working alongside him pushed her to raise her own game. She said she thought: “Oh shit, I really have to step up my game and make sure I'm a proper, legitimate scene partner.”

© Neil P. Mockford (WireImage)

For years, Monica Barbaro struggled to find her place in an industry that seemed unsure how to categorize her. The daughter of an Italian American father and a mother of Mexican, English and German descent, she has spoken about being repeatedly encouraged to lean into her Latina heritage in ways that felt inauthentic to her. At the same time, she feared the opposite risk: “neutralizing of myself to not offend anybody.” As a child, she endured racist taunts; as an actress, she sometimes lost out on roles because she was deemed not “ethnic enough.” Rather than choosing between labels, Barbaro has embraced the space in between. "I don't belong in either" — as in either side of her parentage — "but I do belong in this mixed territory."

© Kevin Mazur (Getty Images)

The actress describes herself as “a romantic and a workaholic.” “I’ve never given my life over to it, which, as a woman, I’m quite proud of. But there’s also the other side of that coin, which is: You can get to a point in your life where you wake up and you look around and you’re sort of like, Oh, have I been self-protecting by [adopting] so much autonomy and independence? I’m definitely shifting some of that perspective now,” she told 'InStyle.'

© Daniele Venturelli (WireImage)

After graduating from university, with neither steady work nor savings to fall back on, Monica Barbaro moved back across the country to her hometown of San Francisco. There, she spent nearly a decade juggling minor television roles and commercial work, far from the sudden, youthful breakthroughs enjoyed by some rising stars. She had to wait until 2022, when Tom Cruise came calling and changed the course of her career. That same year, her rising profile earned her an invitation to Vanity Fair’s Oscars after-party, where she attended wearing a design by Elie Saab.

© Gilbert Flores (WWD via Getty Images)

Monica Barbaro has spoken openly about why she is uncomfortable using her appearance as a selling point on screen or showing more skin than a story genuinely requires. “One of the very first things I did was a project that I lost the job because I wouldn’t be topless in it,” she told the U.S. edition of InStyle. At the time, she was a background performer with a small, non-speaking role and could not see any narrative reason for the nudity. In the end, she was rehired on her own terms, with her shirt buttoned up. “I’ve not gotten naked in anything I’ve done because I haven’t worked on something where that would be a necessity to the story,” she added.

© TheStewartofNY (GC Images)

Her style evolution over the past few years has been striking. Her fashion résumé now includes a series of looks that feel both contemporary and effortless, among them the oversized white suit she paired with a Jacquemus handbag when she was photographed strolling through New York last winter.

© Gilbert Flores (WWD via Getty Images)

Ralph Lauren designed the look Monica Barbaro wore to the 2024 Academy Museum Gala.

© Cindy Ord/MG25 (Getty Images for The Met Museum/)

Last year, Monica Barbaro attended the Met Gala for the first time, further cementing her rising status within the industry. For the occasion, the actress once again turned to Dior, embracing the glamour of the 1950s and the New Look silhouette with the maison’s iconic Bar jacket, leather gloves and a boater hat. She seemed to belong to another era, while proving herself perfectly in tune with the event’s dress code.

© TheStewartofNY (Getty Images)

Although she says her everyday uniform tends to be simple and classic, built around Levi’s jeans, loafers and T-shirts, Monica Barbaro knows how to command the attention of the fashion press when promotional duties call. One of her most recent and most daring looks was this ensemble by designer Sandy Liang, which she wore in New York while promoting 'One Night Only.'

© Ernesto S. Ruscio (Getty Images for Disney)

Monica Barbaro attends the premiere of 'A Complete Unknown' at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome on January 17, 2025.

© Emma McIntyre (WireImage)

On the red carpet, Monica Barbaro frequently gravitates toward red. In the image, she is wearing a plunging red gown by Christian Dior.

© Emma McIntyre/Oscars (Getty Images for Academy Museum)

“I love to play dress up. I take red carpets as an opportunity to play, in whatever way feels fitting for the project I'm promoting,” she told the U.S. edition of 'Vogue.' In the image, Monica Barbaro wears a striking white gown from Jonathan Anderson’s new era at Dior.

© BG048/Bauer-Griffin (GC Images)

Precisamente en el rodaje de la cinta fue fotografiada luciendo un atrevido minivestido de lentejuelas color esmeralda de Alex Perry con muchas papeletas para convertirse en uno de los más icónicos de su trabajo en pantalla.

© Justin Goff Photos (Justin Goff Photos/Getty Images)

This Armani Privé gown, which Monica Barbaro wore to the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards, earned her a place among the best-dressed stars of the evening.

© Kirstin Sinclair (Getty Images)

The actress has developed a close relationship with Dior, one of her preferred labels for red carpets and high-profile events. Naturally, she is also a regular guest at the fashion house’s runway shows. For the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2024-25 presentation, she chose this striking white dress, a look that neatly encapsulates her style duality: sensual and romantic in equal measure.
Received — 17 October 2026 ⏭ El País - English

Abdul El‑Sayed, the Democrats’ riskiest bet for the midterms: ‘We will have to hold Trump accountable for all the harm he has done’

17 October 2026 at 05:00

There is still over an hour before the protagonist appears, but the line already wraps around the block. Dozens of people wait patiently for their turn to see the man who has become the great hope of the Democratic left wing. When he begins to speak, pandemonium breaks out: “My name is Abdul El‑Sayed and I am going to be your next senator in Washington.” Over the next hour, the hundreds gathered in this venue will applaud, laugh, and cheer every word from the mouth of the new star of American politics, who has already made a fitted black T‑shirt and jeans his trademark look. We are in Lansing, Michigan’s capital, where one of the most gripping battles of the midterm elections — just over two weeks away — is being fought.

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© Paul Sancya (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Abdul El‑Sayed, Democratic candidate for U.S. senator from Michigan, last Thursday after debating Republican Mike Rogers in Grand Rapids, United States.

The midterms in maps: A guide to the key Senate, House and governor races

17 October 2026 at 05:00
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On November 3, voters will head to the polls for the midterm elections, which will determine whether Donald Trump’s Republicans retain a friendly Congress or whether Democrats take control of one or both chambers, enabling them to mount a more aggressive opposition by blocking legislation, budgets and appointments during the final two years of his term.

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Thomas Piketty: 'The future billionaires are preparing for us is dystopian'

17 October 2026 at 05:00

Most of the planet with incomes equivalent to €5,000 a month (nearly $5,600) by 2100. Average temperatures only 1.8 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. Less meat, industry and mining. More health care and education. And who would lose out? The world’s Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellisons and Elon Musks. A tiny group of billionaires representing 0.001% of the population would see their share of global wealth fall from the current 6.4% to 0.05%, while the poorest 50% of the planet would rise from holding just 2% to 30%.

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© Edgar Sapiña Manchado (EFE) (EL PAÍS)

French economist Thomas Piketty in Paris.

Venezuelan women continue to have secret abortions as Colombia threatens to close its borders to them

17 October 2026 at 05:00
A doctor takes a woman’s blood pressure at Domingo Luciani Hospital in Caracas, Venezuela, in March 2022.

It is 2022. In a neighborhood in western Caracas, Yolanda (a fictitious name) walks through a checkpoint manned by hooded police officers. In her pocket, she carries a small transparent bag containing several misoprostol pills – the second part of the treatment recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for a safe medical abortion.

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 The owner of this pair of pants had an abortion two months before the photo was taken, but was still bleeding. Caracas, Venezuela, March 26, 2023.A companion embraces a woman undergoing an abortion in a low-income neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on August 26, 2022. The procedure lasted about four hours. As she moaned in pain inside the bathroom, the companion held her and said, “You are strong, you can get through this. I'm right here.”A companion asks a woman undergoing a medical abortion if she can enter the bathroom, in order to hold her hair and body while she vomits and sits on the toilet. Photo taken in a house located in a working-class neighborhood of Caracas, Venezuela, on August 25, 2022. Near this house, police forces are stopping everyone entering the neighborhood at a makeshift checkpoint.

© Andrea Hernández Briceño

A mother nurses her child while she walks towards a Red Cross camp in La Parada, on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, on September 17, 2018.

© Andrea Hernández Briceño (EL PAÍS)

A woman taking misoprostol pills in a low-income neighborhood in western Caracas, Venezuela, on August 25, 2022.

© Andrea Hernández Briceño (EL PAÍS)

A protest against femicides in the historic center of Caracas, Venezuela, on March 11, 2023.

© Andrea Hernández Briceño

A pregnant 14-year-old shows the tattoo on her belly, standing on the Simón Bolívar International Bridge on September 17, 2018.

Pregnant Venezuelan women waiting to be seen at the Erasmo Meoz University Hospital in Cúcuta, Colombia, on September 17, 2018.

© Andrea Hernández Briceño (EL PAÍS)

A woman in bed next to the altar she made for her fetus' sonogram, at her house in Caracas, on March 26, 2023.

© Andrea Hernandez Briceno

An activist for the feminist organization Comadres Púrpuras marches on the Day of Global Action for Safe and Legal Abortions in Caracas, on September 28, 2022.

© Andrea Hernández Briceño

A woman leading a dance group during a protest march by a Christian coalition against sexual and reproductive health education in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 13, 2023.

The story of Billy Childish, a tormented British punk icon: ‘Professional art kills art’

17 October 2026 at 05:00

He has a noose tattooed on his left arm. He paints pictures of gallows. He named his publishing house and record label “Hangman.” And he has songs titled One Day You Die (2007) and You Make Me Die (1986). But there’s nothing macabre about him. In fact, he laughs at everything… and at everyone.

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© Marc Broussely (Redferns/Getty)

Billy Childish, with The Musicians Of The British Empire, performs at the Blues Kitchen during the opening day of The Camden Crawl on May 1, 2010, in London.

Alistair Boxall: ‘We know rivers are heavily contaminated by chemical substances and I’m surprised we do nothing about it’

17 October 2026 at 05:00
Professor Alistair Boxall, from the University of York, in Vitoria, in early September.

Alistair Boxall, 58, is a chemist and professor of environmental science at the University of York. In 2022, he helped lead the largest study ever conducted on pharmaceutical pollution in rivers around the world. Boxall is now leading a new monitoring project covering 93 rivers in 31 European countries. Among them are the Manzanares, Jarama, Henares and Pantueña streams in the Madrid region, as well as the Zadorra and Nervión rivers in Álava.

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Mediums, horoscopes, tarot... how much does modern mysticism have to do with neoliberal individualism?

17 October 2026 at 05:00

Anyone on social media will find infinite references to horoscopes, mediums, tarot and other practices. This seems to contrast with the era in which we live which is hyperconnected and technologically advanced.

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© Cooperphoto (Getty Images)

Tarot is a regular refuge for those in search of spiritual meaning.

Medellín went green in order to stay cool, but the heat is catching up 

17 October 2026 at 05:00

At midday in the summer, Avenida Oriental — a central boulevard in Medellín — is usually congested in both directions. The sidewalks are crowded with street vendors, hawking food and clothing. Amidst the heat, drivers and pedestrians seek shade under the trees that form three long rows along the sides and down the center of this avenue, which is one of the main streets in the downtown core.

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© CHELO CAMACHO

A view of Zone 1, Northeast, in Medellín, on October 6, 2025.
Received — 16 October 2026 ⏭ El País - English

Trump fires Katie Zacharia after five days as White House press secretary

16 October 2026 at 21:15

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday fired his brand new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, just five days into the job. The story broke right after Trump told reporters that he had asked Zacharia to reconsider whether she wanted to remain in the job after her bumpy first briefing on Monday.

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© JIM LO SCALZO (EFE)

Donald Trump, flanked by White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia.

Nik Storonsky, the visionary who came from Russia to revolutionize the financial industry with Revolut: ‘At legacy banks, it’s almost impossible to get something new off the ground’

16 October 2026 at 20:55

Number 116 on Rue Réaumur in Paris sits at the crossroads of the two worlds that define Revolut. On one side lies the historic financial district centered around the stock exchange; on the other, the Sentier neighborhood, home to much of the French capital’s technology ecosystem. It is at this intersection of finance and technology that the bank is preparing its new headquarters for Western Europe.

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© Benjamin Girette (EL PAÍS)

Nik Storonsky, during the interview with EL PAÍS at Revolut’s new Paris headquarters, provided by the company.
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