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US midterms: Polls show Democrats ahead in battle for Congress

Democrats lead Republicans in national polling ahead of Tuesday's United States midterm elections, with new surveys showing the party gaining ground in several closely contested Senate races as voters express dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump's handling of the economy. With all 435 House of Representatives seats and 35 Senate seats on the ballot, the elections will determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress for the remaining two years of Trump's second term. A RealClearPolling average of surveys conducted through October 30 shows Democrats leading Republicans 52% to 43.1% on the generic congressional ballot, an 8.9-percentage-point advantage. An NBC News survey conducted October 28-30 found Democrats ahead 52% to 45%, while an Emerson College poll conducted October 24-26 put the gap at 10 points. The generic ballot measures nationwide preferences for congressional candidates rather than support in individual districts, meaning a nati...
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Ten people go on trial over online harassment of French first lady

Ten people went on trial in Paris Monday charged with sexist online harassment of Brigitte Macron, in the latest case linked to unsubstantiated gender claims made against the French first lady. The trial comes after she and President Emmanuel Macron filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States at the end of July, in connection with a false claim amplified and repeated online that Brigitte Macron was assigned male at birth. The claim has long targeted the presidential couple, alongside criticism of their quarter-century age gap. The first lady was absent as the trial opened at a Paris criminal court for 10 defendants -- eight men and two women, aged 41 to 65 -- accused of cyber-harassment targeting Brigitte Macron. Brigitte Macron, 72, is not expected to appear in court, but her daughter Tiphaine Auziere may testify on Tuesday, the first lady's lawyer told AFP. If convicted, the defendants face up to two years in prison. They have been accused of making numerous malicious comments about Brigitte Macron's gender and sexuality, including equating her age difference with her 47-year-old husband to "paedophilia", according to prosecutors. The French first lady filed a complaint in August 2024 that led to an investigation into cyberharassment and arrests in December 2024 and February 2025.  'Conspiracy theorists'  Among the defendants is Aurelien Poirson-Atlan, 41, a publicist known on social media as "Zoe Sagan" and often linked with conspiracy theory circles. He and several other defendants denounced the trial. During a recess on Monday, Poirson-Atlan gave an impromptu press conference, denouncing "reverse harassment." Bertrand S., a 56-year-old gallery owner with more than 100,000 followers on X, struck a similar note. "The press portrays us as far-right, antisemitic, conspiracy theorists," he told AFP on the eve of the trial. "Who is being harassed?" The defendants also include a woman already the subject of a libel complaint filed by Brigitte Macron in 2022: Delphine J., 51, a self-proclaimed spiritual medium who goes by the pseudonym Amandine Roy. In 2021, she posted a four-hour interview with self-described independent journalist Natacha Rey on her YouTube channel, alleging Brigitte Macron, whose maiden name is Trogneux, had once been a man called Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her brother. The two women were ordered to pay damages to Brigitte Macron and her brother in 2024 before the conviction was overturned on appeal. The first lady has since taken the case to the country's highest appeals court. Emerging as early as Emmanuel Macron's election in 2017, the claims have been amplified by far-right and conspiracy theorist circles in France, and in the United States, where transgender rights have become a hot-button issue at the heart of American culture wars. The presidential couple filed a US defamation lawsuit in July against conservative podcaster Candace Owens, who produced a series titled "Becoming Brigitte", claiming she was born a man. The couple are planning to offer "scientific" evidence and photos proving that the first lady is not transgender, according to their US lawyer. Several of those set to be tried in Paris shared posts from the US influencer. In one, a defendant shared claims of "2,000 people" ready to go "door-to-door in Amiens (the presidential couple's hometown) to get to the bottom of the Brigitte affair". Other high-profile women in political circles, including former US first lady Michelle Obama, US ex-vice president Kamala Harris and New Zealand ex-premier Jacinda Ardern, have also been the target of disinformation about their gender or sexuality.

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