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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The species, with leaves large enough to be seen from space, is already considered critically endangered – but plans are afoot to protect it.

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.

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.

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