Iraqi forces make swift advance on Mosul Decisive battle against Isis under way; Trump appoints controversial 'poll watcher'; state department accused in Hillary Clinton email 'deal' with FBI Peshmerga forces advance in the east of Mosul to attack Isis militants on Tuesday. Photograph: Thaier Al-Sudani/Reuters Edward Helmore in New York Forces advance on Mosul Iraqi forces, supported by US-led airstrikes and special forces, made a swift advance on Mosul from the east and the south on Monday in the first phase of a long-planned offensive to retake the Isis stronghold. Under a US-brokered agreement negotiated in the run-up to the offensive, the peshmerga and Shia militias such as the Iranian backed Hashd al-Shaabi are supposed to stop short of entering Mosul itself, which is mostly Sunni, allowing the Iraqi forces, the army's counter-terrorism force, federal police and local tribal fighters to clear the city of Isis forces. Martin Chulov reports from the advance with the peshmerga while Spencer Ackerman looks at how the offensive is unlikely to impact the US presidential race. Battle for Mosul: Iraqi forces converge in decisive battle against Isis Trump appoints controversial 'poll watcher' Donald Trump's "election protection" effort will be run by Mike Roman, a Republican operative best known for promoting a video of apparent voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers outside a polling place in 2008. Roman is to oversee poll-watching efforts as Trump repeatedly questions the elections legitimacy, insisting, without evidence, that dead people and undocumented immigrants are voting in the United States. Meanwhile, Melania Trump has insisted her husband was "egged on" to make controversial comments by fired NBC host Billy Bush. It was just "boy talk", the Slovenian former model told CNN. And a billboard that reads "Donald Trump can't read this, but he is scared of it" in Arabic script has appeared in Dearborn, Michigan. Controversial Republican Mike Roman to run Donald Trump's 'election protection' Saudi Arabian artists confront Islamophobia on US road trip As anti-Muslim feeling in the US is stoked by Donald Trump, a group of young Saudi Arabian artists travel from Texas to California, exhibiting their work and confronting their audience's fears, prejudices and stereotypes. State department accused in Clinton email 'deal' with FBI Patrick Kennedy, a senior US state department official, sought to shield Hillary Clinton by pressuring the FBI to drop its insistence that an email on the private server she used while secretary of state contained classified information, according to records of interviews with bureau officials conducted by Reuters. The claim of interference added fuel to Republicans' belief that administration officials sought to protect Clinton, a Democrat, from criminal liability as she seeks to succeed Obama in the 8 November election. A state department spokesman, Mark Toner, said Kennedy was not pressuring the FBI but trying to understand better how the FBI's classification process worked. Hillary Clinton emails: records suggest state department put pressure on FBI California's condom law – a restriction of personal liberty? Adult film actor Tasha Reign says Proposition 60, a law on the November ballot that would enforce condom use for porn performers, is an assault on her rights over her own body. Reign has been visiting college campuses to make her case that wearing a condom in an adult film is an assault on her human rights, her artistic freedom and the very constitution itself. "I do acts where I literally could not use condoms, whether that be anal, whether that be double penetration, whether that be multiple guys," Reign said. "I cannot even imagine having a group sex scene like that." Why a porn star is fighting California's condom law: 'It's a women's rights issue' Yahoo's woes grow more acute After a widely publicized hack, accusations of aiding government surveillance, and a floundering takeover bid, analysts are predicting more bad news for Yahoo today as the company releases its latest results. The research firm eMarketer is expecting a double-digit decline in ad revenue. Meanwhile, Verizon has reportedly sought a billion-dollar discount on its $4.8bn bid for the company. The telecoms company is now sending signals that it may try to scuttle the deal altogether. Verizon's bid for Yahoo on the rocks ahead of latest revenue results WikiLeaks' Assange disconnected Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder, has had his internet connection cut. The move came two days after WikiLeaks released three transcripts of Hillary Clinton's paid Goldman Sachs speeches, which her campaign team had long refused to release. An early morning tweet on Monday accused a "state party" of being responsible for shutting down internet access to Assange, who has been living inside the embassy in London for over four years. Ecuador has reiterated its determination to protect Assange despite the internet link being "intentionally severed", as WikiLeaks said. WikiLeaks says Ecuador cut off Julian Assange's internet access This is Spinal Tap heads to court This is Spinal Tap star Harry Shearer is suing Vivendi, the parent company of Universal Music and StudioCanal, alleging it has withheld millions of dollars in profits owed to the creators of the definitive parody of heavy metal. Shearer, who co-wrote the film and soundtrack and starred as bassist Derek Smalls, is claiming $125m in compensatory and punitive damages from the French conglomerate. Shearer said it was "stunning" that "the only people who haven't shared Spinal Tap's success are those who formed the band and created the film in the first place." This is Spinal Tap star sues Vivendi for $125m in profits row In case you missed it Playing it extremely cool, newly awarded Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan has yet to acknowledge the accolade, either in public or to the Swedish Academy. Nor has the 75-year-old singer indicated whether he will attend the celebrations in December and the academy says it has given up trying to reach him. "Right now we are doing nothing. I have called and sent emails to his closest collaborator and received very friendly replies. For now, that is certainly enough," said the academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius. Nobel panel gives up knockin' on Dylan's door Manage your emails | Unsubscribe | Trouble viewing? You are receiving this email because you are a subscriber to Guardian US Briefing. 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