Joe Lieberman has a fight on his hands. Until very recently, the three-term Democratic senator and former presidential candidate was cruising to re-election in Connecticut, his home state. But the 64-year-old grandee now finds himself in sudden danger of falling victim to a new political life form: the internet candidate.

Two people were killed and another injured on Wednesday after a shootout between prison officers and FBI agents investigating their alleged involvement in a corruption scandal at a Florida jail. The gunfight began when the agents arrived at the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee to serve arrest warrants on six prison guards.

With names such as Port St Lucie and Rancho Cucamonga, America’s ”exurbs” (extra-urban areas) are the fastest growing cities in the United States, while the metropolises are experiencing stagnation in their population. US census bureau figures show that Elk Grove, an extensive area of strip malls and traffic jams near the Californian capital Sacramento, is the country’s fastest growing city.

The motorbikes surge across the border in waves, hundreds of riders in turbans jostling for space in a cloud of milky fumes and a feverish revving of engines. Overwhelmed border guards try to search for explosives or weapons, a fruitless task. After a cursory pat-down of every 10th man the bikes roar through, barrelling down a barbed wire chicane and into Afghanistan.