18 h. ago Republicans win special elections for two key House seats in Florida

Randy Fine beats Josh Weil in Mike Waltz’s former district, and Jimmy Patronis wins seat vacated by Matt GaetzRepublicans on Tuesday won special elections for two US House of Representatives seats in Florida vacated by Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees, dashing Democratic hopes for an upset victory in the first federal special elections held since the president began his second term.But Democratic candidates Josh Weil and Gay Valimont are on track to lose the solidly red districts by much smaller margins than the more than 30 points that Democrats lost them by in November. Continue reading...

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23 h. ago Florida special election: Republican Randy Fine wins Waltz’s former House seat

Fine takes Trump adviser’s seat despite Democrat Josh Weil putting up stiff challenge in Trump-dominated districtRepublican Randy Fine won a special election Tuesday for a House seat in Florida vacated by Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, although Democrats are likely to perform better in the Republican district than they did in November.Democratic candidate Josh Weil put up a stiff challenge in the eastern coastal district that Trump carried by 30 percentage points in the November elections, but the AP called the race for Fine early on Tuesday evening. Continue reading...

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27 h. ago Bullaun Press wins Republic of Consciousness prize for ‘rollicking picaresque’ novel

Irish publisher receives award for small presses for Gaëlle Bélem’s There’s a Monster Behind the DoorIrish publisher Bullaun Press has won the Republic of Consciousness prize for small presses with the book There’s a Monster Behind the Door by Gaëlle Bélem, translated from French by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert.There’s a Monster Behind the Door is a “rollicking, sardonic picaresque”, said judge Houman Barekat. “The novel has important things to say about colonialism and society, but it’s also tremendous fun – darkly funny, acerbic, energetic.” Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Pronatalists are ascendant on the right. Can they agree on how to make Americans have more babies?

The movement unites ‘family values’ conservatives and tech bro rightwingers. Will this incoherent coalition hold?In his first address to the United States after becoming vice-president, JD Vance stood on stage and proclaimed: “I want more babies in the United States of America.” Weeks later, Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging support for in vitro fertilization, recognizing “the importance of family formation and that our nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children”.In late January, a Department of Transportation memo directed the agency to prioritize projects that “give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average”. And last week, it was reported that Elon Musk, the unelected head of the government-demolishing “department of governmental efficiency” and a man who has said that the “collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far”, had become a fat...

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3 w. ago The rise of pronatalism: why Musk, Vance and the right want women to have more babies

The movement unites ‘family values’ conservatives and tech bro rightwingers. Will this incoherent coalition hold?In his first address to the United States after becoming vice-president, JD Vance stood on stage and proclaimed: “I want more babies in the United States of America.” Weeks later, Donald Trump signed an executive order pledging support for in vitro fertilization, recognizing “the importance of family formation and that our nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children”.In late January, a Department of Transportation memo directed the agency to prioritize projects that “give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average”. And last week, it was reported that Elon Musk, the unelected head of the government-demolishing “department of governmental efficiency” and a man who has said that the “collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far”, had become a fat...

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4 w. ago Elon Musk reveals his big prediction for 2026 midterm elections after Trump's fiery joint session speech

Elon Musk thinks that after President Donald Trump's joint session address Republicans can win an even larger majority in the Senate in the 2026 midterms.

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