10 h. ago You say we need more babies, rightwingers? Come back to me after you’ve fought in the trenches of soft play | Emma Beddington

A ghastly coalition of tech bros and religious conservatives is pushing a baby boom. Let’s see how they feel when they’ve dragged a screaming child out of an excrement-fouled ball pitI absolutely cannot fathom the number of populist rightwing politicians and commentators who have looked at the smouldering mess that is the world currently and thought: “I know what this situation demands – more toddlers.” Population-boosting discourse and policies have spread across Europe (Hungary, Poland, Greece, Italy and beyond), while in the US an unholy coalition of tech bros, religious conservatives, blowhard podcasters and the politicians who pander to them have gone loudly pronatalist. JD Vance used his first speech as vice-president to proclaim: “I want more babies in the United States of America”; Elon Musk called declining birthrates “a much bigger risk to civilisation than global warming”; and Trump is considering various procreation-incentivising policies, including a $5,000 “baby bonus”...

Politics

38 h. ago Donald Trump and Elon Musk spat concerns Republicans as calls for truce increase

Republicans fear the potential consequences of a prolonged spat between the pair.

Politics

50 h. ago US charges Kilmar Ábrego García with people smuggling as he is returned from El Salvador

US attorney general Pam Bondi says Ábrego García is back on US soil but will be sent back to El Salvador after serving a sentence if convictedTesla shares rose on Friday as investors took some comfort from White House aides scheduling a call with CEO Elon Musk to broker peace after a public feud with President Donald Trump, reports Reuters. The electric carmaker’s shares were up about 5% in Frankfurt on Friday, having closed down 14.3% on Thursday in New York, losing about $150bn in market value.“It’s unlikely that Trump will end subsidies and contracts with Tesla. Those are obviously threats that are unlikely to come into fruition,” Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index told Reuters. “I don’t expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a couple of days.” Continue reading...

Politics

51 h. ago Wrongly deported Kilmar Ábrego García reportedly on his way back to the US to face criminal charges

Federal grand jury has indicted him for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the US, media report saysTesla shares rose on Friday as investors took some comfort from White House aides scheduling a call with CEO Elon Musk to broker peace after a public feud with President Donald Trump, reports Reuters. The electric carmaker’s shares were up about 5% in Frankfurt on Friday, having closed down 14.3% on Thursday in New York, losing about $150bn in market value.“It’s unlikely that Trump will end subsidies and contracts with Tesla. Those are obviously threats that are unlikely to come into fruition,” Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index told Reuters. “I don’t expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a couple of days.” Continue reading...

Events

55 h. ago Trump says ‘I’m not even thinking about Elon’ as Musk loses $33bn in net worth amid feud – live

Trump tells CNN Musk ‘has a problem’ and that he does not plan to speak to the Tesla CEO for a whileTrump says Musk has ‘lost his mind’ and dismisses peace offeringTesla shares rose on Friday as investors took some comfort from White House aides scheduling a call with CEO Elon Musk to broker peace after a public feud with President Donald Trump, reports Reuters. The electric carmaker’s shares were up about 5% in Frankfurt on Friday, having closed down 14.3% on Thursday in New York, losing about $150bn in market value.“It’s unlikely that Trump will end subsidies and contracts with Tesla. Those are obviously threats that are unlikely to come into fruition,” Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index told Reuters. “I don’t expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a couple of days.” Continue reading...

Politics

58 h. ago Trump says Musk has ‘lost his mind’ and dismisses peace offering

Trump says he’s ‘not particularly’ interested in reconciling with Elon Musk, who reportedly wanted to speak to presidentUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump appeared to dismiss a peace overture from his former close political ally Elon Musk on Friday, calling him someone who had “lost his mind” as the extraordinary falling out between the two men looked set to continue.The US president and the richest person in the world – who had been tasked with slashing the federal government – fell out in spectacular fashion on Thursday in a series of escalating social media posts that roiled the political world. Continue reading...

Politics

64 h. ago Trump urged to immediately SEIZE SpaceX from Musk after fallen 'First Buddy' threatened to leave NASA astronauts stranded in space

Steve Bannon, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump and a fierce critic of Elon Musk, has called for direct action to be taken against the billionaire entrepreneur.

Technology

69 h. ago Trump urged to immediately SEIZE Space X from Musk after fallen 'First Buddy' threatened to leave NASA astronauts stranded in space

Steve Bannon, former senior adviser to President Donald Trump and a fierce critic of Elon Musk, has called for direct action to be taken against the billionaire entrepreneur.

Technology

3 d. ago Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon calls for Elon Musk to be deported immediately

Steve Bannon, chief strategist for the first seven months of Trump's first term, has called for a full investigation into South African born Elon Musk's immigration status

Politics

3 d. ago 'Epstein's ghost comes back to haunt Trump as Musk trolls President'

Elon Musk posted what he called a 'really big bomb' regarding Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein - though there is no suggestion Donald Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour

Politics

3 d. ago CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN: 'Epstein's ghost comes back to haunt Trump as Musk trolls President'

Elon Musk posted what he called a 'really big bomb' regarding Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein - though there is no suggestion Donald Trump knew of any crimes or participated in any criminal behaviour

Politics

3 d. ago Donald Trump v Elon Musk LIVE: Bromance explodes as Musk drops 'bomb' on Epstein files

Elon Musk has taken to social media to drop what he called a 'really big bomb' as his relationship with President Donald Trump has exploded in a spectacular, and petty, fashion.

Politics

4 d. ago Elon Musk uses ‘KILL BILL’ in call for Americans to rise up against Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful’ plan

Tesla billionaire is drawing on Quentin Tarantino classic film to rally broad opposition to the massive spending package

Events

4 d. ago Elon Musk ghosted me, House Speaker Mike Johnson admits after ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ blowup

Republican leader says Trump is ‘not delighted’ after Musk called president’s key legislation a ‘disgusting abomination’

Politics

4 d. ago Elon Musk brands Donald Trump's big tax break bill a 'disgusting abomination'

Donald Trump's administration is pushing a piece of legislation in the United States which will be central to its agenda and will mean tax breaks as well as spending cuts

Economics

5 d. ago Elon Musk calls Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill a ‘disgusting abomination’

The former head of Doge said the ‘outrageous’ tax bill will cause the deficit to grow to $2.5tnUS politics live – latest updatesElon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur, has opened a new rift with Donald Trump by denouncing the US president’s tax and spending bill as a “disgusting abomination”.Musk’s online outburst could embolden fiscally conservative Republican senators – some of whom have already spoken out – to defy Trump as they continue crucial negotiations on Capitol Hill over the so-called “one big, beautiful bill”. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Elon Musk steps up criticism of Trump budget bill, calling it a ‘disgusting abomination’ – US politics live

After officially leaving government adviser role, Tesla CEO doubles down on opposition to what he calls ‘massive, outrageous’ billDonald Trump has threatened to impose “large scale fines” on California over the participation of a transgender athlete taking part in a high school competition.The president wrote on Truth Social:A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG, despite the fact that they were warned by me not to do so. As Governor Gavin Newscum fully understands, large scale fines will be imposed!!! Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Elon Musk goes nuclear on Trump and his big, beautiful bill: 'Pork

Elon Musk went nuclear on President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill on Tuesday, calling it 'a disgusting abomination' and condemning lawmakers who voted for it.

Politics

6 d. ago Trump’s tax bill helps the rich, hurts the poor and adds trillions to the deficit | Katrina vanden Heuvel

The ‘big, beautiful bill’ has reaffirmed that a pledged golden age is really just a windfall for the uber-wealthyThe blush is off the rose, or, rather, the orange. The erstwhile “First Buddy” and born-again fiscal hawk Elon Musk recently said he was “disappointed” by Donald Trump’s spendthrift budget currently under debate in the US Senate. Squeaking through the House of Representatives thanks to the capitulation of several Republican deficit hardliners, this “big, beautiful bill” certainly increases the federal debt bigly – by nearly $4tn over the next decade.Equally disappointed are those who have been busy burnishing Trump’s populist veneer. Steve Bannon had repeatedly promised higher taxes for millionaires, but he has confessed he’s “very upset”. That’s because the bill would cut taxes by over $600bn for the top 1% of wage-earners, also known as millionaires. It amounts to the largest upward transfer of wealth in American history. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Trump says he will be negotiating the ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill after Musk criticizes it – live

Trump says the bill ‘needs to get a lot of support’ in Congress, adding ‘we have to get a lot of votes’Musk says Trump tax bill weakens Doge cost-cutting measuresThe vice-president, JD Vance, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Bitcoin 2025 Conference in Vegas, which will set out the Trump administration’s turbocharged approach to the US crypto industry.If you cast your minds back, it’s the same conference Trump spoke at last year in Nashville calling for America to become a “bitcoin superpower” and the “crypto capital of the planet” under his leadership.At 4:30pm ET, Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr will speak at the very same conference in Vegas. It’s presumably an industry they feel invested in, given they back a major Bitcoin venture themselves, per Reuters. And it comes just a day after a separate family-linked business, the Trump Media & Technology Group, announced its intention to raise $2.5bn to invest in bitcoin, as the Wall Street Journal reports. A...

Politics