87 m. ago Why Trump’s White House is using video game memes to recruit for ICE

A recent spate of posts has garnered attention, but Trump and his allies have long been using gaming imagery to mobilise a toxic subculture of ‘rootless white males’ Just days after Microsoft announced Halo: Campaign Evolved, the next game in its famous science-fiction series, the White House shared an interesting picture on X. The image, which appears to be AI-generated, shows President Donald Trump wearing the armour of Halo’s iconic protagonist, Master Chief, standing in salute in front of an American flag that’s missing several stars. In his left hand is an energy sword, a weapon used by the alien enemies in the Halo games. Posted in response to a tweet from US game retailer GameStop, the text accompanying the image reads “Power to the Players” in reference to the store’s slogan.GameStop and the White House exchanged another Halo meme or two, and then, on 27 October, the official Department of Homeland Security X account joined in – using Halo imagery of a futuristic soldier in ...

Politics

7 h. ago From CBS to TikTok, US media are falling to Trump’s allies. This is how democracy crumbles | Owen Jones

We’re watching the Orbánisation of the US – and as in Hungary, control of the media is key to consolidating powerDemocracy may be dying in the US. Whether the patient receives emergency treatment in time will determine whether the condition becomes terminal. Before Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, I warned of “Orbánisation” – in reference to Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. There, democracy was not extinguished by firing squads or the mass imprisonment of dissidents, but by slow attrition. The electoral system was warped, civil society was targeted and pro-Orbán moguls quietly absorbed the media.Nine months on, and Orbánisation is in full bloom across the Atlantic. Billionaire Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, and his filmmaker son, David, have become blunt instruments in this process. Trump boasts they are “friends of mine – they’re big supporters of mine”. Larry Ellison, second only to Elon Musk as the world’s richest man, has poured tens of millions into R...

Politics

41 h. ago A third term for Trump would be unconstitutional. Here’s why

The 22nd amendment states no person shall be elected president more than twice – but Trump allies could challenge it or seek a loopholeTrump ‘would love’ unconstitutional third term but rules out running for VPDonald Trump has declined to definitively say he will not seek an unconstitutional third term as US president. “I would love to do it: I have my best numbers ever,” the 79-year-old told reporters on Air Force One during a trip to Asia. Pressed on whether he was not ruling out a third term, he said, “Am I not ruling it out? I mean, you’ll have to tell me.” Continue reading...

Politics

68 h. ago US and China reach ‘final deal’ on TikTok sale, treasury secretary says

Scott Bessent said plan was part of framework for trade deal but did not share details on transferring app’s ownershipMurdoch, Ellison and China: what we know about the US’s TikTok dealUS treasury secretary Scott Bessent claimed on Sunday that the US and China have finalized the details of a deal transferring TikTok’s US version to new owners.“We reached a final deal on TikTok,” Bessent said on Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. Alluding to Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Bessent continued: “We reached [a deal] in Madrid, and I believe that as of today, all the details are ironed out, and that will be for the two leaders to consummate that transaction” during a meeting scheduled for Thursday in Korea. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Tourist plunges 22ft to his death in front his horrified daughter at world famous monument in Rome

A TOURIST plunged to his death in front of his horrified daughter after losing his balance and falling from an iconic monument in Rome. Japanese national Morimasa Hibino, 69, died after dropping from the Pantheon's perimeter wall in the Italian capital, local media reported. He is believed to have fallen from about 22ft at around...

Events

4 d. ago Starmer vows Ukraine allies will take Russian oil and gas off market after Trump sanctions

Sir Keir Starmer said the coalition of the willing has agreed on a ‘clear plan for the rest of the year’ in supporting Kyiv

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine wants US to stay involved, says Zelenskyy after meeting western allies

Ukrainian leader joined ‘coalition of the willing’ to discuss how to ramp up pressure on RussiaVolodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants the US to stay involved in efforts to end the war after a meeting of western allies in London that took place without president Donald Trump.The Ukrainian leader chose not to overtly lobby for the supply of US Tomahawk cruise missiles at a meeting of more than 20 mainly European leaders from the “coalition of the willing” but instead emphasised the need for the west to work together. Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Coronation Street's Lucy Fallon hits back after shocking message over son, 2, on social media

The actress, who plays Bethany Platt in the ITV soap, shares two children with her footballer boyfriend Ryan Ledson

Events

5 d. ago US senior officials warn Israeli political factions not to disrupt Gaza ceasefire

Marco Rubio says bill passed by rightwing MPs to establish Israeli ‘sovereignty’ over occupied territories ‘threatens’ peace dealThe parade of senior US officials traveling to the Middle East in recent weeks is a clear warning from the White House to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli political factions to not disrupt the recent Gaza ceasefire – including by an annexation of the West Bank – or face a serious rift in relations with the US.As the shaky ceasefire came into effect last week, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner quickly rushed to the region for consultations. Now they have been followed by secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice-president JD Vance as Trump deploys his top allies to tamp down on internal strife within Israel’s fractious Knesset. Continue reading...

Events

5 d. ago Mohamed Salah appears to scrub Liverpool from social media amid Eintracht Frankfurt fallout

Mohamed Salah has taken action on social media after being dropped by Arne Slot for Liverpool's Champions League game against Eintracht Frankfurt and then taking stick from fans

Politics

5 d. ago Donald Trump 'fully on warpath' with Putin after Russian military funds slashed

Vladimir Putin's allies have spoken out after Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest oil producers that bankroll the country's military

Events

7 d. ago The politics of despair have engulfed Britain. But Zack Polanski is offering a way out | Owen Jones

The leader of the Greens wants to focus on battles that unite – such as taxing wealth – without yielding an inch on minority rightsHas the grisly race to the bottom in British politics finally been halted by a Green surge? Since Zack Polanski secured the Green party leadership with an emphatic 85% vote share on an unashamedly leftwing platform, the political consensus has faced its biggest challenge since the defeat of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour.When Polanksi launched his bid in May, the Greens counted 60,000 members. They’ve now hurtled past 130,000, eclipsing the number of Conservative members. One poll already puts them on 15%, more than double last year’s 6.2% and neck-and-neck with Labour. To call that a political phenomenon is not hyperbole.Owen Jones is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Politics

7 d. ago Kyiv and European allies prepare Russia peace plan to keep Trump onside

Measures to be discussed on Friday follow Ukraine’s insistence that talks to end war should be based on current frontline

Politics

7 d. ago Trump threatens 'FAST, FURIOUS & BRUTAL END' for Hamas as horrific video shows Palestinians being kneecapped

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Trump has threaten to unleash death upon Hamas if they do not uphold the Gaza peace deal with Israel.

Politics

7 d. ago Trump warns Hamas of 'FAST, FURIOUS & BRUTAL END' as Middle East allies are ready to invade Gaza

Trump threaten to unleash death upon Hamas if they do not uphold the Gaza peace deal with Israel.

Events

7 d. ago Trump claims allies in Middle East will send troops into Gaza and ‘straighten out Hamas’ if ceasefire fails

US president claimed leaders told him ‘explicitly’ they would act against militant group ‘at his request’

Events

9 d. ago Zelenskyy urges allies not to appease Russia after failing to secure US missiles

Ukraine’s president calls for meeting of European-led ‘coalition of the willing’ on his return from talks with TrumpUkraine’s president has urged allies against appeasing Russia after returning from a trip to the US, where he failed to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.Volodymyr Zelenskyy had flown to Washington after weeks of calls for the weaponry, hoping to capitalise on Donald Trump’s growing frustration with Vladimir Putin after a summit in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough in the war. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Maga is painting Saturday’s protests as violent treason. Prove them wrong | Judith Levine

Trump allies would love an excuse to step up their crackdown. Nonviolence, both disciplined and open-hearted, must define the day“They have a ‘Hate America’ rally that’s scheduled for October 18 on the National Mall,” the House speaker, Mike Johnson, said on Fox News on Friday. “It’s all the pro-Hamas wing and, you know, the antifa people. They’re all coming out.”The Republican Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer said the party’s “terrorist wing” was holding the “Hate America” rally. “Democrats want to keep the government shut down to show all those people that are going to come here and express their hatred towards this country that they’re fighting President Trump,” said the House majority leader, Steve Scalise. The transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, embellished the story on Fox, referring to the demonstrations’ “paid protesters” and adding: “It begs the question who’s funding it.” Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Trump team preparing to install ‘allies’ at the IRS to target ‘major Democratic donors’ including George Soros: report

The administration is seeking to ‘weaken the involvement of IRS lawyers in criminal investigations,’ according to a report

Politics

2 w. ago Be sure of this: many of the horrors the west allowed in Gaza will come closer to home | Owen Jones

History shows the crimes of empire were later mirrored on European soil. Dehumanisation and militarised terror both seem normalised nowIt’s clear what Israel’s western-facilitated genocide has done to Gaza. But what has it done to us? Palestinians are the “canaries in a coalmine”, the Palestinian analyst Muhammad Shehada tells me. “We’re screaming of a major warning of what’s about to come your way. When you have a media-political class that’s relishing, delighting in the murder of our children, do you think they’re going to care about yours?”There is a warning from our recent, terrifying past that we should heed. Colonialism, warned Martinican author Aimé Césaire, “works to decivilise the coloniser, to brutalise him in the true sense of the word, to degrade him, to awaken him to buried instincts, to covetousness, violence, race hatred, and moral relativism”. The horrors of western imperialism – with its dehumanisation and violence – were, he argued, ultimately redirected into Europ...

Events