29 h. ago Illinois governor tells teachers union Trump can ‘f*** all the way off’

Illinois governor JB Pritzker unleashed a profanity-laced attack on President Donald Trump and his Republican allies during a speech last month before the state’s largest teachers union.

Politics

62 h. ago The luxury gap: Trump builds his palace as Americans face going hungry

Schmoozing the super-rich to fund a $300m ballroom while cutting food aid for those on low incomes threw the president’s architectural folly into sharp reliefIt was a feast fit for a king – and any billionaire willing to be his subject. From gold-rimmed plates on gold-patterned tablecloths decorated with gold candlestick holders, they gorged on heirloom tomato panzanella salad, beef wellington and a dessert of roasted Anjou pears, cinnamon crumble and butterscotch ice-cream.On 15 October, Donald Trump welcomed nearly 130 deep-pocketed donors, allies and representatives of major companies for a dinner at the White House to reward them for their pledged contributions to a vast new ballroom now expected to cost $300m. That the federal government had shut down two weeks earlier scarcely seemed to matter. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago US withdrawing some troops from Europe after Trump’s warning to Nato allies

Trump said in September that Washington could increase its troop presence in Poland

Events

6 d. 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

6 d. 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

8 d. 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

1 week 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

1 week 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

1 week 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

1 week 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

2 w. 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

3 w. ago ‘Page one of the authoritarian playbook’: how Trump and allies are exploiting Kirk’s killing

The president and his Maga allies have used the rightwing influencer’s killing to justify attacks on critics, experts sayDonald Trump and Maga allies have capitalized on the killing of rightwing influencer Charlie Kirk to expand attacks on liberal groups, donors, Democrats, and others by tarring many critics as the “enemy within” and “radical left” in a move that legal scholars and historians call authoritarian and anti-democratic.Kirk’s killing by a lone gunman spurred Trump and top allies to quickly launch conspiratorial charges against a bevy of political foes and an investigation of billionaire liberal donor George Soros. They also threatened legal action against TV network ABC after their late-night star Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension over clumsy comments about Kirk ended. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago ‘Our job is to maximise their losses’: how Ukraine’s forces attempt to claw back against Russian advances

Along Donetsk’s frontline, a small counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops aims to help change perceptions about the war among Kyiv’s western alliesAs Donald Trump prepared to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August, Russia launched an offensive in eastern Ukraine. Small groups of soldiers pushed forward near Dobropillia and, meeting little resistance, they advanced 15 to 20 km and seized a chain of villages.It is a small pocket of land, but one that has driven perceptions of the war in the last months. At the time of the Alaska summit, it was seen as proof that Russia had momentum; as Ukraine had taken back territory – albeit in the context of Russian advances elsewhere – it may have contributed to Trump’s dismissive assessment of Moscow’s military as a “paper tiger”. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Nobel committee reacts to Trump and allies’ pressure campaign for Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize committee has reacted to Donald Trump and his allies’ campaign for the US president to win the award, claiming it would be an “insult” to America if he did not.

Politics

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: 23 children and adolescents brought out of Russian

Rescue was carried out under Zelenskyy’s ‘Bring Kids Back UA’ programme; Trump ‘stepping up pressure’ to end war. What we know on day 1,325Twenty-three Ukrainian children and adolescents have been brought out of Russian-occupied areas of the country to territory under Kyiv’s control, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the rescue was carried out under the president’s “Bring Kids Back UA” programme aimed at bringing to safe areas children deported to Russia or confined to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington and Nato allies were “stepping up the pressure” to end the war in Ukraine, after his outreach to Russia’s Vladimir Putin failed to achieve a ceasefire. “Yeah, we are stepping up the pressure,” Trump said in an Oval Office during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. “We’re stepping it up together. We’re all stepping it up. Nato h...

Events