5 h. ago Daniel Lurie: the millionaire mayor who got Trump to back off (for now)

San Francisco’s mayor, along with Silicon Valley leaders, managed to stop the president’s law enforcement surgeDonald Trump rarely has kind words for Democrats, especially those who stand in his way. But on Thursday the president offered something unfamiliar: a compliment.As federal agents mobilized at a US Coast Guard base in the Bay Area, Trump credited San Francisco’s new mayor, Daniel Lurie, for “very nicely” persuading him to stand down from a planned immigration enforcement “surge” in the city this weekend. Continue reading...

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21 h. ago Trump backs down on sending federal troops to San Francisco for immigration crackdown

Protesters flood streets in show of resistance, as president calls off deployment after speaking with city’s mayor and Silicon Valley leadersDonald Trump canceled plans for a deployment of federal troops to San Francisco that had sparked widespread condemnation from California leaders and sent protesters flooding into the streets.The Bay Area region had been on edge after reports emerged on Wednesday that the Trump administration was poised to send more than 100 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal agents to the US Coast Guard base in Alameda, a city in the East Bay, as part of a large-scale immigration-enforcement plan. By early Thursday morning, hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the Coast Guard base, holding signs with slogans such as “No ICE or Troops in the Bay!”. Continue reading...

Politics

30 h. ago Don’t be fooled. The US is regulating AI – just not the way you think

Beneath the free-market rhetoric, Washington actually intervenes to control the building blocks of AI systemsAt first glance, today’s artificial intelligence policy landscape suggests a strategic retreat from regulation. As of late, AI leaders such as the US have doubled down on this messaging. JD Vance champions AI policy with a “deregulatory flavor”. Congress considered a 10-year ban on state AI legislation. On cue, the Trump administration’s “AI action plan” warns against smothering the technology “in bureaucracy at this early stage”.But the deregulatory narrative is a critical misconception. Though the US federal government takes a hands-off approach to AI applications such as chatbots and image generators, it is heavily involved in the building blocks of AI. For example, both the Trump and the Biden administrations have been hands-on when it comes to AI chips – a crucial component of powerful AI systems. Biden restricted chip access to competing nations such as China as a matte...

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30 h. ago Don’t be fooled. The US is regulating AI – just not the way you think | Sacha Alanoca and Maroussia Lévesque

Beneath the free-market rhetoric, Washington actually intervenes to control the building blocks of AI systemsAt first glance, today’s artificial intelligence policy landscape suggests a strategic retreat from regulation. As of late, AI leaders such as the US have doubled down on this messaging. JD Vance champions AI policy with a “deregulatory flavor”. Congress considered a 10-year ban on state AI legislation. On cue, the Trump administration’s “AI action plan” warns against smothering the technology “in bureaucracy at this early stage”.But the deregulatory narrative is a critical misconception. Though the US federal government takes a hands-off approach to AI applications such as chatbots and image generators, it is heavily involved in the building blocks of AI. For example, both the Trump and the Biden administrations have been hands-on when it comes to AI chips – a crucial component of powerful AI systems. Biden restricted chip access to competing nations such as China as a matte...

Politics

39 h. ago Queensland STOPS transgender kids accessing puberty blockers

The first Australian state to deny puberty blockers for young transgender patients stands accused of stoking "Trump-style hate" after becoming embroiled in a landmark court battle.

Politics

2 d. ago Trump says he’d be glad to talk to Schumer and Democrats — but only after they agree to key shutdown demand

‘He owns this shutdown,’ one Democrat says.

Politics

8 d. ago ‘He may be watching’: Mamdani on Fox News speaks directly to Trump

New York mayoral contender steps into lion’s den and says he is ‘ready to speak at any time’ to help lower cost of livingZohran Mamdani, the leading candidate to be the next mayor of New York, stepped into the lion’s den on Wednesday when he sat for an interview with Fox News, the rightwing news organization that has spent weeks demonizing him and his democratic socialist goals.Speaking to host Martha MacCallum, Mamdani was asked about funding for his proposals, which include freezing increases on rent-stabilized apartments, providing free buses and offering free childcare – and whether other services would be cut to achieve those goals. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Federal judge temporarily blocks mass layoffs as Trump official estimates 10,000 could be affected – live

Judge Susan Illston says administration has ‘taken advantage of lapse in government functioning’; Russell Vought says his office wants to be ‘very aggressive in shuttering bureaucracy’Full report: judge temporarily blocks firings by Trump administration during shutdownThe far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Judge temporarily blocks firings by Trump administration during shutdown

Judge says White House office of management and budget took advantage of government shutdown in firing workersA federal court has granted a temporary injunction blocking the Trump administration’s firings of federal employees during the government shutdown.The ruling by Judge Susan Illston of the US district court’s northern district of California came in response to a lawsuit filed by labor unions representing federal workers. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Federal judge says she’s ‘inclined’ to block mass layoffs as Trump official estimates 10,000 could be affected – live

Judge Susan Illston says administration has ‘taken advantage of lapse in government functioning’; Russell Vought says his office wants to be ‘very aggressive in shuttering bureaucracy’The far-right US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is further distancing herself from her fellow Republicans and accusing men in her party of being “weak”.In an interview with the Washington Post, Greene expressed her frustrations with Republicans, signaling her further deviation from the political strategies of her party, as the government shutdown beginning 1 October was slated to enter its third week. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Judge halts free transfer of land worth $67M for Trump’s presidential library in Miami

A local historian sued Miami Dade College and its board of trustees last week over the potential transfer

Politics

9 d. ago Sweden, Estonia, and Finland pledge to increase spending on weapons purchases from US – Europe live

Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he expected further pledges, noting that $2bn already had been committed through the mechanismSergiy Petrovich Lysak has been appointed as the head of the Odesa city military administration, as confirmed by an order on the website for the president of Ukraine on Wednesday, after the dismissal of the city’s former mayor.Lysak was previously tasked with leading the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.Odesa deserves greater protection and greater support.This can be done in the format of a military administration – too many security issues in Odesa have remained without an adequate response for far too long. Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Democrats refuse to fold over shutdown as Republican outrage builds

Party sticks to its guns on healthcare and says it’s willing to hold out – much to the delight of its progressive supportersWhen he sat down to talk about the US government shutdown with reporters from a closely read political newsletter this week, Chuck Schumer sounded as if he was relishing his standoff with the Republicans.“Every day gets better for us,” he told Punchbowl News. As the shutdown got under way, Schumer explained, the Republican part believed that Democrats would quickly fold and vote to reopen the government, but instead they had stuck to their guns for a week and a half, demanding an array of concessions on healthcare and other issues. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Stephen Miller is the most dangerous man in the Trump administration | Judith Levine

In the White House deputy chief of staff, we see that Maga will not simply end with Trump. We must keep our eyes on MillerIn an interview on Monday, CNN’s Boris Sanchez asked Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, whether Donald Trump intended to abide by federal judge Karin Immergut’s order blocking the deployment of the national guard in Oregon.Miller said neither yes nor no. But the implication was no. The administration had already filed an appeal with the ninth circuit. He said: “I would note the administration won an identical case in the ninth circuit just a few months ago with respect to the federalizing of the California national guard.” Actually, it didn’t quite win. As I understand it (and lawyers, please correct me) the administration won a temporary stay on a temporary injunction against federalizing the California national guard in Los Angeles.Judith Levine is Brooklyn-based journalist, essayist and author of five books. Her Substack is Today in Fascism...

Politics

2 w. ago Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s National Guard troops in Chicago: ‘Will only add fuel to the fire’

Judge April Perry says administration ‘simply unreliable’ when it comes to its demands for boots on the ground

Events

2 w. ago Schumer and the Democrats hope to make Obamacare and the shutdown a 2026 issue. Good luck with that, Chuck!

The minority party might have found their mojo again after months of looking like losers, Eric Garcia writes. But the American public has a short memory

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2 w. ago Republican leader Mike Johnson channels Captain America to rip ‘Shutdown’ Schumer as tied to ‘Marxist’ Mamdani

The House Speaker accuses Schumer of appeasement to the left flank of the party after seeing the rise of socialist-leaning mayoral candidate in his hometown mayor’s race

Politics

2 w. ago Even the Conservatives can't stop talking about Andy Burnham

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch made sure to mention the Greater Manchester mayor in her speech at the party's conference

Events

2 w. ago ‘I could do this all day’: Mike Johnson channels Captain America to rip ‘Shutdown’ Schumer as cowering to ‘Marxist’ Mamdani

The House Speaker accuses Schumer of appeasement to the left flank of the party after seeing the rise of socialist-leaning mayoral candidate in his hometown mayor’s race

Politics

2 w. ago ‘This madness needs to end’ say House Republicans as shutdown enters eighth day – US politics live

Majority leader Steve Scalise continues to blame Democrats for not passing House-passed funding bill as shutdown continuesEx-FBI director pleads not guilty on lying to Congress chargeA series of “violent” texts sent by a Democrat seeking to become Virginia’s attorney general has shaken up the state’s governor’s race, with Republican candidate Winsome Earle-Sears seizing on the controversy to try to reverse her opponent’s double-digit polling lead.Earle-Sears has released new campaign advertisements condemning Democratic former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, her opponenent in the governor’s race, for continuing to support Jay Jones, whose private texts three years ago speculated about a senior state Republican getting “two bullets to the head” and “breeding little fascists”. Continue reading...

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