4 d. ago Here’s what the Democrats can learn from Zohran Mamdani | Judith Levine

The lessons of Zohran’s victory are hopeful for the left and the Democrats – if the party takes them to heartIn a lifetime of activism, I have canvassed and phone-banked, raised money, and twisted arms for dozens of political candidates. Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Indian-Ugandan democratic socialist and presumptive winner of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, is the only one I’ve both supported without reservation and believed could win.Volunteering for a campaign always teaches you something. Often, it’s discouraging – like the moment my partner and I saw Hillary Clinton’s team selling lawn signs for $25 instead of blanketing Philadelphia by distributing them free, and predicted she’d lose. But the lessons of Zohran’s victory are hopeful for the left and the Democrats – if the party takes them to heart.Judith Levine is a Brooklyn journalist and essayist, a contributing writer to the Intercept and the author of five books Continue reading...

Politics

8 d. ago US citizen arrested during Ice raid in what family describes as ‘kidnapping’

Andrea Velez, 32, a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona, had just been dropped off at work by her mother and sisterA US citizen was arrested during an immigration raid in downtown Los Angeles this week in what her family described as a “kidnapping” by federal immigration agents.Andrea Velez, 32, had just been dropped off at work by her mother and sister, the pair said, when they saw agents grab her. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago UK transport secretary calls HS2 an ‘appalling mess’ as she confirms delay

Heidi Alexander vows to ‘sort out’ HS2 project; UK inflation dips to 3.4% as transport costs ease while food prices jumpUK inflation eases to 3.4% amid falling fuel and air fare pricesInflation pressures remain sticky in the UK, according to Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.Looking ahead, we continue to expect CPI inflation to average 3.4% for the rest of the year as strong wage growth, minimum wage hikes and tax increases pass through to retail prices. We think headline inflation will struggle to dip below 3% before April 2026. By that point, inflation will have been above target almost continuously for five years, risking further deanchoring of inflation expectations and persistent wage pressure.Granted, US president Trump’s trade war could lead to some diversion of Chinese exports previously bound to the US, which could cut UK inflation. But war in the Middle-East has boosted oil and natural gas prices, adding 10bp to our forecast inflation peak and risks p...

Politics

2 w. ago Ice raids in LA continue as armed agents target immigrant communities

Mayor of Montebello, a suburb east of LA with 79% Latino population, said: ‘This is racial profiling’US immigration raids continued to target southern California communities in recent days, including at a popular flea market and in a Los Angeles suburb where US citizens were detained.On Saturday, as mass protests swept the nation, including tens of thousands demonstrating in LA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents descended on a swap meet in Santa Fe Springs in southeast LA county. Video showed dozens of heavily armed, masked officers carrying out the raid before a scheduled concert at the long-running event that features vendors, food and entertainment every weekend Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago US marines carry out first known detention of civilian in Los Angeles – live

Marcos Leao, a 27-year-old army veteran, told reporters after he was released that the marines who detained him were ‘just doing their job’With Donald Trump’s deployment of more troops in response to protests in LA, and as plans come together for a military parade in Washington DC on the president’s birthday, journalist Judith Levine tells Jonathan Freedland why she believes the US has entered a new era of authoritarianism in this week’s edition of US Politics Weekly. You can listen here.With predictions of as many as 200,000 attendees at tomorrow’s Washington parade, the Secret Service is preparing for protests by erecting 18 miles of anti-scale fencing and deploying drones to the city’s skies to keep watch. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago About 200 marines to move into Los Angeles, says official, as law enforcement continues patrolling California streets – live

Neither marines nor national guard troops in Los Angeles have temporarily detained anyone, Maj Gen Scott Sherman says; marines to protect federal buildings and personnelWith Donald Trump’s deployment of more troops in response to protests in LA, and as plans come together for a military parade in Washington DC on the president’s birthday, journalist Judith Levine tells Jonathan Freedland why she believes the US has entered a new era of authoritarianism in this week’s edition of US Politics Weekly. You can listen here.With predictions of as many as 200,000 attendees at tomorrow’s Washington parade, the Secret Service is preparing for protests by erecting 18 miles of anti-scale fencing and deploying drones to the city’s skies to keep watch. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Trump is waging war against his own citizens in Los Angeles | Judith Levine

In its first months in office, the Trump administration enacted what could be called soft authoritarianism. Now we are in a second phaseOn Monday, the Pentagon sent 700 active-duty marines to Los Angeles and doubled the number of national guard troops deployed there to 4,000, to quell protests Donald Trump said on Sunday were already “under control”, “still simmering ... but not very much”.The same day, the US president used the word “insurrectionists” to describe demonstrators against the unprecedentedly large and fierce immigration deportation raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) that started on Friday in that city. The remark echoed his long-held desire to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would authorize him to send the military anywhere in the country to put down dissent. Continue reading...

Politics