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    Stephen Miller wants us to fear him | Arwa Mahdawi

    Some of Trump’s aides refer to his deputy chief of staff as ‘the prime minister’, with many of the most shocking policies leading back to him. Worrying about his actions isn’t enoughIf you want to understand what’s happening in the US right now, and what is likely to happen next, don’t just focus on Donald Trump. Rather, pay close attention to Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller. It’s increasingly clear that Miller, a man who has said that “America is for Americans and Americans only” and who is on a mission to “save the west” is the driving force behind the Trump administration’s most extreme policies. Per a recent Bloomberg profile, some of Trump’s aides even privately call Miller “the prime minister”.Miller’s influence stretches across both foreign and domestic policy. Those masked immigration agents pulling people off the street, and occasionally shooting unarmed citizens in the face? You can trace their aggressive tactics back to Miller. The plot to get rid of birthright citizenship? Miller’s hands are all over it. The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro? He helped plan it. The campaign to Maga-fy universities? Miller again! All right-leaning roads seem to lead back to Miller. Continue reading… More

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    2026 is already pure chaos. Is that Trump’s electoral strategy? | Moustafa Bayoumi

    Less than two weeks into the year, the US is stoking mayhem at home and abroad – with midterms coming in the autumnHave we ever seen a year in recent memory begin with as much deliberate turmoil as 2026 has? Less than two weeks into 2026, we have witnessed Donald Trump deploy US forces to depose and abduct the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, along with Cilia Flores, his wife and close political adviser. The US president then informed the world that the United States would “run” Venezuela for the time being, which he later explained could potentially last for several years.Trump has also threatened – and then seemingly made peace with – the president of Colombia; seized at least five oil tankers in the Caribbean (actions that UN experts label illegal armed aggression); promised US military strikes targeting cartels in Mexico against the wishes of Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum; and frightened the people of Cuba with the prospect that Marco Rubio could be their next president. Continue reading… More

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    Hyperlocal and highly visible: the power of freeway overpass protests amid Trump 2.0

    Since Trump retook office, protesters across the US are sending messages that are hard for drivers to missBonnie Connery was horrified when she read the news about the death of ICE observer Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on 7 January. Within minutes, she and her local Missoula Visibility Brigade were messaging each other. By 3.30pm, the group of 20 was standing on the South Reserve Street Pedestrian Bridge, arranging letters cut out of craft paper and glued onto black foam and hanging them across the bridge using bungee cords. Thousands of cars driving by during rush hour passed under their messages: “ICE THUGS KILL CITIZEN” and “DHS LIES.”The idea was to grab drivers’ attention quickly, which often means using a short, shocking message. When asked why the group chose this location, Connery said: “These cars are driving out of Missoula, which is blue, into the very red areas outside of the city.” Continue reading… More

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    Trump news at a glance: White House doubles down on threat of ‘lethal force’ against Iran amid unrest

    Trump also announced a 25% tariff for ‘any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran’ – key US politics stories from 12 JanuaryLast week, as growing protests in Iran were met with violent crackdowns, Donald Trump issued a threat to the country’s leadership: “You’d better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.”This week the White House is doubling down on Trump’s saber-rattling. Continue reading… More

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    Trump says countries doing business with Iran face 25% tariff on US trade

    President posts online as US weighs response to situation in Iran, which is major facing anti-government protestsDonald Trump has said any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the US, as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,” the US president said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. Tariffs are paid by US importers of goods from those countries. Iran has been heavily sanctioned by Washington for years. Continue reading… More

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    Minnesota sues Trump administration to end surge of ICE agents in state

    Lawsuit comes in the aftermath of an ICE agent fatally shooting Minneapolis resident Renee Nicole GoodThe Minnesota attorney general, Keith Ellison, announced a lawsuit on Monday against the federal government, seeking to end the surge of ICE agents in the state.The lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials comes in the aftermath of an ICE agent fatally shooting Renee Nicole Good behind the wheel of her vehicle last week, leading to protests across the city and the country. Continue reading… More

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    Some Republicans speak out against DoJ investigation into Fed chair

    Republican senator vows to block all Fed nominations ‘until legal matter is fully resolved’Several Republican lawmakers have begun speaking out against the Trump administration’s criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, with one senator going so far as to threaten all Fed nominations as a result.Thom Tillis, a senator from North Carolina, vowed to block all Federal Reserve nominations after the justice department opened the investigation, inflaming tensions over the central bank’s independence. Continue reading… More

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    US judge lets Danish firm resume Rhode Island offshore wind project halted by Trump

    Ørsted and other wind developers have faced repeated disruptions to multibillion dollar projects under TrumpA federal judge on Monday cleared Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted to resume work on its nearly finished Revolution Wind project, which Donald Trump’s administration halted along with four other projects last month.The ruling by US district judge Royce Lamberth is a legal setback for Trump, who has sought to block expansion of offshore wind in federal waters. Continue reading… More