coal

Subterms

    Latest story

    225 Shares45 Views

    Trump’s tariffs come into full effect after he signs executive orders boosting coal production – US politics live

    by

    Good morning and welcome to the US politics live blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news over the next few hours.We start with news that president Donald Trump’s new tariffs have gone into full effect today.When Trump announced the latest round of tariffs on 2 April, he declared that the US would now tax nearly all of America’s trading partners at a minimum of 10% – and impose steeper rates for countries that he says run trade surpluses with the US.The 10% baseline had already gone into effect on Saturday. Trump’s higher import tax rates on dozens of countries and territories took hold at midnight, Washington DC time, AP reported.The steeper levies run as high as 50% – with that biggest rate landing on small economies that trade little with the US, including the African kingdom of Lesotho.Some other rates include a tax of 47% on imports from Madagascar, 46% on Vietnam, 32% on Taiwan, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 20% on the European Union. Some of these new tariffs build on previous trade measures.Trump last week announced a tariff of 34% on China, for example, which would come on top of 20% levies he imposed on the country earlier this year. He has since threatened to add an another 50% levy on Chinese goods in response to Beijing’s recently promised retaliation. That would bring the combined total to 104% against China.China said it will take “resolute measures” to defend its trading rights, but gave no details on how it will respond.In other news:

    Donald Trump signed four executive orders boosting coal production yesterday. The orders direct government agencies to “end all discriminatory policies against the coal industry,” including by ending the leasing moratorium on coal on federal land, accelerating all permitted funding for coal projects, protecting coal power plants scheduled to be shuttered, and investigating state or local governments that “discriminate against coal”.

    During his executive order ceremony, Trump tried to assuage fears of a recession, saying that tariffs are bringing in $2bn a day. The White House has also said that nearly 70 countries have reached out looking to begin negotiations to lower or postpone their tariffs.

    A federal judge ruled that the White House’s decision to block the Associated Press from its press pool is unconstitutional. The ruling comes nearly two months after the White House first barred an AP reporter from the Oval Office over the outlet’s decision to continue using the term “Gulf of Mexico” after Donald Trump issued an executive order renaming the body of water the “Gulf of America.”

    The US will take back the Panama canal from Chinese influence, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said during a rare visit to the nation still unsettled by Trump’s threats to take back the canal. Just hours after his visit, the Chinese embassy in Panama issued a statement calling Hegseth’s comments part of “a sensationalistic campaign” to “sabotage Chinese-Panamanian cooperation”.

    A New York judge will hear arguments tomorrow about the legality of Donald Trump’s deportations of Venezuelan immigrants, one day after the supreme court issued a ruling saying immigrant rights advocates had filed their case in the wrong state. After the supreme court issued its ruling yesterday, the American Civil Liberties Union re-filed its case in Manhattan.

    Hours after the Internal Revenue Service formalized an agreement to share tax information of undocumented immigrants with Homeland Security, the acting head of the Irs has decided to step down. The acting Irs commissioner, Melanie Krause, is the third person to lead the tax agency since Donald Trump took office in January. More

    More stories

    • 138 Shares75 Views

      in US Politics

      Trump signs orders to allow coal-fired power plants to remain open

      by

      Donald Trump signed four executive orders on Tuesday aimed at reviving coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel that has long been in decline, and which substantially contributes to planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.Environmentalists expressed dismay at the news, saying that Trump was stuck in the past and wanted to make utility customers “pay more for yesterday’s energy”.The US president is using emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants scheduled for retirement to keep producing electricity.The move, announced at a White House event on Tuesday afternoon, was described by White House officials as being in response to increased US power demand from growth in datacenters, artificial intelligence and electric cars.Trump, standing in front of a group of miners in hard hats, said he would sign an executive order “that slashes unnecessary regulations that targeted the beautiful, clean coal”.He added that “we will rapidly expedite leases for coal mining on federal lands”, “streamline permitting”, “end the government bias against coal” and use the Defense Production Act “to turbocharge coal mining in America”.The first order directed all departments and agencies to “end all discriminatory policies against the coal industry” including by ending the leasing moratorium on coal on federal land and accelerate all permitted funding for coal projects.The second imposes a moratorium on the “unscientific and unrealistic policies enacted by the Biden administration” to protect coal power plants currently operating.The third promotes “grid security and reliability” by ensuring that grid policies are focused on “secure and effective energy production” as opposed to “woke” policies that “discriminate against secure sources of power like coal and other fossil fuels”.The fourth instructs the justice department to “vigorously pursue and investigate” the “unconstitutional” policies of “radically leftist states” that “discriminate against coal”.Trump’s approach is in contrast to that of his predecessor Joe Biden, who in May last year brought in new climate rules requiring huge cuts in carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants that some experts said were “probably terminal” for an industry that until recently provided most of the US’s power, but is being driven out of the sector by cheaper renewables and gas.Trump, a Republican, has long promised to boost what he calls “beautiful” coal to fire power plants and for other uses, but the industry has been in decline for decades.The EPA under Trump last month announced a barrage of actions to weaken or repeal a host of pollution limits, including seeking to overturn the Biden-era plan to reduce the number of coal plants.The orders direct the interior secretary, Doug Burgum, to “acknowledge the end” of an Obama-era moratorium that paused coal leasing on federal lands and to require federal agencies to rescind policies transitioning the nation away from coal production.The orders also seek to promote coal and coal technology exports and to accelerate development of coal technologies.Trump has long suggested that coal can help meet surging electricity demand from manufacturing and the massive datacenters needed for artificial intelligence.“Nothing can destroy coal. Not the weather, not a bomb – nothing,” Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by video link in January. “And we have more coal than anybody.”Energy experts say any bump for coal under Trump is likely to be temporary because natural gas is cheaper and there is a durable market for renewable energy such as wind and solar power no matter who holds the White House.Environmental groups were scathing about the orders, pointing out that coal is in steep decline in the US compared with the increasingly cheap option of renewable energy. This year, 93% of the power added to the US grid will be from solar, wind and batteries, according to forecasts from Trump’s own administration.“What’s next, a mandate that Americans must commute by horse and buggy?” said Kit Kennedy, managing director of power at the Natural Resources Defense Council.“Coal plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable. The Trump administration is stuck in the past, trying to make utility customers pay more for yesterday’s energy. Instead, it should be doing all it can to build the electricity grid of the future.”Clean energy, such as solar and wind, is now so affordable that 99% of the existing US coal fleet costs more just to keep running than to retire a coal plant and replace it with renewables, a 2023 Energy Innovation report found. More

    • 150 Shares131 Views

      in Elections

      The Vicious Cycle of Extreme Heat Leading to More Fossil Fuel Use

      by

      A new report illustrates a concerning dynamic: Record heat last year pushed countries to use more planet-warming fossil fuels to cool things down.Last year was the hottest on record, and global average temperatures passed the benchmark of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times for the first time. Simultaneously, the growth rate of the world’s energy demand rose sharply, nearly doubling over the previous 10-year average.As it turns out, the record heat and rapidly rising energy demand were closely connected, according to findings from a new report from the International Energy Agency.That’s because hotter weather led to increased use of cooling technologies like air-conditioning. Electricity-hungry appliances put a strain on the grid, and many utilities met the added demand by burning coal and natural gas.All of this had the makings of a troubling feedback loop: A hotter world required more energy to cool down homes and offices, and what was readily available was fossil-fuel energy, which led to more planet-warming emissions. This dynamic is exactly what many countries are hoping to halt through the development of renewable energy and the construction of nuclear power plants.Put another way, the I.E.A. estimated that if 2024’s extreme weather hadn’t happened — that is, if weather was exactly the same in 2024 as in 2023 — the global increase in carbon emissions for the year would have been cut in half.It’s not all bad news: Increasingly, the global economy is growing faster than carbon emissions. “If we want to find the silver lining, we see that there is a continuous decoupling of economic growth from emissions growth,” said Fatih Birol, the executive director of the agency.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 138 Shares139 Views

      in Elections

      U.N. Report on Climate Goals Says Countries Have Made No Progress

      by

      An annual assessment by the world body tracks the gulf between what countries have vowed to do and what they’ve actually achieved.One year after world leaders made a landmark promise to move away from fossil fuels, countries have essentially made no progress in cutting emissions and tackling global warming, according to a United Nations report issued on Thursday.Global greenhouse gas emissions soared to a record 57 gigatons last year and are not on track to decline much, if at all, this decade, the report found. Collectively, nations have been so slow to curtail their use of oil, gas and coal that it now looks unlikely that countries will be able to limit global warming to the levels they agreed to under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.“Another year passed without action means we’re worse off,” said Anne Olhoff, a climate policy expert based in Denmark and a co-author of the assessment, known as the Emissions Gap Report.The report comes a month before diplomats from around the world are scheduled to meet in Baku, Azerbaijan, for annual United Nations climate talks, where countries will discuss how they might step up efforts to address global warming.Lately, those efforts have faced huge obstacles.Even though renewable energy sources like wind and solar are growing rapidly around the world, demand for electricity has been rising even faster, which means countries are still burning more fossil fuels each year. Geopolitical conflicts, from the U.S.-China rivalry to war in places like Ukraine and Gaza, have made international cooperation on climate change harder. And rich countries have failed to keep their financial promises to help poor countries shift away from oil, gas and coal.At last year’s climate talks in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, representatives from nearly every nation approved a pact that called for “transitioning away from fossil fuels” and accelerating climate action this decade. But the agreement was vague on how to do so and on which countries should do what, and so far there has been little follow-through.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Britain Shuts Down Last Coal Plant, ‘Turning Its Back on Coal Forever’

      by

      The Ratcliffe-on-Soar plant was the last surviving coal-burning power station in a country that birthed the Industrial Revolution and fed it with coal.Britain, the nation that launched a global addiction to coal 150 years ago, is shutting down its last coal-burning power station on Monday.That makes Britain first among the world’s major, industrialized economies to wean itself off coal — all the more symbolic because it was also the first to burn tremendous amounts of it to fuel the Industrial Revolution, inspiring the rest of the world to follow suit.“The birthplace of coal power is turning its back on coal forever,” said Matt Webb, an associate director at the London-based research and advocacy group, E3G.On Monday, in the middle of England, the end of Britain’s coal era will be marked by the closure of the 2,000-megawatt Ratcliffe-on-Soar facility. Uniper, the power company that operated the plant, said the 750-acre site would be converted to a “low-carbon energy hub.”The closure comes 142 years after the world’s first coal-burning power plant began producing electricity at the Holborn Viaduct in London in 1882 and, in turn, accelerating Britain’s rise as a major industrial and imperial power.Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. When burned, it produces greenhouse gases that have heated the Earth’s atmosphere and supersized heat waves and storms. While it was long the cheapest and most abundant source of power in many countries, including Britain, it has been replaced in recent decades by gas, nuclear power and most recently, renewables, like wind and solar.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Explosion at an Iranian Mine Kills Dozens, State Media Says

      by

      A methane leak set off the explosion, the country’s official media said, and a rescue effort was underway for those believed to be trapped in the mine.A methane explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran killed dozens of miners, and the death toll was expected to rise, Iranian state media said on Sunday.The miners died of suffocation from the rapid release of methane and carbon monoxide, according to a report by Iran’s state news agency, IRNA. IRNA, which said earlier Sunday that 51 miners had been killed, later put the figure at 34. Other state media had estimates of the number of people killed that ranged from 30 to 51.At the time of the explosion on Saturday, in the eastern Iranian city of Tabas, there were 69 workers in the mine, IRNA said.Many may still be trapped, according to Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.It was not possible to independently verify details of the incident.Officials say they are trying to work quickly to rescue the workers trapped in the mine, which is operated by the Madanjo Company, according to the Fars news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards.President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran ordered an investigation into the explosion, IRNA reported. Mohammad-Ali Akhondi, a crisis management official, urged caution about the rescue efforts, IRNA reported.“The reality is that it is a difficult task to rescue the injured,” he said, according to IRNA. The report said rescuers would need to go about 2,300 feet diagonally and 820 feet vertically underground to reach the trapped workers.Industrial accidents are common in Iran, and many construction and mining sites operate with outdated and inadequate materials.In 2017, dozens of miners were killed and many were hurt after an explosion at a coal mine near the northern Iranian town of Azadshahr, in the Golestan Province. More

    • 238 Shares149 Views

      in US Politics

      The Stakes: how JD Vance’s home town has won millions in climate investment that he calls a ‘green scam’

      by

      .Svg-clip-paths-container.svelte-1yf4410{width:0;height:0}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{grid-area:header;width:100vw;overflow:clip;position:relative;height:230vh;background-color:#121212;margin-left:-10px;padding:0}@media (min-width: 30em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:-20px}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:210vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;top:0;right:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060;z-index:11}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:300vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{right:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{right:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:before{left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24:after{right:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{position:sticky;top:0;left:0;width:100vw;height:100vh;z-index:0;opacity:.65;overflow:hidden}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:100vw;background-position:center;background-size:cover;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;overflow:hidden}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:2;clip-path:url(#rip-left)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:4;left:-1px;clip-path:url(#rip-right)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;background-color:transparent;z-index:1;padding:0}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 800px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{margin:0 auto}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:200vh}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{background-color:transparent;width:100vw;height:70vh;display:flex;align-items:center}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24:has(h1){height:90vh;align-items:self-start;padding-top:20%}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh;width:740px;align-items:center;padding-top:unset}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:640px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:24px;margin:0 10px;font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Headline Full,Guardian Egyptian Web,Georgia,serif;font-weight:500;line-height:1.1;color:#fff;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0,0,0,.7);opacity:.5;transition:opacity .5s ease;text-wrap:balance}@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{opacity:1}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:40px;position:relative}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:32px}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:48px}}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span{display:block}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;bottom:-20px;background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/08/21/LINE-53.png);width:275px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{width:320px}}.Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.animate-in,.Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-headline.animate-in{opacity:1}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:0}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:140vh}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Headline Full;src:url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:Guardian Titlepiece;src:url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2) format(“woff2”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff) format(“woff”),url(https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:160px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive{margin-left:240px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:620px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{max-width:100%}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{margin-left:0}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:620px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-showcase{max-width:860px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1100px}@media (max-width: 46.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{width:calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width));position:relative;left:50%;right:50%;margin-left:calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width))!important;margin-right:calc(-50vw + var(–half-scrollbar-width))!important}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{transform:translate(-20px);width:calc(100% + 60px)}}@media (max-width: 71.24em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{margin-left:0;margin-right:0}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{transform:translate(0);width:auto}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive .element-immersive{max-width:1260px}}.content__main-column–interactive p{color:#121212;max-width:620px}.content__main-column–interactive ul{max-width:620px}.content__main-column–interactive:before{position:absolute;top:0;height:calc(100% + 15px);min-height:100px;content:””}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;z-index:-1;left:-10px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content__main-column–interactive:before{border-left:1px solid #dcdcdc;left:-11px}}.content__main-column–interactive .element-atom{margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:12px;padding-top:12px}.content__main-column–interactive p+.element-atom{padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;margin-top:12px;margin-bottom:12px}.content__main-column–interactive .element-inline{max-width:620px}nav+section{display:none}nav+aside{display:none}aside+section{display:none}#maincontent{margin-top:0}.content–interactive-grid{position:relative;grid-template-areas:”title” “header” “media” “media” “lines” “meta” “body”;grid-template-rows:[title-start header-start media-start] auto [title-end header-end lines-start media-end] auto [lines-end meta-start] auto [meta-end standfirst-start] auto [body-start] auto [body-end]}.content–interactive-grid #headline,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=headline],.content–interactive-grid .headline,.content–interactive-grid .standfirst,.content–interactive-grid #standfirst,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=standfirst]{display:none}.content–interactive-grid .article-header,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title],.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{z-index:10;height:-moz-fit-content;height:fit-content}.content–interactive-grid .article-header a,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a{position:relative}@media (min-width: 61.25em){.content–interactive-grid .article-header a:hover,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a:hover{text-decoration:none}}.content–interactive-grid .article-header a:after,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;top:22px;background-image:url(“https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/05/red-scribble-2_(1).png”);width:90px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid .article-header a:after,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a:after{top:25px;width:110px}}.content–interactive-grid .article-header a,.content–interactive-grid .article-header span,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] a,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] span{color:#fff;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0,0,0,.7)}.content–interactive-grid .article-header .content__labels span a,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels span a{display:none}.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{align-self:flex-end;margin-inline:-10px;padding-inline:10px;width:100vw}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption{margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:6px;margin-inline:-10px;padding-inline:10px;background-color:#121212b8}@media (min-width: 23.4375em){.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{margin-inline:-20px;padding-inline:20px}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption{margin-inline:-20px;padding-inline:20px}}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption span,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption span{color:#999}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption span svg,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption span svg{fill:#999}@media (min-width: 46.25em){.content–interactive-grid #main-media,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media]{width:unset;display:flex;justify-content:flex-end}.content–interactive-grid #main-media figcaption,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=media] figcaption{width:-moz-fit-content;width:fit-content}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid{grid-template-areas:”title . .” “header header header” “. . media” “. . media” “. border lines” “. border meta” ” body body body” “. . .”}.content–interactive-grid .keyline-4,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive-grid #meta,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{position:absolute;left:-160px;max-width:140px}.content–interactive-grid .keyline-4,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines]{top:14px}.content–interactive-grid #meta,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{top:27px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid .keyline-4,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=lines],.content–interactive-grid #meta,.content–interactive-grid [data-gu-name=meta]{left:-240px;max-width:220px}}.content–interactive-grid .standfirst-links{padding-top:25px}.content–interactive-grid .standfirst-links ul >li >a{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Headline Full,Guardian Egyptian Web,Georgia,serif;font-size:1.25rem;font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:115%}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid .standfirst-links{padding-top:7px}}.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+#sign-in-gate+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+#sign-in-gate+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.content–interactive-grid figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter{float:left;font-size:7rem;line-height:5.75rem;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:4px;vertical-align:text-top}.content–interactive-grid .element-atom{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}.content–interactive-grid .element-atom+figure.element-inline{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid .italic-p:has(em){margin-top:8px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid .italic-p:has(em){margin-top:10px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid .no-italic-p{margin-top:5px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){.content–interactive-grid figure.element-showcase{margin-left:-170px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){.content–interactive-grid figure.element-showcase{margin-left:-250px}}#maincontent h2,#feature-article-container h2,#standard-article-container h2,#comment-article-container h2{position:relative;margin-top:48px;max-width:620px}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#maincontent h2,#feature-article-container h2,#standard-article-container h2,#comment-article-container h2{margin-top:56px}}#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{content:””;width:calc(100vw – 1px);left:-10px;height:60px;display:block;position:absolute;top:-30px;background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/03/tear-2-mob.png);background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat}@media (min-width: 30em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{left:-20px}}@media (min-width: 41.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{width:659px;top:-17px;background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/03/tear-2-wide.png)}}@media (min-width: 46.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{width:739px}}@media (min-width: 61.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{width:979px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{top:-48px;left:-181px;width:1139px}}@media (min-width: 81.25em){#maincontent h2:before,#feature-article-container h2:before,#standard-article-container h2:before,#comment-article-container h2:before{left:-260px;width:1299px}}@media (min-width: 71.25em){#maincontent h2:after,#feature-article-container h2:after,#standard-article-container h2:after,#comment-article-container h2:after{content:””;width:3px;height:44px;position:absolute;top:-30px;left:-11px;background-color:#fff}}#maincontent h2:nth-child(odd):before,#feature-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):before,#standard-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):before,#comment-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):before{transform:scaleX(-1)}#maincontent h2:nth-child(odd):after,#feature-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):after,#standard-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):after,#comment-article-container h2:nth-child(odd):after{height:33px;top:-19px}.ios #standard-article-container,.ios #feature-article-container,.android #standard-article-container,.android #feature-article-container{overflow:clip}.ios h2,.android h2{position:relative;margin-top:48px;max-width:620px;font-size:24px;line-height:1.15;font-weight:500;font-style:normal;padding-top:8px;padding-bottom:2px}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.ios h2:before,.android h2:before{background-image:url(https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/03/tear-2-mob-dark.png)}}.ios .Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper h2:before,.android .Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper h2:before{display:none!important}.ios .article-kicker,.android .article-kicker{padding:0}.ios .article-kicker__section,.android .article-kicker__section{display:none}.ios .article-kicker__highlight,.android .article-kicker__highlight{display:unset;position:absolute;top:4px;left:10px;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0,0,0,.7);color:#fff;z-index:20}.ios .article-kicker__highlight:after,.android .article-kicker__highlight:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;top:22px;background-image:url(“https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/09/05/red-scribble-2_(1).png”);width:90px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}.ios #article-header #headline,.ios #article-header [data-gu-name=headline],.ios #article-header .headline,.ios #article-header .standfirst,.ios #article-header #standfirst,.ios #article-header [data-gu-name=standfirst],.ios #feature-header #headline,.ios #feature-header [data-gu-name=headline],.ios #feature-header .headline,.ios #feature-header .standfirst,.ios #feature-header #standfirst,.ios #feature-header [data-gu-name=standfirst],.android #article-header #headline,.android #article-header [data-gu-name=headline],.android #article-header .headline,.android #article-header .standfirst,.android #article-header #standfirst,.android #article-header [data-gu-name=standfirst],.android #feature-header #headline,.android #feature-header [data-gu-name=headline],.android #feature-header .headline,.android #feature-header .standfirst,.android #feature-header #standfirst,.android #feature-header [data-gu-name=standfirst]{display:none}.ios #article-header #main-media,.ios #feature-header #main-media,.android #article-header #main-media,.android #feature-header #main-media{height:0}.ios #article-header #main-media figcaption,.ios #feature-header #main-media figcaption,.android #article-header #main-media figcaption,.android #feature-header #main-media figcaption{display:none}.ios #article-body .element-atom,.ios #feature-body .element-atom,.android #article-body .element-atom,.android #feature-body .element-atom{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image{height:0;margin:0;padding:0}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image .figure__inner{height:0!important}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image figcaption{display:none}.ios #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.ios #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #article-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #feature-body .element-atom+figure.element-image+p:has(em)+p:first-letter{float:left;font-size:11.85rem;line-height:8.75rem;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:4px;vertical-align:text-top;margin-top:8px}.ios #article-body .standfirst-links li:before,.ios #feature-body .standfirst-links li:before,.android #article-body .standfirst-links li:before,.android #feature-body .standfirst-links li:before{display:none}.ios #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.ios #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a{font-family:Guardian Headline,Guardian Headline Full,Guardian Egyptian Web,Georgia,serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-weight:700;line-height:115%;color:#c70000}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.ios #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.ios #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #article-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a,.android #feature-body .standfirst-links ul >li >a{color:#ff4e36}}.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a{color:#c70000;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-color:#dcdcdc;background-image:none}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em) a{color:#ff4e36}}.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.ios #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.ios #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.android #article-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:not(:has(em)):first-letter,.android #feature-body figure.element-atom+figure+p:has(em)+p:first-letter{float:left;font-size:11.25rem!important;line-height:8rem!important;text-transform:uppercase;box-sizing:border-box;margin-right:4px;vertical-align:text-top;margin-top:16px!important}
      @font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Light.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-LightItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:300;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Regular.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-RegularItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:400;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Medium.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-MediumItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:500;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Semibold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-SemiboldItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:600;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Bold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BoldItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-Black.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:normal}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Headline Full”;src:url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://assets.guim.co.uk/static/frontend/fonts/guardian-headline/noalts-not-hinted/GHGuardianHeadline-BlackItalic.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:900;font-style:italic}@font-face{font-family:”Guardian Titlepiece”;src:url(“https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff2”) format(“woff2”), url(“https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.woff”) format(“woff”), url(“https://interactive.guim.co.uk/fonts/garnett/GTGuardianTitlepiece-Bold.ttf”) format(“truetype”);font-weight:700;font-style:normal}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{grid-area:header;width:100vw;overflow:clip;position:relative;height:230vh;background-color:#121212;margin-left:-10px;margin-left:-10px;padding:0}@media(min-width: 30em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:-20px}}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2 * -1 – 21px)}}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:210vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;left:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{display:block;content:””;position:absolute;width:1px;height:100%;top:0;right:calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2);background-color:#606060;z-index:11}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{height:300vh}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{left:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{right:calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{left:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{right:calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::before{left:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24::after{right:calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{position:sticky;top:0;left:0;width:100vw;height:100vh;z-index:0;opacity:0.65;overflow:hidden}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:100vw;background-position:center;background-size:cover;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;overflow:hidden}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:740px}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:980px}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1140px}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{width:1300px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-left.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:2;clip-path:url(#rip-left)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .image-wrapper-right.svelte-1cslg24{z-index:4;left:-1px;clip-path:url(#rip-right)}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;background-color:transparent;z-index:1;padding:0}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 740px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 980px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1140px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 81.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 1300px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}@media(min-width: 71.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-container.svelte-1cslg24{padding:0 calc((100vw – 800px – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)) / 2)}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{margin:0 auto}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:200vh}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{background-color:transparent;width:100vw;height:70vh;display:flex;align-items:center}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24:has(h1){height:90vh;align-items:self-start;padding-top:20%}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh;width:740px;align-items:center;padding-top:unset}}@media(min-width: 61.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:100vh;width:640px}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:24px;margin:0 10px;font-family:”Guardian Headline”, “Guardian Headline Full”, “Guardian Egyptian Web”, Georgia, serif;font-weight:500;line-height:1.1;color:white;text-shadow:0px 0px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.7);opacity:0.5;transition:opacity 0.5s ease;text-wrap:balance}@media(prefers-reduced-motion: reduce){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24,.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{opacity:1}}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:40px;position:relative}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:32px}.Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper .new-headline.svelte-1cslg24{font-size:48px}}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span{display:block}.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{content:””;display:block;position:absolute;bottom:-20px;background-image:url(“https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/08/21/LINE-53.png”);width:275px;height:20px;background-size:contain;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:top left;transform:rotate(-2deg)}@media(min-width: 46.25em){.Stakes-header .text-wrapper .new-headline span:after{width:320px}}.Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-standfirst.animate-in,
      .Stakes-header .text-container .text-wrapper .new-headline.animate-in{opacity:1}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24.svelte-1cslg24{margin-left:0}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper-animate.svelte-1cslg24{height:140vh}.ios .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24,.android .Stakes-header.svelte-1cslg24 .text-wrapper.svelte-1cslg24{height:70vh}
      .Svg-clip-paths-container.svelte-1yf4410{width:0;height:0}
      This is the first part of the standfirst This is the second part of the standfirst Headline what’s at stake?
      View image in fullscreenA hulking steel plant in Middletown, Ohio, is the city’s economic heartbeat as well as a keystone origin story of JD Vance, the hometown senator now running to be Donald Trump’s vice-president.Its future, however, may hinge upon $500m in funding from landmark climate legislation that Vance has called a “scam” and is a Trump target for demolition.In March, Joe Biden’s administration announced the US’s largest ever grant to produce greener steel, enabling the Cleveland-Cliffs facility in Middletown to build one of the largest hydrogen fuel furnaces in the world, cutting emissions by a million tons a year by ditching the coal that accelerates the climate crisis and befouls the air for nearby locals.View image in fullscreenIn a blue-collar urban area north of Cincinnati that has long pinned its fortunes upon the vicissitudes of the US steel industry, the investment’s promise of a revitalized plant with 170 new jobs and 1,200 temporary construction positions was met with jubilation among residents and unions.“It felt like a miracle, an answered prayer that we weren’t going to be left to die on the vine,” said Michael Bailey, who is now a pastor in Middletown but worked at the plant, then owned by Armco, for 30 years.“It hit the news and you could almost hear everybody screaming, ‘Yay yay yay!’,” said Heather Gibson, owner of the Triple Moon cafe in central Middletown. “It showed commitment for the long term. It was just so exciting.”This funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the $370bn bill to turbocharge clean energy signed by Biden after narrowly passing Congress via Democratic votes in 2022, has been far less thrilling to Vance, however, despite his deep personal ties to the Cleveland-Cliffs plant.View image in fullscreenThe steel mill, dating back to 1899 and now employing about 2,500 people, is foundational to Middletown, helping churn out the first generations of cars and then wartime tanks. Vance’s late grandfather, who he called Papaw, was a union worker at the plant, making it the family’s “economic savior – the engine that brought them from the hills of Kentucky into America’s middle class”, Vance wrote in his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.But although it grew into a prosperous All-American city built on steel and paper production, Middletown became a place “hemorrhaging jobs and hope” as industries decamped offshore in the 1980s, Vance wrote. He sees little salvation in the IRA even as, by one estimate, it has already spurred $10bn in investment and nearly 14,000 new jobs in Ohio.When campaigning for the Senate in 2022, Vance said Biden’s sweeping climate bill is “dumb, does nothing for the environment and will make us all poorer”, and more recently as vice-presidential candidate called the IRA a “green energy scam that’s actually shipped a lot more manufacturing jobs to China”.America needs “a leader who rejects Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s green new scam and fights to bring back our great American factories”, Vance said at the Republican convention in July. “We need President Donald J Trump.”Republicans in Congress have repeatedly attempted to gut the IRA, with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint authored by many former Trump officials, demanding its repeal should Republicans regain the White House.Such plans have major implications for Vance’s home town. The Middletown plant’s $500m grant from the Department of Energy, still not formally handed over, could be halted if Trump prevails in November. The former president recently vowed to “terminate Kamala Harris’s green new scam and rescind all of the unspent funds”.Some longtime Middletown residents are bemused by such opposition. “How can you think that saving the lives of people is the wrong thing to do?” said Adrienne Shearer, a small business adviser who spent several decades helping the reinvigoration of Middletown’s downtown area, which was hollowed out by economic malaise, offshored jobs and out-of-town malls.“People thought the plant was in danger of leaving or closing, which would totally destroy the town,” she said. “And now people think it’s not going anywhere.”Shearer, a political independent, said she didn’t like Vance’s book because it “trashed our community” and that he had shown no alternative vision for his home town. “Maybe people who serve with him in Washington know him, but we don’t here in Middletown,” she said.View image in fullscreenClimate campaigners are even more scathing of Vance. “It’s no surprise that he’s now threatening to gut a $500m investment in US manufacturing in his own home town,” said Pete Jones, rapid response director at Climate Power. “Vance wrote a book about economic hardship in his home town, and now he has 900 new pages from Trump’s dangerous Project 2025 agenda to make the problem worse so that big oil can profit.”Local Republicans are more complimentary, even if they differ somewhat on the IRA. Mark Messer, Republican mayor of the neighboring town of Lebanon, used the vast bill’s clean energy tax credits to offset the cost of an upcoming solar array that will help slash energy costs for residents. Still, Vance is a strong running mate for Trump and has “done good for Ohio”, according to Messer.“My focus is my constituents and doing what’s best for them – how else will this empty floodplain produce $1m for people in our town?” Messer said. “Nothing is going do that but solar. I’m happy to use the IRA, but if I had a national role my view might be different. I mean printing money and giving it away to people won’t solve inflation, it will make it worse.”Some Middletown voters are proud of Vance’s ascension, too. “You have to give him credit, he went to [Yale] Law School, he built his own business up in the financial industry – he’s self-made, he did it all on his own,” said Doug Pergram, a local business owner who blames Democrats for high inflation and is planning to vote for Trump and Vance, even though he thinks the steel plant investment is welcome.This illustrates a problem for Democrats, who have struggled to translate a surge of new clean energy projects and a glut of resulting jobs into voting strength, with polls showing most Americans don’t know much about the IRA or don’t credit Biden or Harris for its benefits.Ohio was once a swing state but voted for Trump – with his promises of Rust belt renewal that’s only now materializing under Biden – in the last two elections and is set to do the same again in November. Harris, meanwhile, has only fleetingly mentioned climate change and barely attempted to sell the IRA, a groundbreaking but deeply unsexy volume of rebates and tax credits, on the campaign trail.View image in fullscreen“Democrats have not done well in patting themselves on the back, they need to be out there screaming from the rooftops, ‘This is what we’ve done,’” said Gibson, a political independent who suffers directly from the status quo by living next to the Middletown facility that processes coke coal, a particularly dirty type of coal used in steel production that will become obsolete in the mill’s new era.“The air pollution is horrendous, so the idea of eliminating the need for coke, well, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” said Gibson. The site, called SunCoke, heats half a million short tons of coal a year to make coke that’s funneled to the steel plant, a process that causes a strong odor and spews debris across the neighborhood. Gibson rarely opens her windows because of this pollution.“Last year it snowed in July, all this white stuff was falling from the sky,” Gibson said. “The soot covers everything, covers the car, I have to Clorox my windows. The smell is so bad I’ve had to end get-togethers early from my house because people get so sick. It gives you an instant headache. It burns your throat, it burns your nose. It’s just awful.”The prospect of a cleaner, more secure future for Middletown is something the Biden administration tried to stress in March, when Jennifer Granholm, the US energy secretary, appeared at the steel mill with the Cleveland-Cliffs chief executive, union leaders and workers to extol the new hydrogen furnace. The grant helps solve a knotty problem where industry is reluctant to invest in cleaner-burning hydrogen because there aren’t enough extant examples of such technology.View image in fullscreen“Mills like this aren’t just employers, they are anchors embedded deeply in the community. We want your kids and grandkids to produce steel here in America too,” Granholm said. “Consumers are demanding cleaner, greener products all over the world. We don’t want to just make the best products in the world, we want to make sure we make the best and cleanest products in the world.”Lourenco Goncalves, chief executive of Cleveland-Cliffs, the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America, followed Granholm to boast that a low-emissions furnace of this size was a world first, with the technology set to be expanded to 15 other company plants in the US.Republicans elsewhere in the US have jumped onboard similar ribbon-cutting events, despite voting against the funding that enables them, but notably absent among the dignitaries seated in front of two enormous American flags hanging in the Middletown warehouse that day was Vance, the Ohio senator who went to high school just 4 miles from this place. His office did not respond to questions about the plant or his plans for the future of the IRA.Bailey, a 71-year-old who retired from the steel plant in 2002, said that as a pastor he did speak several times to Vance about ways to aid Middletown but then became alarmed by the senator’s rightwards shift in comments about women, as well as his lack of support for the new steel mill funding.“JD Vance has never mentioned anything about helping Middletown rebound,” said Bailey, who witnessed a “brutal” 2006 management lockout of workers during a union dispute after which drug addiction and homelessness soared in Middletown. “He’s used Middletown for, in my view, his own personal gain.“Somewhere in there, JD changed,” he added. “He’s allowed outsiders to pimp him. This guy is embarrassing us. That’s not who we are.” More

    • 213 Shares189 Views

      in US Politics

      A coal plant bulldozed an Ohio town displacing residents. Now its owners include a big Trump donor

      by

      Nestled beneath two precipitous spires billowing smoke from what has been called the deadliest coal plant in the United States lies the husk of the small but once-thriving town of Cheshire, Ohio.When residents here were routinely shrouded in a toxic, blue-tinged fog of pollution from the plant two decades ago, a unique yet telling solution was settled upon: the company causing the pollution would purchase the entire town to move people en masse from their homes.For the several hundred people who lived here beside a nook of the Ohio River on the eastern border of the state, the wrenching dismemberment of their community in 2002 is still raw. Yet looming stubbornly over the remnants of this ghost town is the imposing Gavin coal plant, as its owners battle federal regulators who allege ongoing violations of clean air and water rules.“Rather than deal with the source of pollution they thought it better to buy out and bulldoze a whole town,” said Neil Waggoner, an Ohio-based campaigner at the Sierra Club, which estimates Gavin’s pollution causes about 244 premature deaths a year, making it America’s most lethal coal plant, it said in a report last year based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and census data. “It’s extraordinary. In many ways, it’s dystopian.”View image in fullscreenView image in fullscreenThe tale of the Gavin power station, one of the largest coal complexes in the US and the country’s sixth highest such emitter of planet-heating carbon dioxide, is one that illustrates deep seams of support for coal in this part of the midwest but also – with a looming presidential election – salient politics.Since 2017, the Gavin plant has been part-owned by Blackstone, a private equity firm whose billionaire chief executive, Stephen Schwarzman, is one of the leading backers of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, having donated $3m to a Trump-aligned Super PAC in 2020. Individuals connected to Blackstone are also among the most generous financial supporters of JD Vance, the Ohio senator and Trump’s running mate.Both Trump and Vance have lambasted moves by Joe Biden’s administration to regulate coal, the dirtiest of all fossil fuels and a catalyst of the climate crisis, with particular ire aimed at a recent EPA rule that requires coal-fired power plants to slash CO2 emissions by 90% within a decade or face closure.Trump has vowed to kill off the rule he’s called “a regulatory jihad to shut down power plants all across America” if he returns to the White House, while Vance has complained of “wanton harassment of fossil fuel companies” and joined with other Senate Republicans in attempts to block the regulation.The EPA edict poses an existential threat to the Gavin plant, which spews out 13m tons of carbon dioxide a year, along with a host of other toxins. Faced with the costly task of capturing the plant’s emissions, Lightstone Generation, the joint venture operator, is also wrestling with EPA allegations from this year that it violated clean air laws and failed to properly contain a vast nearby dump of coal ash – the leftover waste from burning coal that can leach arsenic, mercury and other cancer-causing toxins into rivers and streams – fed by a mile-long conveyor belt from the power plant.“Blackstone is used to playing that political game and it’s in their interest to keep the status quo so coal plants don’t face accountability,” said Alissa Jean Schafer, climate director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which outlined in a recent report that Gavin’s operators face upwards of $40m in costs to remedy its pollution issues, recommending it join a spate of coal plants that have closed in Ohio and nationwide.“There is a trend of private equity walking away from polluting assets without being liable for the environmental cleanup,” Schafer added. “They want to squeeze as much profit as possible while they can from this outdated, dangerous coal plant.”View image in fullscreenBlackstone’s Schwarzman, who has previously warned of energy shortages and “real unrest” around the world if fossil fuels are phased out too quickly, has allied with Trump, who weakened rules around coal ash disposal and coal plant emissions when he was president. “You can imagine folks at Blackstone want to see similar rollbacks under a second Trump presidency, and you can imagine Vance towing the line,” said Schafer.A Blackstone spokeswoman said the Gavin plant is a “legacy investment” that has spent more than $1bn to update its air quality control technology, complies with federal and state limits on emissions, and is in the process of closing a coal ash pond. “All political donations by our employees are strictly personal,” she added.The reach of the Gavin plant, built in 1974 and named after Gen James “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin, is prodigious. It chews through about 20,000 tons of coal a day, enough to electrify 2m homes. A pair of enormous 800ft-tall rust-colored smokestacks, jutting imperiously above the treeline on the approach to Cheshire, waft a cocktail of emissions for hundreds of miles, with environmentalists blaming it for causing hazy skies as far away as the Shenandoah national park, in Virginia.The immediate surroundings of the largest power plant in Ohio, however, are denuded. The blue plumes are gone but the plant itself still gives off a pungent sulphur smell, a violent whiff akin to rotting eggs that stings the nose. The small cluster of Cheshire streets at the foot of the plant contain patches of grass where homes once sat, like a mouth that’s had most of its teeth knocked out.View image in fullscreenA church, a school and even the traffic lights here have been removed, along with the houses that were torn down. Just a few scattered buildings remain. During the exodus, some people lifted their entire wood-paneled homes on to trailers and moved them away. In all, 221 residents, the vast majority of the population, departed in just six months in 2002.“I couldn’t even watch my house being torn down, it was terrible,” said Jennifer Harrison, who grew up near Cheshire and moved to the town with her now late husband in 1980. “We spent the first 23 years of our married life and raised our kids here. I just can’t think about it too much, it’s horrible.”Harrison, who served as Cheshire’s town clerk and lived a short distance from the Gavin plant, remembers getting blurry eyes and tasting sulphur in the air in the late 1990s – a problem that worsened to the extent that a blue-hued haze of pollution would settle upon the town, particularly on humid days. It became so bad that residents had to stay indoors, the miasma so strong it would eat the paint off cars.“We had what we called ‘touchdowns’, where this plume would come from the smokestack and touch down in town,” she said. “It was like clouds on the ground. People got sores on their mouths, they got breathing problems, it affected lives.”View image in fullscreenView image in fullscreenIronically, the problems worsened once the EPA, in 2000, cited the Gavin plant for violating the Clean Air Act for contributing to acid rain as far away as New York. In response, pollution controls installed by the plant triggered what American Electric Power (AEP), the plant’s owner until 2017, called a “totally unexpected” increase in sulphur trioxide that mixed with water vapor from scrubbers used to filter pollution from the smokestacks.This combination allowed a sulphuric acid mist to flood into Cheshire, causing what the EPA documented as “irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; shortness of breath; and asthma-like symptoms” among residents in 2001. “We had to fight them continually,” Harrison said of the plant’s owner. “We had to become a pain in their ass just to finally get anything done.”AEP, facing mounting legal pressure over the toxic air, eventually offered a deal thought to be a US first: $20m to buy the town of Cheshire, with homeowners offered three times the asking price for their houses – around $150,000 each – in return for locals relocating and agreeing to not sue the company over any future adverse health impacts.Elderly residents who wished to stay in their homes were allowed to do so, with some holdouts remaining until they died, when their homes were bulldozed too. AEP, which had revenues of $14.5bn in 2002, was able to subsume a town founded in 1811, with lawyers taking around a quarter of the total buyout fund.Harrison, who was involved in the effort to pursue AEP through the courts, said she was initially “shocked” at the offer but came to realize it was the only viable choice. “We probably should’ve held out for more but the lawyers told us that was the final deal,” she said.“We felt if we didn’t take the deal we’d be stuck here forever and they wouldn’t fix the problem. Most of the people let them buy the property and got out of town because at that point our properties were worthless.”What was lost was a slice of Americana, a close-knit place of white picket fences, a church, village picnics and a trusted community. “Everyone knew everyone, you could hear your kids out playing on their bikes and know someone was looking out for them,” said Harrison. “It was very Norman Rockwell.”The grief of this loss stirred anger among some Cheshire residents, not so much at the coal plant in a stretch of Appalachia where the harms of coal have long been sold as a price worth enduring, but rather at town council leaders like Harrison who struck the buyout deal. Friendships were severed, angry words shouted and graffitied dollar signs were sprayed onto the Harrison family home.“It was really unsettling,” said Megan Lawhon, Harrison’s daughter who turned 18 the day before the buyout was agreed to. She’s now a high school teacher. “People blamed us for a lot of untrue things, said we were greedy for taking the buyout money. I find it really hard to even come back here.”Gesturing to the Gavin plant, Lawhon added: “The culprit is just still sitting here. It’s like a family member has been murdered and the killer was just allowed to pay out some money and that’s it. And everyone here accepts that’s just the price of living in Appalachia, that there is no other option. We just die with a smile on our faces.”Advocates for the Gavin plant point out that it generates about half of the economic activity in Gallia county, in which Cheshire sits. There remains a certain cynicism that anything, such as a clean energy boom that Biden has sought to spur, can replace the jobs and investment that coal has long conferred to the Ohio River valley.In 2020, Trump, who has offered unfulfilled promises to resurrect the ailing coal industry, amassed 77% of the vote in Gallia county. A barn sitting beside the Gavin plant features a large picture of the former president shaking his fist with the words: “The audits prove Trump won!”“I know if Kamala [Harris] and that other gentleman [Tim Walz] had their way this coal plant would be shut down right now and we’d be going back to the 1800s,” said Mark Coleman, who is mayor of Cheshire. Coleman lives on the outskirts of the town, which had its boundaries expanded to now cover a population of 124.“If that plant closed our area would be gone. I’ve lived here all my life, this has always been part of it, my dad was a coal miner. The problem was fixable and Gavin did fix it, we haven’t seen a blue plume in years. I was more frustrated with the people who sold out.”View image in fullscreenLightstone, Gavin’s operator, still owns the relic of Cheshire and has shown no willingness to sell the land to usher in new residents. Neither Blackstone nor ArcLight Capital, the two joint venture partners that form Lightstone, answered questions on Cheshire’s future.Coleman said attracting new businesses here is tough; a plan for a Dollar General was recently dashed, and even getting a street paved is difficult. Drug addiction, like in much of Appalachia, stalks this place. Cheshire’s future appears moribund, a marooned corner of a region where old certainties have evaporated.“Our town has lost its identity, it’s sad,” Coleman said. “It’s hard to get things started back up again. Time has healed wounds, but at the same time we don’t go out to dinner with everyone. People have drifted apart.”The mayor has not heard from Vance about Cheshire’s situation. The vice-presidential candidate didn’t respond to questions from the Guardian about his links to Blackstone and the Gavin plant, or what his plan is for communities exposed to coal-related pollution.“If JD Vance really feels a connection to Appalachia, which he has ridden hard, you’d think he’d at least ask some questions about all this,” said Lawhon.“But I’d be surprised if he even knew about us. I mean if it’s going to cut into profits, the environment won’t ever be a priority. Which means that this whole thing could happen again somewhere else in the United States, and somebody’s going to have to fight the exact same battle we did.” More

    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      El cambio climático no es prioritario en la Convención Nacional Republicana

      by

      La plataforma del partido no hace ninguna mención del cambio climático, en cambio, fomenta una mayor producción de petróleo, gas y carbón, que aumentan las temperaturas globales.[Estamos en WhatsApp. Empieza a seguirnos ahora]Este verano, Estados Unidos está experimentando niveles históricos de un calor intenso a causa del cambio climático. Las altas temperaturas han provocado decenas de muertes en el oeste del país, mientras millones de personas sudan debido a los avisos de calor extremo y casi tres cuartas partes de los estadounidenses dicen que el gobierno debe priorizar el calentamiento global.Sin embargo, aunque en el horario estelar del lunes por la noche la energía fue el tema con el que el Partido Republicano inauguró su convención nacional en Milwaukee, el partido no tiene ningún plan para abordar el cambio climático.A pesar de que algunos republicanos ya no niegan el abrumador consenso científico según el cual el planeta se está calentando a causa de la actividad humana, los líderes del partido no lo consideran como un problema que se deba enfrentar.“No sé si hay una estrategia republicana para enfrentar el cambio climático a nivel de organización”, comentó Thomas J. Pyle, presidente de la American Energy Alliance, un grupo de investigación conservador enfocado en la energía. “No creo que el presidente Trump considere imperativo reducir los gases de efecto invernadero por medio del gobierno”.Cuando el expresidente Donald Trump menciona el cambio climático, lo hace en tono de burla.“¿Se imaginan? Este tipo dice que el calentamiento global es la mayor amenaza para nuestro país”, dijo Trump, para referirse al presidente Joe Biden en un mitin en Chesapeake, Virginia, el mes pasado que fue el junio más caluroso que se haya registrado en todo el mundo. “El calentamiento global está bien. De hecho, he oído que hoy va a hacer mucho calor. Está bien”.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More