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    The Trump-Kennedy Center is another front in the battle for the soul of America | Charlotte Higgins

    Under Trump, the world-class centre for performing arts is one of many US cultural institutions changing beyond recognition. Will others buckle?A year ago – just a year ago – the Kennedy Center in Washington DC was a world-class centre for the performing arts. It had a resident opera company, respected artistic teams, and a run of the acclaimed musical Hamilton to look forward to. It had a bipartisan board that upheld the dignity of an organisation that, since it was conceived of in the mid-20th century, had been treated with courtesy and supported by governments of both stripes.How quickly things unravel. Donald Trump inserted himself as chair of the organisation soon after his 20 January inauguration, dispatched the hugely experienced executive director, and installed his unfortunate loyalist Richard Grenell to run it. This former ambassador to Germany might have wished for better things; at any rate, entirely inexperienced in the arts, he seems utterly out of his depth. Things have unravelled. Artists have departed the centre in droves. Hamilton pulled out. So have audiences. In November, Francesca Zambello, the artistic director of the Washington National Opera, told me that ticket sales had tanked for the opera. Analysis by the Washington Post showed it was the same pattern across the centre. Continue reading… More

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    Trump news at a glance: EU weighs up economic sanctions against US after Trump’s tariff threats

    European leaders meet for crisis talks and are expected to discuss reviving plan to levy tariffs on €93bn of US goods – key US politics stories from Sunday 18 January at a glanceThe EU was weighing up retaliatory tariffs on American goods and even deploying its most serious economic sanctions against the US as European leaders lined up to criticise Donald Trump’s threat to levy new taxes on imports from eight nations who oppose his attempt to annex Greenland – which one minister called “blackmail”.“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral,” the leaders of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland said in a joint statement. “We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.” Continue reading… More

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    Pentagon readies 1,500 troops for potential Minnesota deployment, officials say

    US army issues prepare-to-deploy orders amid tension over ICE killing, though it is unclear if units will be sentThe Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers in Alaska to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of large protests against the government’s deportation drive, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday.The US army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the midwestern state escalates, the officials said, though it is not clear whether any of them will be sent. Continue reading… More

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    Justice department ‘not investigating’ Renee Good killing in contrast to 2020 inquiry on George Floyd death

    In 2020, Trump DoJ investigated police killing of Floyd in Minneapolis, leading to four officers’ convictionsSix years after the US justice department launched an immediate criminal investigation of the video-recorded killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, deputy attorney general Todd Blanche confirmed on Sunday that the department is “not investigating” the fatal 7 January shooting of Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in the same city.The killing of Good, less than a mile from where Floyd was murdered in May 2020, was recorded on at least five phones, including one held by the ICE agent who shot her, Jonathan Ross. Continue reading… More

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    US reportedly considers granting asylum to Jewish people from UK

    Trump lawyer Robert Garson told the Telegraph he discussed refuge for those leaving UK over antisemitismDiscussions are reportedly under way within Donald Trump’s administration about the US possibly granting asylum to Jewish people from the UK, according to the Telegraph, citing the US president’s personal lawyer.Trump lawyer Robert Garson told the newspaper that he has held conversations with the US state department about offering refuge to British Jews who are leaving the UK citing rising antisemitism. Continue reading… More

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    Trump exacts revenge on Bill Cassidy by backing possible Republican challenger

    Trump’s support of Letlow comes after Louisiana senator voted to convict president in second impeachment trialDonald Trump has sought to deliver a staggering blow to the re-election chances of Senator Bill Cassidy – the president’s fellow Republican with whom he has politically feuded – by giving his “complete and total endorsement” to a potential primary opponent.Trump’s endorsement of US House member Julia Letlow as well as his encouragement for her to run for Cassidy’s Senate seat in Louisiana comes after the senator voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial during Trump’s first presidency. Continue reading… More

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    The Guardian view on microplastics research: questioning results is good for science, but has political consequences | Editorial

    Errors in measuring microplastic pollution can be corrected. Public trust in science also needs to be shored up It is true that science is self-correcting. Over the long term this means that we can generally trust its results – but up close, correction can be a messy process. The Guardian reported last week that 20 recent studies measuring the amount of micro- and nanoplastics in the human body have been criticised in the scientific literature for methodological issues, calling their results into question. In one sense this is the usual process playing out as it should. However, the scale of the potential error – one scientist estimates that half the high-impact papers in the field are affected – suggests a systemic problem that should have been prevented.The risk is that in a febrile political atmosphere in which trust in science is being actively eroded on issues from climate change to vaccinations, even minor scientific conflicts can be used to sow further doubt. Given that there is immense public and media interest in plastic pollution, it is unfortunate that scientists working in this area did not show more caution. Continue reading… More

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    ‘America first’? Trump financial products raise questions about potential presidential conflicts of interest

    Five exchange-traded funds have been launched by Trump Media, owner of the president’s social media platform Truth SocialThe word “Truth” was plastered all around the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning. At 9.30am, when the market opened, a small crowd stood on the balcony above the trading floor to ring in the day.The group was celebrating the launch of five exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, that are tied to Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media platform that has spun into a menagerie of products over the last few years. Continue reading… More