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      Infantino’s latest Oval Office show reminds us Trump will be inescapable at the 2026 World Cup

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      When Donald Trump remained on stage, grinning in the sun as Chelsea lifted the Club World Cup trophy last month, it was all too easy to treat the incident as a one-off mistake. A moment that said plenty about Trump’s ego, sure. But ultimately, only a moment.Nope. It’s reality. Inescapable. Donald Trump will be everywhere Fifa is in the US, including at the 2026 World Cup – due to start in about 10 months, when Canada and Mexico will co-host.If this much wasn’t clear already after that moment at MetLife Stadium and all the other times Trump or his agenda have affected World Cup affairs, it may have become so after Friday’s Oval Office appearance with Fifa president Gianni Infantino – the eighth reported meeting between the pair since January, and the fifth to take place in public at the White House.Trump wore a signature hat reading “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING” – one of his collection that was deemed noteworthy enough to display to world leaders in the middle of high-stakes talks with lives hanging in the balance. He then announced that the attention of the soccer world will once again be on him in December. On the fifth of that month, the World Cup draw will take place not at the Las Vegas Sphere as had been widely expected, but at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center – a historic venue and a worthy place to sort through some ping-pong balls, but also one that is now controlled by Trump, who has installed himself as chair, named himself as host of the institution’s annual honors, overseen upcoming renovations (“there’s nothing like gold,” he said on Friday in reference to his Oval Office redesign), and may soon lend his wife’s name to the opera house.“Some people refer to it as the ‘Trump Kennedy Center,’ but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet,” Trump said on Friday. “Maybe in a week or so.”The World Cup is not federally controlled like the Kennedy Center, but it will now be subject to a similar dynamic. The tournament Trump has taken credit for bringing to the US will take place under his presidency, with the draw and “big press conferences” happening in a venue he controls, put on by an organization run by someone looking to befriend Trump at every turn – including by becoming the Trump Organization’s tenant. There is almost no choice other than to accept that Trump will make sure he is front and center at this tournament – even in spots where he has no business, or where his involvement may be seen as uncouth or inappropriate. It’s a dynamic Americans know well now, more than a decade into Trump’s rise.After Trump’s announcement, Infantino allowed him to hold the single most valuable hardware in men’s soccer, the World Cup trophy – not unheard of for heads of state, but more uncommon when accompanied with Infantino’s comment: “Since you are a winner, of course, you can as well touch it.”Trump asked if he could keep the trophy afterward, and it was not immediately clear that he was joking, given that Infantino let him keep the Club World Cup trophy, where it has been on display in the Oval Office ever since.Trump made this latest World Cup announcement in practically the same breath as he expounded on his latest imposition on the American people – a strong-arm takeover of Washington DC, which he called a “crime-infested rat hole” despite the fact that the Justice Department had previously reported a 30-year low in violent crime in the capital. Trump continued to promote his crackdown later on, with the trophy directly in front of him on the Resolute Desk, as if it was a microphone meant to amplify his message. When Trump got to talking about immigration, Infantino moved the trophy out of the way.When prompted by Trump on Friday, Infantino – rather than demurring to comment on the domestic affairs of a foreign country – gave a solemn “oh yes” to express approval of the president’s plan for DC. It’s a plan Trump said he intends to spread to other American cities, mentioning Chicago specifically, but one can easily imagine that any city that voted against him – like 10 of the 11 US host cities for the upcoming World Cup – would be on the list.“Johnny”, as Trump calls Infantino, then gifted him a ceremonial ticket to the World Cup final – row 1, seat 1.Given all of this, expect the World Cup final camera to linger on Trump’s face longer than many of the players, coaches, and team staff who will have worked all their professional lives to get to that point.You’ll see him at the World Cup before then, too. He’ll boast endlessly about how well the tournament is going, only changing tack if things get so bad it’s obvious to everyone, in which case he’ll blame someone else (watch your back, “Johnny”). He’ll do at least one half-time interview on Fox, which is broadcasting the tournament in the US. Alexi Lalas, a big fan of Trump’s Maga movement, will shake his hand. Don’t rule out a gold-encrusted seat waiting for Trump at the final and any other games he chooses to attend.There can be no doubt now – the World Cup is not a guest in the house Trump runs. It is his plaything. And Fifa appears happy to do anything it takes for things to remain that way lest world football’s governing body be discarded or, worse, made a target.The World Cup, beneath all of the commercialism, is almost comically pure-hearted. It’s a celebration of the most popular sport in the world. It gives people across the world something in common to talk about, to bond over, to yell at. That feeling goes double for the host nations, and it’s a large part of the tournament’s singular power. It’s why it’s so coveted by countries that rule through authoritarian means – and that now arguably includes the US under TrumpIndelible, sublime moments will still happen at the 2026 tournament. People will still take joy, hurt, anger, and feelings from them. But those moments will be punctuated by Trump – eternally encroaching on even the most elevated of emotional experiences.If this news drives you to boo, ready your vocal cords. If it drives you to act, start thinking about what you want that to look like. If it thrills you, pace yourself. Whichever way, it’s time to get used to it. More

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      Russia says Europe’s leaders don’t want peace in Ukraine as Vance says US will keep trying

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      Russia accused western European leaders on Sunday of not wanting peace in Ukraine, as Moscow’s most senior diplomat praised efforts by Donald Trump to end the war, while Vice-President JD Vance said the US would “keep on trying” to broker talks in the absence of a deal.Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, made the comments during a sometimes contentious interview on NBC on Sunday morning, during which he denied his country had bombed civilian targets in Ukraine.Trump, he said, had set himself above European leaders who accompanied Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks at the White House last week, immediately after the summit between the US president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Anchorage, Alaska, on 15 August.“We want peace in Ukraine. He wants, President Trump wants, peace in Ukraine. The reaction to [the] Anchorage meeting, the gathering in Washington of these European representatives and what they were doing after Washington, indicates that they don’t want peace,” Lavrov said.The Alaska talks produced neither a ceasefire nor an agreement for Zelenskyy and Putin to meet, and was widely considered to be a public relations triumph for the Russian leader.Lavrov brushed aside Trump’s apparent frustration at the outcome and the US warning of “massive sanctions or massive tariffs or both” against Moscow. He said “yes” when asked if Putin wanted peace and said Putin and Trump respected each other, while assailing the alliance of leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Friedrich Merz, Britain’s Keir Starmer and European Union president Ursula von der Leyen who came to the White House last week to bolster Zelenskyy’s visit.European leaders in recent days have pledged to support security guarantees as part of a peace agreement, although Russia has flatly rejected the prospect of troops from countries in Europe being positioned in Ukraine.Trump has ruled out sending the US military, and on Friday it was reported that his administration had blocked Ukraine’s use of US-supplied long-range missiles to attack Russia.Meanwhile, Canadian prime minister Mark Carney told Zelenskyy on Sunday that he backed Ukraine’s calls for robust security guarantees and that Canada would not rule out sending troops.Earlier, Lavrov became defensive when NBC asked him if Putin was “stringing along” Trump by appearing conciliatory to his peace overtures but continuing to bomb Ukraine, attacks which last week included an airstrike on an American electronics manufacturing company in the west of the country.“It is not for the lawmakers or for any media outlet to decide what President Trump is motivated by. We respect President Trump because President Trump defends American national interests. And I have reason to believe that President Trump respects President Putin because he defends Russian national interests,” he said.Critics, including some conservative voices, are alarmed by what they see as Putin manipulating Trump over Ukraine and US elections.Lavrov meanwhile denied that Russia attacks civilian targets including schools, hospitals and churches, hinting at Russia’s extraordinary claims throughout the war that Ukraine is attacking its own people.“Our intelligence has very good information, and we target only military enterprises, military sites or industrial enterprises directly involved in producing military equipment for [the] Ukrainian army,” he said.Vance appeared separately in the same Sunday morning program and insisted Russia deserved credit for indicating it was ready to end a conflict that Trump has said more than 50 times he would solve “in one day”, while in contrast the vice-president warned of a longer process.“I think the Russians have made significant concessions to President Trump for the first time in three and a half years of this conflict,” Vance said.“They’ve recognized that they’re not going to be able to install a puppet regime in Kyiv. That was, of course, a major demand at the beginning. And importantly, they’ve acknowledged that there is going to be some security guarantee to the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”Vance said historically that peace negotiations go “in fits and starts” and warned that he did not think ending the war was “going to happen overnight”.Vance said of Russia, in a comment that was not further clarified: “Should they have started the war? Of course, they haven’t. But we’re making progress”. Trump in February blamed Ukraine, saying, “you never should have started it.”Any sanctions against Russia, Vance said, would be on a “case by case basis”, but he remained hopeful that US efforts could bring Zelenskyy and Putin together.“It’s complicated, but we’re going to keep on trying to convince these parties to talk to each other and continue to play the game of diplomacy, because that’s the only way to get this thing wrapped up.”Lavrov remained adamant that Russia also wanted peace, and acknowledged “Ukraine has the right to exist”. But he said it “must let people go”, referring to Putin’s demand that it give up Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula seized by Russia in 2014, as well as southern and eastern parts, such as the Donbas, captured since 2022, as part of a peace agreement.“In Crimea [they] decided that they belong to the Russian culture,” he said, citing a disputed 2014 referendum condemned by most of the world as illegal.On Friday, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat of Connecticut, said on CNN that stronger US action was needed because “Putin is not going to stop until we stop him.”

      Reuters contributed reporting More

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      ‘No-holds-barred fight’: California’s governor takes off his gloves to punch back at Trump

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      In the opening weeks of Donald Trump’s second term, Gavin Newsom wagered that peacemaking was best: a tarmac greeting for Air Force One, an Oval Office visit and a podcast slot for Maga’s biggest names. But then Trump came for California, and its governor dropped the niceties.With a flood of all-caps social media posts, a counterpunching redistricting proposal and a string of lawsuits challenging the new administration, Newsom is not just taking on Trump, he’s stealing his tactics: fight, fight, fight.“We’ve got to wake up, disabuse ourselves as Democrats,” Newsom said on a podcast last week. “I’m sick of being weak. I’m sick of being effete. I’m sick of being non-consequential. It’s not good enough to say it – it’s time to do.”Newsom has charged on to the national stage as a recast political brawler willing to wield power as ruthlessly as the other side. On Thursday, he signed redistricting legislation establishing a special election to ask voters to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional boundaries and give Democrats as many as five additional US House seats in next year’s midterm elections.The ballot measure is a direct attempt to “neuter and neutralize” Texas’s partisan gerrymander, engineered at Trump’s behest, to safeguard Republicans’ fragile House majority. At a bill-signing ceremony on Thursday, Newsom cited the president’s claim that he was “entitled” to five additional congressional seats in the Lone Star state: “That should put chills up your spine.”Now the California referendum transforms an off-cycle election year into a high-stakes national showdown that could determine control of Congress – and set the stage for 2028. For Newsom, who’s term-limited and widely viewed as a presidential contender, the success – or failure – of this 11-week sprint could carry major consequences for his political future.The November special election gives voters in deep-blue California a chance to strike back at Trump, who has relentlessly tormented the state since returning to the White House. But by temporarily overriding California’s independent redistricting commission – long a point of pride in the Golden state – Democrats are being asked to “compromise their own values,” said Kim Nalder, a political science professor at California State University, Sacramento.“That’s been a guiding light for a lot of Democrats – the whole ‘they go low, we go high’ idea,” she said. “One of the risks is that the Democratic party – and Newsom himself – become associated with this all-out brawl, no-holds-barred fighting, rather than having a particular set of political principles that they stand by no matter what.”How Californians will decide remains uncertain. A Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released on Friday shows 48% of registered voters in the state support Newsom’s redistricting plan, compared with 32% who oppose it. Another 20% are undecided, providing an opening for either campaign to make their pitch.“If Proposition 50 passes, and Californians succeed in adding more House seats, and is partially, if not completely, responsible for flipping the House next year, he’s a hero, plain and simple,” said Bill Whalen, a Hoover Institution fellow who was a speechwriter for Pete Wilson, the former Republican governor of California.Even if the initiative falls short in November, Whalen believes Newsom still benefits. “He still gets credit among those same Democrats for fighting the good fight,” he said. “I don’t see how he fails.”The all-out political war between the president and California’s governor erupted earlier this summer, when Trump seized control of California’s national guard and deployed US marines to Los Angeles, over Newsom’s objections, to suppress protests against the federal immigration crackdown. The raids are ongoing, and Trump has targeted the state in other ways: an attempt to strip federal funding from UCLA, and tariffs that threaten California’s economy – the fourth largest in the world.Newsom has argued that Trump was not just a threat to his state – but to the entire 249-year-old American project. While his approach might offend virtue-minded Democrats, he says the moment demands it.“Yes, I’ve changed,” he said recently in a local news interview. “The facts have changed. We need to change.”In recent weeks, as Newsom has stepped up his attacks on Trump as a “weak” and a “failed” leader, his social media team has trolled the president online – unleashing a jumble of unfiltered, stream-of-consciousness rants, AI-generated political fan art and schoolyard taunts, some of it signed with the governor’s initials, GCN, meant to parody the president’s own chaotic posting style.View image in fullscreenNewsom says he’s simply holding up a mirror. “If you’ve got issues with what I’m putting out,” he told reporters last week, “you sure as hell should have concerns about what he’s putting out as president.”The posts have gone viral – racking up millions of views, thousands of comments and driving a flood of engagement. They’ve also caught the attention of the right. Fox News hosts, Kid Rock, JD Vance and even Trump himself have all taken the bait, provoking what the governor’s staff gleefully dubbed “Maga meltdowns”.“JESSE WATTERS KEPT CALLING ME ‘DADDY’ (VERY WEIRD, NOT INTERESTED, BUT THANK YOU!)” his office clapped back, in an 188-word tweet about Fox News’s breathless coverage of Newsom’s furious posting streak.“Gavin Newsom can mimic Donald Trump all that he wants to,” Vance told Fox News host Laura Ingraham, “they’re still going to lose unless they get better policies that actually serve the American people.”Trump, for his part, weighed in on his own social media platform, Truth Social, vowing to save “the Once Great State of California” from “Newscum”.“Triggered?” Newsom replied with a wink.The Berkley poll suggested that California voters back his gloves-off strategy with the president by a nearly two-to-one margin, with just 29% saying they’d prefer a more cooperative approach. The tougher posture lands especially well with younger voters: 71% of Californians under 30 say they approve.In a blitz of media appearances last week, Newsom escalated his rhetoric.“We’re fighting fire with fire,” he said on The Siren podcast. “And we’re going to punch these sons of bitches in the mouth.”The response was telling: no ​Democratic moralizing, no rebuke from party leaders, no pressure on Newsom to apologize. Instead, his team promoted the interview to his legions of new followers and supporters replied with MAGAesque AI images of the governor as a superhero.“People are just not used to seeing this kind of rough around the edges, non-poll-tested messaging coming from Democrats,” said Olivia Julianna, a 22-year-old Democratic activist from Texas and social media influencer who interviewed Newsom for the episode. “It’s real, it’s raw, it’s authentic, and it shows that he’s a fighter.”As Democrats brace for the loss of up to five US House seats in her state, under the redistricting plan approved by the Texas legislature on Saturday, Julianna said voters alarmed by Trump’s increasingly brazen power grabs are desperate for leaders who offer more than just fighting words.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“We want to feel like someone is standing on the frontlines ready to go to battle for us,” she said. “And that’s what it feels like Gavin Newsom is doing.”Newsom’s new fight-fire-with-fire strategy isn’t always trained on Trump.When the Bed Bath & Beyond chair announced on Wednesday that he wouldn’t reopen stores in the state, calling it “overregulated, expensive and risky”, Newsom’s press office fired back. “After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath & Beyond no longer existed,” it said. “We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again.”He’s also taken on his own party. Earlier this year, Newsom declared the Democratic brand “toxic” in an interview with provocateur Bill Maher – a diagnosis backed by polling and voter registration trends, but striking language for the leader of the largest blue state who could seek that same party’s nomination.He enraged progressives – already wary of his record on housing and homelessness – when he questioned the fairness of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. The comments, during a conversation with rightwing agitator Charlie Kirk on the inaugural episode of the governor’s podcast, This Is Gavin Newsom, marked a split from other top Democrats on the issue and rattled some of his LGBTQ+ allies.In response to a Guardian story about the loss of care for trans youth in California, a Newsom spokesperson said critics should point the finger at Trump, not at a governor whose “record supporting the trans community is unmatched”.“Everyone wants to blame Gavin Newsom for everything. But instead of indulging in Newsom derangement syndrome, maybe folks should look to Washington,” the spokesperson said – invoking a pejorative phrase, “derangement syndrome”, used by Trump supporters to mock the president’s detractors.While his sharper tone has angered some on the left, the redistricting gambit has managed to unite progressives and establishment Democrats – sending Newsom’s once-stalled approval rating soaring.His redistricting plan has drawn praise from across the party, including Barack Obama, who called it “a responsible approach”, the former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and the entire congressional delegation of California Democrats. With the ballot initiative in motion, he challenged other blue state leaders to follow suit, laying down the gauntlet for fellow Democratic governors with presidential ambitions as Trump expands his push to secure Republican advantages in states such as Indiana, Ohio and Missouri.That aggressive posture – in effect becoming an “anti-Trump troll” – has been cathartic for many Democrats, Nalder said.“Democrats nationwide have been feeling like the Trump administration has been punching their values and their party and democracy itself in the face repeatedly day after day and they’re just ready for somebody to punch the bully back,” she said. “And Newsom right now looks like he could be that guy.”View image in fullscreenNewsom’s campaign faces mounting opposition from Republicans, including those not in Trump’s Maga camp. The popular former Republican governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a longtime Trump critic and advocate of independent redistricting, has promised to TERMINATE GERRYMANDERING”.Former House speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, has also vowed to pump money into what some observers predict could quickly become one of the most expensive contests in Golden state history.“The voters of California have a say,” he said in an interview on CNN. “If you truly believe in your power of your own vote, you should vote against this.”Newsom has raised more than $6.2m from 200,000 donations in the week since he officially launched the ballot campaign at a rally in Los Angeles last week, according to his team.There, Newsom stood side by side with labor leaders, members of the teacher’s union and the head of California’s Planned Parenthood. His redistrticting plan even earned the endorsement of Sara Sadhwani, a Democrat who served on California’s 2020 independent redistricting commission. Making the case for tossing out her work, she declared: “Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures”.As Newsome spoke at the Japanese American National Museum’s National Center for the Preservation of Democracy earlier this month, federal agents, armed and masked, fanned out across the complex. Newsom said their presence could not have been coincidental, though a Trump administration official called the accusation “misinformed”.The next day, the governor’s office filed a freedom of information request seeking details on the administration’s involvement in the decision to send border patrol agents to that location.It was just more fuel for Newsom’s argument: his campaign is not just about congressional districts, but a referendum on Trump – and American democracy.“Donald Trump, you have poked the bear,” Newsom says in a new ad for the redistricting campaign, as the camera flashes to the grizzly on the state’s flag. “And we will punch back.” More

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      ‘Pattern of lawfare’: Trump is targeting opponents with mortgage fraud claims

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      Donald Trump and his allies have been accused of executing a “pattern of lawfare” akin to those exerted by authoritarian regimes in Hungary and Russia after adopting a new strategy to target political opponents: allegations of mortgage fraud.First it was Letitia James, the New York attorney general, then it was Adam Schiff, a California senator. Now, the president is targeting Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, demanding she resign and threatening to fire her.Cook, the first Black woman to be appointed a Fed governor, was appointed in 2022 by Joe Biden. Her 14-year term is not due to expire until 2038.Leading this new strategy is Bill Pulte, heir to a home construction company fortune, appointed by Trump to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees regulations of federal housing lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Pulte has used his role to publicly accuse Trump’s opponents, publishing extraordinary allegations on social media and referring them for investigation.He alleges that James, Schiff and Cook committed what is known as owner-occupancy fraud, when a person claims a second home or investment property is actually a primary residence to get better mortgages. Lenders are more inclined to give borrowers a lower mortgage on a primary residence, compared with a second home or investment property.In a letter to the Department of Justice, Pulte claimed that Cook “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms”. In other online posts and on TV news appearances, Pulte said that Cook should resign or be fired over the allegations, which have not been verified.James and Schiff have denied the allegations. Cook has pledged to “provide the facts” after gathering the relevant information.Trump allies have celebrated the accusations, citing it as evidence of corruption within the Democratic party. “This is not just hypocrisy, this is poetic justice,” said Fox conservative commentator Laura Ingraham, of Schiff’s fraud accusations, in a clip Trump reposted to social media.While Pulte has targeted two prominent Democrats and a Democratic appointee, accusations of such fraud are not exclusive to the party: an investigation by the Associated Press found Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, and his then wife claimed that three homes were their primary residences.View image in fullscreenThough Paxton has not commented on his own mortgage fraud accusations, he had said of the accusations against attorney general James: “I hope that if she’s done something wrong, I hope that she’s held accountable.”Owner-occupancy fraud is not uncommon. Philadelphia Fed researchers in 2023 estimated that over 20,000 loans were given to “fraudulent investors”, or people who purchased more than one home they listed as a primary residence within a year.Some political experts have raised concerns that the president and his allies are blatantly using the legal system to intimidate political opponents. “The fact that the law is being selectively applied underlines that this is part of a pattern of lawfare,” Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, told the Guardian via email.“What we are seeing is the type of weaponization we associate with authoritarian regimes, like Hungary, Turkey or Russia,” Moynihan added. “I would say that this is a massive warning sign, but the reality is that we have seen so many of these signs at this point.”Contacted for comment, a US federal housing spokesperson said: “We refer people of all political parties for mortgage fraud, and we will continue to do so.”A White House official said: “Anyone who engages in criminal activity should be held accountable. No one is above the law.”‘No intention of being bullied’That Trump is targeting a Fed governor speaks to the president’s continued antagonism against the Federal Reserve. Compared with James or Schiff, both of whom have headed investigations against Trump, Cook has not singled herself out as an enemy to the president.But her role on the 12-person Fed governing board that sets interest rates has probably made her a target. Since taking office in January, Trump has demanded the central bank cut rates, disregarding the precedent set by his predecessors; the Fed has historically been treated as an independent institution, free from political influence, by past presidents.The Fed board hasn’t yet lowered rates during any of the five meetings it had this year, which has infuriated Trump. Policymakers, including the central bank’s chair, Jerome Powell, say the administration’s tariffs have clouded the economic outlook and raises the risk of higher inflation.Pulte has pushed himself into the heart of the action, criticizing the Fed on social media and reportedly even drafting a letter for Trump – which remains unsent – to fire Powell. “Jerome Powell’s career is done,” Pulte wrote in July.View image in fullscreen“Could somebody please inform Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell that he is hurting the housing industry very badly? People can’t get a mortgage because of him,” Trump wrote on social media earlier this week.Trump’s gut-reaction to seize control of the Fed is to fire Powell, but neither the stock market nor the US supreme court have responded kindly to such threats. So, Trump, with Pulte’s help, has spent the summer following other tactics.In July, Trump zeroed in on renovations that were taking place at the Fed’s headquarters in Washington DC, claiming that the renovations were fraudulent because they were more expensive than what was originally budgeted, costing $2.5bn instead of $1.9bn. The Fed put this down to complications that came up during renovations.But as criticisms of the renovations died down, Trump started zeroing in on Cook. Her exit would allow Trump to appoint a replacement who may be more sympathetic to his desire for lower rates.In a statement, Cook said that she has “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet”, adding: “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”On Friday, Trump threatened to fire her if she did not resign. More

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      Who is Kilmar Ábrego García and why has his case become a lightning rod for Trump’s immigration crackdown?

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      The Trump administration has said it plans to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Uganda, months after he was mistakenly sent to El Salvador, in a case that has become a flashpoint in the president’s wider crackdown on immigration.In a filing, lawyers for Ábrego asked the courts to dismiss the case against him on grounds that it is a vindictive attempt to punish him for challenging his initial deportation to El Salvador.The attempt to deport Garcia to far-flung Uganda – a country he has no known connection to – adds a new twist to a saga that become a lightning rod for Trump’s harsh crackdown on illegal immigration, which has seen rightwing supporters praise the president’s toughness but legal scholars and human rights advocates blast what they say is a haphazard rush to deport people without even a court hearing, in violation of basic US law.Who is Kilmar Ábrego García?Kilmar Ábrego García, 30, grew up in El Salvador and fled at age 16 because a local gang extorted and terrorised his family, court records state. He travelled to Maryland, where his brother lives as a US citizen, but was not authorised to stay.Ábrego found work in construction and met his future wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura. In 2018, he moved in with her and her two children after she became pregnant with his child.In March 2019, Ábrego went to a Home Depot seeking work as a labourer when he was detained by local police, court records state.The records say a criminal informant told police Ábrego was a member of MS-13, an international criminal gang, but police did not charge him and turned him over to the US immigration and customs enforcement (Ice).View image in fullscreenÁbrego, through his attorneys, has denied any affiliation with MS-13. He has no criminal record in either the US or El Salvador.A US immigration judge denied Ábrego’s asylum claim because more than a year had passed since his arrival, but the judge granted him protection from being deported to El Salvador, determining he had a “well-founded fear” of gang persecution there, court records state.Abrego was released and placed under federal supervision. He received a federal work permit and checked in with Ice each year, his lawyers said.Why has he become internationally renowned?In February, the Trump administration designated MS-13 as a foreign terrorist organisation. In March, it deported Abrego Garcia to a prison in El Salvador, violating the US immigration judge’s 2019 order.Ábrego later claimed in court documents that he was beaten and psychologically tortured in the El Salvador prison. The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, denied these allegations.The Trump administration later admitted it had mistakenly sent him to El Salvador’s notorious maximum security prison, but Donald Trump and other officials doubled down on claims that Ábrego was in MS-13.The US supreme court later ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Ábrego. He was returned in June, and then quickly arrested and charged with trafficking undocumented migrants.That case stems from a 2022 traffic stop for speeding, during which Ábrego was driving with nine passengers. Tennessee police suspected human smuggling, but allowed him to drive on and didn’t charge him.Ábrego pleaded not guilty and his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case based on “vindictive and selective prosecution”.At that point he had not seen his family in more than 160 days.Why is he being threatened with deportation to Uganda?A US magistrate ruled in June that Ábrego had a right to be released from jail while he awaited trial, but he remained in a Tennessee jail at his attorneys’ request for about 11 weeks over fears that Ice would immediately try to deport him.Thomas Giles, an assistant director for Ice, testified in July that Ábrego would be detained as soon as he was freed.In response to concerns Ábrego would be deported without due process, a US district Judge prohibited Ice from immediately detaining him upon release in Tennessee.Soon after this order, Ábrego’s attorneys asked a federal judge in Tennessee to release him.View image in fullscreenHe was released on Friday and required to stay with his brother in Maryland and be subjected to electronic monitoring and home detention. In a statement on Friday, he said he saw his family for the first time in more than five months.Before he was released, government officials made him a plea offer: remain in custody, plead guilty to human smuggling charges and be deported to Costa Rica, his lawyers said in a filing. He declined the offer.After Ábrego left jail, Ice told his attorneys he would be deported to Uganda and should report to immigration authorities on Monday.Later Friday, the government told Ábrego he had until first thing Monday to accept a plea in exchange for deportation to Costa Rica – where he will reportedly be treated as a refugee and not jailed – or else that offer would be off the table, his defence attorneys wrote.The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said the administration would not stop fighting until he was out of the US.With Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press More

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      Trump news at a glance: after 50 years of growth US immigrant population in decline amid wider crackdown

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      The immigrant population of the United States, which has been growing for more than 50 years, has declined by more than a million people since Donald Trump took office in January.According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, there were a record 53.3 million immigrants in the US in January, when Trump took office for the second time. By June, that number had dropped to 51.9 million.Among all US residents, 15.4% were immigrants as of June 2025, down from the recent historic high of 15.8% in January.The Pew survey also found that 750,000 immigrant workers had dropped out of the US labor force since January, which is now 19% foreign-born.Here are the key Trump administration news stories of the day:US immigrant population falls amid Trump crackdownThe Pew Research Center pointed to several policy changes that have affected immigrant populations across the US, including Joe Biden’s restrictions on asylum applications in 2024, which led to a significant decrease in border crossings involving immigrants seeking asylum.Additionally, the center pointed to Donald Trump’s 181 executive actions targeting immigration, including the arrival of new immigrants and the mass deportation of noncitizen immigrants.Read the full storyUS intends to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to UgandaUS immigration officials said they intended to deport Kilmar Ábrego García to Uganda after he declined an offer to be deported to Costa Rica in exchange for remaining in jail and pleading guilty to human smuggling charges, according to a Saturday court filing.The 30-year-old was initially deported by federal immigration officials in March. The Trump administration admitted Ábrego’s deportation was an “administrative error” but officials have repeatedly accused him of being affiliated with the MS-13 gang, a claim Ábrego and his family vehemently deny.Read the full storyPentagon blocks Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia – reportUS defense officials have stopped Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia since late spring as part of a Trump administration effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks, according to a report on Saturday.The Wall Street Journal’s report said the Pentagon had blocked Ukraine from using US-made army tactical missile systems, or Atacms.Read the full storyJudge blocks White House from defunding 34 municipalities over ‘sanctuary’ policiesA federal judge has stopped the Trump administration from cutting off federal funding to 34 “sanctuary cities” and counties that limit cooperation with federal immigration law enforcement, significantly expanding a previous order.Read the full storyTexas Senate approves redrawn congressional map favouring RepublicansThe Texas Senate has given final approval to a redrawn congressional map that gives Republicans a chance to pick up as many as five congressional seats, fulfilling a brazen political request from Donald Trump to shore up the GOP’s standing before next year’s midterm elections.It will now be sent to governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, who is expected to quickly sign it into law.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      Students and faculty heading back to US colleges and universities from summer break are returning to bruised institutions reeling from the Trump administration’s unprecedented campaign to bend higher education to its ideological will, and are bracing for more uncertainty ahead.

      Prominent Democratic lawmakers and legal advocates have called for the new immigration detention camp at Fort Bliss military base to be shut down amid accusations of lack of external oversight and concerns over access to legal services.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened 22 August 2025. More

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      Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from striking deep inside Russia – report

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      US defense officials have blocked Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia since late spring as part of a Trump administration effort to get Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks , according to a report on Saturday.The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon has blocked Ukraine from using US-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or Atacms.Two US officials told the outlet that on at least one occasion, Ukraine had sought to use Atacms against a target but was denied under a “review mechanism” developed by Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s undersecretary for policy, that governs how US long-range weapons or those provided by European allies that rely on American intelligence and components can be used.The review process also applies to Britain’s Storm Shadow cruise missile because it depends on US targeting data, according to two US officials and a British official, the Journal said.The review system reportedly gives US defense secretary Pete Hegseth approval over the use of the Atacms, which have a range of nearly 190 miles (305km). Ukraine was previously given authority by the Biden administration to use the missile system against targets inside Russia in November after North Korean troops entered the war.Before the inauguration in January, Trump told Time magazine that the decision to allow Ukraine to use US weapons systems to attack targets inside Russia had been a mistake.“I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that? We’re just escalating this war and making it worse. That should not have been allowed to be done,” he said.It is unclear whether the US defense department’s review process amounts to a formal policy change. But it comes alongside increasing control of munitions to Ukraine as US stocks are themselves depleted.In a statement to the Journal, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump “has been very clear that the war in Ukraine needs to end. There has been no change in military posture in Russia-Ukraine at this time.”But last week, amid efforts to broker talks between the Russian president and Voldomyr Zelenskyy, Trump said that Ukraine couldn’t defeat Russia unless it could “play offense” in the war.“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Trump wrote on Thursday. “It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning.”Last month, the US agreed to supply Ukraine with new weapons systems but only if European nations paid for them. While Trump has said that the US is “not looking” to provide longer-range weapons that could reach Moscow, US officials told the Journal that the administration has approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition air-launched missiles, or Erams, which have a range of 280 miles (400km). More

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      US immigrant population down by more than a million people amid Trump crackdown

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      The immigrant population of the United States, which has been growing for more than 50 years, has declined by more than a million people since Donald Trump took office in January and defined immigration as a threat to the nation, not one of its strengths.According to a new study by the Pew Research Center, there were a record 53.3 million immigrants in the US in January, when Trump took office for the second time. By June, that number had dropped to 51.9 million.Among all US residents, 15.4% were immigrants as of June 2025, down from the recent historic high of 15.8% in January.The Pew survey also found that 750,000 immigrant workers had dropped out of the US labor force since January, which is now 19% foreign-born.The center pointed to several policy changes that have affected immigrant populations across the US, including Joe Biden’s restrictions on asylum applications in 2024, which led to a significant decrease in border crossings involving immigrants seeking asylum.Additionally, the center pointed to Donald Trump’s 181 executive actions targeting immigration, including the arrival of new immigrants and the mass deportation of noncitizen immigrants.The center noted that the change in the data could be due to a declining survey response rate among immigrants.Mexico remains the largest origin country among US immigrants. As of mid-2023, more than 11 million US residents were born in Mexico, marking nearly a quarter, or 22%, of all immigrants nationally. Nevertheless, immigration from Mexico has declined since 2007 and the Mexican-born population in the US has dropped. From 2010 to 2023, the Mexican share of the US immigrant population dropped from 29% to 22%, according to Pew’s research.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe second-largest immigrant group was from India, at 3.2 million, or 6% of the total immigrant population, as of mid-2023. The next largest immigrant groups were from China, at 3 million, or 6%, followed by the Philippines, at 2.1 million, or 4%, and Cuba, at 1.7 million, or 3%.In July, a Guardian analysis of arrest and deportation data revealed how Trump has “supercharged the country’s immigration enforcement apparatus – pushing immigration officials to arrest a record number of people”.The analysis found that average daily arrests were up by 268% compared with June 2024 and that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) was targeting all unauthorized immigrants, including people with no criminal records.The analysis also found that the US has deported more than 8,100 people to countries that are not their home country.Trump’s crackdown on immigration has shown no signs of stopping, with the state department announcing this week that it is reviewing the records of more than 55 million foreign citizens with visas allowing them to visit or reside temporarily in the US for potential revocation. More