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    Despair after 200-year-old ‘grandmother’ tree toppled for Trump’s border wall: ‘It crushes your heart’

    Protesters spent months occupying an ancient cottonwood. Then a tense standoff with US border patrol came to a headA 200-year-old cottonwood tree near the US-Mexico border, known as the “grandmother”, has been destroyed to make way for the construction of Donald Trump’s border wall, despite a months-long effort by protesters trying to save it.In late July, land defenders began a tree-sit in the ghost town of Lochiel, Arizona, taking turns occupying a platform high in the tree’s canopy. The group remained there for more than 70 days. Continue reading… More

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    Trump says Ukraine needs a new leader after diesel deal with Russia

    US president suggests Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not done enough to end warDonald Trump has said Ukraine needs “a new leader”, a day after making a deal with Vladimir Putin to buy large quantities of Russian diesel.The US president suggested Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not done enough to end the war with Russia and blamed him for high diesel prices in the US. Continue reading… More

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    A replica of Donald Trump’s Oval Office goes for the gold in Washington DC

    The tourist attraction just unveiled an elaborate, full-scale overhaul to match Trump’s second-term aestheticSitting behind a replica Resolute Desk, nine-year-old Sydney Wright posed for the camera like a future US president. “I love it,” she smiled. And what about the dazzling gold appliqués, gold leaf and gold trim surrounding her? “It’s cool.”Sydney was among a steady stream of visitors on Thursday to The People’s House: A White House Experience, an interactive museum – with an orientation film narrated by The West Wing star Martin Sheen – at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue, just 150 yards from the real thing. Continue reading… More

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    United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain easily wins re-election

    Fain was dogged by investigation but still decisively beat challenger Rich Boyer, who received just 13% of vote The president of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, has easily won his re-election bid after an campaign period marred by accusations of corruption and election interference.The union’s election of leadership for a four-year term began with mail-in ballots being sent out in late August 2026, with vote tabulating commencing on 6 October. Continue reading… More

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    Marcy Kaptur: longest-serving congresswoman’s bid for another House term roiled by anti-trans ad

    Democrat in Congress since 1983 rebuked over ‘dangerous’ campaign ad – will it harm her chances in tight Ohio race?Last month, Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history, released a video advertisement in which she looks directly at the camera and says exactly what she thinks about one of the most divisive issues facing Democrats today.“Here’s the truth: I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools because parents know what’s best for their kids,” Kaptur says, “and boys should not play in girls’ sports.” Continue reading… More

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    ‘People are pissed’: union decries TSA’s removal of chairs for checkpoint staff

    Order for workers to remain standing to ‘reinforce professionalism’ draws rebuke amid plunging moraleUnion officials have launched a campaign to allow airport security staff to sit once more after the Trump administration unilaterally removed all the chairs for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff at checkpoints.“People are pissed,” said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) TSA council 100 and president of AFGE local 1040, which represents TSA workers in Dallas-Fort Worth. Continue reading… More

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    ‘Gaza is a moral tear in the universe’: Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty – podcast

    Are we really living through ‘end times fascism’? Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor think so.In a new series from the Guardian, the pair speak to Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty in an extended interview. From Trump 2.0 and the rise of the tech billionaire to Gaza and the climate emergency, Klein and Taylor argue we are not just lurching from crisis to crisis but are in a new and dangerous moment in history. But they haven’t given up hope of a fightbackRadical Thinking will be published every Saturday in the Politics Weekly feedYou can watch the full interview with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor here.
    Aditya’s suggested reading:Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s End Times Fascism is out now and available here. It began life as a special essay in the Guardian, which you can read here.A different take on whether Trump 2.0 is fascist comes from the economist Branko Milanović on his brilliant Substack.Elon Musk gives Donald Trump millions, and Trump gives Musk vast access to power. To read more, look at Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff’s Long Read for the Guardian and their recent book Muskism: a Guide for the Perplexed.For some sensational reporting on Trump’s second term, look at Regime Change by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.How did the business class learn to love Trump and embrace chaos? Paul Heideman gives a lucid analysis in his recent book Rogue Elephant.If you want more on the new tech bros of Silicon Valley, here are four recommendations:- In their book, Klein and Taylor regularly cite Karen Hao’s Empire of AI.- There’s also The Nerd Reich, just out from Gil Durán. Continue reading… More

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    Trump fumes over Nobel peace prize snub and criticizes Norway

    President complains about not winning prize in year he started war with Iran and says: ‘We will not forget, Norway’Donald Trump complained Friday about not winning the Nobel peace prize for 2026, a year in which he started a war with Iran.At what was supposed to be a rally for other Republican candidates in Syracuse, New York, the US president devoted a long portion of his speech airing his grievances with the Nobel committee. Continue reading… More