After President’s Capture, U.S. and Venezuela Explore Restoring Diplomatic Ties
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Trump’s assault on the Smithsonian: ‘The goal is to reframe the entire culture of the US’
The president has vowed to kill off ‘woke’ in his second term in office, and the venerable cultural institution a few blocks from the White House is in his sightsOn 30 May last year, Kim Sajet was working in her office in the grandly porticoed National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC. The gallery is one of the most important branches of the Smithsonian Institution, the complex of national museums that, for almost 200 years, has told the story of the nation. The director’s suite, large enough to host a small party, has a grandeur befitting the museum’s role as the keeper of portraits of the United States’ most significant historical figures. Sajet was working beneath the gaze of artworks from the collection, including a striking 1952 painting of Mary Mills, a military-uniformed, African American nurse, and a bronze head of jazz and blues singer Ethel Waters.It seemed like an ordinary Friday. Until, that is, an anxious colleague came in to tell Sajet that the president of the United States had personally denounced her on social media. “Upon the request and recommendation of many people I am herby [sic] terminating the employment of Kim Sajet as Director of the National Portrait Gallery,” Donald Trump had posted on Truth Social. According to the post, Sajet was “a highly partisan person” and a “strong supporter” of diversity and inclusion programmes, which by an executive order on his inauguration day, 20 January, he had eradicated from federal agencies. “Her replacement will be named shortly,” continued the message. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Continue reading… More
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Republicans silent and Democrats incensed on fifth anniversary of US Capitol attack
Democrats hold hearing to examine impact of January 6, while protesters commemorate attack on Capitol groundsCongressional Republicans were largely silent on the fifth anniversary of the January 6 insurrection on Tuesday, even as Democrats sought to use the occasion to condemn Donald Trump and a small group of protesters convened on the grounds of the US Capitol in solidarity with those who carried out the attack.Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress after fruitlessly hoping that the well-documented violence would cause voters to reject Trump for good, seized on the anniversary to decry the president as a threat to democracy, and accuse Republicans of acting as his accomplices. Continue reading… More
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DC pipe bomb suspect must remain in jail before trial, judge rules
Brian Cole, accused of planting bombs before Capitol attack, presents ‘intolerable risk of danger’, court findsA federal magistrate judge has ruled that the man accused of planting pipe bombs outside the Democratic and Republican headquarters the night before the January 6 Capitol attack must remain in custody while awaiting trial.In a memorandum opinion, the court determined that Brian Cole Jr, 30, of Woodbridge, Virginia, “poses an intolerable risk of danger to the community if released”, granting the government’s motion for pretrial detention. Continue reading… More
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‘Their first instinct was to loot’: how Trump’s acolytes are plundering the Kennedy Center
Sheldon Whitehouse, an ex officio member of the Kennedy Center board, remains undeterred and determined to press on with his investigation“That’s the tactic they use,” said Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island senator, pondering whether Donald Trump might attach his name to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. “You float stuff and you float stuff and you float stuff until people get inured to what a stupid or outrageous thing it is that has been floated, and then you pull the trigger.”Whitehouse was sitting in his Senate office and speaking to the Guardian at 11am on Thursday 18 December. Two hours later, his words proved prophetic. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced on X that the Kennedy Center board had “voted unanimously” to rename it the Trump Kennedy Center. Continue reading… More
