More stories

  • in

    Trump wants control of South America. If Bolsonaro Jr wins in Brazil, that could become a reality | Steve Bloomfield

    The US president has taken credit for far-right victories across Latin America, but those wins have had more to do with fears of gang crime than his meddlingDonald Trump has enjoyed very few foreign policy victories since returning to power. From failed wars to failed peace processes, his second term in office has been marked by one costly blunder on the world stage after another. In Latin America, though, the US president has a different story to tell.His administration’s national security strategy outlined how the US wanted to “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere”. It was a brazen document, laying out how his government would interfere in the political life of countries it considered part of its sphere of influence, rewarding governments and movements that are “broadly aligned with our principles and strategy”. Continue reading… More

  • in

    ‘It’s been hard’: families await the return of the USS Abraham Lincoln

    After reports of suicide attempts and food shortages, the aircraft carrier is expected to dock in San Diego this week following a record-breaking 250-plus days at seaA mother in San Diego is counting down the days until her son comes home.“I had a big sign made, welcoming him back,” she said. “I can’t wait to see him.” Continue reading… More

  • in

    DoJ declines to reopen investigation into former Fed chair Jay Powell

    Kevin Warsh’s predecessor had been investigated over cost overruns related to central bank renovation projectThe US ⁠justice department is not reopening a criminal investigation into former Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell ⁠for cost overruns ⁠related ​to the central bank’s building renovation project, a department spokesperson said on Friday.Attorney general Todd ⁠Blanche – in comments to Bloomberg News, which first reported the development – said he has not ruled out ⁠continuing to look into the project’s oversight and potentially take ​action if evidence of ‌wrongdoing came to ‌light. Continue reading… More

  • in

    Is James Talarico about to flip Texas for the Democrats? | Politics Weekly America

    Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is surprising everyone, as polls have him leading his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton, in the Republican-led state of Texas.Jonathan Freedland speaks to James Henson, founder and executive director of the Texas Politics Project, about why a blue wave in the Lone Star state would be seismic Continue reading… More

  • in

    Death row inmate Christa Pike survives two lethal injections in Tennessee – The Latest

    A woman convicted of murdering a schoolmate 30 years ago has been taken to hospital after surviving two rounds of lethal injections in Tennessee. Christa Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in 200 years. Pike, 50, has spent three decades on death row after she was convicted of the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. A last-minute appeal to stop the lethal injection was overturned by the supreme court, but the state governor, Bill Lee, has suspended executions in Tennessee for the rest of the year. Lucy Hough speaks to the attorney and anti-capital punishment campaigner Clive Stafford Smith – watch on YouTube Continue reading… More

  • in

    Seth Meyers on Trump canceling $1bn in federal funds: ‘Is he adding a waterslide to the reflecting pool?’

    Late-night hosts weighed in on Trump’s relationship with tech leaders and the White House’s new AI-powered siteOn Tuesday night, late-night hosts discussed a Maha summit in Washington DC, the White House’s new AI-powered website and Donald Trump once again falling asleep on live TV. Continue reading… More