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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Will the Clippers’ $30m fine tame the NBA’s billionaire class? We’re about to find out
The league is awash with ultra-wealthy owners. Adam Silver is hoping a hefty punishment for the Clippers will send them a message about who is in charge When Steve Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers for $2bn in 2014, it was widely regarded as a coup for the NBA. Not only is Ballmer one of the richest men in the world – worth an estimated $152.7bn – but his passion and enthusiasm for the sport stood in stark contrast to the team’s embattled former owner. Donald Sterling, who bought the Clippers for $12.5m in 1981, was forced to sell after being handed a lifetime ban by the NBA in response to a series of racist comments . Continue reading...
Can Zack Polanski win Keir Starmer’s old seat? – podcast
The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, has confirmed he will stand in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, which was triggered when Keir Starmer announced he was quitting as an MP. It’s going to be a tough race to win, so can he do it? Plus, Reform UK’s conference starts today but it’s been a rough couple of months for the party and Nigel Farage – can he hold it all together? Please keep sending your comments and questions to Pippa and Kiran on politicsweeklyuk@theguardian.com Continue reading...
Judge rules 2,000 Catalina Island deer can be killed to save native plant species
Cull of animals that eat native shrubs, causing spread of fast-igniting grasses, to go ahead despite fierce opposition Locals and tourists have long fawned over Catalina Island’s mule deer population. For nearly a century, the ungulates have roamed the land’s waterfronts and woodlands, so comfortable around humans that it is not uncommon to spot deer roaming downtown Avalon. But that sight will soon disappear, after a judge this week paved the way for the island’s conservancy to kill nearly all the island’s 2,000 deer. Continue reading...
In 2016, Trump pledged to erase the federal debt. It just hit $40tn | Steven Greenhouse
The trillions in tax cuts going to the rich and corporations could have instead been used to address the affordability crisis Dear reader, I recognize that your eyes might glaze over at any mention of the nation’s $40tn federal debt . But your reaction to this mind-boggling number shouldn’t be ennui; it should be outrage and dismay. Outrage is in order because the nation’s debt has climbed to more than $40tn under Donald Trump, even though back in 2016, when the debt was less than half what it is today , candidate Trump insisted that he’d totally eliminate the debt within eight years . That was yet another example of the Demagogue-in-Chief’s willingness to say anything, no matter how insincere or untrue, to woo voters. Continue reading...
Apocalypse prep or pure pragmatism: what is behind Peter Thiel’s move to Argentina?
Relocation coincides with proposed laws that opponents say would entrench power of US tech billionaires in country Dozens of protesters converged on Peter Thiel’s mansion in Buenos Aires this week after a congressional session raised questions about the billionaire’s presence in the country. In white masks, they held signs saying “Peter Thief” and “No to the Peter Thiel law” in front of the wrought-iron gates of the $12m (£8.9m) residence, which Thiel bought in April as he moved his family to Argentina. Continue reading...
Yen soars as Bank of Japan tipped to raise interest rates
Jump lifts currency to highest level against dollar in a month, while global markets remain jittery The Japanese yen has soared by more than 1.7% against the dollar amid speculation the Bank of Japan is set to raise interest rates. The latest jump on Thursday lifted the yen to its highest level against the dollar in a month, at 155.85, and followed a 0.9% move the previous day. Continue reading...
Dozens of trapped hydropower tunnel workers in Nepal could still be alive, official says
About 46 people believed to be trapped in ‘room-like’ structure inside hydro plant tunnel on Nepal-Tibet border After the flood: human suffering on an unfathomable scale in Nepal’s worst-hit districts Nepal authorities have said they are “confident” that dozens of workers in Nepal’s Rasuwagadhi hydropower plant are still alive, more than a week after deadly flash floods left them trapped in an underground chamber. Authorities said that at least 639 workers were still missing from hydropower plants built along Nepal’s Bhote Koshi and Triushuli rivers. Continue reading...
Care workers and others fleeing UK modern slavery win visa reprieve
Exclusive: Home Office concedes skilled workers abused by sponsors can change employer and complete visa term UK politics live – latest updates Care workers, chefs and others in danger of losing their migration status under post-Brexit rules if they leave an exploitative employer will be helped by new visa changes, the Home Office says. Officials said if an employee was found to be a victim of modern slavery they would be allowed to work for any employer for the remainder of their visa. Continue reading...
Sadiq Khan cleared of car tax conviction caused by ‘scam’
Magistrates in Hereford withdraw case against London mayor over untaxed Nissan Micra that is not his UK politics live – latest updates A car tax conviction against the mayor of London has been withdrawn after it transpired that he was targeted by a “scam” that led to him being fined for failing to tax a car that was not his. Sadiq Khan was found guilty last month under what has been described as a system of “conveyor-belt justice”, in which magistrates decide on hundreds of cases a day, sometimes spending less than a minute on each. Continue reading...
Working-class ER nurse seeks to flip battleground Wisconsin House seat
Mitchell Berman is among Democrats the party hopes can flip a Republican-leaning district in November’s midterms Democrats are targeting vulnerable seats this midterm election with working-class candidates they hope will resonate with voters exhausted by the economy. Some candidates are new to politics, and many have backgrounds as union members and leaders, which the party hopes will give them an edge over Republican incumbents as people have grown weary of Washington and the higher cost of living. Continue reading...
Colorado’s Republican governor nominee linked to controversial anti-sex-trafficking ministry
Marx’s All Things Possible Florida model uses private funds for cop pay and surveillance tools without public oversight The All Things Possible ministry (ATP) is an unusual, and critics say potentially dangerous, operation. It has in the last year funded surveillance equipment and salaries for out-of-state law enforcement agencies, hired a range of private security and intelligence contractors, and is connected to a network of other self-appointed sex-trafficking rescue groups whose leading figures have attracted significant controversy. And its founder is the man who wants to be Colorado ’s next governor. Continue reading...
Judge blocks new Trump bid against birthright citizenship – US politics live
Maryland judge issues preliminary injunction blocking Trump’s executive order targeting what he termed ‘birth tourism’ Apple has renamed Lake Ontario as “Lake America” for US users of its Maps app, after an executive order from Donald Trump to change the name of the Great Lake amid his trade spat with Canada. The Apple Maps app now displays the controversial new name for the lake, which sits between New York state and the Canadian province of Ontario, for users in the US. Apple users outside the country will still see the Lake Ontario name. House Democrats rejected a constitutional amendment proposed by Republicans to ensure the size of the supreme court is permanently capped at nine justices. The proposal, a Republican effort to make the supreme court a campaign issue ahead of the November midterms, failed 212-206. House Democratic lawmakers introduced a war powers resolution seeking to stop the Trump administration’s boat strikes. Gregory W Meeks, Adam Smith, Jim Himes and Bennie G Thompson said people have been killed “without due process” in attacks never authorized by Congress. Senator Richard Blumenthal pushed back against a statement from the US Postal Service about its new system to screen millions of mail-in ballots for the upcoming midterm elections. “‘Just trust us’ is not acceptable,” he said. Donald Trump celebrated the news that Apple had fulfilled his request to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America” for Maps app users in the US following an executive order that came amid rising trade tensions between the US and Canada. The Pentagon introduced guidelines for the mandatory new testosterone deficiency screening required for service members age 30 and older, a policy introduced by Pete Hegseth last month. Trump – claiming that the US has control over the strait of Hormuz despite escalating conflict with Iran and extensive evidence to the contrary – has floated the idea of naming the critical waterway “TRUMP STRAIT”. Continue reading...
Off-grid UK-Australian couple describe ‘anguish’ at removal of children by Italian court
After judge allows partial access rights, Catherine Birmingham and Nathan Trevallion say the enforced separation ‘broke each of our hearts’ A couple have told of their heartache, trauma and stress after fighting for two years for their right to parent their children as they choose in the glare of the world’s attention . The three children of a Melbourne woman, Catherine Birmingham, and her British partner, Nathan Trevallion, were removed from their “ dilapidated ” off-grid home in Italy last year. Continue reading...
Gloria Steinem, groundbreaking feminist campaigner, dies aged 92
Famous for the 1963 exposé in which she worked as a Playboy Bunny, her books and journalism took on many varieties of discrimination Gloria Steinem, the American feminist and journalist whose activism helped push through greater rights for women around the world has died, aged 92. Steinem “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her”, a statement shared to her Instagram page said. Continue reading...
Victims sue South African government over 1961 Sharpeville massacre that left 91 dead
Claim relating to infamous apartheid-era shooting of protesters part of wave of litigation for apartheid-era crimes The day dawned brightly on 21 March 1960, as residents of the South African township of Sharpeville gathered to protest against pass laws, which forced “Black, Indian and Coloured” South Africans to carry documents at all times specifying where they were allowed to be. Abraham Mofokeng joined the march, one of dozens organised nationwide by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), a breakaway group from the African National Congress. “The weather was very nice, the sun was out. You could not have suspected that the day would go so horribly,” said Mofokeng, who was then a 20-year-old factory worker. Continue reading...
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson warns of annual loss in ‘subdued’ property market
Firm will complete fewer homes than expected in year to 31 October – between 1,350 and 1,400 The British housebuilder Crest Nicholson has warned of a surprise loss this year as it bemoaned difficult trading in a “subdued” property market. In an unscheduled trading update, the company said it would complete fewer homes than expected in the year to 31 October – between 1,350 and 1,400, down from its previous estimate of 1,400 to 1,500. Continue reading...
Ben-Gvir posts Palestinians on conveyor belts to detention camps. The world is silent | Arwa Mahdawi
Ben-Gvir did not come into power in a vacuum: he was helped into his position by an international community that has afforded Israel complete impunity Let me introduce you to Itamar Ben-Gvir, the leader of Israel’s far-right Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit) party, the minister of national security, and an almost cartoonishly evil man. You’ll have heard his name before: he made international news when he filmed himself taunting bound activists who had been detained trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. But you might not be familiar with many of his recent shocking comments, because they haven’t been widely covered by much of the US media. Let’s start with an AI-generated video that Ben-Gvir posted on Twitter/X on Sunday and then deleted . It shows portly Palestinian prisoners being loaded on to a conveyor belt and going into a detention camp, then emerging emaciated. The caption is “we promised – we delivered!” which seems to be a reference to the national security minister’s promise to worsen conditions for Palestinian prisoners. An ambitious goal, considering conditions are already hellish: Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has likened the prisons where Palestinians are kept to “ torture camps ”. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian US columnist Continue reading...
Bill Simmons’s embrace of ChatGPT is a breach of his website’s creative spirit
The founder of The Ringer and Grantland was famous for discovering and developing writers. Now he is promoting a technology eroding the creative industries Bill Simmons may have stopped writing with any regularity in the mid-2010s – he claims his fingers don’t work – but that won’t stop him from reminding you of his greatest hits. On a recent podcast about Russell Westbrook’s retirement , he couldn’t stop quoting his old columns. He first referenced an article from the 2012 NBA finals, and wasn’t finished until 11 minutes into the podcast. His guest, The Ringer contributor Kirk Goldsberry, deserved an award for patience. But the biggest blight on the episode came later, in the form of a bizarre ad read. “This episode,” Simmons announced, “is brought to you by ChatGPT, the Bill Simmons Podcast AI sponsor.” (Emphasis mine; his overenthusiastic delivery mandates the italics.) Simmons said that he had asked ChatGPT what Westbrook’s defining game was. “That was a pretty good answer,” he said of ChatGPT’s offerings, as if it were a precocious, loveable nephew, before encouraging his listeners to try the platform. Continue reading...
Trump ranks himself the greatest US president ever. Historians beg to differ
Donald Trump posted his own presidential rankings to Truth Social last week, separating past US presidents into six categories from ‘greatest’ to ‘failures’ Donald Trump has declared himself to be the “greatest” US president ever, sharing a post on social media last week which graded him above the likes of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D Roosevelt and George Washington. Experts take a different view. Few presidential historians have previously suggested Trump holds such a place in the history books. After all, neither Lincoln, nor Roosevelt, nor Washington – the three leaders typically seen as America’s best – orchestrated an insurrection. None were impeached. And none of them were convicted of felonies over hush-money payments to a pornstar-turned- ghost hunter . Continue reading...
Revealed: US attorneys rally to free children held in immigration custody
Trump administration has indefinitely stranded hundreds of kids and lawyers from over 50 organizations are fighting for their release An army of attorneys is rallying to free hundreds of children from immigration custody, where they have been stranded indefinitely by the Trump administration without their parents or loved ones, the Guardian can reveal. The effort is a counter strike to what critics see as unprecedented moves by federal officials to ride roughshod over children’s rights and increase deportations – while in the meantime corralling them in conditions that can allegedly lead to psychological harm. Continue reading...
The wars in Ukraine and Iran are becoming dangerously enmeshed | Christopher S Chivvis
As the Trump administration refuses to end its war in Iran, it is steering into the storm, not out of it Russia hasn’t yet killed large numbers of Europeans outside Ukraine, but it’s getting closer. The night of 4-5 August, an airport bus driver discovered an armed drone lying near the tarmac of the Leipzig-Halle airport, which is a central hub of Europe’s logistical support to Ukraine’s war effort. A cargo jet, meanwhile, may have struck a second drone shortly after takeoff, forcing an abrupt landing, and investigators found a third drone laden with military explosives nearby. In 2024, incendiary devices hidden in parcels ignited in DHL cargo at the same airport. Had these detonated in the air, a major air catastrophe and large-scale civilian casualties would have ensued, probably resulting in a broader war. Continue reading...
606 miles in six days: teacher Megan Eckert chases ultrarunning history – and a men’s record
At this week’s world championship, the women’s record holder who once feared a 5K will try to top her own 144-hour distance – and beat the US men’s mark While many teachers head back to school this week, middle-school math teacher Megan Eckert will be 5,000 miles from her classroom in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She has a good reason to miss a few classes: she’ll be competing at the Global Organization of Multi-Day Ultramarathoners World Championship. On Thursday, more than 100 runners will gather on a start line in Balatonfüred, Hungary, and attempt to run as many miles as they can in six days. Continue reading...
The US and Venezuela: a century-old relationship drenched in oil
A visual look at how Washington’s relationship with Caracas has gone from cordial to ‘predatory’ Written in the middle of the last century, the US Department of State memo conveys its message in a curt and undiplomatically honest tone: the glue that binds Washington to Caracas is, and is always likely to be, oil. “All US policies toward Venezuela are affected in greater or less degree by the objective of assuring an adequate supply of petroleum for the US,” the 1950 document reads. Continue reading...
‘I would rather die than return to France’: the brutal reality of the UK’s one in, one out scheme
Aso and Baran fled Iran, crossed the Channel together and were both returned to France. After risking their lives to reach Britain again, the friends found themselves facing very different fates At the end of last year, two men fled Iran. Aso and Baran* were strangers at the time. The way their stories would cross, then diverge, reveals the cruel arbitrariness of the UK asylum system in general, and the government’s controversial one in, one out scheme in particular. Before he left Iran, Aso, 28, had converted from Islam to Christianity, putting his life in imminent danger. “I had to keep my conversion to Christianity a secret,” he says. “I knew if I was caught, I risked being executed by the Iranian regime … one of my relatives, who I trusted, paid smugglers to get me out last November.” Continue reading...