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Category: Politics

NATO to beef up defence of Europe’s eastern flank after Poland shot down drones

NATO to beef up defence of Europe’s eastern flank after Poland shot down drones

Reuters reports: NATO announced plans to beef up the defence of Europe’s eastern flank on Friday, two days after Poland shot down drones that had violated its airspace in the first known action of its kind by a member of the Western alliance during Russia’s war in Ukraine. At the United Nations, the United States called the airspace violations “alarming” and vowed to “defend every inch of NATO territory,” remarks that appeared aimed at assuaging Washington’s NATO allies after President…

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Brazilians take to the streets to celebrate Bolsonaro conviction for plotting a coup

Brazilians take to the streets to celebrate Bolsonaro conviction for plotting a coup

The Guardian reports: Thousands of Brazilians have taken to the streets to rejoice at Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction for plotting a coup, as progressive politicians celebrated the historic move and rightwing figures linked to Donald Trump responded with anger and threats. Chile’s leftwing president, Gabriel Boric, led regional congratulations of the decision to jail Bolsonaro for 27 years for leading a criminal organisation that sought to seize power after the far-right populist lost the 2022 election. “My respect to Brazilian democracy…

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‘Louisiana is where people go to be disappeared’

‘Louisiana is where people go to be disappeared’

The Guardian reports: He arrived in Alexandria exhausted and sick. It was early April, and Amilcar Lisser-Posadas – shackled at his hands and feet – had been transferred from a nearby immigration detention center to this remote US immigration facility in Louisiana. He feared it would be his last stop before deportation. He remembered the stench of the place. The packed jail rooms where hundreds of men were warehoused together with little access to showers, which sometimes spouted brown, rusty…

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Appeals court judges publicly admonish Supreme Court justices: ‘We’re out here flailing’

Appeals court judges publicly admonish Supreme Court justices: ‘We’re out here flailing’

Politico reports: Frustrated federal appeals court judges publicly wrestled Thursday with how to follow vague “signals” from the Supreme Court contained in tersely worded — and often unexplained — orders handed down on the justices’ emergency docket. Some judges on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals even questioned whether they still had a role to play or were expected, at least in some cases, to simply reiterate the high court’s orders and leave it at that. “They’re leaving the circuit…

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Fed Gov. Cook declared her Atlanta property as ‘vacation home,’ not her primary residence, documents show

Fed Gov. Cook declared her Atlanta property as ‘vacation home,’ not her primary residence, documents show

Reuters reports: A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The document, dated May 28, 2021, was issued to Cook by her credit union in the weeks before she completed the purchase and shows that she had told the lender that the Atlanta property wouldn’t be her…

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‘Remove Trump’: Epstein emails reveals he wanted president’s name deleted from high-profile list

‘Remove Trump’: Epstein emails reveals he wanted president’s name deleted from high-profile list

Raw Story reports: Jeffrey Epstein asked convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to “remove Trump” from a list of high-profile figures in an email exchange in 2006, according to a bombshell report from Bloomberg published Thursday. Trump has been under renewed scrutiny in recent months for his past ties with Epstein, who died in 2019 awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, following the publication of a bawdy letter Trump had allegedly sent the disgraced financier in 2003. Trump has denied any wrongdoing,…

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The Epstein birthday book is even worse than you thought

The Epstein birthday book is even worse than you thought

Jessica Winter writes: The Powerful Man publishing event of the season—what “Steve Jobs” or “The Lives of John Lennon” or “Iacocca” were to their respective moments—is “The First Fifty Years,” a set of three leather-bound tomes commissioned by Ghislaine Maxwell to celebrate the milestone birthday, in 2003, of her onetime boyfriend and, eventually, fellow convicted child-sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “The idea behind this book was simply to gather stories and old photographs to jog your memory about places people and…

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Massie says Trump is among those who should tone down their rhetoric

Massie says Trump is among those who should tone down their rhetoric

The Hill reports: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he includes President Trump among those who should tone down their rhetoric in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. ”I mean, there is a lot of rhetoric. And the president himself engages in it — he called it a hostile act to co-sponsor the Epstein resolution,” said Massie, who was a leading voice in pushing a motion to force the release of files related to convicted sex offender…

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Right-wing activists are targeting people for allegedly celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder

Right-wing activists are targeting people for allegedly celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder

Wired reports: Far-right influencers and violent extremists are posting identifying details about people they view as celebrating or glorifying the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. The campaign has been swift and widespread and has already led to at least one person losing their job and others receiving death threats. The people posting the identifying information include Chaya Raichik, who runs the hugely influential, hate-filled LibsofTikTok account on X, Trump-whisperer Laura Loomer, and former Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio. A…

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No, Bluesky isn’t celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk

No, Bluesky isn’t celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk

Alex Kirshner writes: Following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday, some of his fellow right-wing media leaders called out a supposedly toxic hub in which liberals and leftists were gathering to celebrate the killing: Bluesky. “Actually, you should go see what they are saying on BlueSky right now,” podcaster Stephen L. Miller wrote on X. He urged liberal commentator Ezra Klein to repost a sympathetic message on Bluesky and “report back.” Sean Davis, CEO of the Federalist, wrote…

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Who was Charlie Kirk? The activist who turned campus politics into national influence

Who was Charlie Kirk? The activist who turned campus politics into national influence

Charlie Kirk addresses the 2024 Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024. Al Drago/Getty Images By Stephanie A. (Sam) Martin, Boise State University The fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025, has drawn widespread condemnation and renewed attention to the climate of political violence in the United States. To many, Kirk was not just another partisan commentator. He was one of the most visible leaders of the young…

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We are witnessing a scientific superpower destroy itself

We are witnessing a scientific superpower destroy itself

Stephen Greenblatt writes: The Trump administration’s assault on America’s universities by cutting billions of dollars of federal support for scientific and medical research has called up from somewhere deep in my memory the phrase “duck and cover.” These were words drilled into American schoolchildren in the 1950s. We heard them on television, where they accompanied a cartoon about a wise turtle named Bert who withdrew into his shell at any sign of danger. In class, when our teachers gave the…

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‘War is here’: The far-right reacts to Charlie Kirk shooting with calls for violence

‘War is here’: The far-right reacts to Charlie Kirk shooting with calls for violence

Wired reports: Minutes after right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at an event in Utah on Wednesday, far-right influencers and extremist communities lit up social media with calls for violence against the left. Kirk, the cofounder of conservative youth organizing group Turning Point USA, was shot and killed while taking questions at a TPUSA event held at Utah Valley University. Law enforcement officials said late afternoon Wednesday that a “person of interest” was in custody, but that…

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Russia tested NATO in Poland. NATO failed

Russia tested NATO in Poland. NATO failed

Phillips Payson O’Brien writes: The small incursion of Russian drones into Poland overnight was a test of NATO’s capabilities—a test that the Western military alliance should have easily passed. Polish authorities say 19 unmanned aircraft traveled through Ukrainian territory to enter their country’s territory. The scale of the attack was modest compared with the barrage of hundreds of drones, plus cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, that Vladimir Putin’s forces unleash against Ukraine nearly every night. For NATO air defenses with…

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Fired FBI agents allege retribution, incompetence at top security agency

Fired FBI agents allege retribution, incompetence at top security agency

NPR reports: The Trump administration launched a “campaign of retribution” against senior Federal Bureau of Investigation officials who refused to demonstrate loyalty to President Trump, firing them last month for improper political reasons before they could collect early retirement benefits, according to a new lawsuit from three senior FBI agents. The lawsuit describes leaders inside the FBI and Justice Department as both partisan and inept—struggling to please the White House and willing to dismiss anyone who crossed President Trump. At…

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Why journalists are reluctant to call Trump an authoritarian – and why that matters for democracy

Why journalists are reluctant to call Trump an authoritarian – and why that matters for democracy

A free election can still result in authoritarian rule. Photo illustration: Douglas Rissing, iStock/Getty Images Plus By Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University In an authoritarian state, the leader engages in unconstitutional or undemocratic practices for the purpose of consolidating power. Key components of authoritarianism include rejecting democratic rules; denying the legitimacy of opponents; tolerating or encouraging political violence; and curtailing the civil liberties of opponents. Since he took office for a second time, President Donald Trump has sent National…

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