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Trump to award National Medal of Science to Musk, Brin, Huang, and Su at White House
A high-profile group of tech leaders is expected to be honored at the White House on Thursday, with President Donald Trump planned to present.
Trump rebukes political advisers for taking other work during midterms
The president, who generally resists admitting fault, has recently made several reversals responding to ethical concerns.
Trump floats firing top political advisers after report they helped a pro-Russian government
President Donald Trump distanced himself on Wednesday from two of his top political advisers — less than 30 days before the midterm elections — writing that if their outside work presents a conflict, “I will terminate them, immediately!”
Trump says he'll fire advisers LaCivita, Blair 'if there's a conflict'
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would immediately fire his advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair "if there's a conflict," following a New York Times report that the two political operatives visited the Bosnian territory of Republika Srpska.
Trump says he'll fire advisers LaCivita, Blair 'if there's a conflict'
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 () - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would immediately fire his advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair "if there's a conflict," following a New York Times report t...
Trump Says He'll Fire Advisers LaCivita, Blair 'If There's a Conflict'
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would immediately fire his advisers Chris LaCivita and James Blair "if there's a conflict," following a New York Times report that the two political operatives visited the Bosnian territory of Republika Srpska. The ...
She got Trump's $500 check for health insurance. To her, it's a 'political stunt'
As checks from President Trump for health costs hit millions of mailboxes, a poll shows Americans don't trust Republicans on healthcare. Experts doubt it will move the needle and say it is likely illegal.
She got Trump's $500 check for health insurance. To her, it's a 'political stunt'
As checks from President Trump for health costs hit millions of mailboxes, a poll shows Americans don't trust Republicans on healthcare. Experts doubt it will move the needle and say it is likely illegal.
She got Trump's $500 check for health insurance. To her, it's a 'political stunt'
As checks from President Trump for health costs hit millions of mailboxes, a poll shows Americans don't trust Republicans on healthcare. Experts doubt it will move the needle and say it is likely illegal.
Trump to campaign for Ken Paxton, Carlos De La Cruz in San Antonio today
President Donald Trump is making his third swing through Texas on behalf of Republican candidates in just under a month.
Wells Fargo faces regulator probe over efforts to boost black homeownership, WSJ reports
The Donald Trump administration's housing officials are launching a probe into Wells Fargo over programs and commitments the bank made nearly a decade ago to increase homeownership among Black Americans, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Trump expected to award science medal to SpaceX's Elon Musk, Fox News reports
By Courtney Rozen WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump is expected to award the National Medal of Science to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Fox News reported.
US Agency Considers Allowing New AI Political Robocalls Before Election
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission urged the agency on Wednesday not to approve a petition to allow political AI-generated robocalls from conservative political group Club for Growth. The group, which is spending millions of dollars ...
Jimmy Kimmel threatens to call the FCC on Trump for suggesting Iran should bomb California
Jimmy Kimmel threatened to call the FCC on Donald Trump after the president suggested Iran bomb California during a midterm election rally.
Trump admin to get $100M in compute credits for AI science initiative
The credits are intended to give Genesis Mission researchers access to computing power that smaller labs and companies struggle to secure.
Measles cases near 3,900 nationwide
Pennsylvania's outbreak has topped 1,000 cases, and New York has declared a state of emergency.
Measles cases near 3,900 nationwide
Pennsylvania's outbreak has topped 1,000 cases, and New York has declared a state of emergency.
What happened in the first Maine Senate debate between Collins and Jackson
Republican Sen. Susan Collins distanced herself from President Donald Trump during her first Maine Senate debate with Democrat Troy Jackson, arguing she has maintained her political independence by repeatedly voting against Trump's agenda and saying that she's “not exactly his favorite senator.”
Susan Collins touts independence from Trump in first Maine Senate debate
Sen. Collins said she's "not exactly" Trump's favorite senator while fending off Democratic attacks in a closely watched Maine debate.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers breaks with Trump on tariffs
Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, is breaking with President Donald Trump over his tariffs on Canada in a new advertisement.
Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers breaks with Trump on tariffs
(CNN) — Mike Rogers, the Republican Senate nominee in Michigan, is breaking with President Donald Trump over his tariffs on Canada in a new advertisement.
Trump Supporter Stunned as MAGA Crackdown Wrecks His Business
Surging immigration arrests are squeezing industries reliant on undocumented workers.
In first Maine Senate debate, Collins seeks to distance herself from Trump
Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins has distanced herself from President Donald Trump during her first Maine Senate debate with Democratic opponent Troy Jackson.
Trump choosin' Texas in bid to save GOP majority in Congress
The president's visit to San Antonio is his 4th stop in Texas in 6 weeks. The visit fulfills a promise he made in August to help Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton win in November.
Texas Republicans Might Finally Lose. Will They Learn Anything?
This November could be the beginning of the end of Trumpism. The state GOP is adrift.
Trump’s LA and San Diego comments ‘dangerous, if not treasonous’, says Newsom
California governor critcizes president for ‘putting a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America’s largest naval hubs’
Trump Officials Ramp Up Investigations Into Voter Registration Groups
The Trump administration is investigating nonprofits that it says may be recruiting noncitizens for voter registration, documents show, even though noncitizen voting in the United States is rare.
Newsom Calls for 25th Amendment After Trump Imagines Iran Attacking California
The California governor and other critics say the President’s comments signal mental instability.
Florida poll: Republicans lead in the races for governor and Senate
The new survey shows the state’s Hispanic voters shifting away from President Donald Trump after Republicans made gains in 2024.
As concerns over health costs mount, Trump tries cash
With the midterm elections a month away and Republicans struggling to respond to voter frustration over healthcare costs, President Trump is handing out cash. Last week, Trump pledged $90 to more t…
Could the future of AI be determined by Florida Republicans?
Trump wants the GOP to be a pro-AI party. Ron DeSantis has a different idea.
Trump admin to receive $100 million in compute credits for AI science initiative
The credits are intended to give Genesis Mission researchers access to computing power that smaller labs and companies struggle to secure as major AI firms lock up capacity.
Food Aid Enrollment Tanks After SNAP Rule Changes
It’s been more than a year since President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and SNAP enrollment is down more than 20% in Louisiana. Anti-hunger groups say far more people could lose access if states are required to cover more of the food program’s cost.
Communities worry for their health after Trump weakens pollution limits: 'It's a kick in the gut'
Biden-era changes to the Clean Air Act would have tightened regulations for industrial sites, but the Trump administration has given exemptions to hundreds of facilities. People living near the sites are concerned about air quality and their well-being.
Trump wants to turn his West Palm Beach golf course into the new Camp David
The plan calls for the federal government to be granted part of the property, with the rest maintained as a private course.
In Maine Senate debate, Collins says she's "not exactly" Trump's "favorite senator"
Trump’s ‘for you’ presidency became all about himself. It’s hurting the GOP
The ad that defined the 2024 election said “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Takeaways: Trump and abortion rights take center stage in first Maine Senate debate
GOP Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, sparred over President Donald Trump and abortion rights in their first debate Tuesday night in Maine’s all-important Senate race with control of the chamber at stake.
Local leaders react with shock at President Trump's comment regarding LA
Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum took to social media to condemn the president’s statement
Takeaways from the Maine Senate debate between Susan Collins, Troy Jackson
The debate in a race for a critical Senate seat featured lots of talk about President Trump, high prices and the war in Iran.
Susan Collins and Troy Jackson clash over Trump and seniority in Maine’s first Senate debate
The two candidates clashed repeatedly on their records and about national politics in the first of four debates in the key battleground race.
Thom Tillis takes jabs at Trump’s cabinet
Retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis says he stands by his book’s blunt criticism of Trump’s cabinet. ‘They didn’t pass their annual reviews,’ he says to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. He also urges the president to repay $10 million for taxpayer-funded ads.
Abortion and Trump spotlighted in Maine Senate debate
GOP Sen. Susan Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, sparred over President Donald Trump and abortion rights in their first debate Tuesday night in Maine’s all-important Senate race with control of the chamber at stake.
ABC and Trump's FCC battle in federal court over free speech and jurisdiction issues
A lawyer for ABC on Tuesday asked a federal judge to prevent the Trump administration from conducting an unusual, early review of its broadcast licenses, likening it to a looming execution by guillotine that was already chilling the network’s editorial decisions just weeks before the U.S. midterm elections.
Discussions underway to create a statewide census office
The state could lose more after the 2030 census under new rules proposed by the Trump administration.
FBI whistleblower alleges Trump ordered investigations of L.A.-area immigration protesters
A former FBI intelligence analyst has alleged that President Trump ordered the FBI to launch unconstitutional investigations into immigration enforcement protesters from the Los Angeles area.
In Iceland, Rubio Dodges a Diplomatic Flap Over a Trump Map
President Trump had posted a map on his Truth Social account in September depicting Iceland as part of U.S. territory.
Trump Journeys to Where He Is Still Popular
Usually presidents hold rallies to get voters excited about an upcoming election. Last night in Nebraska, the roles felt reversed.
Trump admin struggles to get answers from Russia on potential plague death
The Trump administration is struggling to get clear answers about the death of a Russian laboratory worker at an institute dedicated to studying the plague, amid days of stonewalling from Russian officials about the mysterious circumstances surrounding the episode.
Health Brief: Medical devices join Trump’s tariff bargain
Plus: Trump administration turns up the heat on price transparency enforcement
Trump’s comment about Iran nuking Los Angeles and San Diego was incoherent, not malicious
President Donald Trump says many bizarre and even hateful things. But signaling he would allow Iran to nuke Los Angeles and San Diego is not one of them.
President Trump tries to address diesel costs with new executive order
On Monday, the president signed an executive order that he says will help farmers by easing the prices they pay for diesel fuel.
President Trump tries to address diesel costs with new executive order
On Monday, the president signed an executive order that he says will help farmers by easing the prices they pay for diesel fuel.
Trump, Vance to headline three Ohio rallies in 10 days
The campaign stops point to growing GOP anxiety over the tight Senate race between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Trump, Vance to headline three Ohio rallies in 10 days
The campaign stops point to growing GOP anxiety over the tight Senate race between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Trump, Vance to headline three Ohio rallies in 10 days
The campaign stops point to growing GOP anxiety over the tight Senate race between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown.
Trump loves to bash California to rally the base. 'Let ’em take out' L.A. is just the latest
Bashing California is a reliable applause line in red states like Nebraska, Alabama, Texas and Oklahoma, where Trump has been holding rallies trying to ensure his supporters get out to vote.
Trump doesn't commit to repaying federal funds already spent on ads
Nearly $12 million worth of ads have already aired, according to AdImpact
What did people who went to Trump’s Nebraska rally have to say?
While the perception of Republicans seems gloomy ahead of the midterms, thousands came to see and support President Donald Trump at his rally.
David Ellison backs CNN’s Trump lawsuit, pledges editorial independence
CNN’s new owner, David Ellison, says he supports CNN’s legal action against the Trump administration over White House access, and will not interfere in the news organization’s coverage.
Trump won't reimburse US for political ads, in fresh u-turn
US President Donald Trump will not reimburse taxpayers for political ads that have already aired, the White House said Tuesday in a fresh reversal on the controversial television spots.But on Tuesday ...
Republicans to spend $5 million in South Carolina Senate race as Trump plans trip there
The primary Senate Republican super PAC is sending reinforcements to South Carolina as President Donald Trump prepares to visit and boost Sen. Darline Graham | Newsradio 1140 WRVA
Trump Does Not Plan to Reimburse Taxpayers for Promotional Ads
A day after the president said his super PAC would pay for the ads, which had drawn bipartisan backlash, officials said that he meant moving forward. A new taxpayer-funded ad aired Tuesday.
Thune presses Trump for more funding toward battleground races red
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) on Monday revealed he is pressing President Donald Trump for more funding toward battleground races in the midterm elections, as Republicans fight to stave off losses in November. Thune said that he’s been emphasizing the question of resources for candidates during conversations with Trump and the president’s advisers, in […]
Trump's PAC won't pay taxpayers back for his ads
At least $11 million in taxpayer money has already gone toward the spots.
A hearing on Kilmar Ábrego Garcia’s deportation case is abruptly canceled
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia's deportation saga continues as a federal court hearing in Maryland has been abruptly canceled. The Trump administration has repeatedly tried to deport him, initially sending him to
US appeals court weighs block on Kennedy's vaccine panel appointments
A lawyer for the Trump administration told a federal appeals court on Tuesday that a judge had improperly hamstrung an influential vaccine advisory panel by blocking Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked appointees from serving on it.
Justice Department tells employees to adopt Trump’s AI rebrand
“This directive shall extend to court filings when appropriate,” the memo titled Super Intelligence states, sources told NBC News.
After taxpayer-funded ads glorifying Trump sparked backlash, he says his super PAC will pay instead
In a post on his social media site, President Donald Trump defended the ads, which cost at least $1.5 million in federal funds and have drawn intense criticism.
Republican in toss-up seat says Trump’s ‘policies and his agenda are going to be on the ballot’
Why the CIO role is increasingly more about business than technology
The Trump administration and Anduril Industries unveiled plans Tuesday for a new “software-defined” shipyard that will help build attack submarines for the Navy
Biden-era FBI’s ‘Nixonian’ Trump family surveillance draws scrutiny from unlikely corner
Julian Epstein, a former top Democratic official, compared the FBI's tracking of Melania Trump, Barron Trump and Susie Wiles to Nixonian tactics.
Trump Voters Think Ken Paxton Is “Disgusting” and “Bad.” These Ads Aren’t Helping.
You may have seen some weird, off-putting ads from a pro-Paxton group over the weekend. What are they trying to accomplish?
Susan Collins, a political survivor, tries to outrun Trump
In her bid for a sixth term representing Maine, Susan Collins has been beset by President Donald Trump weighing her down with constant controversy.
Trump's remark about letting Iran 'take out' LA, San Diego draws backlash
The president made the comment Monday night during a campaign rally in Nebraska
Trump draws cheers, then criticism for musing about Iran taking out U.S. cities
“They could take out a city,” he said. "Let ‘em take out Los Angeles. Let ’em take out San Diego.”
From Amoral Politics to Immoral Politics: The Influence of the Trump Administration
Azmi Bishara examines the impact of sustained exposure to the rhetoric and practices of US President Donald Trump’s administration on public moral values and ethical norms, in the United States and elsewhere, distinguishing between amoral politics and the justification of immoral political discourse and conduct.
Phil Collins slams 'nasty' Trump, has idea for song 'Fat People with Guns'
Phil Collins called President Trump "nasty" and said it's a "scary time" in U.S. politics during an appearance on "Piers Morgan Uncensored."
Kilmar Ábrego Garcia is set to be back in court as he battles deportation to Liberia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kilmar Ábrego Garcia on Tuesday will be back in federal court, where the federal government will continue its attempt to deport him in an 18-month saga that began when he was mistakenly sent to El Salvador last year. The government is moving to vacate a preliminary injunction put in place by U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis preventing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining and deporting Ábrego Garcia to the West African
Democrat Hickenlooper takes aim at Iran war in 1st general election ad
U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper ties soaring fertilizer and fuel costs to what the Colorado Democrat calls President Donald Trump’s “illegal war” with Iran in the first general election TV ad, released on Tuesday by his campaign. In the 30-second spot, made available first to Colorado Politics, Hickenlooper links costs stemming from of the 31-week-old conflict […]
Ava DuVernay Returns With One of Netflix’s Most Political Docs Ever
The Oscar nominee’s new film, ‘14th,’ puts Trump administration policies in a grand and disturbing historical context — while serving as a stark call to action for Hollywood.
Alito says Supreme Court can’t stem rise of emergency appeals, 'not pleased' with Trump's rhetoric
The justice told The Associated Press in a rare interview that the rhetoric about the court from Trump and his administration doesn't sit well with him.
What’s in Trump’s $3.4 Trillion Tax and Spending Bill: 2025 Reconciliation Act
The Senate passed the Protect College Sports Act (S. 4668). Here's what the federal NIL bill means for revenue sharing, transfers, and state NIL laws.
Trump signs order extending tax-free use of red-dyed diesel
He signed the order while campaigning in Nebraska
Trump signs order extending tax-free use of red-dyed diesel
He signed the order while campaigning in Nebraska
Trump signs order extending tax-free use of red-dyed diesel
He signed the order while campaigning in Nebraska
California leaders slam Trump for saying Iran could ‘take out’ L.A. or San Diego
Officials in California condemned the president's comments as “dangerous,” after he told a Nebraska rally the war in Iran was a “small price to pay for keeping the world safe.”
Brazil: Lessons from a Disaster
By Antonio Martins (Outras Palavras) Defeats become deeper and more prolonged when we misunderstand what caused them, avoid correcting course, and embrace “solutions” that only compound our mistakes. Lula’s government and the Brazilian left suffered a disaster in Sunday’s election. Contrary to every poll, the president finished the first round 2.2 million votes behind Flávio Bolsonaro—and, more significantly, 3.4 million votes below his total four years ago, when the machinery of the state was working against him and in favor of his opponent. His vote share declined in 98 percent of Brazil’s municipalities. The PL, the main party of the far right, elected 121 deputies and 28 senators, becoming the largest caucus in both houses of Congress. The parties aligned with the Centrão—Brazil’s bloc of transactional center-right parties—were somewhat diminished, but will still hold roughly 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate. That will make it easier to assemble the majorities needed to amend the Constitution or impeach Supreme Federal Court justices. If elected, Flávio Bolsonaro could appoint four members of the Court, substantially altering its internal balance of power. What produced these results? How can the far right be prevented from consolidating them into a prolonged political hegemony? And what is the essential change of direction the left now needs? Explaining the Disaster Across the commercial media and the exuberant chaos of digital platforms, interpretations are multiplying. Some focus on specific episodes: Lula’s absence from the Globo debate, his very close relationship with Alexandre de Moraes, or his emphasis on issues supposedly remote from most people’s everyday concerns, such as rare earth minerals. Among the more systemic interpretations, three seem especially questionable. One argues that the principal defeat was not the left’s, since its congressional representation declined only slightly. The decisive movement captured at the ballot box, according to this view, was a shift within the right itself—from the more moderate and transactional forces of the Centrão toward the more ideological and radicalized forces of the PL and Novo. A second interpretation holds that the nature of electoral and political processes has changed. The material interests and aspirations of society, it argues, no longer play the central role they once did; they have given way to forms of subjective self-identification that the left has yet to understand. And a third concludes that, because of these two developments, we should expect a political winter: a prolonged period in which the far right and the broader right dominate Brazilian political life. There are important elements in all three interpretations. The problem lies in what they deny or leave out: Lula’s third government was a small-bore government. It offered the majorities that elected it neither a clearly better life nor reasons to believe again in politics and its power to transform society. These failures flowed from two fatal accommodations, which I will examine below. As a result, the government suffered a slow but steady erosion of support. And, as has happened in so many Western countries, it gave the far right the opportunity to present itself as anti-system and to benefit from popular frustration and distress. The interpretation that emphasizes the migration of votes from the center-right and traditional right toward the far right has been advanced, among others, by the courageous journalist Leonardo Sakamoto. In his UOL column on Monday, October 5, he highlights the miserable behavior of the traditional conservative parties. Over the past four years, they repeatedly joined forces with the “neo”-fascists, helping to “normalize” them—a criticism that could equally be directed at almost the entire corporate media. Believing they could use the far right as a stepping stone, they instead ended up partly devoured by it. This was especially true in the Senate, where the PL’s gain of 13 senators and Novo’s gain of two came at the expense of the PSD, which lost nine; the MDB, which lost two; the PSDB, which lost two; and the PP, which lost one. Sakamoto’s observation is accurate and necessary, but it leaves uncomfortable questions unanswered. Why did the erosion of the Centrão benefit the far right rather than, for example, producing growth for the left—as has happened so many times before, both in Brazil and elsewhere? The answer is not difficult. Throughout its four years in office, Lula’s third government was almost invariably associated with the Centrão. Here lies its first accommodation: accepting the limits imposed by conservative institutions; avoiding, as much as possible, any attempt to strain those limits through popular pressure; and believing only in the modest changes that could be squeezed through openings in Congress. The failure of the campaign to end the six-day workweek is emblematic. Lula could have electrified the presidential race by pairing it with a popular campaign for passage of the measure. Instead, he chose to place his hopes in the hands of Senate president Rodrigo Alcolumbre. He generated no mass mobilization, did not force his opponents onto an uncomfortable defensive, and won no victory. In September 2025, the government squandered the greatest of its many opportunities to shake up conservative power in Congress. Popular opposition to the so-called Shielding Amendment—which, if approved, would have restricted criminal proceedings against members of Congress—brought crowds into the streets, mobilized primarily by artists and social movements. This opened the possibility for a broader political education: a campaign that could begin exposing the limits and dysfunctions of Brazil’s political system while putting Bolsonaro’s movement on the defensive for its predictable support of political privilege. The amendment was defeated. But the executive branch then backed away from the fight. It remained associated with an institutional world widely seen as corrupt, elitist, and indifferent to ordinary people’s struggles. In doing so, it forfeited its credibility as a vehicle for the protest vote. On Sunday, it reaped the bitter fruits. Are We Doomed? Taking a different approach from Sakamoto, the philosopher Moysés Pinto Neto and other writers have drawn attention, in their first analyses of October 4, to the fragmentation of the public sphere produced by Big Tech platforms. Through their algorithms, these platforms present each person with a different view of social reality. As a consequence, it becomes much harder to identify common material problems and demands—for example, the fight for labor rights or for a properly funded public health system. Voters no longer embrace such demands, these authors argue, because they no longer see themselves as part of a collective. Instead, they tend to value the identities assigned to them by neoliberal subjectivity—the role of the entrepreneur, for example. On this interpretation, the left’s possible error lies in clinging to outdated illusions. Moysés’s warning is highly relevant and resonates with arguments such as Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s “Apocalyptic Fascism and the Billionaires’ Bet.” Unlike a century ago, the far right no longer promises a radiant future. It concentrates instead on resentment—especially that of young men. “They belong to a generation that fears it may never own a home, but compensates with the pleasure it gets from constantly provoking progressives online. Convinced their future has been stolen, they share memes romanticizing historical authoritarian regimes,” the authors write. But Moysés seems to confuse this danger with inevitability. He fails to see that the left’s answer cannot be adaptation. On the contrary, it must strengthen the possibility of politics as collective action. Nor does he recognize that precisely such a reversal is already becoming possible in some of the most promising mobilizations of the twenty-first century: the election, at the end of 2025, of the young Muslim Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York, on a platform centered on the intensely material fight for an affordable city; the Left Party’s victory in Berlin two weeks ago, built around the demand to expropriate private real-estate corporations; and the very recent wave of demonstrations in Spain—including an occupation of Madrid’s Puerta del Sol—in which tens of thousands of young people mobilized by the Tenants’ Union have demanded limits on rents. By putting itself in the straitjacket of the “fiscal framework” in the first months of 2022, Lula’s third government adopted the second fatal accommodation of its term. Faced with conservative institutions and a country devastated by four years of Bolsonaro, increased public investment was the government’s remaining weapon for offering a more dignified life to the majority and forging an anti-conservative pact with them. The same state that disburses 1 trillion reais a year to enrich a small class of rentiers could instead spend money to extend the Family Health Strategy to every Brazilian, at a cost of 30 billion reais; provide full-day public schooling and childcare to all adolescents and children—and, especially, relief to their mothers; achieve universal sanitation while cleaning up polluted urban rivers; multiply metro systems; begin transforming the urban peripheries; and undertake many other urgently needed projects. In April 2023, an article in Outras Palavras warned that the fiscal framework could “shrink the Lula government and preserve the forces that condemn the country to inequality and regression.” A year later, another article showed that restraints on public spending were strangling policies vital to ordinary people and undermining the president’s popularity. In November 2024 came a reality check, in the form of the government’s humiliating defeat in the municipal elections. Even then, the fiscal lock was neither removed nor loosened. On the contrary: throughout the government’s four years, fiscal restraint remained central to its political narrative. The administration proudly proclaimed that it had “put the state’s accounts in order,” without grasping either how misleading that phrase was—given the payment of 1 trillion reais in interest—or how badly the message was hurting it politically. Lula finally woke up in September 2026. The increase in Bolsa Família benefits, after four years of being frozen; the announcement that anti-obesity drugs would be offered through Brazil’s public health system; and the ban on online betting showed that the state has the power to act decisively on behalf of the majority when those in government are willing to confront obstacles. The huge marches that closed the campaign in Fortaleza, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo on the eve of October 4 showed how such initiatives can mobilize activists and the broader public. But it was too late—and too little to change the outcome of the first round. History has not ended The possibility of a turnaround in the three weeks leading up to November 25 cannot be ruled out. It will not be simple or easy. Lula must not only make up a deficit of 2.2 million votes; he must also offset the movement of voters who backed other right-wing candidates in the first round, most of whom are likely to move toward Flávio Bolsonaro. Pulling that off will require a broad, grassroots effort to win over voters, potentially reinforced by new initiatives from Lula. The coming hours and days will be decisive. If Bolsonaro’s movement also wins the presidency, the result will create a high-risk situation for Brazilian sovereignty and democracy. The enormous challenges posed by such an outcome would require the left to reexamine, in depth and with a genuine willingness to engage in self-criticism, its political projects—or its lack of them—and its practices. But would that mean we are condemned to the long winter of far-right hegemony that some analyses are beginning to forecast? It is far too early to say, suggests a recent text by Álvaro García Linera, the thinker who served as vice president of Bolivia under Evo Morales. His central hypothesis is that this political current will prove short-lived. At a moment when the entire world is once again talking about sovereignty and protecting national economies, the far right offers a stale, recolonizing neoliberalism. Its submission to the United States is as blatant and pathetic as Flávio and Eduardo Bolsonaro’s overtures to Donald Trump. Its project amounts to something like every man for himself: greater inequality, capitalism without limits, devastation, and supremacism. Will it work? In the United States, just two years into his second term, Trump himself is reaching record levels of unpopularity and may be on the verge of losing Republican control of both the House and Senate in November. Every new beginning is difficult. Whatever the outcome of the second round, the defeats of October 4 show how profoundly the Brazilian left will have to rethink and rebuild. But just as it would be foolish to underestimate the seriousness of its mistakes, it would be equally foolish to conclude that rebuilding a political project is no longer possible. History has not ended. The times are moving faster than ever. Originally published in Portuguese by Outras Palavras. English translation by Eric Blanc; I’ve added the subtitles. More We can’t stop the far right at home or abroad without a revitalized labor movement, which is yet another reason why you should become a sustaining supporter of the Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee (EWOC) — one of US labor’s pivotal bright spots. Relatedly, Jacobin published a short piece of mine reflecting on a decade of Bernie Sanders inspiring a whole new generation of young worker organizers.
US trade deficit widens in August amid strong imports
The US trade deficit rose to $105.6 billion in August due to a surge in imports, reflecting strong domestic demand and impacting economic growth.
Top Super PAC for Senate Democrats Raises Record $151 Million in Third Quarter
Democratic Senate candidates have generally out-raised Republicans, but are struggling to match outside spending from Trump-affiliated groups.
FBI investigated anti-ICE protesters after Trump demanded probe over TikTok video, whistleblower alleges
The FBI opened preliminary investigations targeting anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protesters in Southern California, a former FBI intelligence official alleged in a whistleblower complaint, adding that she believed the move violated the law and agency policy.
Trump approves firing squad execution for Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan
Thirteen people were killed and more than 30 injured in the 2009 shooting at a a medical building
NAACP launches voter protection hub for midterm elections
The civil rights organization is stepping up efforts in response to President Donald Trump’s push to change voting rules.
Trump, politics and lawfare take center stage in Arizona's attorney general race
Four years ago, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes won the office by less than 300 votes. Now, she’s hoping her track record taking on President Trump, fake electors and predatory businesses will earn her a second term in office.
Trump says Iran can 'take out' LA or San Diego during political rally
President Donald Trump faces backlash for saying Iran could 'take out' Los Angeles and San Diego as a 'small price to pay' during Nebraska rally. (Source: POOL)