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https://www.motherjones.com/blogs/mojo-wire/

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434			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/mojo-wire/2026/09/what-world-is-melania-living-in/">
435				What World Is Melania Living In?			</a>
436		</h1>
437		<p class="byline-dateline">
438			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/mother-jones/" title="Posts by Mother Jones" rel="author">Mother Jones</a></span><span class="dateline"><span class="time-ago">10 hours ago</span></span>		</p>
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442		
443<div class="hero is-image ">
444	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="The First Lady and President walk outside the White House, side by side." decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=321,180 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=990,556 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=1536,863 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_znp_k206_024.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump walk across the South Lawn on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.</span><span class="media-credit">Matt Kaminsky/ZUMA</p></div>
445
446<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
447
448
449
450<p class="wp-block-paragraph">First Lady Melania Trump appeared on Fox and Friends on Wednesday to defend her husband’s second term despite his abysmal approval rating stemming, in part, from Americans’ anger at the state of the economy and Trump’s war with Iran.</p>
451
452
453
454<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“He works nonstop,” Melania told the hosts. “He has the most energy than anybody. He&#8217;s, from morning to evening, nonstop working.”</p>
455
456
457
458<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts"><iframe width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/21SJo2kHM7s" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
459
460
461
462<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“That&#8217;s what we see. Definitely under-appreciated. Absolutely,” the Fox hosts agreed.</p>
463
464
465
466<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But most of the country seems to be seeing something else. In July, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand pressed Defense Secretary Hegseth on why he was requesting more money for a 
466war that Congress hasn’t approved of.&nbsp;</p>
467
468
469
470<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“So you&#8217;re essentially saying you&#8217;re asking for literally $1.5 trillion for a war that President Trump said he already won?”</p>
471
472
473
474<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A recent CNN poll shows that Trump is losing support from independents, with approval ratings hitting historic lows.</p>
475
476
477
478<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Look at his net approval rating now with pure Independents. It&#8217;s -71 points. I mean, these are the deep depths of the ocean. You never see numbers like these.”</p>
479
480
481
482<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
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511		<h1 class="blog hed">
512			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/ice-disappeared-detainees-ap-database-locator-lawyers-dhs/">
513				ICE Wiped Thousands of People From Its Database. Families Are Paying the Price.			</a>
514		</h1>
515		<p class="byline-dateline">
516			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline"><span class="time-ago">12 hours ago</span></span>		</p>
517	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
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520		
521<div class="hero is-image ">
522	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="A photo illustration that centers an ICE officer detaining somoeone. But, the person being detained is absent from the photo. There is just a yellow space where the missing person should be." decoding="async" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260923_ICE-Disappearances_2000.png?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">Immigrants with "final orders of removal" have been removed from ICE's detainee locator.</span><span class="media-credit">Mother Jones illustration; Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman/Getty</p></div>
523
524<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
525
526
527
528<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">On September 17,</span> immigration attorney Rachel Marandett went looking for a man held by ICE in the agency’s detainee locator.&nbsp;</p>
529
530
531
532<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Searching his name returned zero results—and Marandett, an attorney with the American Friends Service Committee, began to worry he’d been deported without anyone noticing.&nbsp;</p>
533
534
535
536<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“He was missing, and I panicked,” Marandett said. “I sent a frantic email.”&nbsp;</p>
537
538
539
540<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Through other channels, she was eventually able to learn that he had not been sent out of the country. In fact, he hadn’t been moved at all. His name was just missing.&nbsp;</p>
541
542
543
544<p class="wp-block-paragraph">That man is one of thousands of detained immigrants with “<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/8/1241.1">Final Orders of Removal</a>” whose records have been hidden or deleted from ICE’s tracking system, leaving families and lawyers unable to locate them.&nbsp;</p>
545
546
547
548<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As the Associated Press reported on Monday, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ice-detainee-locator-disappear-removal-orders-c3329a70bce424879bc5880b286c019c">those records began to vanish September 15</a>. Thousands of people in ICE custody are likely affected.</p>
549
550
551
552<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ICE disputes the claim. “ICE does not ‘disappear’ people. This is a ridiculous lie that the media is peddling to demonize ICE law enforcement,” an ICE representative told <em>Mother Jones</em> via email. “Additionally, Illegal [sic] aliens in detention have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers.” </p>
553
554
555
556<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>&#8220;This puts a wall between attorneys and their clients, and produces tremendous anxiety for families.&#8221;</p></blockquote></figure>
557
558
559
560<p class="wp-block-paragraph">
560But that communication can’t happen unless family members and lawyers know where the person is being held. And obstacles to communication can have life-altering consequences—particularly for those whose orders of removal have been issued in absentia, or because they missed a court date.&nbsp;</p>
561
562
563
564<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Often they didn&#8217;t even know the court hearing happened,” Marandett said. If lawyers find out in time, they can file a motion to reopen a person’s case based on lack of notice.&nbsp;</p>
565
566
567
568<p class="wp-block-paragraph">ICE “is working rapidly overtime,” as the agency’s representative put it in their statement, to deport as many people as possible. And being unable to locate a client can hamstring a lawyer’s last-minute appeal.&nbsp;</p>
569
570
571
572<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One notable absence from ICE’s Detainee Locator is Wilber Garcés Pérez, the Venezuelan delivery worker shot by a federal agent in Texas on Sunday. Garcés was taken into custody, hastily discharged from the hospital with a bullet still lodged in the back of his neck, and moved to detention within hours of being shot. He was then, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/09/21/man-shot-by-ice-says-he-was-put-detention-with-bullet-lodged-near-spine/">according to the <em>Washington Post</em>,</a> left on the floor of the South Texas ICE Processing Center with the bullet still in his spine.&nbsp;</p>
573
574
575
576<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Meanwhile, Garcés’ lawyers and family were unable to track him down. Eventually, attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch was able to get in contact with him, she said in a series of social media posts. His deportation order, Lincoln-Goldfinch said, was issued in error when Garcés, who reportedly has a work permit, missed an immigration court hearing and was ordered removed in absentia—after the court sent notice of the hearing to the wrong address.&nbsp;</p>
577
578
579
580<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
581<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A deportation order that was issued in absentia because the immigration court is so incompetent they sent a hearing notice to the wrong address. <br><br>I see this all the time in my practice and it’s a mistake we can easily correct. It does not justify shooting people in the street.… <a href="https://t.co/yDMZFQcdhd">https://t.co/yDMZFQcdhd</a></p>&mdash; Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch (@AttorneyKateLG) <a href="https://x.com/AttorneyKateLG/status/2102141756284301672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
581<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
581
582</div></figure>
583
584
585
586<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I see this all the time in my practice and it’s a mistake we can easily correct,” Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote. “It does not justify shooting people in the street.”&nbsp;</p>
587
588
589
590<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Other groups of people who technically have final orders of removal—but are not, in practice, about to be deported—may also have their names removed from the Detainee Locator. That includes immigrants who have open circuit court appeals, as well as those who were granted withholding of removal under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and can’t be deported to their home countries. It may also include some people in active habeas corpus litigation, in which a lawyer must provide proof of where their client is. Usually, the best proof of where Marandett’s clients are being held is a screenshot of the Detainee Locator. Without it, “you may literally not know what district to file a lawsuit in.”&nbsp;</p>
591
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594<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>“Now it&#8217;s like we&#8217;re dealing with these same obstacles, but with a blindfold on.”</p></blockquote></figure>
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598<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There&#8217;s little apparent consistency in who disappears. Immigration attorney Stefi Bastiaensz says that one of her clients, who came to the US fleeing political persecution in Nicaragua and has been held in New Jersey’s <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/inside-delaney-halls-black-box/">notorious</a> <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/ice-dhs-delaney-hall-baraka-sherrill-lawsuit-shutdown-strike-detainees/">Delaney Hall</a> <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/ice-delaney-hall-hunger-labor-strike-protest-new-jersey-sherrill-dhs/">detention center</a> for nearly a year, is technically under a final order of removal while his case moves through the appeals process. His profile, however, still shows up on Detainee Locator.&nbsp;</p>
599
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602<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“What makes my firm panic is whether ICE is looking underneath the final order,” Bastiaensz said. A pending habeas petition, or other relief, may not matter to the agency.&nbsp;</p>
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606<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are other ways lawyers can find their clients—immigration lawyer Pedro Chavez posted some examples <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdnA3CuNuwr/?stkn=MTdpYzlqMHh0d2E3NQ==">in an Instagram video</a>—but none are as efficient as the detainee locator. And families can be left with very few tactics beyond waiting for a phone call from their loved one or contacting their member of Congress. “Regardless of what’s going on, this puts a wall between attorneys and their clients, and produces tremendous anxiety for families,” Bastiaensz said.&nbsp;</p>
607
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610<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Obstacles to client communication aren’t exactly new to immigration lawyers. But “now it&#8217;s like we&#8217;re dealing with these same obstacles, but with a blindfold on,” Marandett said.</p>
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638	<div class="entry-header">
639		<h1 class="blog hed">
640			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-ballroom-code-violation-washington-post-fire-health-safety-law/">
641				Trump to Ballroom Architect: &#8220;I Am the Code&#8221;			</a>
642		</h1>
643		<p class="byline-dateline">
644			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline"><span class="time-ago">15 hours ago</span></span>		</p>
645	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
646
647	<div class="entry-content">
648		
649<div class="hero is-image ">
650	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Donald Trump holds a poster the size of his upper body of a rendering of the outside of the White House ballroom. He is outside at a construction site. Another person in a suit with sunglasses is standing behind Trump." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-ballroom-construction-2000px.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">President Donald Trump holds a rendering of the White House ballroom as he tours construction on May 19, 2026.</span><span class="media-credit">Jacquelyn Martin/AP</p></div>
651
652<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
653
654
655
656<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">“I am the code.”&nbsp;</span></p>
657
658
659
660<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So said President Trump to the first architect working on the new White House ballroom being built on the ruins of the building&#8217;s East Wing, scoffing at his concerns over possible fire, health<strong>,</strong> and safety violations. The architect, James McCrery II, left the construction project last October after Trump repeatedly ignored his warnings in favor of a preliminary design the president preferred, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/09/23/i-am-code-trump-clashed-with-ballroom-architect-over-safety-issues/">a <em>Washington Post</em></a> investigation released Wednesday.&nbsp;</p>
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664<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Building codes, the president claimed, don’t apply to the White House. That&#8217;s wrong. Federal agencies <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?edition=prelim&amp;num=0&amp;req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title40-section3312&amp;utm">are required to</a> follow federal standards unless it would “<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/national-security-9-11-trump/">adversely affect national security</a>,” as the<strong> <em>Post</em> </strong>reports and as multiple items of congressional legislation <a href="https://www.access-board.gov/buildings.html">establish</a>. The president&#8217;s argument: The Executive Residence, the president&#8217;s home and workplace in the White House, is not bound by the same rules as the rest of the White House.</p>
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668<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-bluesky-social wp-block-embed-bluesky-social"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
669<blockquote class="bluesky-embed" data-bluesky-uri="at://did:plc:jmte4w4x7ukciit6lci6ziau/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw6qd2ccuk2y" data-bluesky-cid="bafyreifzsoxbzeaixopnkzp7bupnr7ywzzzwiqlxrbhk3js7htkcarum5a"><p lang="en">The first architect of the White House ballroom resigned after warning repeatedly that Trump was insisting on de
669signs that violated fire and safety codes, the Washington Post reports.“I am the code,” Trump said www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio&#8230;</p>&mdash; <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jmte4w4x7ukciit6lci6ziau?ref_src=embed">Phil Lewis (@phillewis.bsky.social)</a> <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:jmte4w4x7ukciit6lci6ziau/post/3mw6qd2ccuk2y?ref_src=embed">2026-09-23T12:24:53.546Z</a></blockquote>
669<script async src="https://embed.bsky.app/static/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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670</div></figure>
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674<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As funny as it is to imagine Trump delivering the line like Sylvester Stallone declaring “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MGTKYa4vdI8">I am the law</a>!” in <em>Judge Dredd</em>, the president’s reported tunnel vision with respect to the ballroom is one more episode in a series of ego-fueled beautification endeavors costing taxpayers millions of dollars: <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/trump-algae-reflecting-pool-lincoln-memorial-paint-chips-repair/">the Reflecting Pool</a>, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-triumphal-arch-construction-lawsuit-drones-snipers-weapons-military-complex/">the Triumphal Arch</a>—the list goes on.&nbsp;</p>
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678<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And as I <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/the-reflecting-pool-mess-is-right-out-of-trumps-destructive-playbook/">wrote back in June</a>, many of these construction projects seem to follow a similar playbook: They inevitably go awry, exhibit the building version of <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/03/maralago-face-conservative-girl-makeup-brutal-aesthetics-of-maga-trump-gaetz-guilfoyle/">Mar-a-Lago face</a>, or lead to unfulfilled promises by Trump (often all of the above). After some private dealing—including a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/30/trump-ballroom-built-under-secret-500m-no-bid-contract/">$500-million no-bid contract</a>—a federal appeals court ruling that the administration <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-ballroom-court-ruling-1528247275ec6103da892d271d4ee883">must stop construction</a> due to a lack of congressional approval, and now a reportedly sweeping disregard for health and safety in a building <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-keeps-using-national-security-to-do-what-he-wants-war-dissidents-environment/">supposedly required for</a> &#8220;national security,&#8221; the ballroom may become the shining example.</p>
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706	<div class="entry-header">
707		<h1 class="blog hed">
708			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-un-annihilate-iran-war-general-assembly-speech/">
709				Trump Threatens to &#8220;Annihilate&#8221; Iran and Its People in UN Address			</a>
710		</h1>
711		<p class="byline-dateline">
712			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 22, 2026</span>		</p>
713	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
714
715	<div class="entry-content">
716		
717<div class="hero is-image ">
718	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Donald Trump is speaking at podium into a microphone. His head is tilted slightly to the right as he speaks. A teleprompter is shown in front of the podium. He is indoors at the UN headquarters." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-un-2026-iran-2000.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">President Donald Trump addresses the opening of the United Nations General Assembly at its headquarters in New York City on September 22, 2026.</span><span class="media-credit">Kyle Mazza/CNP/Zuma</p></div>
719
720<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
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723
724<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">President Trump&#8217;s rambling,</span> combative speech Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly saw him return to his most serious quagmire yet—the war in Iran—telling world leaders that he was considering completely destroying the country as a means to end the conflict he launched alongside Israel in February.</p>
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728<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Trump pondered aloud, claiming that<strong> </strong>Iran’s leadership had rejected multiple peace deals with the US. </p>
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732<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He said little about the terms of those offers—and nothing about the US and Israel&#8217;s <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/hes-mister-iran-how-netanyahu-made-a-better-iran-deal-impossible/">explosive role in the Middle East</a>, from Iran and the Gulf to Gaza and beyond.</p>
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736<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASJu1vEkfwA" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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740<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Center for International Policy&#8217;s <a href="https://internationalpolicy.org/about/#matt-duss">Matt Duss</a>, a former Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) foreign policy adviser, said in a statement that Trump&#8217;s threats were &#8220;dangerously unhinged&#8221; and &#8220;must be unequivocally rejected.&#8221;</p>
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744<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;Such rhetoric is not merely reckless, it is a criminal threat of genocide against an entire nation,&#8221; Duss wrote. &#8220;U.S. lawmakers and U.S. partners around the world should condemn Trump&#8217;s remarks.&#8221;</p>
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751<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The president again framed his demand as centering on Iran&#8217;s <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/iran-nuclear-power-program-national-identity-bomb-uranium-enrichment-natanz-fordo/">nuclear program</a>, despite offering up a shifting <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/deal-no-deal-trumps-iran-contradictions/">litany of goals and terms</a> on which he&#8217;d end the war across the last seven months,<strong> </strong>
751and implied that scorched earth was the only alternative. But American operations in Iran have brought an uncompromising government to power, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/world/middleeast/iran-hard-liners-sabotaged-peace-deal.html">limited the Iranian president&#8217;s power</a> to enforce any deal, and made nuclear containment on the level of the Obama administration&#8217;s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action virtually impossible for the indefinite future.</p>
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754
755<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But it’s <a href="https://militaryspend.org/iran-war-casualties">the tens of thousands of people</a> who have been killed since the first US-Israeli strikes in February, and the communities whose essentials like food, water, and energy <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/wars-escalation-in-iran-is-an-attack-on-civilians-basic-needs/">continue to be destroyed</a>, who have faced the worst consequences—and who didn&#8217;t earn a mention in Trump&#8217;s speech beyond the threat of complete destruction.</p>
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760%20the%20country%20as%20a%20means%20to%20end%20the%20conflict%20he%20launched%20alongside%20Israel%20in%20February.%20%E2%80%9CDo%20I%20annihilate%20the%20Islamic%20Republic%20and%20do%20%5B%E2%80%A6%5D0https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Ftrump-un-annihilate-iran-war-general-assembly-speech%2F" aria-label="Share via Email" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Email" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-mail"></i><span class="share-text">Email</span></a></li><li class="print"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-un-annihilate-iran-war-general-assembly-speech/#comment-container" aria-label="Comment" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Comment" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-comment"></i><span class="share-text">Comments</span></a></li></ul></div><meta itemprop="description" content="The president said he was still deciding “whether to drive them into hell with no chance of survival.”" />
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783	<div class="entry-header">
784		<h1 class="blog hed">
785			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trumps-desperate-for-tv-cameras-until-they-tell-the-truth/">
786				Trump&#8217;s Desperate for TV Cameras Until They Tell the Truth			</a>
787		</h1>
788		<p class="byline-dateline">
789			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 21, 2026</span>		</p>
790	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
791
792	<div class="entry-content">
793		
794<div class="hero is-image ">
795	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="A photo at the back of the White House Press Briefing Room. The room does not have any people—just chairs, the podium, and other furniture. The headlights on the ceiling are turned on." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/wh-press-room-empty-2000.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">The White House press briefing room is empty.</span><span class="media-credit">Jose Luis Magana/AP</p></div>
796
797<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
798
799
800
801<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">President Donald Trump,</span> who loves a media hit, may no longer get his moments of glory on television after major news networks ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC announced on Monday that they would pause TV coverage of presidential events.</p>
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805<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The four networks’ decision comes after Donald Trump banned CNN and other outlets “<a href="https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3mvsulb7yc225">from the White House</a>
805” on Friday for “constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS!”&nbsp;</p>
806
807
808
809<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC said in <a href="https://x.com/NBCNewsPR/status/2102035911701561792">a joint statement of solidarity</a>. Those five networks belong to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/20/politics/white-house-press-pool-trump">the White House television press pool</a> and rotate daily to provide reporting, video, and audio of the president’s daily events to share with other outlets around the world.&nbsp;</p>
810
811
812
813<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
814<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government. No administration should restrict a news organization because it objects to its reporting.” — White House television pool members: ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Fox News Media, NBC…</p>&mdash; NBC News PR (@NBCNewsPR) <a href="https://x.com/NBCNewsPR/status/2102035911701561792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
814<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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815</div></figure>
816
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819<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Along with CNN, Trump <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/cnn-politico-ms-now-plan-sue-trump-administration-ban-white-house-cove-rcna598912">banned reporters</a> from Politico and MS NOW. Reporters from all three publications were <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/19/politics/video/cnn-reporter-white-house-seized-digivd">denied access to the White House</a> on Saturday. The three outlets <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/09/21/us/cnn-msnow-politico-lawsuit-trump.html">filed a lawsuit</a> against the Trump administration in federal court earlier on Monday morning, alleging violations of First Amendment free press rights and Fifth Amendment due process.&nbsp;</p>
820
821
822
823<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/20/media/cnn-trump-white-house-pool-ban">CNN</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/09/21/cnn-ms-now-politico-sue-over-white-house-bans/">others</a>, Fox News Washington Bureau Chief and acting TV pool chair Bryan Boughton wrote in a Monday email to TV pool subscribers that “there will be no replacement pool put in place” and “all other pool coverage will continue as normal, including Congress, VIPs, and selected events in Washington and around the country.”</p>
824
825
826
827<p class="wp-block-paragraph">CNN was scheduled to be the TV pool on Monday and would have gone with Trump to New York City for the annual United Nations General Assembly this week. According to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/20/politics/white-house-press-pool-trump">CNN</a>, the White House’s Sunday night press schedule listed Hearst, which owns local newspapers and TV stations across the country, as the “secondary” TV crew in DC and Real America’s Voice, a right-wing streaming channel, as the “secondary” crew for the New York trip. These “secondary” teams can typically ask questions to the president at pool events but don’t provide all the pool reporting to other media organizations.</p>
828
829
830
831<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Later on Monday, Trump held a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/live/">ribbon-cutting ceremony</a> for a new White House helipad—only most of the audio <a href="https://x.com/SophiaCai99/status/2102097267750556089">sounded like static</a> and led at least one <a href="https://x.com/atrupar/status/2102093387281088592">Newsmax reporter</a> to blame the inability to hear the president on a lack of pool access.</p>
832
833
834
835<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OHZXbePxRhU" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
836
837
838
839<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Associated Press sent an update on Monday, acknowledging the ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, and saying “no network travel pool is expected” to accompany Trump. “The Associated Press will cover the president at the United Nations, with journalists on the ground providing coverage, including live video, images and reporting.”</p>
840
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843<p class="wp-block-paragraph">With uncertain coverage of future events like the United Nations General Assembly and Chinese President Xi visiting the US later this week—the latter of which Trump seems to care about after reportedly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/07/06/trump-speeds-up-white-house-helipad-driveway-changes-xi-visit-looms/">spending up to $875,000</a> to accelerate construction of the same helipad unveiled Monday<strong> </strong>on the White House lawn ahead of the visit—his decision looks to have backfired.</p>
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871	<div class="entry-header">
872		<h1 class="blog hed">
873			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/pentagon-dod-hegseth-trump-iran-casualties-military-deaths/">
874				What Else Is the Pentagon Hiding From Us?			</a>
875		</h1>
876		<p class="byline-dateline">
877			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 18, 2026</span>		</p>
878	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
879
880	<div class="entry-content">
881		
882<div class="hero is-image ">
883	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Five people dressed in US military attire are seen holding a transfer case draped in the US flag. The case itself is silver." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/us-servicemember-iran-military-transfer.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">A U.S. Army carry team transports the remains of Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for military casualties of the Iran war on July 22, 2026.</span><span class="media-credit">Kevin Dietsch/Getty</p></div>
884
885<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
886
887
888
889<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">More US military personnel</span> have reportedly died during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has shared publicly, the latest and most serious evidence of the Trump administration&#8217;s ongoing cover-up around disastrous military failures in that conflict.</p>
890
891
892
893<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a <em>Washington Post</em> <a href="https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/conflictCasualties/oefu/deaths">report released Friday</a>, six US officials with knowledge of internal Defense Department data on military casualties, attested that at least 22 service members have died. The Pentagon’s <a href="https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/conflictCasualties/oefu/deaths">public database</a> reports 14 military casualties as of Friday as a result of Operation Epic Fury, which began with the first US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Four more deaths are labeled in a separate category, “<a href="https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/conflictCasualties/oo/byCategory">Overseas Operations</a>,” despite the Defense Department <a href="https://time.com/article/2026/07/20/us-service-members-killed-wounded-iran-war-casualties/">previously reporting 18 deaths</a> related to Iran.</p>
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895
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897<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qJ9YJEXqUeA" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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901<p class="wp-block-paragraph">
901In July, the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/us/politics/iran-troop-deaths.html"><em>New York Times</em></a> reported that one reason the Trump administration removed four service members who were killed days earlier from the casualty list—three in Jordan and one in northern Iraq—was that they died after the president declared a ceasefire in April.</p>
902
903
904
905<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One official told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/09/18/more-us-troops-have-died-amid-iran-war-than-pentagon-has-disclosed-publicly/"><em>Post</em></a> that the four additional deaths were not all directly tied to the Iran war, but included military personnel who were separately stationed in the Middle East.&nbsp;</p>
906
907
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909<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When a US service member’s death is formally accounted for, the military initiates an investigation to determine whether they died while performing official duties. The evaluation <a href="https://www.militaryonesource.mil/casualty-mortuary-affairs/casualty-assistance/military-death-investigations/">directly affects</a> the amount of benefits their families receive.</p>
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913<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>The listed cause of military deaths directly affects the amount of benefits that their families receive.</p></blockquote></figure>
914
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916
917<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Trump administration also appears to be hiding the extent of damage to US military bases. Earlier this week, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-photos-damage-u-s-kuwait-saudi-arabia-iran-drone-missile-attacks/">CBS News</a> shared photos leaked by active service members of a destroyed Boeing aircraft in an Air Force base in Saudi Arabia. Other photos show destroyed buildings and military barracks at the base. Camp Buehring, a US staging post in Kuwait, had damaged aircraft, as well as armored vehicles, that the administration had not previously acknowledged.&nbsp;</p>
918
919
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921<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In addition, the Defense Department’s inspector general <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2026/Sep/09/2003993626/-1/-1/1/OEF_Q3_JUN2026_FINAL_508%20SECURE.PDF">released a report</a> earlier this week that the war in Iran “has resulted in strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial base bottlenecks for munitions resupply.” In the first four months, the inspector general valued the cost of military operations at $33.4 billion, not accounting for costs of damaged facilities, while the Trump administration struggles<strong> </strong>to accelerate weapons production—a move that the report says has “significant lead times.”&nbsp;</p>
922
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925<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump&#8217;s attempts to conceal those failures—with even less believable claims that the US has “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/iran-war-us-israel-trump-2026/card/trump-says-every-single-force-wiped-out-in-iran-D6q9fDxzkQY45GTTPuUZ">wiped every single force in Iran out very completely</a>” or that the war is “<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/deal-no-deal-trumps-iran-contradictions/">pretty much</a>” over—are prolonging a war that the White House seems determined to lose, and <a href="https://militaryspend.org/iran-war-casualties">that has<strong> </strong>killed thousands of people</a> across the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
926	</div>
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954		<h1 class="blog hed">
955			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/the-kennedy-center-is-just-trumps-latest-hostage/">
956				The Kennedy Center Is Just Trump&#8217;s Latest Hostage			</a>
957		</h1>
958		<p class="byline-dateline">
959			<span class="byline"><span class="byline-override">Reported by Dan Friedman with Video by <a href="/author/Sonel-Cutler/">Sonel Cutler</a></span></span><span class="dateline">September 18, 2026</span>		</p>
960	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
961
962	<div class="entry-content">
963		
964<div class="hero is-image ">
965	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/GettyImages-2295088964-e1789744155931.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Photographed from the outside of a plane, Trump looks at a poster board that reads &quot;Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED&quot;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">US President Donald Trump is seen aboard Air Force One checking a Kennedy Center large printout after landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on September 16, 2026. </span><span class="media-credit">
965Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images</p></div>
966
967<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
968
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971<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">Donald Trump has</span> lurched, in short order, from would-be savior to abductor of the Kennedy Center, replacing vows to restore the facility’s greatness with a threat to demolish it if he can’t put his name on it.</p>
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975<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Construction crews <a href="https://wtop.com/dc/2026/09/fencing-goes-up-around-the-main-kennedy-center-building-after-trump-aligned-board-votes-to-close-it/" data-type="link" data-id="https://wtop.com/dc/2026/09/fencing-goes-up-around-the-main-kennedy-center-building-after-trump-aligned-board-votes-to-close-it/">fenced off</a> the center on Wednesday, making it the latest in a series of Washington landmarks where Trump’s grand renovation plans have devolved into stalled construction projects that have left public facilities closed to the public.</p>
976
977
978
979<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts has-caption"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FBg1Hqu8Rqo" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">&#8220;It&#8217;s death by a thousand cuts,&#8221; one DC resident said.</span><span class="media-credit">Video by Sonel Cutler</span></figcaption></div>
980
981
982
983<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump <a href="https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-kennedy-center-ripped-recognition/story?id=136513298" data-type="link" data-id="https://abcnews.com/Politics/trump-kennedy-center-ripped-recognition/story?id=136513298">told reporters</a> Wednesday that the Kennedy Center might be “ripped down” if his administration did not receive “recognition” for working to improve it. Later he was <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/16/politics/is-the-kennedy-center-closed" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/16/politics/is-the-kennedy-center-closed">photographed studying</a> a poster board that <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.287972/gov.uscourts.dcd.287972.87.0_3.pdf">appeared to say</a>, “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.” A spokesperson for the center countered Thursday that &#8220;nothing is being demolished.” And US District Judge Christopher Cooper, who previously ruled that Trump’s name must be removed from the facility’s wall, ordered the administration to provide 30 days&#8217; notice before making any major physical changes to the building, including demolition.</p>
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987<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Still, the performing arts venue is shuttered. After securing $250 million in congressional funding and <a href="https://www.democrats.senate.gov/newsroom/trump-transcripts/transcript-president-trump-announces-the-2025-kennedy-center-honorees-81325">vowing</a> to “bring it to a higher level than it ever hit”—marble armrests; performances like <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/06/11/nx-s1-5429801/trump-les-miserables-kennedy-center"><em>Les Miserables</em></a>; &#8220;NO MORE DRAG SHOWS”—Trump has not improved the Kennedy Center. He has closed it and threatened to raze it.</p>
988
989
990
991<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is part of a pattern. Trump’s costly campaign to make Washington “<a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-14252-making-the-district-columbia-safe-and-beautiful">safe and beautiful</a>” is floundering, with projects stalled in the face of legal challenges and construction flaws. As criticism mounts, fences have risen across the nation&#8217;s capital, with parks closed down indefinitely.</p>
992
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995<p class="wp-block-paragraph">With the Kennedy Center, and DC generally, it’s hard to avoid the similarity to a creepy courtship. Imagine <em>Taxi Driver’s</em> Travis Bickle, were he president. If he can’t possess it, he <a href="https://time.com/7311556/trump-threatens-dc-federal-takeover-crime-figures-dispute/" data-type="link" data-id="https://time.com/7311556/trump-threatens-dc-federal-takeover-crime-figures-dispute/">threatens</a> to kill it.</p>
996
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999<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In June, the White House touted the reopening of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. That followed repairs to its <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/company-trump-donor-cafaro-reflecting-pool-no-bid-contract/">filtration system</a> and installation of “American flag blue” liner by firms <a href="https://www.nytimes.c
999om/2026/09/11/climate/reflecting-pool-contractor-trump.html">awarded</a> no-bid contracts to complete the work before July 4. Trump celebrated the work, claiming, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-reflecting-pool-renovations-obama-biden-millions-c261ebc9898149002bb384a084e49b27">falsely</a>, that prior presidents spent more money on less successful repairs.</p>
1000
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1003<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But after the lining peeled and pool filled with algae, the pool closed for further fixes. Trump, without evidence, blamed knife-wielding vandals for the problems. And the Justice Department issued criminal charges against three people who had removed pieces of liner from the pool for allegedly defacing it.</p>
1004
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1007<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The DOJ later <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-drops-reflecting-pool-case-blaming-damage-botched-rcna590303" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-administration-drops-reflecting-pool-case-blaming-damage-botched-rcna590303">dropped those charges</a>, acknowledging that evidence showed flawed construction caused the pool&#8217;s problems. The pool’s main contractor <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/climate/reflecting-pool-contractor-trump.html" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/climate/reflecting-pool-contractor-trump.html">has agreed,</a> telling the government in progress reports that errors by its own workers caused the pool liner to peel.</p>
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1011<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The reflecting pool has remained drained since July. And the National Park Service has erected fencing cutting off the landmark and nearby walkways from public access. Signs on the fences, echoing Trump, <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/fencing-goes-up-around-reflecting-pool-amid-vandalism-investigation-lincoln-memorial-vandals-paint-peeling-slashes-algae-trump-truth-social" data-type="link" data-id="https://wjla.com/news/local/fencing-goes-up-around-reflecting-pool-amid-vandalism-investigation-lincoln-memorial-vandals-paint-peeling-slashes-algae-trump-truth-social">assert that</a> the government is “repairing areas damaged by vandals and completing a historic effort to clean, fix, and beautify the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool”—and fault past administrations for “neglecting this iconic national landmark.”</p>
1012
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1014
1015<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To the east, even more of the National Mall—a mile-long stretch—is also <a href="https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/national-mall/large-portion-national-mall-memorial-park-closed-until-2027/65-4a02b5d5-fea1-4a60-aa79-343c3deb992b">closed until January</a> for “turf restoration.” That includes the area that was used to host Trump&#8217;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NZIUqUdoz2I" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NZIUqUdoz2I">controversial</a> Great American State Fair this summer. The Park Service has not attributed the closure to the fair.</p>
1016
1017
1018
1019<p class="wp-block-paragraph">South of the White House, the Ellipse, a park area along National Mall, has mostly remained fenced off since June, when a UFC Fight Trump hosted at the White House on Trump&#8217;s birthday <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5937086-lawn-care-company-pledges-1m-repair-damage-to-the-white-house-south-lawn-from-the-ufc-fight/">damaged</a> the grass there. The Park Service <a href="https://www.nps.gov/whho/learn/management/temporary-area-closures.htm" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.nps.gov/whho/learn/management/temporary-area-closures.htm">says the</a> Ellipse is closed “because of events happening in and around the White House.&#8221;</p>
1020
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1022
1023<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On the other side of the White House, Lafayette Park, where the administration recently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/us/politics/lafayette-park-fountains-trump-contract.html">spent</a>&nbsp;$17.4 million through a no-bid contract to repair two ornamental fountains, is also surrounded by fences. That closure is supposed to be temporary, but the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5893465/dc-lafayette-square-park-permanent-fencing-proposal">proposed</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-5893465/dc-lafayette-square-park-permanent-fencing-proposal">permanently fencing off&nbsp;</a>the park— often a gathering spot for protesters—to improve security.</p>
1024
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1026
1027<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At White House itself, Trump’s beloved ballroom is moving ahead. But high fences around Lafayette Park and the rest of the White House perimeter mean the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2026/07/23/heres-what-2600-americans-said-about-trumps-ballroom-pool-arch-projects/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/interactive/2026/07/23/heres-what-2600-americans-said-about-trumps-ballroom-pool-arch-projects/">unpopular</a> project<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/16/records-reveal-600m-estimate-trumps-ballroom-project-with-half-taxpayers/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/16/records-reveal-600m-estimate-trumps-ballroom-project-with-half-taxpayers/">,</a> partly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/16/records-reveal-600m-estimate-trumps-ballroom-project-with-half-taxpayers/" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2026/06/16/records-reveal-600m-estimate-trumps-ballroom-project-with-half-taxpayers/">paid</a> for with public money, is cut off from taxpayers&#8217; view.</p>
1028
1029
1030
1031<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
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10360savior%20to%20abductor%20of%20the%20Kennedy%20Center%2C%20replacing%20vows%20to%20restore%20the%20facility%E2%80%99s%20greatness%20with%20a%20threat%20to%20demolish%20it%20if%20he%20can%E2%80%99t%20put%20his%20name%20on%20it.%20Construction%20crews%20fenced%20off%20the%20center%20on%20Wednesday%2C%20making%20it%20the%20latest%20in%20a%20series%20of%20Washington%20landmarks%20%5B%E2%80%A6%5D0https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Fthe-kennedy-center-is-just-trumps-latest-hostage%2F" aria-label="Share via Email" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Email" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-mail"></i><span class="share-text">Email</span></a></li><li class="print"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/the-kennedy-center-is-just-trumps-latest-hostage/#comment-container" aria-label="Comment" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Comment" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-comment"></i><span class="share-text">Comments</span></a></li></ul></div><meta itemprop="description" content="The administration keeps closing off public spaces the president claimed to be saving." />
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1059	<div class="entry-header">
1060		<h1 class="blog hed">
1061			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/killer-ai-iran-autonomous-maven-poll-ai-safety/">
1062				Killer AI Is Already Here. We’re Using It in Iran.			</a>
1063		</h1>
1064		<p class="byline-dateline">
1065			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline">September 17, 2026</span>		</p>
1066	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1067
1068	<div class="entry-content">
1069		
1070<div class="hero is-image ">
1071	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="a mass grave seen from above" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/minab-mass-grave.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">On March 3, a mass funeral was held for over 150 students and staff killed in the February 28 US missile strikes on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab, Iran.</span><span class="media-credit">IRCS/Zuma</p></div>
1072
1073<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
1074
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1077<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">More than 60 percent</span> of Americans believe it’s at least moderately likely that artificial intelligence <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/16/poll-ai-technology-risks-humanity-trump-voters-01078087">will kill us all</a>, according to a Politico survey released Wednesday.</p>
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1081<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It’s easy to see why. Arguments that AI companies are “<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/anthropic-ai-risks-coxon-amodei-openai-cybersecurity-dangers/">gambling with our lives</a>” have dominated the news this week. But despite our fear that AI might kill us en masse, another <a href="https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/2026/09/war-president-iran-trap-info-spring-us-poll/">new poll</a> shows that very few Americans know our government is already using AI to do just that abroad.&nbsp;</p>
1082
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1085<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/fbi-kash-patel-iran-fired-agents-intelligence-senate/">US-Israel war on Iran</a> is not only the <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/07/19/the-iran-war-is-americas-least-popular-since-polls-began">least popular</a> war the United States has ever waged, but also represents an unprecedented <a href="https://theintercept.com/2026/09/08/military-ai-weapons-contracts-openai-anthropic-google/">application of AI in warfare</a>. New data from the Institute for Global Affairs and YouGov <a href="https://instituteforglobalaffairs.org/2026/09/war-president-iran-trap-info-spring-us-poll/">shows</a> that the present weaponization of AI has flown under the radar, with most Americans largely unaware of our own military’s AI use.&nbsp;</p>
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1089<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>“People would be pretty shocked that what they&#8217;re using for their homework or to summarize emails is also being used by intelligence officers.”</p></blockquote></figure>
1090
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1093<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Only 8 percent of Americans have heard “a lot” about the military’s use of AI in the war with Iran. The majority, almost two thirds, have heard “only a little,” and four in ten have heard “nothing at all.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
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1097<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We wanted to get a gut check on, do Americans know this is happening?” survey co-author Jonathan Guyer said in an interview. Despite a long history of US military development <a href="https://sourcenm.com/2022/07/12/analysis-police-with-lots-of-military-gear-kill-civilians-more-often/">eventually</a>
1097 <a href="https://defensescoop.com/2025/07/30/drone-protest-surveillance-bill-rep-jimmy-gomez/">boomeranging</a> <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/us/should-us-police-get-free-military-equipment-protests-revive-debate-idUSKBN23C2IS/">back home</a>, the answer to that question might be “no”—notwithstanding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s relentless messaging about the “<a href="https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4376420/war-department-launches-ai-acceleration-strategy-to-secure-american-military-ai/">AI-first Department of War</a>.”&nbsp;</p>
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1101<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“People would be pretty shocked that what they&#8217;re using for their homework or to summarize emails is also being used by intelligence officers,” Guyer said.&nbsp;</p>
1102
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1104
1105<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer for the Department of Defense, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.52261/gov.uscourts.msnd.52261.58.1.pdf">wrote in June that</a> xAI’s Grok “enabled U.S. forces to deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury.”&nbsp;</p>
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1109<p class="wp-block-paragraph">That admission, part of the administration’s case for the <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/national-security-9-11-trump/">national security importance</a> of Elon Musk’s <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/06/grok-doj-justice-naacp-clean-air-act-gas-turbine-pollution-national-security-ai/">data centers</a>, is just the tip of the iceberg. The Pentagon’s <a href="https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2026/09/maven-becoming-pentagons-everything-app/415882/">Maven Smart System</a>, built by Palantir, also uses Anthropic’s Claude AI—the same program that people use to create AI boyfriends for themselves or draft awkward texts to their roommates—to “semi-autonomously rank targets by strategic importance, drafting automated legal justifications for each strike along the way,” <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/03/24/deadly-iran-school-strike-casts-shadow-over-pentagons-ai-targeting-push/">according to Katie Livingstone of <em>Military Times</em>.</a>&nbsp;</p>
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1113<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Claude’s target selection is reportedly only about <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-02-29/inside-project-maven-the-us-military-s-ai-project">60 percent accurate</a> in good conditions, 30 percent accurate in bad weather. So Pentagon officials claim there’s always a <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/09/16/ai-military-targeting-may-move-faster-than-humans-can-authenticate-critics-warn/">human in the loop</a> when selecting who to bomb.</p>
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1117<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We follow the law and humans make decisions,” Hegseth told the Senate Armed Services Committee in May. “AI is not making lethal decisions.”</p>
1118
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1121<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But it&#8217;s making lethal recommendations, which don&#8217;t appear to receive enough human oversight to prevent atrocities. In February, the US military fired <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/17/iran-school-bombing-un-mission-us-military-behind-attack">Tomahawk missiles</a> directly at a girls’ school in Minab, Iran and killed over 150 people—most of them young children. Seven months later, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/17/nx-s1-5972934/us-iran-war-un-report-alleged-war-crimes">UN experts called the strike a crime against humanity.</a>&nbsp;</p>
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1125<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>As AI companies enter the battlefield, “the scale of atrocities committed&#8230;is rising correspondingly.”</p></blockquote></figure>
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1129<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the immediate aftermath of the attack, much of the US news coverage focused on <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2026/06/10/anthropic-ceo-we-dont-know-exactly-how-claude-ai-was-used-in-iran-school-strike/">whether Claude was used</a> to select the school as a target. But the fact that a human was at some point<strong> </strong>involved does not lessen the harm done. </p>
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1133<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At a <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/09/16/tom-lantos-human-rights-commission-us-congress-hearing-on-artificial-intelligence">congressional human rights hearing</a> September 16, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Steven Feldstein explained how AI has facilitated a <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/09/16/ai-military-targeting-may-move-faster-than-humans-can-authenticate-critics-warn/">massive ramp-up</a> in the speed of missile target selection.&nbsp;</p>
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1137<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“In the Iran war, during the first week of hostilities alone, the Pentagon reported it had struck more than 3,000 targets,” Feldstein said. By the time a ceasefire was announced 38 days later, that number of targets had risen to 13,000.&nbsp;</p>
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1141<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“In Israel, AI targeting systems have played a crucial role in supporting its military campaign against Gaza,” Feldstein added. One system, <a href="https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/">known as Lavender,</a> identified 37,000 individuals as potential airstrike targets in the initial weeks of the war. As AI companies make their way onto the battlefield, Feldstein said, “the scale of atrocities committed by warring parties is rising correspondingly.”&nbsp;</p>
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1145<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In January of this year, Pete Hegseth <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/2003855671/-1/-1/0/ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE-STRATEGY-FOR-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-WAR.PDF">released a memo</a> directing the United States to embed AI in every part of the “kill chain.” As it moves to comply, the Department of Defense is placing relatively few checks on <a href="https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2026/09/16/ai-military-targeting-may-move-faster-than-humans-can-authenticate-critics-warn/">what technology companies can or cannot do</a> when the United States is waging war. “We&#8217;re in a situation where the companies are essentially regulating themselves,” Guyer, of the Institute for Global Affairs, said.&nbsp;</p>
1146
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1149<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2091996/dod-adopts-ethical-principles-for-artificial-intelligence/">Ethical principles for AI use</a> that the Department of Defense adopted in 2020 require only that military AI be “governable” by humans. And the additional safeguards AI policy groups <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/advancing-human-control-of-military-ai/">tend to propose</a> revolve around stopping fully automated technology—not regulating the semi-autonomous technology that is already being used to kill at scale.&nbsp;</p>
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1153<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As American policymakers debate potential future AI threats, it seems as though the immediate threat of AI—the ongoing expansion of those &#8220;kill chains&#8221;—is not even making it into the AI safety discussion. Nor are the victims of AI-assisted warmaking.</p>
1154
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1157<p class="wp-block-paragraph">That means tech companies are still the ones making the rules: “Their terms of service are defining how AI systems are being used for war to a greater extent than any laws that have been written, or to a greater extent than even executive branch guidelines,” Guyer said.&nbsp;</p>
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1185	<div class="entry-header">
1186		<h1 class="blog hed">
1187			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-venezuela-chevron-exxonmobil-continental-oil-deal/">
1188				Trump’s Friends Are Already Signing Deals to Take Venezuela’s Oil			</a>
1189		</h1>
1190		<p class="byline-dateline">
1191			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 17, 2026</span>		</p>
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1193
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1195		
1196<div class="hero is-image ">
1197	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="President Trump points with both hands at Harold Hamm. He is looking forward and smirking. Hamm is standing to Trump&#039;s left and is facing Trump. Over a dozen people, most of whom are wearing worker vests, are standing behind the pair and applauding." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trump-harold-hamm-oil.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">President Trump points to Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm as he arrives to speak on energy dominance and deregulation at the 9th annual Shale Insight Conference in Pittsburgh on Oct. 23, 2019.</span><span class="media-credit">Evan Vucci/AP</p></div>
1198
1199<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
1200
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1202
1203<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">“It’s a milestone</span> deal in making the Western Hemisphere the center of the global energy system,&#8221; Energy Secretary Chris Wright <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/exxon-is-nearing-a-preliminary-deal-to-invest-in-venezuelas-oil-fields-8c02126b">said on Wednesday</a>. </p>
1204
1205
1206
1207<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He was talking<strong> </strong>about a fellow Trump ally’s oil deal with Venezuela: oil tycoon Harold Hamm of Continental Resources, a US petroleum and natural gas production company, who <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/continental-resources-signs-memorandum-of-understanding-with-petroleos-de-venezuela-sa-pdvsa-to-operate-and-develop-the-ayacucho-2-block-in-venezuelas-orinoco-belt-302880911.html">announced a preliminary deal</a> with PDVSA, Venezuela’s national oil company, that same day. The agreement, which allows Continental Resources to develop and operate 126,000 acres of oil fields—an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil—was presented by Hamm, with Wright beside him, at this week&#8217;s <a href="https://www.fox26houston.com/news/g20-energy-summit-wraps-up-houston-push-lower-costs-regional-power-solutions">G20 energy summit</a> in Houston.</p>
1208
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1211<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Hamm is in Trump’s inner circle and has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/business/energy-environment/trump-harold-hamm-oil-gas.html">advised the president</a> on energy issues to benefit his business ventures, including fracking, and personally <a href="https://therevolvingdoorproject.org/harold-hamm-trump-billionaires-and-the-admin/">contributed $4.3 million</a> to Trump-aligned PACs for his 2024 election campaign.&nbsp;</p>
1212
1213
1214
1215<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The deal comes after Chevron became the first known major US oil company earlier this month to expand production in Venezuela since the Trump administration seized President Nicolás Maduro in January, <a href="https://www.chevron.com/newsroom/2026/q3/chevron-expands-position-in-venezuela">investing $7 billion</a> over five years to more than double its production to 600,000 barrels a day.&nbsp;</p>
1216
1217
1218
1219<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Wednesday, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/exxon-is-nearing-a-preliminary-deal-to-invest-in-venezuelas-oil-fields-8c02126b"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em></a> reported that ExxonMobil is close to signing its own deal with Venezuela, which could be completed as early as the end of this month and include more than 50 billion barrels in oil reserves (Venezuela says it has about <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-says-it-has-the-worlds-largest-reserves-of-crude-oil-making-it-viable-is-a-whole-other-problem-181512098.html">300 billion barrels</a> in total reserves). The potential Exxon deal is notable as the company has repeatedly tried to win more money in restitution after former Venezuela President Hugo Chávez nationalized major foreign oil operations in 2007, forcing Exxon to abandon its Venezuela projects.&nbsp;</p>
1220
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1223<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While some oil executives <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/01/trump-venezuela-oil-deal-01057527">remain hesitant</a> to invest in Venezuelan oil due to the uncertainty surrounding <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/08/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-historic-oil-agreement-to-secure-american-energy-dominance-and-drive-venezuelas-economic-recovery/">the Trump administration’s August deal</a> with the country, the challenges of scaling up production, and the chaotic relationship between the US and Venezuela, it’s become more clear that it has opened the door for his friends and other wealthy companies to invest in the country’s massive oil reserves.</p>
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1227<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Since the Trump administration captured Maduro, acting President Delcy Rodríguez has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-oil-reform-delcy-rodriguez-5784394afdc3ee0017d2f41427253fd8">overhauled</a> <a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/venezuelas-rodriguez-enacts-corporate-friendly-oil-regulations-as-crude-output-stagnates/">regulations</a> on oil to encourage outside investment, including lowering tax rates on production. Continental Resources cited these changes as a major reason to pursue its oil deal.</p>
1228
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1231<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As <a href="https://home.watson.brown.edu/people/faculty/watson-faculty/jeff-colgan">Jeff Colgan</a>, a political science professor at Brown University, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-venezuela-oil-deal-chevron-delcy-nabep/">told me earlier this month</a>, the winners of Trump’s oil agreement won’t lower gas prices for American consumers or help everyday Venezuela residents—it will just “line the pockets of some American companies.”</p>
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1245			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/johnson-hegseth-massie-impeachment-congress-recess-vote/">
1246				Mike Johnson Can’t Protect Pete Hegseth Forever			</a>
1247		</h1>
1248		<p class="byline-dateline">
1249			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline">September 16, 2026</span>		</p>
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1253		
1254<div class="hero is-image ">
1255	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Hegseth grins." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/hegseth-weird-grin.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is getting out of an impeachment vote thanks to Mike Johnson. </span><span class="media-credit">Allison Robbert/ZUMA</p></div>
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1261<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">Speaker Mike Johnson</span> announced Wednesday that he would send Congress home early for its seven-week campaigning recess ahead of November&#8217;s midterm elections. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth—who was scheduled for an impeachment vote brought by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on the basis of his conduct during the Iran war—has been marked safe, for now.</p>
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1265<p class="wp-block-paragraph">House Republicans had planned to remain in session until Thursday. Now, they&#8217;re taking their final votes of the session Wednesday night, after which they&#8217;ll head home to face voters.</p>
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1269<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Massie, who introduced <a href="https://massie.house.gov/uploadedfiles/articles_of_impeachment_sec._hegseth.pdf">Hegseth&#8217;s articles of impeachment</a>, said the early dismissal reflected GOP leaders&#8217; fear that Hegseth might actually be impeached.</p>
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1273<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Among the &#8220;high crimes and misdemeanors&#8221; listed in Massie&#8217;s 34-page resolution are assertions that Hegseth knowingly violated the War Powers Resolution, that he &#8220;knowingly executed and implemented unlawful orders to initiate war against a foreign nation notwithstanding the absence of congressional authorization,&#8221; and that he &#8220;acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Secretary of Defense and subversive of constitutional government.&#8221; </p>
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1277<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Massie, a libertarian, found himself supported by lawmakers across the aisle. Hegseth, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) wrote on social media, &#8220;has presided over the slaughter of thousands of civilians in immoral wars, aided and abetted genocide, and led a campaign of extrajudicial assassinations.&#8221;</p>
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1282<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I support Rep. Massie’s articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth.<br><br>He has presided over the slaughter of thousands of civilians in immoral wars, aided and abetted genocide, and led a campaign of extrajudicial assassinations.<br><br>He belongs in the Hague, not our government.</p>&mdash; Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) <a href="https://x.com/RepRashida/status/2100273344939545002?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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1287<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Mike Johnson, however, didn&#8217;t want to hear it. The articles of impeachment, he said, are &#8220;a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention. It will immediately be tabled, of course&#8230;.We should not be playing games with national security.”</p>
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1292<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And there it is. Just as I predicted. They’re canceling Congress tomorrow to avoid the vote on IMPEACHING <a href="https://x.com/SecWar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecWar</a>. It will also make it harder for us to reach 218 signatures on the Epstein Discharge Petition before the election. We were at 190+ signatures last night. <a href="https://t.co/nltarUjayl">https://t.co/nltarUjayl</a></p>&mdash; Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) <a href="https://x.com/RepThomasMassie/status/2100261314115293321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2026</a></blockquote>
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1297<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Though Massie asserted on social media that the impeachment vote was the reason he&#8217;s being sent home early, Johnson didn&#8217;t say so directly. Instead, he told reporters, “It’s time for our members to go home to their districts and make the case to the American people.” </p>
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1301<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Hegseth, between announcing and rescinding <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-testosterone-testing-hegseth-policy/">military testosterone-supplementation guidelines</a>, doesn&#8217;t seem to have found time to speak on the matter of his potential impeachment. </p>
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1305<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a statement, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said the “entire Department is unified behind the Secretary’s vision and will continue working to put our warfighters and America first.”</p>
1306	</div>
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1318		<h1 class="blog hed">
1319			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/the-macklemore-ed-sheeran-dispute-is-a-corporate-threat-to-free-speech/">
1320				The Macklemore–Ed Sheeran Dispute Is a Corporate Threat to Free Speech			</a>
1321		</h1>
1322		<p class="byline-dateline">
1323			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 16, 2026</span>		</p>
1324	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1325
1326	<div class="entry-content">
1327		
1328<div class="hero is-image ">
1329	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="A young white man stands onstage during a concert. He is wearing sunglasses and a white jacket with a Palestinian flag on the left chest side. A crowd of audience members are shown in both the foreground and background." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/macklemore-palestine-flag.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">Macklemore performs onstage wearing a jacket with the Palestinian flag at Accor Arena on May 29, 2024 in Paris, France.</span><span class="media-credit">Kristy Sparow/Getty</p></div>
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1335<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">Robert Kraft,</span> the billionaire owner of, among a ton of other stuff, the New England Patriots and its stadium, allegedly pressured Ed Sheeran and his team to remove rapper Macklemore from his tour after Macklemore voiced support for Palestinians amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdUUf5lokZe/">All</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdUUf5lokZe/">four</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdUf8-ct9hE/?hl=en">of</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdUdYF1zZ4d/">the</a> remaining opening acts withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore by Tuesday afternoon.</p>
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1339<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas, a music artist best known for c
1339o-writing and producing much of his sister Billie Eilish’s work, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdUdYF1zZ4d/">wrote on Instagram</a>. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”</p>
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1343<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Monday, <a href="https://defector.com/robert-kraft-now-decides-who-tours-with-ed-sheeran">Macklemore alleged</a> that Kraft told Sheeran that he<strong> </strong>would not be permitted to perform at his New England Patriots NFL venue, Gillette Stadium, at a show scheduled for later this month. Kraft also rallied some other stadium owners to support Macklemore’s removal.&nbsp;</p>
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1347<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Collectively they gave [Sheeran] an ultimatum: If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” the rapper recounted.&nbsp;</p>
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1351<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Macklemore opened for two shows on Sheeran’s tour, playing at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5. During his set, the rapper performed “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgDQyFeBBIo">Hind’s Hall</a>,” his 2024 song that voices support for protests on college campuses demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza war, divestment from Israel, and an<strong> </strong>end to the genocide. Activists <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/30/nyregion/columbia-protesters-hind-rajab-hamilton-hall.html">renamed Hamilton Hall</a> at Columbia University to “Hind’s Hall” to honor Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/19/middleeast/israel-military-idf-hind-rajab-firing-intl">killed</a> by the IDF in 2024.&nbsp;</p>
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1355<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Free Palestine,” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dc_bH4_N1FN/">Macklemore said</a> to many cheers from the crowd before performing the song. “I w
1355ant to say those words loud and clear so the people of Gaza all the way to the West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.&#8221;</p>
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1359<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GslWD7ZcipY" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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1363<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/14/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-free-palestine"><em>The Guardian</em></a>, the other owners who allegedly opposed future Macklemore performances oversee venues hosting Sheeran&#8217;s previously scheduled shows in Philadelphia (September 19), Atlanta, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Arlington, and Tampa. Notably, all of these stadiums are home to NFL teams—the Eagles, Falcons, Panthers, Colts, Cowboys, and Buccaneers, respectively.<strong> </strong>(Only&nbsp;two other shows&nbsp;are on Sheeran’s US leg of the tour, both&nbsp;at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida.)&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
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1367<p class="wp-block-paragraph">These venues may be publicly owned, but they&#8217;re branded by corporations and controlled by billionaire team owners. This arrangement has become a mechanism for corporate censorship of political speech. Kanye West, who has a <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ye-appears-to-makes-offensive-comments-jewish-community-praises-hitler-rcna191150">well-documented history</a> of making antisemitic statements, performed in Tampa in June and is scheduled to play at the Cowboys’ stadium <a href="https://tour.yeezy.com/">in November</a>. So far, there&#8217;s been no pushback from owners. Pro-Palestinian speech, by contrast, gets an artist blacklisted.</p>
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1371<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/aoc-robert-kraft-macklemore-free-palestine-speech-1235627408/">placed the focus on Kraft</a> when asked about the removal of Macklemore on Tuesday.&nbsp;</p>
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1375<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ngmblAp7y_I" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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1379<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“When you see what Robert Kraft did to line up all of the stadiums to censor speech in that one specific way, it’s become clear that this is not just about one music artist or two music artists, but this is about how just a handful of stadium owners and the elite can prevent an entire massive issue, in this case, the genocide in Gaza,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a clip <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6405136583112">shared by Fox News</a>. </p>
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1383<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This isn&#8217;t the first instance of this kind of censorship over Gaza. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/01/singapore-bans-massive-attack-for-showing-palestinian-flag-breaching-ban-on-foreign-emblems">Massive Attack</a>, <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/07/adidas-removes-bella-hadid-campaign-following-criticism-israeli-government-1236016583/">Bella Hadid</a>, and <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/manhattan/kehlani-central-park-pride-concert-canceled-nyc/6251839/">Kehlani</a> have all faced similar backlash. But the Macklemore-Ed Sheeran case may be the most prominent yet, given both its scale and what&#8217;s now known about how the decision was allegedly made. If Ed Sheeran, the <a href="https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-04-23/spotify-20-most-streamed-music-podcasts-audiobooks/">sixth most-streamed artist</a> of all time on Spotify as of April, isn’t safe, then no one is.&nbsp;</p>
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1387<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Macklemore said it best in his <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/?img_index=1">Monday announcement</a>: “The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women, and children who have been killed, starved, displaced, and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don&#8217;t lose sight of that.”</p>
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1391<p class="wp-block-paragraph">And on Wednesday afternoon, the rapper pledged to donate his $1 million in net earnings from the tour to &#8220;six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people.&#8221;</p>
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1395<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;I invite Robert Kraft to match my donation,&#8221; Macklemore <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DdXFZLNARm4/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1">wrote</a> in the social media post. &#8220;
1395Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting.&#8221;</p>
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140050.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a></div></blockquote>
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1413	<div class="entry-header">
1414		<h1 class="blog hed">
1415			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/shooting-flock-cameras-seth-bodnar-adam-heimerman/">
1416				Meet the Candidates Putting Bullets in Flock Cameras			</a>
1417		</h1>
1418		<p class="byline-dateline">
1419			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline">September 15, 2026</span>		</p>
1420	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1421
1422	<div class="entry-content">
1423		
1424<div class="hero is-image ">
1425	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Seth Bodnar shoots surveillance camera." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=1536,865 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=1300,732 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/bodnar-shoots.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">
1425Seth Bodnar would like to make his feelings about mass surveillance clear.</span><span class="media-credit">Screenshot via @SethBodnarForMT on X.</p></div>
1426
1427<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
1428
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1431<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">In a campaign ad</span> released Monday, Seth Bodnar—an Independent candidate running for U.S. Senate in Montana—warns viewers that <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/police-opioid-funding-flock-alpr-camera-surveillance-tech/">Flock Safety cameras</a> are tracking Americans &#8220;getting groceries,&#8221; &#8220;going to church,&#8221; and &#8220;buying ammo for the season.&#8221; </p>
1432
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1435<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He then sets a surveillance camera on a tree stump, pulls a shotgun from his car, and just absolutely blows the thing away. </p>
1436
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1439<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump says he &#8216;likes&#8217; Flock cameras,&#8221; Bodnar wrote in a social media post. &#8220;I say &#8216;Flock off.&#8221;</p>
1440
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1442
1443<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1444<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump says he &quot;likes&quot; Flock cameras. I say &quot;Flock off.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/NekA0w4VJd">pic.twitter.com/NekA0w4VJd</a></p>&mdash; Seth Bodnar for Montana (@SethBodnarForMT) <a href="https://x.com/SethBodnarForMT/status/2099527845261500445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
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1446
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1449<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Given America’s deep-seated gun culture—and <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/flock-contracts-cancelled-cameras-alpr-rekor-axon-florida-texas/">mounting public frustration</a> over automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras—it makes a kind of sense that Bodnar isn&#8217;t the only candidate for national office taking aim at automated police surveillance. </p>
1450
1451
1452
1453<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Adam Heimerman, an Independent running for Congress in Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional District, allegedly used a shotgun to shoot four Flock cameras this past July. He couldn&#8217;t stand the sight of them on his way to a job as a river guide, he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/08/18/vandals-are-destroying-license-plate-cameras-amid-anger-over-surveillance/">told the<em> Washington Post</em>.</a> </p>
1454
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1456
1457<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, while Bodnar (presumably) bought his own camera to shoot, Heimerman (allegedly) did some target practice with four government-owned license plate readers. </p>
1458
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1460
1461<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“When people act out in a manner that we’re witnessing, things have gotten bad, and they no longer feel like they’re being heard,” Heimerman said at the time. “People are tired of being told to sit down and be quiet and write a letter.”</p>
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1465<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Heimerman&#8217;s chances of winning against Republican incumbent Tim Burchett were already slim before he was hit with four felony counts of vandalism. Bodnar, who <a href="https://www.umt.edu/news/2026/01/012126seth.php">was until recently President of the University of Montana</a>, might have a better shot. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/montana-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html">most recent poll</a> in his race has him only eight points behind his Republican opponent Kurt Alme—and Bodnar&#8217;s anti-surveillance stance might just close that gap.</p>
1466
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1468
1469<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his camera-blitzing video, Bodnar points out that Alme has refused to take a position on surveillance. Other Republicans do not seem to have the same reservations. In the past month, the <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/flock-contracts-cancelled-cameras-alpr-rekor-axon-florida-texas/">Republican governors of Florida and Texas have backed off</a> of funding ALPRs on their roads, citing privacy concerns; in late August, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) <a href="https://www.hawley.senate.gov/chairman-hawley-investigates-ai-powered-flock-cameras-amidst-privacy-concerns/">launched an investigation</a> into Flock Safety for assembling an &#8220;unprecedented national surveillance network&#8221; without Americans&#8217; consent.</p>
1470
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1472
1473<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But divisions around the technology are emerging within the Republican Party. While Hawley might take the side of the camera-shooters—and of the Americans who share their surveillance concerns, if not their explosive tactics—President Donald Trump has declared his support for the cameras. </p>
1474
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1476
1477<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I sort of like them&#8230;because of law enforcement, but some people don’t,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One last week, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/09/14/trump-expresses-support-flock-license-plate-surveillance-technology/">as the <em>Washington Post</em> reported</a>. “They think it’s an infringement. I like them.”</p>
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1491			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/lawsuit-stop-trump-immigrant-wealth-test-new-york-mamdani-public-charge-rule/">
1492				States and Cities Sue To Stop Trump’s Immigrant “Wealth Test” Rule Before It Takes Effect			</a>
1493		</h1>
1494		<p class="byline-dateline">
1495			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline">September 14, 2026</span>		</p>
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1499		
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1501	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Zohran Mamdani makes an announcement." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=1536,865 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=1300,732 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/zohran-keeping-new-yorkers-safe.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">New York City Mayor Zohran  Mamdani, and Attorney General Letitia James at a press conference to announce new state actions and $7.25 million in emergency legal defense funding to counter federal ICE overreach on August 12. </span></p></div>
1502
1503<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
1504
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1507<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">New York is</span> leading a 22-state lawsuit against the Trump administration for unlawfully expanding the &#8220;public charge&#8221; rules that restrict entry to the United States for immigrants deemed likely to make use of public benefits. A group of municipalities, led by New York City, is separately suing over the same rules.</p>
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1511<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The new regulations, scheduled to go into effect September 18, <a href="https://stateline.org/2026/09/11/mixed-status-immigrant-households-expected-to-lose-benefits-under-new-public-charge-rule/">reverse a set of 2022 rules</a> that prohibited immigration officers from considering immigrants’ potential future use of non-cash public benefits—like food stamps, Children&#8217;s Health Insurance Program benefits, and Medicaid—when determining whether to grant visas. Under the rules <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/states-challenge-new-public-charge-immigration-guidelines">scheduled to go into effect this week, </a>officials can use an applicant&#8217;s need for food or medical aid to help determine <a href="https://www.washingtonsun.com/immigration/dhs-green-card-applicant-immigration">grounds for inadmissibility.</a></p>
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1515<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a report released this summer, health policy organization KFF estimated that between 1.4 million and 4.1 million Medicaid and CHIP enrollees in mixed-status households could disenroll out of fear. The cities and states suing over the rule change argue that it &#8220;throws out more than a century of settled law and decades of federal guidance and gives officers wide latitude to make decisions that are inconsistent and discriminatory,&#8221; representatives for New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote in a news release.</p>
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1519<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Trump attempted to establish similar rules—sometimes described as a <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/trumps-wealth-test-for-immigrants-is-dead/">&#8220;wealth test for immigrants&#8221;</a>—during his first administration. In 2020, as my colleague Noah Lanard reported, some mixed-status families were <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/food/2020/02/confusion-over-trumps-public-charge-rule-means-more-immigrant-families-are-going-without-food/">forced to choose</a> between <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/10/immigration-trump-miller-election-2020-public-charge/">green cards and food for their children.</a> </p>
1520
1521
1522
1523<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
1524<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The public charge rule was sometimes described as a plan for denying green cards to people who used public benefits programs like food stamps and Medicaid. The reality is that immigrants are rarely eligible for public benefits until they get a green card. What the public charge rule did was deny green cards to people who immigration officials decided were likely to use public benefits&nbsp;<em>after</em>&nbsp;they became eligible for them.&nbsp;</p>
1525</blockquote>
1526
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1529<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It&#8217;s a revival of a 19th-century policy that grew out of a <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/08/trump-revives-a-19th-century-scheme-to-block-poor-immigrants/">nativist backlash to Irish and Italian immigrants</a>. <em>The&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;</em>
1529<a href="https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1887/06/15/100918777.pdf">argued</a>&nbsp;in 1887&nbsp;that the public charge rule would prevent Italy from sending “monthly consignments of Neapolitan mendicants.”</p>
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1533<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The new <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/federal-judge-strikes-down-trumps-75-country-visa-ban/">public charge rule</a> seeks to push immigrant families away from the programs that have kept people fed and healthy for decades,” Mamdani said in a statement announcing the cities&#8217; lawsuit. “That fear will not stop at the families that the federal government is targeting. Families who remain fully eligible for benefits will feel a chilling effect, and all New Yorkers will pay for it.”</p>
1534	</div>
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1537		<div class="social-container blog"><ul><li class="facebook"><a class="social" href="http://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Flawsuit-stop-trump-immigrant-wealth-test-new-york-mamdani-public-charge-rule%2F" target="_blank" data-ga-label="FacebookShare" data-ga-category="BlogArchive" aria-label="Share on Facebook"><i class="icon-facebook"></i><span class="share-text">Share on Facebook</span></a></li>
1538		 <li class="twitter"><a class="social" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=States%20and%20cities%20sue%20to%20stop%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20immigrant%20%E2%80%9Cwealth%20test%E2%80%9D%20rule%20before%20it%20takes%20effect&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Flawsuit-stop-trump-immigrant-wealth-test-new-york-mamdani-public-charge-rule%2F&amp;via=MotherJones" data-ga-label="TwitterShare" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-twitter"></i><span class="share-text">Share on Twitter</span></a></li><li class="email"><a href="mailto:?subject=States%20and%20Cities%20Sue%20To%20Stop%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Immigrant%20%E2%80%9CWealth%20Test%E2%80%9D%20Rule%20Before%20It%20Takes%20Effect&body=New%20York%20is%20leading%20a%2022-state%20lawsuit%20against%20the%20Trump%20administration%20for%20unlawfully%20expanding%20the%20%E2%80%9Cpublic%20charge%E2%80%9D%20rules%20that%20restrict%20entry%20to%20the%20United%20States%20for%20immigrants%20deemed%20likely%20to%20make%20use%20of%20public%20benefits.%20A%20group%20of%20municipalities%2C%20led%20by%20New%20York%20City%2C%20is%20separately%20suing%20over%20the%20same%20rules.%20The%20new%20regulations%2C%20scheduled%20%5B%E2%80%A6%5D0https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Flawsuit-stop-trump-immigrant-wealth-test-new-york-mamdani-public-charge-rule%2F" aria-label="Share via Email" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Email" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-mail"></i><span class="share-text">Email</span></a></li><li class="print"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/lawsuit-stop-trump-immigrant-wealth-test-new-york-mamdani-public-charge-rule/#comment-container" aria-label="Comment" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Comment" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-comment"></i><span class="share-text">Comments</span></a></li></ul></div><meta itemprop="description" content="New York is leading two lawsuits against a rule that could push millions of people in mixed-status households to drop Medicaid and food assistance out of fear." />
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1542
1543</li>
1544<li class="article-item blog" id="1224013">
1545	<div class="entry-header">
1546		<h1 class="blog hed">
1547			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-epa-data-centers-epn-report-health-hazards/">
1548				Former EPA Officials: Trump Is Letting Data Centers Make People Sick			</a>
1549		</h1>
1550		<p class="byline-dateline">
1551			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline">September 13, 2026</span>		</p>
1552	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1553
1554	<div class="entry-content">
1555		
1556<div class="hero is-image ">
1557	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="In an aerial view, sections of the Stargate Oracle AI data center undergoes construction on August 26, 2026 in Abilene, Texas. The Stargate Oracle AI data center will span roughly 4 million square feet and will be operated by Oracle for OpenAI. The facility is the first Stargate site to go live and is expected to be fully completed by the end of 2026. Data centers continue to be a major topic of discussion heading into the 2026 Midterm elections with conservatives raising concerns about property rights, electricity prices and local land-use control, while environmental groups and Democrats have focused on water consumption, pollution and strain on the power grid. Gov. Greg Abbott has paused approvals for new large scale data center loads connecting to the Texas grid." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/data-center-abilene-construction.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">The Stargate Oracle AI data center in Abilene, Texas, a project with Open AI, will span roughly 4 million square feet. Completion is expected by year's end.</span><span class="media-credit">Brandon Bell/Getty</p></div>
1558
1559<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
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1563<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">
1563While tech oligarchs</span><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/ai-safety-congress-doom/"> </a><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/ai-safety-congress-doom/">grandstand</a> about the <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/anthropic-ai-risks-coxon-amodei-openai-cybersecurity-dangers/">existential danger</a> <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/openai-congress-senate-hawley-casar-committee-probe-investigation/">AI superintelligence</a> poses to humanity, former Environmental Protection Agency officials say we should be worried about a more immediate threat to our health: the data centers that power those AI models.&nbsp;</p>
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1567<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The former EPA researchers, now working with the nonprofit Environmental Protection Network, are warning in a new <a href="https://safernotsicker.org/take-action/the-hidden-costs-of-ai-data-centers/">report</a> that since January 2025, Donald Trump’s EPA has embarked on a systematic weakening of pollution safeguards, permitting processes, inspection norms, and other guardrails—at least 30 different actions—that could increase the health risks associated with the data center boom.&nbsp;</p>
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1571<p class="wp-block-paragraph">There are currently about 3,000 data centers in the United States, and more than <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/04/13/most-new-data-centers-in-the-us-are-coming-to-rural-areas/">&nbsp;1,500</a> new centers are in the planning stages. But as developers build out this vast, energy-hungry infrastructure, the country is <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/11092026/data-center-boom-fossil-fuel-expansion-health-hazards/">losing the government regulatory safeguards</a> that are needed to ensure that expansion is done safely, the ex–EPA officials say.&nbsp;</p>
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1575<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dan Costa, who spent 35 years at EPA studying air pollution, noted that for decades the environmental agency, which was established in 1970, had a large and committed cadre of researchers who investigated emerging sources of pollution and new environmental threats. </p>
1576
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1579<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Over the decades, toxicologists, chemists, atmospheric scientists, modelers and engineers worked in concert with academic colleagues on behalf of the American people—not on behalf of industry,” Costa said in a press briefing last week. “We wanted to carry out EPA&#8217;s mission of protecting people&#8217;s health from industrial air pollution.”</p>
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1583<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Now, though, that work force has been gutted. The Trump administration has dismantled <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/20/nx-s1-5474320/trump-epa-scientific-research-zeldin">EPA’s main research office,</a> and the agency’s priorities have shifted away from strict <a href="https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2025-12/reinforcing-a-compliance-first-orientation-for-compliance-assurance-and-civil-enforcement-activities.pdf">enforcement of pollution standards.</a> “Transforming the nation’s energy system, while diminishing its scientific capacity to understand what the impacts are going to be, makes no sense,” Costa said.&nbsp;</p>
1584
1585
1586
1587<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But that appears to be the direction the country is heading in. President Donald Trump is “positioning America as the global leader in AI,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin wrote in a memo last year. The agency&nbsp;is “committed to bolstering” those efforts, Zeldin said, by “cutting heavy-handed regulations to ensure America can build and power the data centers essential to Making America the AI Capital of the World.”&nbsp;</p>
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1591<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Since Trump returned to the White House, data center developers have seized the opportunity to expand at a rapid pace, helped by the administration’s moves. In some cases, that deregulation has involved <a href="https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/fossil-fuel-power-plants-are-staying-online-longer/">keeping old coal-fired plants online past their planned decommissioning times</a> in order to power data centers; other times, it has meant easing regulations on the use of <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/06/grok-doj-justice-naacp-clean-air-act-gas-turbine-pollution-national-security-ai/">onsite fossil-fuel-powered turbines</a> to power hyperscale data centers like xAI’s Colossus.&nbsp;</p>
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1595<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The agency has proposed a rule change that would let developers begin constructing data centers and their associated power plants before they get air pollution permits. And it has directed the agency&#8217;s enforcement staff to avoid any action that could “unduly burden or significantly disrupt” energy production or power generation.</p>
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1599<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to one study the former EPA researchers cited in their new report, pollution associated with the AI boom <a href="https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2024/12/09/ais-deadly-air-pollution-toll">may lead to 1,300 additional deaths</a> per year.&nbsp;</p>
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1603<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Physician and former EPA administrative official Lynn Goldman said some health impacts of increased data center pollution might be felt quickly—for example,&nbsp; heart attacks or premature births associated with particulate exposure. Others, such as cancer, might take years to emerge. “The AI industry’s race for advantage should not be a matter of life or death,” Goldman said at the press conference. “Families shouldn’t have to pay for the AI boom with their health.”&nbsp;</p>
1604	</div>
1605
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1608		 <li class="twitter"><a class="social" target="_blank" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://x.com/intent/tweet?text=Former%20EPA%20officials%3A%20Trump%20is%20letting%20data%20centers%20make%20you%20sick&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Ftrump-epa-data-centers-epn-report-health-hazards%2F&amp;via=MotherJones" data-ga-label="TwitterShare" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-twitter"></i><span class="share-text">Share on Twitter</span></a></li><li class="email"><a href="mailto:?subject=Former%20EPA%20Officials%3A%20Trump%20Is%20Letting%20Data%20Centers%20Make%20People%20Sick&body=While%20tech%20oligarchs%20grandstand%20about%20the%20existential%20danger%20AI%20superintelligence%20poses%20to%20humanity%2C%20former%20Environmental%20Protection%20Agency%20officials%20say%20we%20should%20be%20worried%20about%20a%20more%20immediate%20threat%20to%20our%20health%3A%20the%20data%20centers%20that%20power%20those%20AI%20models.%C2%A0%20The%20former%20EPA%20researchers%2C%20now%20working%20with%20the%20nonprofit%20Environmental%20Protection%20Network%2C%20are%20warning%20in%20a%20%5B%E2%80%A6%5D0https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Ftrump-epa-data-centers-epn-report-health-hazards%2F" aria-label="Share via Email" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Email" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-mail"></i><span class="share-text">Email</span></a></li><li class="print"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-epa-data-centers-epn-report-health-hazards/#comment-container" aria-label="Comment" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Comment" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-comment"></i><span class="share-text">Comments</span></a></li></ul></div><meta itemprop="description" content="“Families shouldn’t have to pay for the AI boom with their health.” " />
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1612
1613</li>
1614<li class="article-item blog" id="1223979">
1615	<div class="entry-header">
1616		<h1 class="blog hed">
1617			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-keeps-using-national-security-to-do-what-he-wants-war-dissidents-environment/">
1618				Trump Keeps Using “National Security” to Do What He Wants			</a>
1619		</h1>
1620		<p class="byline-dateline">
1621			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/sophie-hurwitz/" title="Posts by Sophie Hurwitz" rel="author">Sophie Hurwitz</a></span><span class="dateline">September 13, 2026</span>		</p>
1622	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1623
1624	<div class="entry-content">
1625		
1626<div class="hero is-image ">
1627	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="US President Donald Trump arrives to speak after US Vice President JD Vance delivered remarks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">In his second term, Donald Trump has taken the use of "national security" to new, absurd extremes.</span><span class="media-credit">Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty</p></div>
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1633<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">President Donald Trump </span>has a favorite justification for everything he does: “It’s a national security matter.”</p>
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1637<p class="wp-block-paragraph">After 9/11, the United States built a vast, powerful, and generally unchecked <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/09/10/trump-has-turned-post-911-security-state-inward-domestic-targets/">national security apparatus.</a> Twenty-five years later, Trump is using agencies and emergency powers that sprung up in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks—and have never been abolished or repealed—to threaten domestic dissidents and anyone else he views as an enemy, claiming that those who oppose his policies constitute threats to America.&nbsp;</p>
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1641<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Of course, American presidents have been using “national security” as an <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-emerging-conservative-playbook-on-national-security/">excuse</a> to expand surveillance and start wars since before the smoke from the Twin Towers cleared, and Trump is no exception. In his first term, his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/08/business/trump-economy-national-security.html">long list</a> of national security “threats” included Japanese cars, Chinese telecom equipment, and <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/04/the-trump-administration-apparently-considers-grindr-a-national-security-threat-what-is-going-on/">briefly, the gay hookup app Grindr</a>.</p>
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1645<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But in his second term,&nbsp;Trump—whose constantly shifting stories about <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-september-11-video-ground-zero/">his own actions at Ground Zero</a> defy credulity—has taken this tactic to even more absurd, and sometimes catastrophic, extremes. Here are some highlights.&nbsp;</p>
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1649<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Threatening to annex Greenland:</strong> Trump has periodically obsessed over “acquiring” Greenland, and, in various Truth Social posts, he has made his case for annexation. “The National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake,” <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115893255826342514">he wrote </a>in a series of early-morning Truth Social posts in January. “The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!” Trump <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/07/trump-nato-summit-greenland-us-troops-europe.html">renewed</a> his threats to annex Greenland at the NATO summit in July.</p>
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1653<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Targeting ICE protesters as terrorists:</strong> Trump’s September 2025 National Security Presidential Memorandum-7 formally <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-administration-picks-its-targets-then-picks-crime">designates “antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization</a>. Following that directive, dozens of ICE protesters across the country have been <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/prairieland-texas-antifa-trial-ice-protesters-terrorism-conspiracy/">taken to trial</a> as national security threats—some of them over things as small as moving a box of zines or wearing a shirt that says “<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/trump-conspiracy-antifa-cell-arrests/">I’m antifa</a>.”&nbsp;</p>
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1657<pre class="wp-block-preformatted"><div class="mj-related"><span class="mj-related-tag">Related</span><div class="mj-related-inner"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/national-security-9-11-trump/" class="img"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MIXED-MEDIA_516_2000px_a6d835.jpg?w=990" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="An illustration depicts the United States trapped in a cats cradle of caution tape" /></a><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/national-security-9-11-trump/"><h3>The Religion of National Security</h3></a></div></div></pre>
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1661<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Halting offshore wind development:</strong> Since late 2025, administration officials have <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2026/03/judges-arent-buying-claims-that-wind-farms-threaten-national-security-for-good-reason/">framed offshore wind turbines as a national security threat.</a> Interior Secretary Doug Burgum <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-cites-national-security-to-stop-offshore-wind-development-heres-what-to-know">has said</a> a classified report from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proves offshore wind is a national security threat—but has never exactly explained how. The administration has also used national security concerns as a pretext for <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/climate/trump-aging-coal-plants-electricity-bills">keeping coal plants online</a> past their planned retirement dates and restarting <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/trump-intervened-to-revive-a-fraught-santa-barbara-oil-pipeline-but-why/">a problematic California oil pipeline</a> over fierce state and local opposition.&nbsp;</p>
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1665<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Building more hyperscale data centers:</strong> “It is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance,” Trump, who <a href="https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/us-president-donald-trump-invests-millions-in-data-center-industry-firms/">has invested millions of dollars</a>
1665 in companies that build data center infrastructure, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf?ref=ai-infra-link.com">wrote in a 2025 executive order.&nbsp;</a></p>
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1669<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Constructing a $400 million ballroom:</strong> After a federal judge in DC ordered Trump to halt construction on his unsanctioned White House ballroom, he unleashed a tirade on social media pitching the project as a military-grade command center. <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/06/trump-white-house-statues-monuments-east-wing-ballroom-reflecting-pool/">The ballroom</a> wasn’t just a ballroom, apparently, but a “desperately needed National Security structure for the people of the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in mid-August. The Supreme Court has, at least for now, allowed construction to move forward.</p>
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1673<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Stripping union protections from nearly a million federal workers:</strong> In a March 2025 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/exclusions-from-federal-labor-management-relations-programs/">executive order</a>, Trump designated more than a dozen government agencies as performing “intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative, or national security work,” thereby robbing about 950,000 federal employees of their collective bargaining rights.&nbsp;</p>
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1677<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Putting tariffs on musical instruments:</strong> The Department of Commerce <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/08/07/tariffs-brass-instruments-come-too-late-unemployed-ohio-factory-workers/">announced </a>in early August that it plans to implement a 25 percent tariff on brass instruments—including trombones, trumpets, and tubas—citing national security concerns about America’s purported overreliance on foreign copper alloys. The National Association of Music Merchants has <a href="https://www.namm.org/news/press-releases/statement-namm-president-and-ceo-section-232-addition-brass-wind-instruments">condemned the move.&nbsp;</a></p>
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1681<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Letting xAI pollute Memphis:</strong> NAACP lawyers contend that Elon Musk’s <a href="https://naacp.org/sites/default/files/documents/1%20-%20Complaint.pdf">xAI should pay </a>more than $100,000 a day in civil penalties for violating the federal Clean Air Act by <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/06/grok-doj-justice-naacp-clean-air-act-gas-turbine-pollution-national-security-ai/">operating unpermitted gas turbines</a> in Memphis to keep Musk’s Grok chatbot—a.k.a. “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462609/grok-elon-musk-antisemitic-racist-content">MechaHitler</a>”—online. This past June, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2026/06/grok-doj-justice-naacp-clean-air-act-gas-turbine-pollution-national-security-ai/">intervened in the</a> case, not to safeguard Memphians, but rather to protect Grok. “Grok’s continued operation and availability is a matter of paramount national security,” the filing said, especially “in the event of armed conflict”—noting&nbsp; that the Department of War used Grok to “deploy over 2,000 munitions to 2,000 distinct targets within 96 hours during Operation Epic Fury.”</p>
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1685<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Protecting the US drone industry—and his sons’ pocketbooks:</strong> Last week, Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/business/trump-drone-tariffs.html">proposed</a> slapping tariffs of up to 100 percent on foreign-made drones, calling reliance on foreign drone components a “national security threat.” His older sons, Eric and Don Jr., have sizable&nbsp;holdings in the US drone industry, so this is probably great news for them.&nbsp;</p>
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1688
1689<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Excluding trans people from public life:</strong> In May, the Trump administration released its latest “counterterrorism” plan, which labels transgender people a threat to the nation&#8217;s safety.&nbsp;Counterterrorism czar Sebastian Gorka <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/trump-gorka-counter-terrorism-transgender-antifa-docuiment/">told reporters at the time</a> that the administration would “crush” any threat, “whether it is the cartels, the jihadists or violent left-wing extremists like antifa—and like the transgender killers, the nonbinary, the left-wing radicals who killed my friend, Charlie Kirk, we will take them on, head on.”</p>
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1693<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
1694	</div>
1695
1696	<footer class="entry-footer">
1697		<div class="social-container blog"><ul><li class="facebook"><a class="social" href="http://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Ftrump-keeps-using-national-security-to-do-what-he-wants-war-dissidents-environment%2F" target="_blank" data-ga-label="FacebookShare" data-ga-category="BlogArchive" aria-label="Share on Facebook"><i class="icon-facebook"></i><span class="share-text">Share on Facebook</span></a></li>
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1698<a href="mailto:?subject=Trump%20Keeps%20Using%20%E2%80%9CNational%20Security%E2%80%9D%20to%20Do%20What%20He%20Wants&body=President%20Donald%20Trump%20has%20a%20favorite%20justification%20for%20everything%20he%20does%3A%20%E2%80%9CIt%E2%80%99s%20a%20national%20security%20matter.%E2%80%9D%20After%209%2F11%2C%20the%20United%20States%20built%20a%20vast%2C%20powerful%2C%20and%20generally%20unchecked%20national%20security%20apparatus.%20Twenty-five%20years%20later%2C%20Trump%20is%20using%20agencies%20and%20emergency%20powers%20that%20sprung%20up%20in%20the%20aftermath%20of%20the%202001%20attacks%E2%80%94and%20have%20never%20been%20abolished%20%5B%E2%80%A6%5D0https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Ftrump-keeps-using-national-security-to-do-what-he-wants-war-dissidents-environment%2F" aria-label="Share via Email" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Email" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-mail"></i><span class="share-text">Email</span></a></li><li class="print"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-keeps-using-national-security-to-do-what-he-wants-war-dissidents-environment/#comment-container" aria-label="Comment" target="_blank" data-ga-label="Comment" data-ga-category="BlogArchive"><i class="icon-comment"></i><span class="share-text">Comments</span></a></li></ul></div><meta itemprop="description" content="From the “war on terror” to the war on trumpets and wind turbines." />
1699<meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2026-09-13T13:58:12-04:00" />
1700<meta itemprop="dateModified" content="2026-09-18T09:48:56-04:00" />
1701<meta itemprop="image" content="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20200911_trump-security_2000px.jpg?w=208&amp;h=117&amp;crop=1" />	</footer>
1702
1703</li>
1704<li class="article-item blog" id="1223974">
1705	<div class="entry-header">
1706		<h1 class="blog hed">
1707			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/conspiracists-and-supporters-collide-at-charlie-kirks-memorial/">
1708				Conspiracists and Supporters Collide at Charlie Kirk’s Memorial			</a>
1709		</h1>
1710		<p class="byline-dateline">
1711			<span class="byline"><span class="byline-override">Reported by <a href="/author/Stephanie-mencimer">Stephanie Mencimer</a>, Video by <a href="/author/peter-berger">Peter Berger</a></span></span><span class="dateline">September 12, 2026</span>		</p>
1712	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1713
1714	<div class="entry-content">
1715		
1716<div class="hero is-image ">
1717	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Charlie Kirk in a white &quot;FREEDOM&quot; t-shirt throws a MAGA hat into a crowd." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=321,180 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=990,556 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=1536,863 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sequence-01.00_00_00_00.Still001.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-credit">Trent Nelson/Salt Lake Tribune/Getty</p></div>
1718
1719<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
1720
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1722
1723<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">We went to</span> Charlie Kirk&#8217;s one-year memorial service at the site of his death. And it was full of contradictions—conspiracy theorists colliding with diehard supporters and counter protesters.</p>
1724
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1727<p class="wp-block-paragraph">September 10 marked the one-year anniversary of the death of conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, which sits just outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. According to event organizers, thousands of people made the trek to the university event center to remember the founder of Turning Point USA. While it was mostly fans of Kirk and locals who had made the journey, none of the attendees happened to be from the Trump administration, unless you count Trent Staggs, the former mayor of Riverton, Utah and failed Senate candidate who now works in the Small Business Administration.</p>
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1731<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The event was subdued and received little media coverage because most of the political world was instead focused on President Donald Trump, who scheduled his midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, for the same night, reportedly without consulting Kirk’s widow, Erika, or the Turning Point leadership.</p>
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1735<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But the Utah event nonetheless drew Kirk’s diehard supporters, as well as a few conspiracy theorists who don’t believe that his death was the result of a lone gunman. (<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/utah-judge-to-decide-if-tyler-robinson-will-stand-trial-in-charlie-kirks-killing">Tyler Robinson, the alleged shooter, is currently on trial in Utah.</a>) And of course, there were a handful of protesters, mostly UVU students who were unhappy to have the memorial event held on their campus for a man whose views they found distasteful. We spoke to people from all camps. Watch:</p>
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1739<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts has-caption"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMfuCxUR10c" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><figcaption class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-credit">Video by Peter Berger</span></figcaption></div>
1740	</div>
1741
1742	<footer class="entry-footer">
1743		<div class="social-container blog"><ul><li class="facebook"><a class="social" href="http://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Fconspiracists-and-supporters-collide-at-charlie-kirks-memorial%2F" target="_blank" data-ga-label="FacebookShare" data-ga-category="BlogArchive" aria-label="Share on Facebook"><i class="icon-facebook"></i><span class="share-text">Share on Facebook</span></a></li>
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1745<meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2026-09-12T17:34:27-04:00" />
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1748
1749</li>
1750<li class="article-item blog" id="1223801">
1751	<div class="entry-header">
1752		<h1 class="blog hed">
1753			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/what-does-fbi-director-kash-patel-actually-do/">
1754				What Does FBI Director Kash Patel Actually Do?			</a>
1755		</h1>
1756		<p class="byline-dateline">
1757			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 11, 2026</span>		</p>
1758	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1759
1760	<div class="entry-content">
1761		
1762<div class="hero is-image ">
1763	<img width="852" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?w=852" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Kash Patel is wearing black glasses and is holding a white card with the words &quot;DIRECTOR PATEL&quot; in front of him with his right hand at chest height." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg 4696w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=321,210 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=542,354 542w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=1536,1004 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=2048,1338 2048w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=50,33 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=1300,850 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=990,647 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=642,420 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/20260716_faa_s152_106.jpeg?resize=768,502 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">July 16, 2026, Washington, District Of Columbia, USA: Kash Patel, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) holds a place card with his name on it as he attends US President Donald J Trump’s address the nation from in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, on Thursday, July 16, 2026  (Credit Image: © Saul Loeb - Pool Via Cnp/CNP via ZUMA Press Wire)</span><span class="media-credit">Saul Loeb/Pool/CNP/Zuma</p></div>
1764
1765<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
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1769<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">FBI Director Kash Patel</span> seems to be very bad at his job.</p>
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1773<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This was confirmed yet again on Thursday, when national security journalist Seth Hettena <a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/records-regarding-the-review-of-the-investigative-holdings-related-to-jeffrey-epstein/records-regarding-the-review-of-the-investigative-holdings-related-to-jeffrey-epstein-part-11/view">found documents</a> showing Patel instructing his team to search for and respond to<strong> </strong>online accounts that criticize him. In one instance, Ben Williamson, the FBI’s assistant director for public affairs, tells Patel via text message that the FBI should not respond to <a href="https://x.com/IfindRetards/status/2019133708482277673">a post</a> making fun of the director from what looks like a troll account on X with a handle referencing the r-word slur.</p>
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1777<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Patel texted a link of the post to Williamson in February, to which Williamson replies, “this is an ‘Epstein didn’t kill himself’ bot account if you’re wondering where that’s coming from.” But Patel seems to fixate on the reaction to the post: “277k responses are not bots what i asked you and your team to do is find them, and post our record year results back at them all, continuously.”</p>
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1781<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The records appear in the FBI Vault, a large set of documentation that the FBI <a href="https://vault.fbi.gov/">proactively released</a><strong> </strong>for public interest in accordance with the <a href="https://www.foia.gov/foia-statute.html">Freedom of Information Act</a>. The documents that Hettena highlights are from a collection titled “Records regarding the review of the Investigative Holdings related to Jeffrey Epstein Part 11.”</p>
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1785<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Williamson dismissed his director&#8217;s concern over the February troll post<strong>—</strong>as of Friday morning, it only<strong> </strong>has 492 comments, about 1,000 reposts and quotes, and 16,000 likes—with Patel appearing to confuse the number of views with the number of responses. He warned Patel that responding to the post would “look bad on you”—a valid point. </p>
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1789<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1790<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Working for <a href="https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBIDirectorKash</a> means <a href="https://x.com/_WilliamsonBen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@_WilliamsonBen</a>  has to spend his time explaining why the <a href="https://x.com/FBI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBI</a> should not respond to a post by <a href="https://x.com/IfindRetards?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ifindretards</a>. <br><br>Found in the FBI vault: <a href="https://t.co/ikrrNjt7Ge">https://t.co/ikrrNjt7Ge</a> <a href="https://t.co/y9rKd8ZLou">pic.twitter.com/y9rKd8ZLou</a></p>&mdash; Seth Hettena (@seth_hettena) <a href="https://x.com/seth_hettena/status/2098144872595358119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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1795<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This behavior aligns with Patel’s excessive drinking and extended unexplained absences from his post, according to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/">an April report in <em>The Atlantic</em></a>. The FBI director filed a defamation lawsuit against the media outlet, a case that remains pending following <em>The Atlantic</em>’s <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/the-atlantic-argues-for-kash-patels-lawsuit-to-be-tossed-in-scorching-motion-an-assault-on-the-constitution-from-a-man-who-swore-to-uphold-it/">motion to dismiss</a> in July.</p>
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1800	</div>
1801
1802	<footer class="entry-footer">
1803		<div class="social-container blog"><ul><li class="facebook"><a class="social" href="http://facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.motherjones.com%2Fpolitics%2F2026%2F09%2Fwhat-does-fbi-director-kash-patel-actually-do%2F" target="_blank" data-ga-label="FacebookShare" data-ga-category="BlogArchive" aria-label="Share on Facebook"><i class="icon-facebook"></i><span class="share-text">Share on Facebook</span></a></li>
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1805<meta itemprop="datePublished" content="2026-09-11T11:58:05-04:00" />
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1808
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1810<li class="article-item blog" id="1223617">
1811	<div class="entry-header">
1812		<h1 class="blog hed">
1813			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/trump-5000-checks-dividend/">
1814				Your Deadbeat President Is Never Giving You $5,000			</a>
1815		</h1>
1816		<p class="byline-dateline">
1817			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/inae-oh/" title="Posts by Inae Oh" rel="author">Inae Oh</a></span><span class="dateline">September 10, 2026</span>		</p>
1818	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1819
1820	<div class="entry-content">
1821		
1822<div class="hero is-image ">
1823	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Trump raises his hand and points to the right in front of a crowd holding American flag posters." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=321,180 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=990,556 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=1536,863 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/trumpppp.png?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-credit">Julio Cortez/AP</p></div>
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1829<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">The year is 2026</span>, and by now, you know, with clarity, that Donald Trump is a brazen liar with an unusually impressive record of promising free cash—only to rarely ever fulfill those lofty pledges. It is the <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/when-donald-trump-didnt-want-pay-chandelier-bill/">personality of a deadbeat</a> that long precedes his entry into politics. But in between flashing &#8220;meat pics&#8221; of Hasan Piker and a surprise video appearance by John Fetterman, rabid cheers greeted the president&#8217;s offer to hand out $5,000 checks to every adult in the United States if Republicans win both the House and Senate in the November midterms.</p>
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1833<p class="wp-block-paragraph">&#8220;
1833It will be called the Trump Dividend,&#8221; he said at Wednesday&#8217;s GOP convention in Dallas, as a beaming Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, applauded along.</p>
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1837<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-yt-shorts"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="640" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UGQM82I8OIg" title="YouTube Shorts player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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1841<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The plan, as many have now weighed in, would cost at least $1 trillion and arrives just as alarm bells are clanging over a ballooning national debt and everyday expenses continuously get more expensive. But Trump&#8217;s latest pledge is as fantastical and mendacious as many of Trump&#8217;s previous promises of free cash: $2,000 checks from <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-trumps-promise-to-give-americans-2000-payments-from-tariff-dividends">supposed tariff revenue</a>, $5,000 checks from all that <a href="https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/business/money-report/trump-musk-float-idea-of-5000-doge-dividend-checks-heres-what-experts-say/3804288/">money we never saved from DOGE</a>, etc. This time around, though, some on the right don&#8217;t appear to be buying it. Here&#8217;s Fox News cautioning against believing Trump:</p>
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1845<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
1846<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fox pointing out this is not the first time that Trump has promised cash payments: He promised Americans $2000 rebate during his tariff policy when that was enacted, but those $2000 checks so far have not materialized. <a href="https://t.co/4KH7VUIjCT">pic.twitter.com/4KH7VUIjCT</a></p>&mdash; Acyn (@Acyn) <a href="https://x.com/Acyn/status/2097887960461172768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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1851<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The rare caveat by Fox News comes amid signs that Trump&#8217;s frantic midterm strategy—which has involved a whole lot of lying, efforts to <a href="https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook-pm/2026/05/27/trump-i-dont-care-about-the-midterms-00938591">feign indifference</a>, and impossible <a href="https://www.reuters.com/3fec1b0a85a0/world/middle-east/trump-says-iran-war-end-after-us-midterm-elections-threatens-attack-pickaxe-2026-09-10/">Iran war predictions</a>—isn&#8217;t agreeing with Republicans, as more appear to distance themselves from the increasingly unpopular president. But at Wednesday&#8217;s convention, the first of its kind for the midterms, Trump continued to demand attention to the one person Republicans could afford to hear less from these days. &#8220;Pretend that I am running,&#8221; he told the crowd.</p>
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1855<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It isn&#8217;t a coincidence, then, that also on Wednesday night, ABC&#8217;s Jimmy Kimmel announced that his interview with James Talarico, the Democratic Senate candidate in Texas, would no longer air on broadcast television after <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/jimmy-kimmel-james-talarico-interview-wont-air-fcc-threats-1235624321/">new threats from the FCC</a>. As Kimmel told the audience, Trump&#8217;s &#8220;FCC has threatened me, threatened our show, threatened our network, ABC, our affiliates, our local stations—based on simple, traditional editorial decisions, guest bookings it would seem they don’t like.&#8221; The announcement, which follows a similar move by the FCC when Stephen Colbert interviewed Talarico in February, reveals more of the same chaos ahead of the fast-approaching November elections, as well as a president desperately using every lever of political power to keep the spotlight on himself.</p>
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1859<p class="wp-block-paragraph"></p>
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1870<li class="article-item blog" id="1223182">
1871	<div class="entry-header">
1872		<h1 class="blog hed">
1873			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/get-ready-for-openais-the-social-network-movie-moment/">
1874				Get Ready For OpenAI&#8217;s ‘The Social Network’ Movie Moment			</a>
1875		</h1>
1876		<p class="byline-dateline">
1877			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 9, 2026</span>		</p>
1878	</div><!-- .entry-header -->
1879
1880	<div class="entry-content">
1881		
1882<div class="hero is-image ">
1883	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Sam Altman is sitting at a Senate committee hearing wearing a black suit. A microphone is in front of him and he is raising his right hand at shoulder height. Several people are seen sitting in the background." decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/sam-altman-congress-waving.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">OpenAI CEO Sam Altman holds is right hand up awkwardly during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing titled "Winning the AI Race: Strengthening U.S. Capabilities in Computing and Innovation” on May 8, 2025.</span><span class="media-credit">Francis Chung/Politico/AP</p></div>
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1889<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">&#8220;Countries will fall.</span>
1889 Industries are gonna collapse,” Andrew Garfield, the actor playing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, says in the teaser trailer for <em>Artificial.</em> “And we get to be the ones to shepherd people into this new world.&#8221;</p>
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1893<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The film&#8217;s set against the backdrop of the five days in November 2023 after Altman was ousted and then reinstated as CEO. The drama of that week is now the stuff of legend: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altmans-frantic-texts-after-2023-openai-ouster-2026-5">text messages</a> between Altman and then-interim CEO Mira Murati, later released in <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/altman-musk-openai-lawsuit-witness-questioning-ai/">court documents</a>, show him desperately pleading for the board to reinstate him. Even more <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/13/sam-altman-may-control-our-future-can-he-be-trusted">extensive reporting</a> from the time turned up dozens of Atlman&#8217;s former co-workers, all of whom describe him as someone with <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/04/sam-altman-ronan-farrow-open-ai-report/">an implacable drive for more power</a>. Will <em>Artificial</em> have any sympathy for him? Or will he be a monstrous villain undeserving of such consideration?</p>
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1897<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The trailer doesn&#8217;t do much to dispel this notion. In it, Garfield gets out of a Batmobile-looking car and walks into a futuristic blue-light room stacked with automatic guns encased in glass shelves. The question for audiences isn&#8217;t subtle: can and should Altman be trusted with a tool as powerful as artificial intelligence?</p>
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1901<div class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-video-embed mojo-embed-block like-p is-platform-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rDZplZFnbOk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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1905<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The movie&#8217;s marketed as a thriller, which makes sense because OpenAI has undeniably done things worthy of the genre. This week, <a href="https://theintercept.com/2026/09/08/pentagon-openai-military-contract/">the <em>Intercept</em></a> reported that the Pentagon asked the company, which signed <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/02/27/nx-s1-5729118/trump-anthropic-pentagon-openai-ai-weapons-ban">a $200-million agreement</a> with OpenAI back in February, to design automated tools that would rarely deny their requests. </p>
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1909<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then on Monday, <a href="https://openai.com/index/navier-stokes-solution/">OpenAI announced</a> that it had solved a 200-year-old math problem, and on Tuesday, said it only took its AI agents <a href="https://openai.com/index/navier-stokes-solution/">88 hours</a> to complete and <a href="https://cdn.openai.com/pdf/32d9f210-8b73-45e0-91bc-82a30aef8a9a/navier-stokes.pdf">provided its full solution</a> to the public. That would be a monumental achievement, evidence of AI&#8217;s efficiency over human intelligence. But mathematician Tristan Buckmaster <a href="https://mastodon.social/@tristanbuckmaster/117233413705701198">said on Monday night</a> the company actually rushed to solve the equation after learning about his and his colleague’s, Levent Alpöge, an Anthropic employee, progress on the problem using Anthropic and OpenAI tools. It wasn&#8217;t about the good of humanity. It was about competition.</p>
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1913<p class="wp-block-paragraph">On Tuesday, <a href="https://openai.com/index/navier-stokes-solution/">OpenAI said</a> it heard rumors last week that two complex, long-unsolved math problems had been solved—one of which was the problem Buckmaster and Alpöge were working on. &#8220;Inspired by these rumors,&#8221; the company said it tried to use one of its internal models to solve it and said it did not realize until later that Alpöge was an Anthropic employee.</p>
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1917<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The movie, scheduled to release on December 25, also has drama of its own: Amazon dropped the project in June, following <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/amazon-openai-expand-partnership-enterprise-push-rcna342556">its partnership with OpenAI</a>, which integrates the company&#8217;s models into Amazon Web Services.</p>
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1921<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Garfield notably portrayed Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin in <em>The Social Network</em>, a 2010 film about Mark Zuckerberg&#8217;s time in college. That film seemed to sympathize with Zuckerberg as a tragic figure leading a company that hadn&#8217;t yet <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/cloak-and-data-cambridge-analytica-robert-mercer/">leaked</a> tens of millions of users&#8217; personal data, failed to stop its platform from being used to &#8220;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2018/11/myanmar-hria/">foment division and incite offline violence</a>&#8221; in the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, or become a hotbed of dangerous <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/media/2025/12/ai-slop-2025-facebook-peyton-manning-data-centers-this-stinks/">AI slop</a>.</p>
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1925<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Public sentiment has turned so squarely against companies that profit from social media that even <em>West Wing</em> creator Aaron Sorkin—who also wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film—has returned to the action with another dramatic rendering of Zuckerberg due out in October and aptly named <em>The Social Reckoning.</em></p>
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1943			<a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/teachers-union-microsoft-deal-nyc/">
1944				A Teachers Union and Microsoft Just Made An AI Safety Deal. But Compliance Remains an Open Question.			</a>
1945		</h1>
1946		<p class="byline-dateline">
1947			<span class="byline"><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/author/alex-nguyen/" title="Posts by Alex Nguyen" rel="author">Alex Nguyen</a></span><span class="dateline">September 9, 2026</span>		</p>
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1953	<img width="990" height="557" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?w=990" class="skip-lazy wp-post-image" alt="Randi Weingarten is seen holding a microphone in her left hand and speaking into it at a protest. She is wearing black clothes. Behind her are several protesters holding signs such as &quot;FREE MAHMOUD KHALIL&quot; and &quot;FUND SCHOOLS NOT BILLIONAIRES&quot;" decoding="async" loading="lazy" srcset="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg 2000w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=208,117 208w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=321,181 321w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=630,354 630w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=990,557 990w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=1536,864 1536w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=1300,731 1300w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=642,361 642w, https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/randi-weingarten-aft-union-education.jpg?resize=768,432 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px" /><p class="wp-caption-text"><span class="media-caption">Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during a protest against budget cuts initiated by President Trump and DOGE in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2025.</span><span class="media-credit">Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images / Middle East Images/AFP/Getty</p></div>
1954
1955<p class="wp-block-mj-blocks-mj-headers"></p>
1956
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1959<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">On Wednesday morning,</span> in a Manhattan press room containing about 50 reporters and union members, one of the largest teachers&#8217; unions in the US announced an agreement with Microsoft that, among other things, prohibits the tech company from tracking student use of its AI tools and applying student and teacher data to train AI models.</p>
1960
1961
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1963<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/2026/NAfAI-Sch
1963ool_AI_Privacy_Standards.pdf">The guidelines</a><strong><em> </em></strong>listed in the American Federation of Teachers&#8217; deal with Microsoft apply to any school district “that desires the same principles” when forming their own customer agreements with the company and purchasing its AI products.</p>
1964
1965
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1967<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The union also gives Microsoft—and any other tech company that signs on (AFT President Randi Weingarten mentioned ongoing conversations with OpenAI and Anthropic during Wednesday&#8217;s announcement)—a 180-day deadline to delete records of AI data use from students and school districts on its<strong> </strong>active systems following a request.</p>
1968
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1971<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Microsoft agreed not to use student and teacher data to train its AI — but there are exceptions.   The guidelines point out “narrow safety and security” situations, including letting the company use “the minimum amount” of school user data to detect, prevent, investigate, or remediate harm to users or security threats to its AI products and retain it “for as long as reasonably necessary.”</p>
1972
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1975<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The contract also lists &#8220;contractual remedies” for school districts that sign on, such as the ability to pause or discontinue Microsoft’s deployment of its AI systems if the company commits any material breaches of its agreement obligations. </p>
1976
1977
1978
1979<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The current guidelines do not present explicit, quantifiable rules for what is considered remediation by a “reasonable” time—it’s something that both Microsoft and the customer will “engage in good faith” to come up with.&nbsp;</p>
1980
1981
1982
1983<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When I asked<strong> </strong>Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith about specific guidelines on how an accountability process will work if Microsoft fails to comply with remediation on Wednesday, he largely dodged the question, saying that Microsoft has to publish reports that provide transparency to the AFT and school districts and have tight deadlines for fixes.</p>
1984
1985
1986
1987<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Obviously, this [remediation process] becomes part of our broader contract with each school district, and all of those [existing] contracts already have built-in remedies,” Smith told <em>Mother Jones</em>. “I think that there&#8217;s just an unprecedented amount of transparency associated with the commitments that are in this agreement.”</p>
1988
1989
1990
1991<p class="wp-block-paragraph">When I asked again about specific steps that will be taken if Microsoft fails to comply, Smith said they are “connected back into the provisions that we have in our contract with each school district. Those can vary.”</p>
1992
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1994
1995<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Mostly, what I find is that what people want when something goes wrong is just to go fix it. People don&#8217;t want to end up with more time with lawyers,” he continued. “That’s always an option if somebody wants to take action, but let’s just fix problems when they arise.”&nbsp;</p>
1996
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1999<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While accountability applies to how each school district will work with Microsoft in the near future, the company seemingly not holding discussions now raises questions about the feasibility of contract enforceability.</p>
2000
2001
2002
2003<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Microsoft, and other companies like Google, have a history of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/23/business/schools-big-tech-google-microsoft.html">promoting their AI products</a> to schools and educators, and a healthy skepticism is needed when relying in part on tech companies to police AI and <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/why-most-ed-tech-fails">previous failures</a> of implementing educational technology.</p>
2004
2005
2006
2007<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Weingarten and <a href="https://www.uft.org/your-union/leadership/president">Michael Mulgrew</a>, president of the United Federation of Teachers representing New York City public school educators and others, who were also taking questions immediately following the announcement, did not respond to the question.</p>
2008
2009
2010
2011<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The contract comes a week after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/mamdani-nyc-ai-ban-pause-moratorium-public-schools/">announced a one-year moratorium</a> on AI use for elementary and middle school students in the city’s public schools, and the Los Angeles Unified School District <a href="https://www.latimes.c
2011om/california/story/2026-09-02/lausd-student-ai-ban-policy">announced restrictions to generative AI platforms</a> for all students for the 2026-27 school year.&nbsp;</p>
2012
2013
2014
2015<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The AFT’s contract with Microsoft contains the sentence “When in doubt, protect the student.” on the bottom of each of the 31 pages. But exactly how any of these policies around AI use in schools will actually work remains unclear.</p>
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2513<script id="wp-i18n-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/i18n.min.js?ver=1dfe7db3940c23ea9216"></script>
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2514<script id="wp-i18n-js-after">
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2519<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJx9zDsOgCAQRdENiaONn8K4FgIvATKD6GDcvpWdob4nl55iYnZ8eyglJR+1kke54GyF7yXmPmlHv+yQZoc6W2BCFW47hiDXpolqNFjm4zE4b/sNd9nGeR2GZZnWMb1dlUn0" ></script>
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2520<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJx9zTsOgCAMANALCVUHP4PxLEQaUyIUKWi8vZOj7C95cEdFYTuKRQEnYEkyxEScKD/qLFhQewraSQM/9DIZlYkkVViCZeVNMDumKtzYR5ZvXf3SjXPbTtMw9+4FL3Y/Gw==" ></script>
2520<script id="moment-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/vendor/moment.min.js?ver=2.30.1"></script>
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2520
2521<script id="moment-js-after">
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2524
2525<script id="wp-date-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/date.min.js?ver=8173fc0fc12b7bb7eaf0"></script>
vendor: 1 bytes, line 2525
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2526<script id="wp-date-js-after">
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2528//# sourceURL=wp-date-js-after
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2529
2530<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJyFyjEOgCAMAMAPCYVFYTA+RppYAkhoUZ+vg6OJNx+cVVFZUw/IEBkCscAmOSksQkLIOlPRkQf4mrVRftbx0xqGfqm2d6GC71zybCdvjHOjt/EGlq4xSg==" ></script>
2530<script id="wp-data-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/data.min.js?ver=14a216e0932d72c22976"></script>
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2530
2531<script id="wp-data-js-after">
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2539
2540<script id="wp-rich-text-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/rich-text.min.js?ver=3e5852e42cee1c239bae"></script>
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2540
2541<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??/wp-includes/js/dist/theme.min.js,/wp-includes/js/dist/warning.min.js?m=1790088692j" ></script>
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2541
2542<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/url.min.js?m=1790088692g" ></script>
2542<script id="wp-api-fetch-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/api-fetch.min.js?ver=6f2a4faeee3c722b1e57"></script>
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2542
2543<script id="wp-api-fetch-js-after">
2544wp.apiFetch.use( wp.apiFetch.createRootURLMiddleware( "https://www.motherjones.com/wp-json/" ) );
2545wp.apiFetch.nonceMiddleware = wp.apiFetch.createNonceMiddleware( "d58a382f17" );
2546wp.apiFetch.use( wp.apiFetch.nonceMiddleware );
2547wp.apiFetch.use( wp.apiFetch.mediaUploadMiddleware );
2548wp.apiFetch.nonceEndpoint = "https://www.motherjones.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=rest-nonce";
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2550
2551<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJx9yzEOgzAMQNELEQwMFAbEWUySqg4hjmJHlXp6OrDC/N+HbzaUbKzOCwQBR6KwRd7ag1IbpIEbYHcjvhBG+qESJ+P8G2tUk7H8w+OOVTk/CvlwUcvOX2o9lv41d900jfMQTu1ZQdM=" ></script>
2551<script id="wp-blocks-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/blocks.min.js?ver=c0e57a630a0b6f6c3bb5"></script>
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2552<script id="wp-preferences-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/preferences.min.js?ver=5a169e3fc0e657f74172"></script>
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2552
2553<script id="wp-preferences-js-after">
2554( function() {
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2557				var persistenceLayer = wp.preferencesPersistence.__unstableCreatePersistenceLayer( serverData, userId );
2558				var preferencesStore = wp.preferences.store;
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2562
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2563
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2564<script id="wp-upload-media-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/upload-media.min.js?ver=a2c026d433c295fd5145"></script>
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2564
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2565
2566<script id="wp-core-data-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-includes/js/dist/core-data.min.js?ver=573f98dbff9f49ffeb0b"></script>
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2566
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2570
2571<script id="wp-parsely-loader-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/wp-parsely-3.24/build/loader.js?ver=ecf94842061bea03d54b"></script>
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2571
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2572
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2576
2577<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJyFyz0KgDAMQOELWYPFnzqId7FE2kgaaQJe3w7ubm/4Hjy3i1IMi4ElZFRgaVFJSmtSOEUMa8+59KQd/Homx8gHVk252YTx+uadt2EJYRr9Ont6ASNBLI4=" ></script>
2577<script id="ad_block_check-js" src="https://www.motherjones.com/wp-content/themes/motherjones/js/ads.min.js?ver=0.4.4"></script>
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2577
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2580//# sourceURL=overlay-script-js-extra
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2586<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJydzksOwjAMBNAL4UZUfMoCcZY0NdRRYleO1cLtiRAHCOzG0ryR3bZAEDZkczZjxuKy1KBRuOZYzwh+mrGQcJeJu1h2rgUtCacH/mFlRU3+1Q7wSQb0afyAeAK5g1ejkBCMUAtsVF+20r7CfoWCXsPcbkpQSamWMoxev+6Wr/vzMBwP/eXUxzdeA5fm" ></script>
2586<script id="scroll-com-js" src="https://static.scroll.com/js/scroll.js?ver=0.4.4"></script>
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2586
2587<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??-eJyFyz0OgCAMQOELCY3EHxyMZzGmRhpbCEW9vgzuLi9v+eBJZotSUAqUAxkVONbJFKU+KWTUFEXDjSbseWW0HMSSNvBLr3yatFZTq/q5hed29L7v3DQ4egFVri8I" ></script>
2587<script id="jetpack-stats-js-before">
2588_stq = window._stq || [];
2589_stq.push([ "view", {"v":"ext","blog":"130213978","post":"0","tz":"-4","srv":"www.motherjones.com","arch_tax_blogs":"mojo-wire","arch_results":"20","hp":"vip","j":"1:16.2"} ]);
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2591//# sourceURL=jetpack-stats-js-before
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2592
2593<script data-wp-strategy="defer" defer fetchpriority="low" id="jetpack-stats-js" src="https://stats.wp.com/e-202639.js"></script>
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2594<script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.motherjones.com/_static/??/wp-content/themes/motherjones/js/mj-targeting.min.js,/wp-content/plugins/mj-blocks/src/blocks/mj-video-embed/view.js?m=1788542962j" ></script>
2594<script id="wp-emoji-settings" type="application/json">
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2596</script>
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2596
2597<script type="module">
2598/*! This file is auto-generated */
2599var e="script#wp-emoji-settings",t=document.querySelector(e);if(!(t instanceof HTMLScriptElement))throw new Error("Element missing: "+e);const r=JSON.parse(t.text),s=(window._wpemojiSettings=r,"wpEmojiSettingsSupports"),o=["flag","emoji"];function i(e){try{var t={supportTests:e,timestamp:(new Date).valueOf()};sessionStorage.setItem(s,JSON.stringify(t))}catch(e){}}function c(e,t,n){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);t=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(n,0,0);const r=new Uint32Array(e.getImageData(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height).data);return t.every((e,t)=>e===r[t])}function p(e,t){e.clearRect(0,0,e.canvas.width,e.canvas.height),e.fillText(t,0,0);var n=e.getImageData(16,16,1,1);for(let e=0;e<n.data.length;e++)if(0!==n.data[e])return!1;return!0}function u(e,t,n,r){switch(t){case"flag":return n(e,"\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\u26a7\ufe0f","\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200b\u26a7\ufe0f")?!1:!n(e,"\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf6","\ud83c\udde8\u200b\ud83c\uddf6")&&!n(e,"\ud83c\udff4\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc62\udb40\udc65\udb40\udc6e\udb40\udc67\udb40\udc7f","\ud83c\udff4\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc62\u200b\udb40\udc65\u200b\udb40\udc6e\u200b\udb40\udc67\u200b\udb40\udc7f");case"emoji":return!r(e,"\ud83e\u1fac8")}return!1}function f(e,t,n,r){let a;const s=(a="undefined"!=typeof WorkerGlobalScope&&self instanceof WorkerGlobalScope?new OffscreenCanvas(300,150):document.createElement("canvas")).getContext("2d",{willReadFrequently:!0}),o=(s.textBaseline="top",s.font="600 32px Arial",{});return e.forEach(e=>{o[e]=t(s,e,n,r)}),o}function a(e){var t=document.createElement("script");t.src=e,t.defer=!0,document.head.appendChild(t)}r.supports={everything:!0,everythingExceptFlag:!0},new Promise(t=>{let n=function(){try{var e=JSON.parse(sessionStorage.getItem(s));if("object"==typeof e&&"number"==typeof e.timestamp&&(new Date).valueOf()<e.timestamp+604800&&"object"==typeof e.supportTests)return e.supportTests}catch(e){}return null}();if(!n){if("undefined"!=typeof Worker&&"undefined"!=typeof OffscreenCanvas&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&URL.createObjectURL&&"undefined"!=typeof Blob)try{var e="postMessage("+f.toString()+"("+[JSON.stringify(o),u.toString(),c.toString(),p.toString()].join(",")+"));",r=new Blob([e],{type:"text/javascript"});const a=new Worker(URL.createObjectURL(r),{name:"wpTestEmojiSupports"});return void(a.onmessage=e=>{i(n=e.data),a.terminate(),t(n)})}catch(e){}i(n=f(o,u,c,p))}t(n)}).then(e=>{for(const n in e)r.supports[n]=e[n],r.supports.everything=r.supports.everything&&r.supports[n],"flag"!==n&&(r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&r.supports[n]);var t;r.supports.everythingExceptFlag=r.supports.everythingExceptFlag&&!r.supports.flag,r.supports.everything||((t=r.source||{}).concatemoji?a(t.concatemoji):t.wpemoji&&t.twemoji&&(a(t.twemoji),a(t.wpemoji)))});
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2601</script>
2601
2602
2603
2604</body>
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