House Republican goes scorched earth on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ in Fox News appearance Rep. Mike Lawler refuses to back down after being personally attacked by president over vote holdout The Independent UK · May 21, 2025
Are direct talks between Russia and Ukraine likely to lead to peace? Putin is trying to trick the world into thinking he’s open to a truce while boosting Moscow’s army, analysts say. Al Jazeera · May 21, 2025
NL Hafta Subscribers’ Take Ep 1: A special feedback episode In this special episode of NL Hafta, Abhinandan Sekhri, Manisha Pande, Raman Kirpal, Anand Vardhan and Jayashree Arunachalam catch up on all the letters – over 45 of them – that we’ve received from subscribers.Hafta letters: India-Pakistan, podcast ideas, team feedback, thoughts on patriotismWe have a page for subscribers to… Newslaundry · May 21, 2025
Godfather of climate science decries Trump plan to shut Nasa lab above Seinfeld diner: ‘It’s crazy’ Over breakfast at Tom’s Restaurant, right below the historic Giss lab, James Hansen calls Doge’s decision a ‘big mistake’ The Guardian - US · May 21, 2025
Trump Just Issued a Major New Threat to Plug Power Stock Trump’s threat could cause Plug Power stock to decline significantly from here. Barchart · May 21, 2025
Why has inflation jumped higher and what does it mean for households? Official figures showed inflation hit 3.5% in April, up from 2.6% in March and the highest since January 2024. Evening Standard · May 21, 2025
Kremlin Denies Dragging Out Ukraine Peace Talks The Kremlin on Wednesday rejected Ukrainian and European accusations that it was stalling Ukraine peace talks, saying it plans to name its conditions for a ceasefire, but declining to give a time frame. International Business Times · May 21, 2025
Taraji P Henson says Hollywood ‘lied’ to her about Black movies and TV shows The Oscar-nominated star said that the experience was ‘making me bitter’ The Independent UK · May 21, 2025
Hafta letters: India-Pakistan, podcast ideas, team feedback, thoughts on patriotism Srikanta Newslaundry · May 21, 2025
White South African ‘refugees’? The jokes write themselves Why Trump’s decision to grant asylum to Afrikaners is ‘a slap in the face’ for Black people The Guardian - UK · May 21, 2025
First Thing: Israel ‘very close’ to committing war crimes, says former PM Ehud Olmert’s statement comes as UN says Israel still blocking aid to Gaza. Plus, almost half a billion young people ‘will be obese or overweight by 2030’ The Guardian - UK · May 21, 2025
How pro-Europe, pro-US Poland offers the EU a model for how to handle Trump The European Union will have to strike a deal with US President Donald Trump on tariffs, NATO, and the stationing of US troops in EU countries. A trade war with the US will further weaken the already modest growth prospects in EU countries. Europe also still lacks a clear plan… The Conversation · May 21, 2025
Eddie Vedder and Neil Young speak out in support of Bruce Springsteen amid Trump attacks Musicians are coming to the defence of Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift, both of whom Donald Trump has criticised and threatened. “Part of free speech is open discussion. Part of democracy is healthy public discourse. The name-calling is so beneath us,” said Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Euronews · May 21, 2025
Farmers fear Trump trade winds could damage crops: ‘It’s unnerving’ Economists estimate grain farmers could lose money as total production costs remain above current prices The Guardian - US · May 21, 2025
Al Jazeera · May 21, 2025 What’s South Africa’s land law at the heart of the Trump-Ramaphosa spat? Some white Afrikaner groups say the land expropriation law targets them and could lead to violent land grabs.
Radio France Internationale · May 21, 2025 Europe tightens sanctions on Russia as pressure builds on Washington European powers have forged ahead with fresh sanctions on Russia, intensifying pressure on Moscow – and on Washington – to act decisively for a credible peace agreement in Ukraine.
The Independent UK · May 21, 2025 Why a plantation house fire ignited a heated debate over slavery’s legacy A fire that engulfed a mansion at Louisiana’s Nottoway Plantation, destroying one of the largest remaining pre-Civil War houses where scores of enslaved Africans labored, has sparked joy and anger online
TechRadar · May 21, 2025 Jensen Huang celebrates lift on some GPU export bans, labels them a "failure" After anticipating $5.5 billion in costs and $15 billion in lost revenue, Nvidia hopes to return to the Chinese market, worth $50 billion.
Evening Standard · May 21, 2025 Trump unveils plans for $175 billion ‘Golden Dome’ missile defence system The US President expects the programme will be ‘fully operational’ by 2029 to counter threats from Russia and China
The Guardian - US · May 21, 2025 Trump’s meeting with tax bill holdouts ‘moved ball in right direction’, says White House – as it happened Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt describes meeting as ‘productive’ as president tries to get ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ past objections
The Independent UK · May 21, 2025 Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut premieres to mixed reviews at Cannes film festival Some critics have predicted awards season success, while others called it ‘wobbly’ and ‘unconvincing’
Salon · May 21, 2025 Dealing with disease “down there” Joe Biden did more for cancer research than any president in recent memory
The Guardian - US · May 21, 2025 The US credit rating has been downgraded. But there’s an easy fix for our debt Instead of cutting taxes on the richest Americans – who hold much of the country’s debt – simply raise them
Latin Times · May 21, 2025 Undocumented Migrants Keep Showing Up For Work Despite Increasing Threats of Deportations: Reports President Trump has promised to deport one million migrants this year. That hasn't stopped this group from showing up for work as economic necessity prevails.
Barchart · May 21, 2025 Stocks Slip Before the Open as Bond Yields Climb on U.S. Debt Fears, More Retail Earnings on Tap June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM25) are down -0.70%, and June Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQM25) are down -0.67% this morning as Treasury yields continue to rise on worries about U.S. government debt while U.S. President Donald Trump pushes to advance his tax bill.