Letters from an American - October 14, 2026

According to Ukrainian presidential advisor Serhiy Beskrestnov, last night, without warning, Elon Musk’s SpaceX restricted the speed limits for the Starlink terminals Ukraine’s military uses, known as Starshield, debilitating Ukraine’s drones even as Russian forces launched strikes against Ukraine’s energy and critical infrastructure—the very infrastructure Trump said must be left alone.

The raid on Ilhan Omar’s house is dangerous political theater - Moira Donegan

‘It was meant to make the president seem strong and appease the racist impulses of his base.’ Photograph: Tim Evans/Reuters

On Monday, federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security raided the Washington DC area home of Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota congresswoman and a progressive Democrat, in the latest instance of Donald Trump’s effort to weaponize the national security state to harass, punish and embarrass his political opponents.

ICE Held an NYC Child Incommunicado at Secret Hotels, Then Deported Him

Federal agents patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on Aug. 14, 2025, in New York City. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The case of a 7-year-old detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sparked indignation across New York City. The child, however, is not the first New York youth caught up in President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant dragnet. 

Letters from an American - October 10, 2026

So now, after more than a decade of pretending that he is not associated with Russia and that he would honor the U.S. national security position of support for Ukraine and our European allies, Trump is openly backing Russia’s president Vladimir Putin.

Asked today by a reporter about concerns that his dropping of sanctions against Russian oil yesterday would funnel money to Putin’s war on Ukraine, Trump blamed Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky for prolonging the war:

Extreme heat left this student athlete on life support. He won’t be the last.

Indiana Hoosiers offensive lineman Abedamola Ajani cools off during a game on September 5 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. Brian Spurlock / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Matthew Mayich stepped onto the field of Sun Angel Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, at about 7 a.m. on August 20. It was the standout hockey player’s first official practice with his new team, and temperatures were already in the mid-80s.

Genocide Treated as Afterthought by Media on Third Anniversary of October 7 Attacks

October 7 marked three years since the Hamas attacks on Israel that left some 1,200 people dead and 251 taken hostage. It also marks three years since Israel launched its genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with material and moral support from the United States, with an official death toll surpassing 74,000—including more than 20,000 children.

Letters from an American - October 4, 2026

On Friday night, just before 11:00, Trump announced that his administration “will, immediately, begin sending ‘Checks’ of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts. This money will come from the Medicare Improvement Fund, a pointless ‘Slush Fund’ that has only been used by Dumocrats in Congress to pay for the Waste, Fraud, and Abuse for their Special Interest friends, and drive up Healthcare costs.”

Letters from an American - September 30, 2026

A Washington Post headline today read: “U.S. withdraws forces in Iraq as balance of power shifts to Iran.”

Journalists Mustafa Salim and Alex Horton explained: After more than two decades, the deaths of more than 200,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 4,500 U.S. troops, the wounding of more than 30,000 U.S. military personnel, and the cost of more than $2.8 trillion, the last of the U.S. military forces in Iraq today pulled out of Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq.

Fact-Checking the Flimsy Case for Trump's Economic War on Cuba

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now arguing that Cuba represents a national security threat because it’s a "failed state," effectively using the humanitarian crisis brought about by the policies he masterminded in order to justify continuing those very policies.

This circular reasoning is just the latest absurdity — largely unquestioned by major media outlets — the Trump administration has presented as an argument for regime change in Cuba.

Trump Moves to Strip Pollution Limits from Power Plants Near Black Communities

A view of the smoke stack of a coal-fired power plant in Springdale, Pennsylvania, in 2017. Experts warn that efforts to dismantle limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas will take a disproportionately heavy toll on Black communities. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

 

Black neighborhoods will feel the brunt of the Trump administration’s recent move to end federal limits on carbon pollution from America’s power plants, residents and environmental advocates said. 

Rogue AI Has Hacked the Australian Government

Another AI has gone rogue and hacked someone. This time, the Australian government was the target. To our knowledge, this is the first incident where a government has been hacked by a rogue AI.

In a press conference in New York on Wednesday, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that an internal OpenAI model went rogue and “infiltrated” Australia’s Medicare statistics portal.

My Republican Dad Fought Fascism, Then Gave Me Kafka. Trump Just Made Me Understand Why.

Last Friday, for the first time in American history, a brand new court in America deported to Afghanistan Nazira Haji Zada, a 47-year-old lawful permanent resident living in Fort Worth. She was never charged with a crime, and wasn’t allowed to see the evidence against her (and neither were her lawyers). Attorney General Todd Blanche called the whole thing “a win for national security and the rule of law.”

U.S. Hands off Mali, U.S. Hands off the AES, U.S. Out of Africa, and Shut Down AFRICOM

It is with grave concern that the Black Alliance for Peace Africa Team (BAP) and U.S. Out of Africa Network (USOAN) view the latest maneuvers by the U.S. against Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, countries that form the anti-imperialist Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

Trump Approves $2.8 Billion Arms Sale to Israel, Including 40,000 One-Ton Bombs

The Trump administration has approved a $2.8 billion sale of heavy bombs to Israel, according to a U.S. official, in what would be among the largest deliveries of U.S. munitions there even as American public support for the country declines.

The proposed sale would include 40,000 one-ton bombs whose use by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon has drawn international anger because of the civilian harm caused by their wide blast radius.

Letters from an American - September 12, 2026

On Thursday, in The New Republic, conservative judge J. Michael Luttig published a dire warning to the Republican Party…and to all Americans. In the piece, Luttig outlined how Republicans could refuse to seat elected Democrats in January after a Democratic victory in the 2026 midterm elections of November. “The coming crisis,” the piece says, would be “The Final Battle for America’s Democracy.”

Letters from an American - September 7, 2026

Since yesterday, President Donald J. Trump has been posting on social media at a frantic pace, showing AI images of himself with President George Washington on his own account and, on the official White House account, a video of himself as the DC Comics Green Lantern superhero. The White House social media account ripped off Green Lantern’s oath, captioning the video: “In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”