Executive orders, climate denialism and a pulpit rebuke: week one of Trump 2.0

On Monday we were we were in Washington DC, where David Smith watched the foreboding spectacle of Donald Trump embracing “the role of a demagogue on a divine mission” backed by a roll call of the planet’s richest men. The new president’s assertion of power at his second inauguration was only the start of a week of extraordinary political drama and escalation.

Our reporters have been looking in depth at the impact of Trump’s blizzard of executive orders and policy announcements, which included plans to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization, as well as pardons and commutations for those involved in the rightwing violence of January 6. This helpful explanatory article covered all of his major moves and how they will probably be enacted.

Trump’s impact on other countries is already being felt, too. Andrew Roth covered Trump’s first foreign policy moves including a 90-day pause on US aid and reversing Joe Biden’s sanctions on violent Israeli settlers. Dharna Noor and Oliver Milman explained how Trump’s initial orders are clear proof of a White House doing the bidding of big oil.

Among the day-one executive orders was one that fundamentally questioned who has the right to be American. Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the 14th amendment of the US constitution and 22 states have already applied to challenge the order in the courts, causing one district judge to proclaim he had never encountered anything so blatantly unconstitutional in his 40 years as a judge as he temporarily blocked the move.

But, with a Republican majority in both houses, and a judiciary in thrall to him too, can anything stop Trump getting what he wants, even if it’s something protected by the constitution? Yes, wrote Moira Donegan in a stirring column resisting the narrative of Trump as all-powerful monarchical leader: “The movement that ascended to power on Monday is relying on a tired, defeated America … but the American spirit is indefatigable: it loves freedom and equality, abhors tyranny, values minding your own business and hates, above all, to be told what to do”.

There was one person willing to directly rebuke Trump as he kicked off his supposedly divinely ordained second presidency. That was the Right Rev Mariann Edgar Budde, whose direct appeal to Trump provided one moment this week that Trump couldn’t control. “I ask you to have mercy, Mr President,” she said from the pulpit at the National Cathedral prayer service for the inauguration, “on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.” It led, of course, to a predictably furious response.

As the long-awaited Gaza ceasefire came into effect, Malak A Tantesh and Jason Burke reported on a market in Asdaa camp on the central Gaza coast, where people shopped for the first time in 14 months without fear of being bombed. Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan, wrote about a wave of settler violence aimed at Palestinians in the West Bank, where Israeli forces have now also directed their attacks causing hundreds of people to flee the refugee camp in Jenin. Lorenzo Tondo and Sufian Taha were in Ramallah as Palestinian prisoners, released as part of the deal, started returning home. Peter Beaumont and Emine Sinmaz reported on the dramatic release of the three Israeli hostages, including the British-Israeli 28-year-old Emily Damari.

This week, British teenager Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to at least 52 years in prison for the murder of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a dance workshop in Southport last summer. Our reporting team of Josh Halliday, Hannah Al-Othman, Jason Burke, Vikram Dodd and Jamie Grierson dug into how Rudakubana carried out the worst attack on children in Britain since the Dunblane massacre in 1996. Their profile was carefully detailed and described missed chances to prevent the stabbings. Josh has followed this terrible story from the start, including the nationwide riots that followed. He looked back at the case on Friday’s episode of Today in Focus with Helen Pidd, including the repeated and worrying failures to stop this dangerous and troubled young man from hurting others, from him taking knives to school to calling a helpline to tell them he wanted to kill someone.

The global impact of Trump’s first week was clear to see. Pjotr Sauer reported on Trump’s demand for Putin to end “this ridiculous war” in Ukraine, or risk Russia being slapped down with sanctions, taxes and tariffs. Kate Connolly reported on the fury in Germany at Elon Musk’s apparent Nazi salute, while Ashifa Kassam examined the history of the gesture.

After Prince Harry agreed to settle his legal claim with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers over phone-hacking allegations for a reported £10m, Alexandra Topping concluded that in the end “even princely pockets have limits”. Media columnist Jane Martinson applauded Harry’s efforts to protect good journalism by attempting to expose the workings of the tabloids in court but lamented the lack of a clearer outcome: “In this tale of celebrity, scandal and corruption there has been no obvious winner.” Since the Guardian exposed the extent of the phone hacking scandal, Murdoch’s papers have made more than 1,300 settlements to individuals at a cost of around £1bn. As our editorial put it: “Sorry, is not the hardest word, but it is an expensive one”

An arson attack on a childcare centre in Sydney was the latest in a troubling rise in violent antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Daisy Dumas spoke to members of the local Jewish community.

Helena Horton revealed that climate science deniers from the Heartland Institute, a US-based thinktank with links to the Trump administration and large oil companies, have been working with rightwing politicians in Europe to campaign against environmental policies.

Same-sex weddings have been legalised in Thailand. The nation is the first in south-east Asia officially to recognise equal marriage and hundreds of people took part in the newly authorised ceremonies on Thursday. Rebecca Ratcliffe spoke to the couples delighted to be tying the knot after a two-decade battle by activists.

I enjoyed Jane Yang’s emotionally fascinating A moment that changed me and Eva Wiseman’s interview with Brooke Shields about fame, abuse, having labial reduction surgery (without her consent), and how she’s managed after all that to still be so … normal. Also fascinating was Victoria Namkung on how architectural design, building materials and luck, helped some homes to survive the wildfires that razed many neighbourhoods in Los Angeles.

Esther Addley remembered the writer Charlotte Raven, who died this week aged 55. Charlotte came to prominence writing in the Modern Review in the 1990s and later as a Guardian columnist; her fusion of politics, feminism and pop culture helped define an era. Charlotte died from Huntington’s disease, a horrifying inherited disorder that she described as being “a bit like Alzheimer’s and a bit like Parkinson’s, but worse than both” in a powerful 2021 essay.

One more thing …I saw Roy Williams’s adaptation of The Lonely Londoners at London’s Kiln theatre this week. It’s a transfer after a successful run elsewhere, based on Sam Selvon’s classic 1956 novel about new arrivals from the Caribbean. I loved every minute of it – it was deeply affecting, beautifully written and acted, with Michael Kiwanuka’s music deployed at the perfect moment to break your heart.

Cook this | Lara Lee’s miso and gochujang butter pak choi

A little side dish that has nearly everything. It mixes a bit of crunch and some tender wilted leaves, with a lovely sweet and sour tang. Substitute seasonal greens if you prefer, or if you can’t find pak choi. Serve with noodles and a grilled protein of your choice.

Listen to this | Telepathy … what’s the evidence?

Why is the idea of mind reading so popular? In Science Weekly, Ian Sample speaks to Chris French, emeritus professor of psychology at Goldsmiths University, to find out how scientists have tested the phenomenon – and what else could be behind the apparent ability of some people to read minds.

Watch this | Racing to keep our language alive

Only seven people on the planet can fluently speak Marvin’s mother tongue, Haíɫzaqvḷa – and 3,000 other languages are at risk of dying out completely. We joined Marvin’s Haíłzaqv community in British Columbia over two years, as it fought to save its cultural way of life for future generations.

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.