| | | | | | | Hello. After the Supreme Court ended Colorado’s bid to strike Donald Trump from its presidential primary ballot, Anthony Zurcher sets out the wider implications. A photo exhibition in London is focusing on the stories of Ukrainian women affected by war - and Katie Razzall zooms in on the tale of three teenagers who enjoyed a remarkable reunion in their homeland. And with Dune: Part Two in the cinemas, we unearth the inspiration behind Frank Herbert’s novel. |
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| | | | | | Questions Answered | | Court sidesteps political landmines | | | | Donald Trump described the ruling as a "big win for America". Credit: Getty Images. |
| | The US Supreme Court has struck down efforts by individual states to disqualify Donald Trump from running for president using an anti-insurrection constitutional clause. The top court ruled that only Congress has the power to strike the former president from the ballot under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. | | | | Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent |
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| | What is the effect of the ruling? | | It avoids the "patchwork" scenario in which a candidate could be eligible in some states and disqualified in others. The unsigned, unanimous ruling is a significant win for Mr Trump, whose presidential campaign can now proceed without roadblocks erected by individual state courts or election officials. | | But could Congress still act to remove Mr Trump? | | With a closely divided Senate and a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, it means the chances of Mr Trump being ruled ineligible under the 14th Amendment are essentially zero. | | What did the judges leave undecided? | | They did not opine on whether Mr Trump had, in fact, engaged in insurrection on 6 January 2021. They didn't discuss whether the attack on the US Capitol by the former president's supporters constituted an insurrection at all (or was a riot, as characterised by one of Mr Trump's lawyers). The court also didn't delve into whether presidents are specifically exempt from the 14th Amendment's insurrection language, another of Mr Trump's legal arguments in challenging the Colorado decision. | | | | • | Reaction: Colorado's Secretary of State said that states "should be able to bar oath-breaking insurrections from our ballot" - read the full story. | | • | On the campaign trail: The estate of Sinéad O'Connor has asked Donald Trump to stop using her music at his political rallies. | | • | Meanwhile in New York: Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg has pleaded guilty to perjury charges relating to his testimony in a civil fraud trial against the former president. |
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| PERSPECTIVES | UK/Ukraine | | A prom night in a war zone | | | | About 20 teenagers went back for the prom, from as far afield as the UK, Austria, Poland, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. Credit: Abramov Sergey | | Harrowing stories from Ukrainian battlefields have become all-too familiar in the past two years. But what of the tens of thousands of women whose lives have been upended by Russia’s invasion? An exhibition in London is bringing to light their stories. | | | | Katie Razzall, Culture editor |
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| Sofiia, Yuliia and Aliesia, three school friends from the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, were 16 years old when war broke out. They were regular teenagers looking forward to sleepovers and trips to the beach near their home city. But after 24 February 2022, the girls and their families scattered across Europe. "Very quickly we stopped being teenagers and had to start our life as adults," says Sofiia. Aliesia tells me the "teenage dream" - the one you see "in American movies" - has been taken from them.
For two years, they have connected almost entirely online, using Telegram and Snapchat. "Many of us feel overwhelmed by the loss of friends and the inability to meet them," Yuliia says. Incredibly, though, they did see each other again in person last summer, in their bombed-out hometown for a school prom. Now, their stories, and those of other Ukrainian women, are being told in an exhibition by photographer Polly Braden, in London. |
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| | The big picture | | Stars aligned | | | | Rihanna, centre, was joined on stage by a host of Bollywood stars at the gala for Radhika Merchant, left, and Anant Ambani. Credit: ANI | | Remember we said a pre-wedding party thrown by Asia's richest man promised to be a star-studded affair? Well, Mukesh Ambani's bash for son Anant and bride-to-be Radhika Merchant has been living up to expectations. Not only did Rihanna perform for the first time in India but VIPs including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Ivanka Trump turned up in some eye-catching outfits. | | | | |
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| | | For your downtime | | Inspiring Dune | | The manipulation of the sands on Oregon's coast influenced Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel. | | |
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| | And finally... in Germany | | Environmental activists have been building tree houses in the forest near Tesla’s Gigafactory in Grünheide, outside Berlin, to protest against plans to expand the electric car manufacturing site. |
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| | | | | | | | US Election Unspun newsletter | | Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. | | |
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– Andy |
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