AOC’s remarks about past excesses have been ripped out of context. Progressives shouldn’t get roped into this sideshow

There is probably no word that has been more used and abused in the last decade than “woke”. It has been rendered completely meaningless, but it refuses to die. Indeed, it has now taken on new life: in the past week, there’s been a flurry of headlines about “Woke 1.0” or “Woke One”. If you haven’t seen the phrase pop up in your newsfeed yet, it will soon.

So what is this cursed phrase? There’s no official definition, but the term is largely being used to refer to the period between 2018 and 2021 when social justice language was at its peak in mainstream culture. Certain progressives, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have started to use “Woke 1” disparagingly, as a way to distance themselves from that period and signal that they stand for a new form of left-leaning politics that is more palatable to centrist Democrats. “Woke 2”, I suppose.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Tech billionaire’s $158.3bn deal an outlier in report showing widening gap of CEO to worker pay at top companies

Elon Musk received over 2.5m times as much compensation at Tesla as the company’s average worker, according to a new report on the growing gap between top corporate executives and their workers.

Musk’s $158.3bn pay deal was an outlier but came as the gap between CEO and worker pay continued to grow. Excluding Musk, last year the average ratio of CEO to worker pay for the top S&P 500 companies was 312 to 1, up from a 285:1 ratio in 2024. With Musk, the average pay ratio was 5,387:1, according to the executive pay watch report released this week by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US.

Critic of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau leadership was put under investigation and suspended from job

The Trump administration has been accused of “bullying and intimidation” after a labor union leader and critic was put under investigation and suspended from his job at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Stephen Wheeler, a data scientist at the agency since 2022 and chair of the CFPB union organizing committee, was placed on administrative leave effective immediately earlier this month. The union said it was not provided with any specific violations or given any details of the investigation.

U.S. President Donald Trump on July 6 commented on tech billionaire Elon Musk's plan to create a new political party, calling it "ridiculous" and warning that third-party movements have historically failed in the United States.

"I think creating a third party is ridiculous... we've had tremendous success with the Republican Party," Trump told reporters on July 6 before boarding Air Force One in Morristown. "The Democrats have lost their way, but it's always been a two-party system, and I think creating a third party just adds to the confusion."

These comments came after Musk unveiled plans on July 5 to launch a new political force in the U.S. called the "America Party."

Musk said the party's goal is to "give you back your freedom" and offer an alternative to the entrenched Republican and Democratic systems, a few weeks after a public split with Trump.

The strained relationship between Musk and Trump began to deteriorate significantly after a period when Musk publicly supported Trump's re-election bid and held a high-profile role in the U.S. government's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Musk's new party announcement followed Trump signing a major tax and spending bill into law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, legislation that Musk had strongly criticized.

Trump later commented further in a Truth Social post, saying that third parties bring "complete and total disruption and chaos" and criticizing Musk.

"I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely 'off the rails,' essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks," Trump wrote.

Trump also linked Musk's political shift to his frustration over the recently passed Republican bill eliminating the federal electric vehicle mandate.

"It is a Great Bill but, unfortunately for Elon, it eliminates the ridiculous Electric Vehicle (EV) Mandate, which would have forced everyone to buy an Electric Car in a short period of time. I have been strongly opposed to that from the very beginning," Trump added.

Musk led DOGE until May 30 and had been a key figure in dismantling U.S. foreign aid institutions, including USAID, which delivered billions in aid to Ukraine.

Musk launches ‘America Party’ following public feud with Trump

The announcement came a day after Trump signed his sweeping tax cut and spending bill into law, a legislative act that Musk has fiercely opposed.

The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova

Weeks after a high-profile public falling out with U.S. President Donald Trump, tech mogul Elon Musk announced the creation of a new political party in the United States, dubbed the "America Party."

Musk said on July 5 that the party's aim is to "give you back your freedom" and challenge the traditional two-party Republican and Democratic system.

The announcement came a day after Trump signed his sweeping tax cut and spending bill into law, a legislative act that Musk has fiercely opposed. It remains unclear if the America Party has been formally registered with election authorities, but Musk indicated it would launch "next year."

Musk's decision follows a poll he conducted on X on July 4, asking his followers if he should create a new political party.He cited the overwhelming support, writing: "By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy."

The strained relationship between Musk and Trump began to deteriorate significantly after a period where Musk publicly supported Trump's re-election bid and held a high-profile role in the U.S. government's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

In May, Musk announced his departure from DOGE, citing the end of his "scheduled time." Initially, Trump praised him as "one of the greatest business leaders and innovators the world has ever produced."

However, tensions escalated sharply on May 22 after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," a significant tax-cut and spending bill that Trump signed into law on Friday.

Musk vehemently condemned the legislation, calling it a "massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination." He argued that the bill's spending would exacerbate the "already gigantic budget deficit" and "burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt."

Adding to the friction earlier this week, Trump threatened to cut off billions of dollars in federal subsidies to Musk's companies and even hinted at the possibility of deporting the South Africa-born entrepreneur.

‘Disingenuous’ Hegseth paused Ukraine weapons despite Pentagon finding aid wouldn’t hurt US readiness, NBC reports

A senior military review had concluded that while some munitions stockpiles, including precision weapons, were low, they had not fallen below critical thresholds, according to NBC. Still, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth opted to stop the shipment. This is reportedly his third such move since February.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir

Russian authorities are considering a request from the New People's Party to offer political asylum to U.S. tech billionaire Elon Musk, claimed the party's lawmaker, Vladislav Davankov, to the Russian media on June 20.

Davankov, deputy speaker of the State Duma, told reporters at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his party had formally petitioned the Russian Foreign Ministry to provide Musk with asylum. The request is expected to be reviewed within a month, he reportedly said.

"I think Elon Musk has made mistakes, but those mistakes should be forgiven," Davankov said. "If things don't work out for him, we are always ready to welcome him — from a technological and visionary point of view, he's very impressive."

The claim could not be independently verified, and there has been no official confirmation from the Russian Foreign Ministry or Musk. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, telling reporters, "Let's wait for a statement from the Foreign Ministry or from Musk himself before we say anything."

The alleged request follows a public conflict that erupted between Musk and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month. The billionaire later expressed regret over a series of critical posts aimed at Trump, calling a proposed government spending bill "disgusting" and warning of economic consequences.

Trump hit back during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on June 5, saying on Truth Social that Musk had "just gone crazy."

In response, Musk claimed on social media that Trump owed him his electoral victory, suggesting his influence prevented Democrats from retaining the House.

Earlier this month, Dmitry Novikov, deputy chair of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, told state-run news agency TASS that Russia would be ready to provide Musk with political asylum if needed.

"I think Musk is playing a completely different game, that he won't need political asylum, although if he did, Russia could certainly provide it," Novikov said on June 6.

The feud has attracted attention in Russia, where Musk is increasingly viewed as a sympathetic figure. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, joked on X that Moscow could broker peace between "D and E," referring to Donald and Elon, in exchange for Starlink shares. "Don't fight, guys," Medvedev wrote.

Musk led a federal commission on government efficiency until May 30 and has been a key figure in dismantling U.S. foreign aid institutions, including USAID, which has delivered billions in aid to Ukraine.

Though he initially supported Ukraine by providing Starlink satellite systems to aid its defense, Musk eventually adopted Russian talking points, claiming President Volodymyr Zelensky lacks popular support and accusing Kyiv of running a "never-ending draft meat grinder."

He has also spoken out against U.S. military aid to Ukraine, a stance that aligns closely with Kremlin messaging aimed at discouraging Western support for Kyiv.

Russia’s war-fueled economy is running on empty, Central Bank chief warns

“We grew for two years at a fairly high pace because free resources were activated,” Russia’s Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir