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Hi ,
America is being reshaped as President Trump attempts to exert his influence across the government.
DEI programmes have been obliterated, Elon Musk's nebulous DOGE department is taking over the welfare system, and this week Trump tackled one of the USA's key scourges - the paper straw!
The president reversed government efforts to use more environmentally-friendly paper straws instead of plastic, claiming they "disgustingly" dissolve, and occassionally "explode". This newsletter has yet to see proof of such explosions ...
For environmental coverage that isn't clutching at straws, why not try The Ferret. |
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Yours,
Ali |
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Story of the week |
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An in-depth look at a Ferret investigation |
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The King, J.K. Rowling, billionaires and politicians are among those who have been given tens of millions of pounds of taxpayer forestry subsidies, The Ferret can reveal, prompting claims that wealthy landowners are prioritised over rural communities.
Nearly 2,000 recipients, including estates, investment firms and timber giants, were given £240m to create and manage woodlands between April 2016 and December 2024, according to data we obtained from Scottish Forestry.
Top claimants of Scottish Government-issued taxpayer subsidies included the Duke of Buccleuch, a Scots MP, House of Lords peers and the Scottish Tory chairman. |
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What did we dig up this week? |
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A round up of our investigations in the last seven days |
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Scottish Government wanted to be ‘on same page’ as Westminster over Israeli meeting
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Emails reveal that civil servants at Holyrood urged minister Angus Robertson to meet with Israel’s deputy ambassador after consulting with UK Government officials. |
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Tory chair’s ex-firm admitted benefiting from bribery
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The new chairman of the Scottish Conservatives led a company which admitted benefitting from “corrupt payments” made to a Russian firm. |
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Trident project rated “unachievable” third year running
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A £4bn project to help replace nuclear-armed Trident submarines on the Clyde has been branded as “unachievable” for the third year running by a UK government watchdog. |
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Scotrail awards £2m contract to firm criticised over performance
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The state-owned rail firm has contracted out its finance and payroll a company set up by former owner Abellio – which was stripped of its franchise over performance concerns. |
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Question of the week |
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Should wealthy landowners be handed
government subsidies? |
| Yes |
| No |
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Create an account here to get access.
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Best of the rest |
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Investigations we've enjoyed from around the world |
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The staffers helping Elon Musk dismantle and downsize the US government, one agency at a time |
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Musk and his lieutenants are reshaping the government and its mission with the blessing of President Trump. (ProPublica) |
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Immigration myths are everywhere
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The media is flooded with outright lies and misleading statistics. Countering the falsehoods is arduous work. (Prospect) |
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US climate agency imposes restrictions on scientists, sparking concerns over global forecasts
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‘Crackdown on climate’ predicted as oversight enacted over agency staffers’ email and meetings with foreign nationals. (Guardian) |
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