Welcome to Trump’s America, The i Paper’s World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here.
• $120,000 should be a great salary. In these US states, it isn’t
• Maga’s worst nightmare: a child-free, unmarried female president
• The more America spends on healthcare, the sicker it gets
Among a certain subset of Americans, the most honoured adjective these days is “crunchy”.
Crunchy moms and dads have strict rules for raising a family. Toys must be wooden (no microplastics, please). Beef must be grass-fed. Veggies, organic. Eggs, cage-free. Nappies, cloth – no paper. Only “raw milk” of course; none of that pasteurised stuff.
And for the crunchy set, vaccines, including the preventive jabs that have been given to American children for decades, should be avoided, even if it means the kids are left vulnerable to disease.
Shorts
Scroll to previous short
Scroll to next short
Caption: Manchester United 2026 Old Trafford 7x7cm Pitch Cube
??125.00
Take home a piece of Old Trafford with this official turf cube, perfect for fans who want a keepsake from one of the most famous pitches in the world. Carefully preserved, this piece of turf makes a priceless memento of iconic games played at home and keeps the memories of matchdays alive. Perfect for gifting to passionate Reds, this turf cube makes a great addition to desks or can be displayed in a cabinet with other Manchester United collectibles.
Image: Manchester United
https://store.manutd.com/en-gb/p/manchester-united-2026
news
A piece of Old Trafford could be yours… for £125
Manchester United have re-laid their playing surface for the first time in 14 years, and are now selling commemorative pieces of the turf to fans for £125.
What buyers actually get
Club members and season ticket holders get “exclusive early access” to the product – a 7cm by 7cm acrylic cube of turf.
The sections of pitch are encased in a black box with a picture of the stadium.
3 min read
3 min read
Not the first time pieces of the pitch have been sold
United previously offered supporters the chance to buy pieces of the pitch when it was dug up before the 2012-2013 season. The club said that initiative was popular.
Caption: A general interior view of Old Trafford, home stadium of Manchester United
Photographer: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA
Provider: Robbie Jay Barratt / AMA
Source: Getty Images Europe
This comes three months after United announced they had acquired the majority of the land for a new 100,000 seat stadium 350 metres away from Old Trafford.
sport
Man Utd’s ‘mannequins’ are an insult to paying fans
The Red Devils just crossed an unforgivable line from which they may never fully recover.
Watch more from The i Paper
Lionel Messi has retired from international football, bringing his Argentina career to an end after more than two decades. The 39-year-old leaves after 207 appearances and 125 goals, having captained Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022 and the final again in 2026. Messi said the decision “hurt” but that “the time has come”, adding that he leaves with pride after giving everything for his country. #News #LionelMessi #Messi #Football
♬ original sound – The i Paper – The i Paper
Two pilots injured in RAF jet crash in Wales
A Royal Air Force jet has crashed in Wales in the Pencarnisiog area of Anglesey shortly after taking off this afternoon.
Two pilots ejected from the aircraft, which took off from RAF Valley in Wales, according to the Ministry of Defence (Photo: X/@_gso17)
Everything we know
The force said helicopters from the Coastguard and the Wales Air Ambulance were deployed to the scene and the pilots, who ejected from the jet, are being treated for minor injuries.
“We watched it climb, then as it was parallel with us it started to pitch up violently twice… then both pilots ejected, and the Hawk crashed about a mile away,” a witness told North Wales Live.
Big Read
5 min read
Exclusive
2 min read
Investigation launched
The RAF has launched an investigation into the crash.
Caption: A sign is pictured at the entrance to the Royal Air Force (RAF) base Valley, at Anglesey Airport in Anglesey, north Wales on March 20, 2018. A British military jet used in the Red Arrows aerobatic display team crashed on Tuesday at a base in Wales, the Ministry of Defence said. Officials declined to give more details, but it was understood two people were on board when it crashed at the Valley Royal Air Force base. / AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS (Photo credit should read PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: PAUL ELLIS
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
An RAF spokesperson said: “An incident involving an RAF T2 Hawk aircraft, flying out of RAF Valley, occurred near Anglesey. An investigation is underway and we will not comment further at this time.”
Over 450,000 people projected to die from super El Niño
This year’s El Niño is estimated to cause 451,000 deaths due to the additional heat it will bring over the next six months, climate scientists have predicted.
The smouldering remains of a wildfire at Tintwistle Moor near Glossop in the Peak District (Photo: Brook Mitchell/Getty )
What is El Niño?
El Niño is part of a natural cycle, called the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and forms when warmer waters spread across the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Brazil, India, Nigeria and Indonesia are some of the countries expected to worst affected.
The World Meteorological Organisation said there was an “exceptionally high likelihood of nearly 100 per cent” that this El Niño will last until February 2027.
3 min read
Exclusive
4 min read
Caption: Large waves breaking over sea wall where the track was destroyed in 2014. The sea wall was rebuilt and raised up in height for extra protection after the damage occurred
Photographer: Moorefam
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
news
Experts say what it means for the UK
Professor Ilan Kelman of UCL’s department of risk and disaster reduction said that El Niño could bring wetter and milder weather to the UK through the autumn and winter.
“There’s nothing definite, but in general we would expect a milder, wetter, and stormier autumn, a colder winter, and then a possibility of a hotter summer next year,” he added.
Plane turbulence and supply chains disrupted
The more severe impact of El Niño on other countries could also have a knock-on effect on the economy and daily life in the UK.
Kelman said that the weather event could lead to more plane turbulence, flooding and impacts to electronic supply chains and imported food.
Rice, sugar or coffee imports could be affected by potential flooding in South America.
The shift of rainfall brought on by El Niño can also cause severe droughts in South East Asia and Australia.
Watch more from The i Paper
news
The pinch points of the UK’s Chagos Islands deal
Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago and site of a major United States military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean leased from Britain in 1966 (Photo: Reuters/HO/U.S. Navy)
Defence secretary Wes Streeting has confirmed the UK is reviewing its deal to hand over the Chagos islands, home to the critical Diego Garcia base, to Mauritius after Donald Trump called it “terrible” at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday.
UK wants US support
We have to [review the deal] because the United States doesn’t support it […] We have to do more work with our American allies, with President Trump and his administration, to get the deal to a place where he can support it.
UK Defence secretary Wes Streeting
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting at the unveiling of UK’s first uncrewed autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) named Brontanax at the BAE Systems stand at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire (Photo: Andrew/PA)
The original deal
Mauritius argues it was illegally forced to give away the islands in 1965 to gain independence.
A deal was agreed in 2025 where the UK would cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius.
It would then pay an average of £101m per year to lease back a joint US-UK military base there.
Analysis
3 min read
4 min read
US opposition
Opposition from Trump caused Starmer to pause the deal indefinitely in April.
US President Donald Trump said he could choose to ‘annihilate’ Iran, during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday (Photo: Timothy A Clary/ AFP via Getty Images)
Trump had been a frequent critic, branding the deal as “a blight on our great ally” and an “act of total weakness”.
Caption: (FILES) This handout photo from the US Department of Defense shows a US Air Force B-1B bomber taking off from the Diego Garcia military base on a strike mission against Afghanistan in Diego Garcia on October 7, 2001. Britain is shelving its plan to hand back the Chagos Islands — which hosts the strategic Diego Garcia US-UK military base — according to a government spokesperson on April 11, 2026, following strong opposition from US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Handout / DoD / AFP via Getty Images) / —–EDITORS NOTE — RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE – MANDATORY CREDIT “AFP PHOTO / US Department of Defense ” – NO MARKETING – NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
Photographer: HANDOUT
Provider: DoD/AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
news
High costs
Starmer agreed to lease back the Diego Garcia base for 99 years, with official figures giving the total cost as £3.4bn.
However, opponents said the real cost could come to £35bn when adjusted for inflation.
Worries the deal could endanger the security of Diego Garcia
With sovereignty lying with Mauritius once the deal was done, critics argued that the country could impose restrictions on the joint UK-US military base.
Caption: A ship identified by the Philippine Coast Guard as a Chinese Navy vessel is seen near Scarborough Shoal in the disputed South China Sea on June 15, 2026. (Photo by Jam STA ROSA / AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: JAM STA ROSA
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Copyright: AFP or licensors
There were also worries that the move could embolden China to establish a presence in the archipelago.
AI offers poor financial advice ‘majority of the time’ – what to know
Major AI chatbots provide inaccurate financial advice in 57 percent of cases, new research has found.
This rose to 88 per cent when they were asked harder questions.
Caption: SHENZHEN, CHINA – SEPTEMBER 15: In this photo illustration, a person holds an iPhone displaying icons for Copilot, Gemini, Meta AI, Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, DeepSeek, Perplexity and Doubao in a folder titled “Artificial Intelligence” on September 15, 2026, in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. Calls from leading artificial intelligence executives to slow the pace of advanced AI development have intensified debate over safety, regulation and the economic implications of the rapidly evolving technology. (Photo Illustration by Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
Photographer: Cheng Xin
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images AsiaPac
One answer would have cost £17,500
Tech research firm Saturn used a paraplanner to run 121 money-related questions through 18 chatbots. One of the answers would have cost them £17,500.
Caption: Online stock trading on mobile.
Photographer: manusapon kasosod
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Amal Jolly, Saturn’s chief executive, said: “The low quality of financial advice from mainstream AI models risks leading to widespread consumer harm.”
Why customers get less protection with AI advice
Human financial advisers must charge for their services, making it a regulated product that has to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. If they provided misleading advice, customers could get compensation.
There are no such protections for those who get information from a chatbot.
First Person
3 min read
4 min read
health
Why HRT patches are safer than pills
Caption: Mature woman waking up and using products for hormone replacement therapy. She is sitting on bed in pajamas and putting adhesive patch on leg.
Photographer: svetikd
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
Oral hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) causes a slightly higher rate of blood clots – but there was no such risk from therapies applied to the skin.
The context
Why women use HRT
Caption: An old woman who has a broken wrist and is being treated at home with plaster cast. Sitting on the couch, wearing glasses.
Photographer: Yuji Ozeki
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Digital Vision
HRT is used by women going through menopause or for several years afterwards to stop hot flushes and reduce osteoporosis – where bones become weaker.
Newsletter (£)
6 min read
The new research
Previous studies found HRT may cause a slightly higher rate of blood clots, heart attacks and breast cancer.
A Danish study found women had a 60 per cent higher risk of blood clots from oral HRT, and a 20 to 30 per cent higher risk of strokes or heart attacks.
But the total risk of blood clots was still very low, about one extra blood clot per thousand women per year.
There was no blood clot risk seen with patches, gels or spray forms of HRT.
But there was a higher rate of heart attacks with skin-based HRT if it is “cyclic”, alternating between oestrogen and oestrogen and progestogen.
Why might patches be safer?
Oral HRT is transported by blood vessels connecting the gut to the liver. There, it seems to increase levels of certain liver proteins involved in blood clotting.
Caption: Illustration of a blood clot.
Photographer: SCIEPRO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
Provider: Getty Images/Science Photo Libra
Source: Science Photo Library RF
Copyright: Science Photo Library
Caption: ??????????????????????????????
Photographer: zf L
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
When HRT is applied through patches or gels, the hormones are absorbed straight into the blood and don’t reach the liver at such high levels.
NHS advice
Caption: A small group of seniors stretching to exercise in the public park
Photographer: andreswd
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
The NHS says the benefits of HRT usually outweigh the downsides, and that the risks of serious side effects are very low.
HRT is especially helping for combatting osteoporosis in women experiencing early menopause, before the age 45.
How to be more grateful for daily life in five easy steps
Gratitude
The world feels like a difficult place at the moment, and it can feel very hard sometimes to find things to be thankful for; when we are overwhelmed, we have less capacity to notice and reflect on the good things. Yet, ironically, proactively cultivating gratitude is one of the things that can actually help us feel less stressed.
NHS GP dR RADHA
The science
Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.
The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.
How can we build gratitude?
Caption: Two adult brothers enjoy a warm embrace in a sunny park. They stand beside a decorative fence surrounded by lush greenery, showcasing a strong bond and happiness in the moment.
Photographer: Beatriz Herrera
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
Copyright: beatrizherreragonzalez@gmail.com
Change your words
Instead of seeing something as a problem, try to see the opportunities within it.
Journal
Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.
Caucasian mid adult patient writing a diary while recovering in the hospital ward – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
‘One question is how to achieve such a longevity hack when most of us have relationships that unsettle us,’ says Dr Amir Levine (Photo: Oliver Rossi/Getty)
Express it
This will not only make you feel good, but you will also get a positive response from others.
How can we build gratitude?
Notice more
Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?
Exercise with people you love (Photographer: Morsa Images/Getty/Digital Vision/Abel Mitj? Varela)
Caption: Group of Happy Asian senior women friends shopping and having lunch at restaurant on summer holiday vacation. Healthy elderly woman enjoy outdoor lifestyle meeting and eating food together.
Photographer: CandyRetriever
Provider: Getty Images
Source: iStockphoto
The basics
By being thankful for the small things every day, we are far more likely to be and stay healthy so that we can enjoy them.
What to do
Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality.
Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.
Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.
Leon Poultney, a writer who specialises in cars, gives his EV recommendations, and the ones that should be avoided.
Renault 5 E-Tech
Starts at £22,995 for the smaller battery
Available with either a 40kWh battery or a larger 52kWh pack, that offers almost 255 miles, the latest, retro-inspired Renault 5 is both a joy to behold and a hoot to drive.
The interior has been lavished with a level of detail that’s typically reserved for more expensive cars.
4 min read
Mercedes-Benz CLA
A champion of EV efficiency
It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.
It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.
Priced from £37,400
2 min read
Porsche Macan GTS
It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.
The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.
The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.
Kia EV 9
With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.
MG IM6
It’s fast, goes a long way between stops and charges relatively quickly but the interior is bland, the onboard technology is infuriating and the experience is devoid of emotion.
BYD Dolphin Surf
All of its gadgetry can’t disguise the fact that performance is weak, even for a typically zippy EV, the ride is fussy at slower speeds and it’s not in the least bit enjoyable to drive on a country road.
While good value (prices start at £17,935) for the 200-mile max range, there are more interesting options from Hyundai, Citroen and Renault for similar money.
Leapmotor T03
It attempts to wow with tech, much of which hinders, rather than helps.
There’s no tangible benefit over mounting your phone to the dash.
Simply an average driving experience, adequate range and slow charging speeds.
2 min read
Opposition to childhood vaccines – the anti-vax movement, in common parlance – has become so widespread that the US is now experiencing significant outbreaks of preventable maladies like mumps, measles and whooping cough that were rare, or officially eliminated, a few years ago.
The result has been a spurt in absenteeism in some school districts, not only because of children who are sick but also because parents are afraid to have their healthy offspring mingle with contagious classmates. “The costs of that absenteeism are just not among the sick kids, but all the kids who are kept out of school as a precaution,” notes Dr Thomas Dee, of Stanford University’s School of Education.
The reigning hero of Crunchy America is the outspoken anti-vaxxer Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) – a position that roughly matches Britain’s Health Secretary. Running the nation’s health department would seem an unlikely job for a vaccine critic (though Kennedy disputes that he is anti-vaccine). To land that spot in Donald Trump’s administration, he pulled off one of the wildest U-turns in recent political history.
A scion of America’s most prominent Democratic family, the son and namesake of a liberal hero, Kennedy Jr ran for president in 2024 as a ferocious critic of the Republican candidate, Trump. But late in the campaign, when it became clear that Trump was likely to win, Kennedy abruptly reversed course. Ending his own campaign, RFK Jr overnight became a full-fledged champion of Trump and his Make America Great Again movement. In a tribute to Maga, Kennedy calls his crunchy effort “Make America Healthy Again” (Maha). It was as if Euan Blair suddenly showed up as a Reform candidate and started praising Nigel Farage.
Kennedy’s flip-flop was rewarded. He was given the health portfolio in Trump’s government, even though most of the medical and public health establishment opposed him. Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans in the US Senate, concerned about Kennedy’s anti-vaccine activism, were reluctant to confirm his nomination to be HHS Secretary. To win their votes, those senators said, Kennedy promised that he would not mess with America’s existing vaccine regime.
But then he did.
Once in office, Kennedy fired all the members of the government’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which traditionally urged parents to get their kids vaccinated. He stacked the committee with fellow vaccine doubters and encouraged them to probe the “safety” of childhood vaccines. The Advisory Committee began issuing scary warnings about some widely-used shots.
In August, with Kennedy applauding at his side, Trump issued an executive order that cuts the number of childhood vaccines recommended by the federal government from 17 to 11. Parents can still get the other six shots for their kids, but at significant cost; health insurance policies generally don’t cover vaccines lacking the federal recommendation. The cost could run into hundreds of dollars per child. And Trump proposed that the standard MMR vaccine, given to one-year-olds to prevent measles, mumps and rubella, should be divided into three separate shots, meaning at least three trips to the doctor’s office – in a country where people have to pay out of pocket for most visits.
This anti-vaccine alarm runs counter to decades of studies showing the jabs to be safe and effective. But the anti-vaxxers have had an impact. The number of American children getting the shots has been declining for several years; vaccination rates have fallen even more since Trump’s second term began. Meanwhile, the US has seen a spike in contagious diseases that were sharply controlled before, including influenza and Covid-19.
In 2020, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 13 cases of measles in the entire country. Nine months into 2026, the number for the year is more than 3,470. “And it’s only September,” notes Dr Paul Offit, of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “This is going to get much worse with colder weather… The message should be, ‘Let’s get our kids vaccinated.’ But you never hear that from the Secretary of HHS.”
The fear of vaccines reflects a broader distrust of science, the food industry and the big drug companies among the crunchy segment of the population and some political conservatives. The concerns are not new, but they have become more common because of the widespread anger over government demands for school closures and mask-wearing during the Covid pandemic.
The national “Measles Tracker” maintained by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that vaccine refusal, and the resulting outbreaks of the disease, tend to blossom in certain communities and religious groups.
Upscale neighbourhoods that house the “crunchy” – places like Boulder, Colorado and Austin, Texas – fall below the recommended immunisation rates because of vaccine resistance. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with a large Amish population (“the Pennsylvania Dutch”, they’re called) has kindergarten vaccination rates considerably below the 95 per cent considered necessary to preserve “herd immunity”. In Spartanburg, South Carolina, home to many Eastern European immigrants, Slavic Christians have invoked the state’s “religious exemption” to avoid vaccinating their kids – and measles cases have surged dramatically. Mennonite communities in Texas and Oklahoma and orthodox neighbourhoods around New York City also report lower vaccination rates and higher rate of measles.
The problem for public health experts is that measles, a highly contagious condition, doesn’t honour county borders. So these localised outbreaks tend to spread. “Measles outbreaks have been reported in multiple states, raising concerns about continued spread, increases in hospitalizations and deaths,” warns the Johns Hopkins tracker.
As long as Trump and Kennedy are overseeing the national health apparatus, this situation seems unlikely to change. But how long will Kennedy keep his job at Health and Human Services?
Recently revealed documents suggest that Kennedy lied to Congress during the hearings to confirm his appointment to HHS. Asked about a trip he made to Samoa, Kennedy declared that the visit had “nothing to do with vaccines”. But The Guardian and The Associated Press uncovered a letter Kennedy sent to Samoa’s prime minister before the trip, in which he states that his plan is to study the use of vaccines there. Kennedy has denied lying about that trip. But if Democrats take control of Congress in the November’s mid-term election, as expected, he could face serious problems holding on to his job.
For now, though, the federal government’s health apparatus is seriously sceptical about vaccines. Many Americans are paying attention, and contagious disease is spreading. So here’s a bit of travel advice: If you’re planning a trip to the US anytime soon, make sure you’ve had all your jabs.