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The Bezos of it all: The Met Gala’s billionaire moment

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  The annual Met Gala, which takes place this year on Monday, May 4, is always a lightning rod for controversy. Was Karl Lagerfeld too problematic to serve as a 2023 theme? Was TikTok, which had just been deemed a national security threat by the US government, an appropriate sponsor for 2024’s gala? And just how small can designers make Kim Kardashian’s waist? (This one comes up almost yearly.) But the 2026 gala, celebrating the accompanying exhibition, “Costume Art,” that gathers examples of clothed bodies from across the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s curatorial departments, has proven especially contentious. Elected amid  growing public anxiety  over income inequality, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced he will skip the A-list gathering. “My focus is also on affordability and making the most expensive city in the United States affordable, and that’s what I’m looking to spend a lot of my time focused on,” he told news site  Hell Gate  last month. Then ...
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Trump threatens to pull some US troops from Germany, Italy and Spain amid spat over Iran war

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  A  spat between the US and Germany  has reached new heights, with US President Donald Trump threatening to pull some American troops from the country amid disagreements about the US-led campaign in Iran. “The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany, with a determination to be made over the next short period of time,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Wednesday night. On Thursday, he expanded his threat to Italy and Spain. “I mean, they haven’t been exactly on board,” Trump answered, when asked about the possibility of cuts to troop levels in the two countries. “Yeah, probably will,” Trump added, “Why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help. Spain has been horrible. Absolutely.” It comes as Europe and Washington have been at odds over the US’ approach to the  war with Iran . German Chancellor Friedrich Merz drew Trump’s wrath this week for  comments  he made on Monday, in which he said the US was being...
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The loss of 5,000 US troops in Germany is just the tip of the challenge facing Europe

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  Members of the US military train in Germany - Trump says he's withdrawing 5,000 and more could follow.   Sean Gallup/Getty Images Hardly a week passes without some new spat between the Trump administration and Europe. But in a year that has seen a major dispute over  tariffs , US President Donald Trump threatening to annex  Greenland  and disagreements over aid to Ukraine, the most pressing threat facing Europe is the ongoing transatlantic rift over NATO. Trump has  declared  that the US will withdraw 5,000 – and probably many more – troops stationed in Germany, after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the US handling of the Iran conflict, saying Tehran had humiliated Washington. Trump also took a swipe at Spain and Italy for not helping the US campaign against Iran. Asked if he would consider withdrawing US troops in those countries, Trump responded: “Probably… look, why shouldn’t I? Italy has not been of any help to us and Spain has been h...
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