President Donald Trump has nominated Kari Lake and Doug Mastriano — two allies who waged failed bids for governor in battleground states — to diplomatic posts.

The White House announced Monday that Trump has nominated Lake to be ambassador to Jamaica and Mastriano to be ambassador to Slovakia. Both nominations require Senate confirmation.

Mastriano, who ran for governor of Pennsylvania, and Lake, who lost in Arizona, both embraced the president and his baseless election conspiracies and were rejected by voters in 2022.

“I look forward to representing our nation abroad, strengthening the friendship between our two countries, and advancing the interests of the American people,” Mastriano said in a statement posted online.

Lake, a former local TV personality who dismantled the Voice of America as Trump’s appointed head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, said she was looking forward to her new role in the Caribbean.

“Jamaica is a country I know very well, full of incredible people, and if confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to strengthening the partnership between our nations, advancing America’s interests abroad, and building on the deep friendship shared by the American and Jamaican people,” she said in a social media post.

Mastriano said he will continue serving as a Pennsylvania state senator until his appointment is confirmed by the Senate. Lake’s future status leading the U.S. Agency for Global Media is unclear.

Mastriano’s appointment likely undermines an ascendant write-in campaign for him in Pennsylvania’s Republican gubernatorial primary, the race he won in 2022. The campaign, which Mastriano supported but was not involved with, threatened to pose an obstacle for Republicans’ preferred pick, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, ahead of next Tuesday’s primary.

Lake earned an appointment to USGM last year after losing two statewide races in battleground Arizona. She lost to Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2022, then sought to succeed former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2024, but lost to Ruben Gallego.

Shortly after joining USGM in a non-Senate confirmed role, Lake oversaw the gutting of Voice of America as part of the administration’s remaking of the federal workforce. By the end of the administration’s cuts last year, roughly 85 percent of the agency’s staff had been removed.

But Lake’s work at USGM hasn’t withstood legal scrutiny. A federal judge ruled in March that Lake’s tenure at the head of the agency was improper because she was not confirmed by the Senate. Later in March, the same judge ordered the Trump administration to reinstate the staff members who had been placed on leave.

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In the recent local elections, Reform UK undeniably made huge gains. Around 1,400 Faragist councillors were elected, and the party subsequently took control of 14 councils. Labour lost control of 35 councils, and the Hackney mayoralty, which was won by Zack Polanski’s Green Party.

Nonetheless, mainstream media coverage would have people believing that the UK ‘chose Reform.’ In reality, Farage’s billionaire-funded, bigotry-fuelled party remains a marginal force in British politics But, that doesn’t change the fact that corporate media are pussyfooting around the rich racist and the threats his party poses. The broader trend points to the growing convergence between establishment figures and the corporate class, often at the expense of national interests.

As a result, billionaire-owned media outfits are using racism to fuel division and infighting. Meanwhile, the super-rich (not-so-quietly) grow wealthier while ordinary people grow steadily poorer.

Before Nigel Farage and Reform UK tell you he is now Prime Minister, note there are 650 MPs in Parliament and 20,000 councillors in the UK.

Today’s results will likely end with Reform UK having 2500-3000/20,000 councillors and still just 8/650 MPs.

GBNews, the Express,…

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 8, 2026

Kaur: “The media has us believing that Reform took over the country”

As social commentator Narinder Kaur pointed out on X, far-right pundits would have you believe that Reform leader Nigel Farage is inches away from the corridors of power in Number 10. At best, that’s a stretch. And with ongoing defections and suspensions, Reform is likely to cost the public purse than help bring it out of the red.

After all, self-interested profiteers tend to have that effect — tighter budgets and increasingly empty bank accounts.

Britain voted Reform. pic.twitter.com/pvQjh7gzwL

— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) May 8, 2026

Nevertheless, the phenomenon should not be ignored. The agenda of the super-rich is on show for us to see — weaponising racism to demonise minoritised communities . It’s serves as a convenient scapegoat for a greedy minority — the millionaires and billionaires, unwilling to distribute wealth fairly across society. Because it would cost them.

The American political scientist, Cedric Robinson, spoke in great depth about racial capitalism and how the ultra-wealthy instrumentalise, and profit from racism.

Historian Robin D. G. Kelley discussed Robinson’s work on the subject for the Boston Review, writing:

Capitalism and racism, in other words, did not break from the old order but rather evolved from it to produce a modern world system of “racial capitalism” dependent on slavery, violence, imperialism, and genocide.

The MSM and super-rich, in this view, aim to weaken protections for working-class people to boost profits, using media influence to shape public perception and steer political outcomes.

The media has us believing that Reform took over the country.

But the reality is this. How embarrassing pic.twitter.com/MrDKrnN8YI

— Narinder Kaur (@narindertweets) May 10, 2026

Reform UK: Just the latest manifestation of greed

Reform UK might actually implode before 2029, judging by their behaviour. They are now getting the opportunity to prove their worthlessness to the electorate. But another will take its place, billionaires have plenty of money to go around, like we have seen with UKIP and BNP members elected for Farage’s nationalist, populist party.

They have also proven that whilst appealing to a small minority of hateful Britons, that they can gain wider traction by other-ing minorities and blaming them for economic shortcomings.

Therefore, it is crucial to hold the mainstream media, and political opportunists, accountable and expose these smear campaigns.

Election expert explains why Reform UK’s support may have peaked despite local election gainshttps://t.co/GPdot0gzDK

— Reform Party UK Exposed (@reformexposed) May 9, 2026

If you look at who they attract, it’s not hard to understand why Reform appeals to some. The councillor below owes £46k to HMRC. Some may even believe in the prospect of upward mobility, and perhaps this is why they’re less inclined to challenge the wealthy.

However, they need to recognise that politics rooted in greed rarely pays dividends to the ordinary masses or the economically disadvantaged. That’s the myth of trickle-down economics.

To all the Reform UK Ltd supporters. What happened to get Starmer out? He's still PM and you have councillors like this. https://t.co/a1PMhta6eL

— The Receipts UK (@david_hollas) May 9, 2026

Expose the real enemy

The agenda at play in parts of the mainstream media, applies a soft-touch approach when it comes to scrutiny of the super-rich, while sensationalising narratives that undermine the freedoms and rights of the working class. This is society we find ourselves in today.

If working-class people truly want to see improvements in their living standards, opportunities, and hopes for the future, they must stand in solidarity with ordinary people and put the super-rich in their place.

After all, we cannot forget that securing our freedoms did not come easily — the elite class made that achievement bloody hard too.

Since Thatcher, the richest are decades into a push to claw back their supremacy over ordinary people.

The public must finally wake up to what is happening and fight back. Reform are a party of billionaires who only care for themselves.

Featured image via the Canary

By Maddison Wheeldon

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It was the face-off of the night: SNP veteran and former cabinet minister Angus Robertson lost his seat in Edinburgh Central to Scottish Greens candidate Lorna Slater. This marked the first time the Scottish Greens have ever won a constituency seat at Holyrood.

But it was the giant seabird onstage that stole the show.

As the Edinburgh Central result was announced live, viewers across the UK watched a six foot gannet, standing beside the night’s two political heavyweights, unfurl a placard reading “END THE GUGA HUNT.” The image went out on the evening’s peak BBC and ITV news slots, and splashed across newspapers, websites and social media the following morning.

The Edinburgh Central gannet

By that point, one question was on everyone’s lips: who was inside the bird costume?

The answer is Robert Pownall, founder of the wildlife campaigning organisation Protect the Wild, who stood as an independent candidate in Edinburgh Central on a single-issue platform – to end the guga hunt, the last legal seabird hunt in the UK. He said:

I stood in this election for one reason: to get people talking about the guga hunt.

For years, this has remained a hidden issue that most people had never even heard of. But when they find out, they are horrified.

The guga hunt is an annual tradition on the remote island of Sula Sgeir in northern Scotland, where ten men travel each summer to kill young gannet chicks.

While the hunt originated centuries ago during times of food scarcity and survival, campaigners argue it now continues primarily as a cultural delicacy, with birds reportedly sold for profit on the Isle of Lewis.

Although gannets normally have legal protection, a special exemption within the Wildlife and Countryside Act allows the hunt to continue. Pownall is campaigning to remove this exemption.

Following the Edinburgh Central coverage, Protect the Wild says searches relating to the Guga hunt surged online, while its petition calling on NatureScot not to issue this year’s licence is rapidly approaching 200,000 signatures.

A separate petition asking the Scottish government to change the law reached 100,000 and the new parliament will consider it in due course.

Protect the Wild also welcomed the victory of Scottish Greens candidate Lorna Slater.

Pownall said:

This campaign was never about getting votes. It was about putting the Guga hunt into the public eye and onto the political agenda.

We’re delighted that Lorna Slater won the seat, with the Scottish Greens currently the only mainstream political party to have publicly committed to ending the Guga hunt.

We hope to work with Lorna and other MSPs on this issue in the coming months, and finally put an end to this cruel activity that has no place in a modern Scotland.

Featured image via Protect the Wild

By The Canary

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Sunday night’s TV Baftas ceremony featured a musical performance from the Norwegian singer Aurora, accompanying a tribute to those in the industry who have died over the course of the last year.

However, after the BBC aired its coverage of the event, some viewers were surprised to see that Catherine O’Hara was among those who were not included in Bafta’s “in memoriam” tributes.

To many fans, the Canadian star is best remembered for her performance as the incomparable Moira Rose in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek, for which she won her second Emmy back in 2020.

In response to this, a Bafta rep pointed out to HuffPost UK that Catherine had already been featured in the tributes showcased during the organisation’s movie awards show earlier this year, which is why she was not included in the TV counterpart’s.

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She is also included in a more wide-ranging section of Bafta’s website devoted to tributes.

Earlier in the ceremony, Seth Rogen took a moment to remember Catherine while accepting an award for his show The Studio, which marked one of her final on-screen appearances.

“I’d be remiss not to mention one of the key parts of this show, Catherine O’Hara. She meant so much to all of us,” Seth said during his Best International Programme acceptance speech.

He added: “I assume her work was as important to you all over here as it was to us. So this is for Catherine. Thank you all very, very much.”

Speaking to Radio Times last week, Seth admitted it had been “very hard” to return to work on The Comeback earlier this year in the wake of Catherine’s death.

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“Being with this group of people every day and getting to work with them and getting to make each other laugh has been, I think, very therapeutic, in many ways,” he noted.

“And it kind of allowed us to move through it all together.”

He added: “I think, as far as dealing with things like this go, it’s been one of the better versions of it.”

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On 11 May 2026 newly elected Reform UK councillor Stuart Prior resigned from his post after less than a week in office. Prior gained notoriety after campaign group Hope Not Hate exposed his history of deeply racist social media posts.

Voters elected 53 Reformer candidates to Essex County Council, giving the far right majority control. Among these 53, Prior beat off the Lib Dem candidate Rayleigh West with a majority of 796 votes. Likewise, he also took a seat on Rochford District Council.

Reform have a history of racist bile

As a very brief recap of his abhorrent comments, Prior:

• called white people the “master race” and stated that they have “larger brains”.
• celebrated the rape of two Sikh women in 2025, posting the comment “good, reap it”.
• described a video of a Palestinian man searching through rubble for his child as “hilarious”.
• responded “No one cares. Die” to a post about people using plastic bags instead of nappies in Gaza.
• said “Muslims are dirt”.
• claimed “There cannot be a genocide against Muslims. It’s only ever self defence against those rats”.
• stated that Black people like to ‘play the victim’ and complain about the slave trade.

A Mirror journalist confronted Prior with his own statements days before the local elections. However, he denied having any memory of them, and even had the nerve to suggest that someone had faked the comments.

In return, the Mirror highlighted that the social media account had also posted images from Prior’s own house.

Reform stated that it was “looking into these posts” several times over the last week. Now, a party spokesperson told the BBC that Prior had resigned from both council roles, and added that “he’s had his membership revoked”.

It’s now likely that both councils will need to hold by-elections for their newly vacant seats.

A ‘thorough professional job’

Back in April, BBC Essex asked Nigel Farage if his party had vetted its local election candidates. The Reform leader stated that:

I know that our candidates will be held to a higher standard than any of the other parties.

That’s because we are the challengers. We are the ones taking on the establishment. Yet we have done a good, thorough professional job.

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That “thorough professional job” raises an important question. That is, did Reform know about Prior’s disgusting comments and not care, or was Farage simply lying? As the Canary has previously reported, the far-right party doesn’t exactly lack for dodgy councillors or candidates:

• Another Reform candidate praises Oswald Moseley — A rite of party initiation?
• Reform activist said ‘Hitler was right’.
• Reform have put a suspended racist in charge of campaign finances.
• Another Reform candidate has praised Enoch Powell.
• Reform welcomes ‘shoot the p*kis’ scandal ex-Tory.
• Reform UK accused of ‘nil vetting’ as another racist candidate exposed.
• Video emerges of Reform’s ‘Nazi salute’ candidate drink driving.

Even when this information was pointed out to Reform, it still failed to suspend many of the candidates. Likewise, as in the case of Matt Goodwin’s racist campaign manager Adam Mitula, even the party’s ‘suspended’ minions sometimes go on working for it.

Reform UK know full well that it employs and stands low-down, racist scum as candidates. Obviously, the party doesn’t give a shit about that fact – it’s only exposure and negative publicity that can force it to rescind membership.

Let’s put that another way. Reform UK is happy to harbor the lowest bigots among us, provided it doesn’t believe they’ll do too much damage to the party’s brand.

Scum and chancers, the whole fucking lot of them.

Featured image via the Canary

By Alex/Rose Cocker

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