Trump news at a glance: Inflatable costumes abound as millions march against the president | Trump administration
Americans in every state organized a protest march against the Trump administration, giving voice to fears of the country’s slide into tyranny.
Millions turned out across the country carrying banners, marching bands, a huge banner with the preamble to the US Constitution that people could sign, and inflatable costumes ranging from bananas to SpongeBob SquarePants to frogs, which appeared in particular as a sign of resistance that began in Portland, Oregon.
The marches represent a shift from what happened just six months ago, when Democrats seemed at a loss about how to confront Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress after their heavy losses in the national elections.
“What we see from Democrats is the backbone,” Ezra Levin, a co-founder of Indivisible, a major organizing group, told The Associated Press. “The worst thing Democrats can do now is give up.”
“We are here to stand firm,” Chicago mayor tells No Kings protesters
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told a crowd on Saturday that the Trump administration “decided it wanted to rematch the Civil War,” which the white supremacist Confederacy lost to the Union in the 19th century.
“We are here to stand firm and commit that we will not bow, we will not bend, we will not bend, we will not submit,” Johnson said. “We don’t want troops in our city.”
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Republicans were subdued as millions marched
Republican voices were mostly silent as “No Kings” rallies and rallies against Trump administration policies took off on Saturday, many in the spirit of a street party at odds with the “hate America” portrayal offered by senior party members.
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Survivors of US raid on alleged drug boat may be sent to Colombia and Ecuador
The Trump administration is moving to send survivors of Thursday’s attack in the Caribbean to Colombia and Ecuador rather than seek long-term military detention for them, four US officials and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.
This means the US military will not have to deal with the thorny legal issues surrounding the military detention of suspected drug traffickers, whose alleged crimes do not fall under the laws of war, legal experts say.
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The US Senate is preparing to confirm industry lobbyists to lead chemical safety at the Environmental Protection Agency
The Senate is expected to confirm Donald Trump’s nomination of an industry lobbyist to lead the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Chemical Safety.
Activists say that if the nominee, Douglas Troutman, is confirmed, the four top positions in the EPA’s toxic substances offices will be filled by former chemical industry lobbyists, raising new concerns about the health and safety of the American public, consumers and workers.
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US border authorities have asked airlines to ignore the “X” gender markers on passports
US Customs and Border Protection The rule was implemented this week This would require airlines to ignore the ‘X’ gender markers in passports and insert an ‘M’ or ‘F’ instead.
While courts have continued to block the Trump administration from outright banning the third gender marker, this week’s rule still serves to make the lives of trans and nonbinary people more difficult, said Andy Eisenson, senior legal director at the Select Family Law Center.
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What else happened today:
Catch up? Here’s what happened on October 17, 2025.