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Green Day, Charli XCX and… Bernie Sanders helm Coachella day two

Coachella fans rocked out on Saturday to pop-punk headliner Green Day following a blockbuster cameo from US senator Bernie Sanders, who had the massive crowd roaring as he urged against political apathy.Also among the A-list performances on day two of the California music festival was Charli XCX, whose club-ready ode to her sensational year included cameos from Billie Eilish, Lorde and Troye Sivan.She bathed the desert in her signature “brat” lime green to close out her electric set that sent her audience into exultations, especially when she brought out Eilish to perform their lip-biter of a song “Guess.”Green Day’s career-spanning performance filled more than 90 minutes with hits — including “Brain Stew,” “Minority,” “Basket Case” and “When I Come Around” — a reminder of the grip the rockers had on popular music throughout their 1990s and 2000s heyday.The band opened with “American Idiot,” the lead single off their smash album of the same name that took direct aim at the George W. Bush administration — and whose lyrics Billie Joe Armstrong adapted to the present day.”I’m not part of the MAGA agenda,” he sang to deafening cheers, referring to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement.That was the group’s most overtly political statement of the night, though Green Day’s music is already a political statement in itself.And in case that was unclear, Armstrong prefaced the song “Holiday” with the obvious: “This is an anti-war song.”But it was Sanders who truly brought politics to the desert, making an unbilled pit stop following his tens-of-thousands-strong Los Angeles “Fighting Oligarchy” rally earlier in the day.As he was introduced at the Outdoor Stage within minutes of Charli XCX’s closing song, festival-goers rushed over to see the self-described socialist.”You can turn away and you can ignore what goes on but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up, to fight for justice. To fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice,” Sanders told the rapt crowd.- Dudamel takes the desert -Brazilian DJ Alok packed his massive tent for a show demanding to “Keep Art Human” as the arts are threatened by the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence.”To create art, you need the soul,” he told AFP following the set.Gustavo Dudamel meanwhile led the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a sweeping sunset show that turned the concept of genre on its head, marrying orchestral arrangements with elements from just about every musical form.Country star Maren Morris, Icelandic jazz-inspired pop singer Laufey, Argentine rap duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso, LA’s own Becky G, DJ and producer Zedd — all joined Dudamel and the Phil onstage.And LL Cool J served as the rollicking performance’s exclamation point, as he, Dudamel and the orchestra melded “The Imperial March” from “Star Wars” with the superstar rapper’s “Rock the Bells.””Werk!” exclaimed one audience member as Dudamel’s kinetic movements were projected behind his orchestra.Other features on Saturday included Japanese Breakfast, The Original Misfits and rapper Travis Scott, whose late-night set left some fans exasperated after he began around 20 minutes behind schedule.On deck Sunday are headliner Post Malone, hip-hop superstar Megan Thee Stallion, Best New Artist Grammy nominee Shaboozey and German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk.Coachella’s second weekend — which features the same lineup, save for cameo shakeups and occasional special features — will take place April 18-20.

Russian Palm Sunday strike on Ukraine city kills 34

A Russian missile strike on Sunday on the Ukrainian city of Sumy killed at least 34 people, authorities said as European and US leaders condemned one of the deadliest attacks in months. Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of the northeastern city, close to the Russian border, on Sunday morning, Ukrainian authorities said. Bodies were left strewn in the street and President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that the attack occurred on Palm Sunday. “Only bastards do this,” he declared.The latest emergency service toll said the missiles killed 34 people, including two children, and wounded 117, including 15 children.  The dead were seen covered in silver sheets at the scene of the strike in the centre of the city. Rescuers worked through the rubble of a building near a destroyed trolleybus. Zelensky said 68 injured were in hospitals and eight were in serious condition.”In addition to the university, the strike damaged five apartment buildings, cafes, shops, and the district court. In total, the Russian attack damaged 20 buildings,” said Zelensky.US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg, said on X that Russia’s attack on civilian targets “crosses any line of decency”.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed condolences to the victims of the “horrifying Russian missile attack on Sumy”.”This is a tragic reminder of why President Trump and his administration are putting so much time and effort into trying to end this war and achieve durable peace,” Rubio added.The strike came two days after US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and push Trump’s efforts to end the war. The head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Telegram that Russia used two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles on Sumy.- ‘A lot of corpses’ -One woman told AFP she heard two explosions. “A lot of people were very badly injured. A lot of corpses,” she said, struggling to speak.  Sumy declared three days of mourning.It was the second Russian attack this month to cause a large civilian death toll. An attack on Zelensky’s home city of Kryvi Rig killed at least 18 people, including nine children.Trump has previously voiced anger at Moscow for “bombing like crazy” in Ukraine. Zelensky called on the United States and Europe to give a “strong response” to Russia, adding: “Talking has never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs.”France’s President Emmanuel Macron said the strike showed Russia’s “blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump”.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack, which Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni described as a “cowardly” act by Russia.The fact the bloodshed fell on Palm Sunday outraged several leaders.It was “a barbaric attack, made even more vile as people gathered peacefully to celebrate Palm Sunday,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.”The Russian version of a ceasefire. Bloody Palm Sunday,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, while Danish leader Mette Frederiksen said the “missile attack on civilians gathered on Palm Sunday… shows Russia’s true face”.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the killing “as many people made their way to prayer on Palm Sunday” demonstrated that “Putin underscores with blood that he seeks not peace but destruction”.Dutch premier Dick Schoof urged more air defences “so that Ukraine can defend itself against this violence”.- Relentless Russian offensive -Russia did not immediately comment on the strike. Moscow has refused a US-proposed unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Authorities in Sumy published footage of bodies in the street and people running for safety, with cars on fire and wounded civilians on the ground. Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine in recent weeks, stepping its all-out invasion that has gone on for more than three years.Sumy has been under increasing pressure since Moscow pushed back many of Ukraine’s troops from its Kursk region inside Russia, across the border.  Kyiv for weeks has warned that Moscow could mount an offensive on Sumy.   Russia launched its invasion partially through the Sumy region and briefly occupied parts of it before being pushed back by Ukrainian forces. On Sunday, Russia said it captured another village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. 

Moviegoers digging ‘Minecraft Movie,’ tops in N.America theaters

“A Minecraft Movie” easily held on to the top spot in North American theaters this weekend with estimated ticket sales of a solid $80.6 million, analysts said Sunday.That was roughly half the total of its huge opening last weekend. But with $281 million in domestic ticket sales to date, along with $269 million internationally, “Minecraft” has set records in its short run.The Warner Bros./Legendary PG film, starring Jack Black and Jason Momoa, ranks as the most successful film adaptation from a video game. The film’s huge popularity helped put the movie industry’s overall box office performance on a par with the same period last year, Hollywood Reporter said.Four new releases came in far behind.”The King of Kings,” an animation that has a young Charles Dickens narrating the story of Jesus, placed second at an estimated $19.1 million during its strategic release a week before Easter, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.Kenneth Branagh, Pierce Brosnan, Uma Thurman and Mark Hamill lead the voice cast for the latest production from Angel Studios, the Utah-based indy media company known for its faith-based films. Angel offered free admission to children coming with paying adults, and the family-friendly movie received a rare A+ rating from ComScore.In third place was Disney and 20th Century’s thriller “The Amateur,” at $15 million. Rami Malek plays a nerdy, self-effacing CIA analyst who turns vicious as he tracks down those behind an attack that killed his wife. Rachel Brosnahan, Laurence Fishburne and Jon Bernthal also star.Combat thriller “Warfare” from A24 placed fourth, at $8.3 million. The film, based partly on the experiences of co-director Ray Mendoza as a navy SEAL, follows a platoon of soldiers — the ensemble cast includes Joseph Quinn of “Stranger Things” fame — moving warily through unfriendly territory.And in fifth place was Universal and Blumhouse’s horror film “Drop,” at $7.5 million. It tells the story of a widowed mother (“White Lotus”‘s Meghann Fahy) who receives a creepily ominous phone call while in the middle of a first date. Rounding out the top 10 were:”The Chosen: Last Supper Part 3″ ($5.8 million)”A Working Man” ($3.1 million)”Snow White” ($2.8 million)”The Woman in the Yard” ($2.1 million)”The Friend” ($621,000)

Russian strike on city centre of Ukraine’s Sumy kills 34

A Russian missile strike on Sunday in the city centre of Ukraine’s city of Sumy killed at least 34 people, Kyiv said, with European and US officials condemning the attack — one of the deadliest in months. Kyiv said Moscow hit the northeastern city, close to the Russian border, with two ballistic missiles on Sunday morning and that the attack also wounded nearly 120 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stressing that the attack occurred on Palm Sunday, said: “Only bastards do this.”US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg, said on X that the attack by Russian forces on civilian targets “crosses any line of decency”.The strike came two days after US envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and push Trump’s efforts to end the war. The local emergency service in its latest bulletin that 34 people died, including two children, and 117 were wounded, including 15 children.  That revised upwards a previous toll of 32 dead and 99 wounded.Bodies were seen covered in silver sheets at the scene of the strike in the centre of the city, with a destroyed trolleybus. Rescuers worked through the rubble of a building. The head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said on Telegram that Russia used two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles on Sumy.- ‘A lot of corpses’ -One woman told AFP she heard two explosions. “A lot of people were very badly injured. A lot of corpses,” she said, struggling to speak.  It was the second Russian attack this month to cause a large civilian death toll. Trump has previously voiced anger at Moscow for “bombing like crazy” in Ukraine. Zelensky called on the United States and Europe to give a “strong response” to Russia, adding: “Talking has never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs.”French leader Emmanuel Macron said the strike showed Russia’s “blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump”.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack, which Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni described as a “cowardly” act by Russia.The fact the bloodshed fell on Palm Sunday outraged several leaders.It was “a barbaric attack, made even more vile as people gathered peacefully to celebrate Palm Sunday,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on X.”The Russian version of a ceasefire. Bloody Palm Sunday,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, while Danish leader Mette Frederiksen said the “missile attack on civilians gathered on Palm Sunday… shows Russia’s true face”.German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the killing “as many people made their way to prayer on Palm Sunday” demonstrated that “Putin underscores with blood that he seeks not peace but destruction”.Dutch premier Dick Schoof urged more air defences “so that Ukraine can defend itself against this violence”.- Relentless Russian offensive -Russia did not immediately comment on the strike. Moscow has refused a US-proposed unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Local authorities in Sumy published footage of bodies strewn on the street and people running for safety, with cars on fire and wounded civilians on the ground. Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine in recent weeks, extending the violence wrought by its all-out invasion that has gone on for more than three years.In early April, a Russian attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rig killed 18 people, including nine children. Sumy has been under increasing pressure since Moscow pushed back many of Ukraine’s troops from its Kursk region inside Russia, across the border.  Kyiv for weeks has warned that Moscow could mount an offensive on Sumy.   Russia launched its invasion partially through the Sumy region and briefly occupied parts of it before being pushed back by Ukrainian forces. On Sunday, Russia said it captured another village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. 

US says tech tariff exemptions may be short-lived

Recent exemptions to sweeping US import tariffs may be short-lived, top officials warned Sunday, as China urged the Trump administration to simply abandon its aggressive trade tax policy altogether.The world’s two largest economies have been locked in a fast-moving, high-stakes game of brinkmanship since US President Donald Trump launched a global tariff assault that particularly targeted Chinese imports.Tit-for-tat exchanges have seen US levies imposed on China rise to 145 percent, and Beijing setting a retaliatory 125 percent band on American imports.The US side appeared to dial down the pressure slightly on Friday, listing tariff exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronic products for which China is a major source.But Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said the move only “represents a small step” and insisted that the Trump administration should “completely cancel” the whole tariff strategy.The new exemptions will benefit US tech companies like Nvidia and Dell as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.- Short-lived relief? -The relief could, however, be short-lived with some of the exempted consumer electronics targeted for upcoming sector-specific tariffs on goods deemed key to US national defense networks.Trump has said he will give “very specific” details on Monday, and his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, said semiconductor tariffs would likely be in place “in a month or two.”The US president sent financial markets into a tailspin earlier this month by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of trade partners, only to abruptly announce a 90-day pause for most of them.China was excluded from the reprieve.The White House says Trump remains optimistic about securing a deal with China, although administration officials have made it clear they expect Beijing to reach out first.Trump’s trade representative Jamieson Greer told CBS “Face the Nation” on Sunday that “we don’t have any plans” for a talk between the president and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.- China looks elsewhere -China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm.Xi on Monday kicks off a five-day Southeast Asia tour for talks with the leaders of Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, as well as Malaysia and Cambodia.The fallout from Trump’s tariffs — and subsequent whiplash policy reversals — has sent particular shockwaves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds, the dollar tumbling and consumer confidence plunging.Adding to the pressure on Trump, Wall Street billionaires — including a number of his own supporters — have openly criticized the whole tariff strategy as damaging and counterproductive.The White House insists the aggressive policy is bearing fruit, saying dozens of countries have already opened trade negotiations to secure a deal before the 90-day pause ends.”We’re working around the clock, day and night, sharing paper, receiving offers and giving feedback to these countries,” Greer told CBS.

Police probing ‘arson’ at top US Democrat’s official residence

US police said Sunday they were investigating an alleged arson attack at the official residence of Democratic heavyweight and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Shapiro, who was tipped as a vice presidential candidate last year, was inside with his family when the fire broke out in a different part of the Georgian-style mansion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, state police said.”While the fire was successfully extinguished, it caused a significant amount of damage to a portion of the residence,” the force said in a statement. It offered a reward of up to $10,000 for the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the blaze, which fire officials responded to at around 2:00 am local time (0600 GMT) Sunday morning.Shapiro wrote on X that he and his family awoke to “bangs on the door” from state police and were evacuated from the building. “Thank God no one was injured and the fire was extinguished,” he said. The 51-year-old was a favorite to be Democrat Kamala Harris’s running mate in her ultimately unsuccessful US presidential bid — a position that instead went to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.Shapiro, an assertive political centrist, was elected governor of Pennsylvania in 2022 when he faced off against a far-right candidate backed by President Donald Trump. 

Trump’s doctor finds US president in ‘excellent health’ after physical

Donald Trump is in “excellent health,” a White House doctor’s assessment said Sunday, after he underwent his first annual medical checkup since returning to the US presidency.Republican Trump, 78, has repeatedly boasted about his own vigor since starting a second term, while mocking his 82-year-old Democratic predecessor Joe Biden as decrepit and mentally unfit for office.”President Trump exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit to execute the duties of the Commander-in-Chief and Head of State,” read a physician’s letter shared by the White House.It noted a few abnormalities that included minor sun damage to Trump’s skin, as well as scarring on his right ear from a gunshot wound suffered in an assassination attempt last July.A colonoscopy revealed last year that Trump had diverticulosis — small pouches in the colon — and a benign polyp, the report said, adding that a follow-up exam was recommended in three years.It said Trump is taking four medications: two for cholesterol control, aspirin for cardiac prevention, and a steroid skin cream.The report overall was complimentary of Trump’s health, praising his “active lifestyle” and citing his “frequent victories in golf events” — a common boast of the billionaire who also abstains from alcohol and cigarettes.He is known, however, to indulge in fast food and famously enjoys well-done steaks — although he appears noticeably thinner than during his first term.The latest report put his current weight at 224 pounds (101.6 kilograms), down from 243 in 2019.Trump had said Friday he felt “in very good shape” after his exam earlier that day at the Walter Reed military hospital in the Washington suburbs.”I took a cognitive test. I don’t know what to tell you other than I got every answer right,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.- Outlandish health claims -Trump has been accused of a lack of openness about his health despite huge interest in the well-being of America’s commander-in-chief.The White House said previously that presidential physician Sean Barbabella would give a readout of the physical and that “of course” it would provide the full report.But Trump’s personal and White House doctors have at times made outlandish claims about his health.In 2015, during Trump’s first presidential run, his doctor Harold Bornstein released a letter saying the tycoon “unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”Bornstein later told CNN that Trump himself “dictated that whole letter. I didn’t write that letter.”The White House doctor in his first term, Ronny Jackson, said in 2018 that with a healthier diet Trump could “live to be 200 years old.”Jackson’s report then suggested Trump should aim to lose 10 to 15 pounds but said he was generally in “excellent health,” adding that there were no signs of “any cognitive issues.”A year later, an exam found the 6-foot-3 (1.9 meter) Trump weighed 243 pounds, up seven pounds since shortly before taking office, making him technically obese.Age became a major issue in the 2024 election, when Trump and Biden faced off as the oldest major party candidates in US history.Biden was forced to drop out of the race after a stumbling performance in a TV debate against Trump in June that put concerns over his cognitive health to the top of the agenda.

Russian strike on city centre of Ukraine’s Sumy kills 32

A Russian missile strike on Sunday in the city centre of Ukraine’s city of Sumy killed at least 32 people, Kyiv said, with European and US officials condemning the attack — one of the deadliest in months. Kyiv said Moscow hit the northeastern city, close to the Russian border, with two ballistic missiles on Sunday morning and that the attack also wounded nearly 100 people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, responding to what he described as a ballistic missile attack on Palm Sunday, said: “Only bastards do this.”US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine, retired lieutenant general Keith Kellogg, said the attack by Russian forces on civilian targets  “crosses any line of decency”.”As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong,” Kellogg posted on X, formerly Twitter.The strike came two days after US envoy Steve Witkoff travelled to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and push Trump’s efforts to end the war. The local emergency service said 32 people died, “including two children”. It updated the wounded toll to 99 people, including 11 children.  An AFP reporter saw bodies covered in silver sheets strewn in the centre of the city, with a destroyed trolleybus. Rescuers were seen working on the rubble of a building. One woman told AFP she heard two explosions. – ‘A lot of corpses’ -“This second blow… A lot of people were very badly injured. A lot of corpses,” she said, struggling to speak.  It was the second Russian attack with a large civilian death toll this month. Trump has previously voiced anger at Moscow for “bombing like crazy” in Ukraine. Zelensky called on the United States and Europe to give a “strong response” to Russia, adding: “Talking has never stopped ballistic missiles and bombs.”French leader Emmanuel Macron said the strike showed Russia’s “blatant disregard for human lives, international law and the diplomatic efforts of President Trump”.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the attack. He urged Putin to “now agree to a full and immediate ceasefire without conditions”.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, also on X, called the strike “The Russian version of a ceasefire. Bloody Palm Sunday.” His Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson called it a “horrific attack” that was “not the act of a country that seeks peace”.Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni slammed the  “horrible and cowardly Russian attack”.The EU responded strongly, too, with Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for crisis management, calling the strike “vile”, while European Council President Antonio Costa condemned it as a “criminal attack”.- Relentless Russian offensive -Russia did not immediately comment on the strike. Moscow has refused a US-proposed unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine. Local authorities in Sumy published footage of bodies strewn on the street and people running for safety, with cars on fire and wounded civilians on the ground. Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine in recent weeks, extending the violence wrought by its all-out invasion that has gone on for more than three years.In early April, a Russian attack on the central city of Kryvyi Rig killed 18 people, including nine children. Sumy has been under increasing pressure since Moscow pushed back many of Ukraine’s troops from its Kursk region inside Russia, across the border.  The eastern Ukrainian city so far has been spared the kind of fighting seen farther south, in the Donetsk region. But Kyiv for weeks has warned that Moscow could mount an offensive on Sumy.   Russia launched its invasion partially through the Sumy region and briefly occupied parts of it before being pushed back by Ukrainian forces. On Sunday, Russia said it captured another village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. 

China calls on US to ‘completely cancel’ reciprocal tariffs

China on Sunday called on the United States to “completely cancel” its reciprocal tariffs after Washington announced exemptions for consumer electronics and key chipmaking equipment.”We urge the US to… take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and return to the right path of mutual respect,” a commerce ministry spokesperson said in a statement.The world’s two largest economies have been engaged in a tit-for-tat tariff war since US President Donald Trump announced this month sweeping global tariffs — since escalating the blanket duty on Chinese goods to 145 percent.Retaliatory Chinese import tariffs of 125 percent on US goods took effect Saturday, with Beijing standing defiant against its biggest trade partner.But after his tariffs sent global markets into a tailspin, Trump announced a 90-day delay for most countries.China was excluded from the reprieve.Washington again dialled down the pressure Friday when the US Customs and Border Protection office said smartphones, laptops, memory chips and other products would be excluded from the global levies.Beijing’s commerce ministry on Sunday called the exemptions a “small step” by Washington and said that China was “evaluating the impact” of the decision.The new exemptions will benefit US tech companies like Nvidia and Dell, as well as Apple, which makes iPhones and other premium products in China.US Customs data suggests the exempted items account for more than 20 percent of those Chinese imports, according to senior RAND researcher Gerard DiPippo.However, semiconductors could still become a target of industry-specific tariffs Trump has suggested placing on imports from all countries.Trump said Saturday that he would give a “very specific” answer to the question of any future semiconductor levies on Monday.-‘Jointly resist’-Facing steep tariffs, China has sought to present itself as a stable alternative to an erratic Washington, courting countries spooked by the global economic storm.Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have “not only failed to solve any of the United States’ own problems but have seriously undermined the global economic and trade order”, Beijing’s commerce ministry said in the statement Sunday.Commerce Minister Wang Wentao on Friday warned that tariffs would “inflict serious harm” on developing nations in a call with the head of the World Trade Organization.Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday kicks off a five-day Southeast Asia tour for talks with the leaders of Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, as well as Malaysia and Cambodia.It comes after Xi said China and Europe should “jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,” state media quoted the leader as saying in a meeting with the Spanish prime minister.China has repeatedly said it remains open to talks with the United States.The White House says Trump remains “optimistic” about securing a deal with China, although administration officials have made it clear they expect Beijing to reach out first.

Bernie Sanders thrills Coachella crowd with surprise appearance

US senator Bernie Sanders became one of Coachella’s top cameos so far, drawing a massive crowd on Saturday as he made a pit stop at the premier music festival.Screaming fans sprinted over, camera phones in hand, to capture the politician’s unannounced speech that followed a blockbuster set from superstar Charli XCX at a neighboring stage.”I’m not gonna be long but this country faces some very difficult challenges and the future of what happens to America depends on your generation,” Sanders said to raucous cheers at the major California desert double weekend that marks the unofficial start of music festival season.”You can turn away and ignore what goes on but you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up and fight for justice, to fight for economic justice, racial justice and social justice.”Earlier in the day Sanders and Democrat representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez held a rally that organizers said drew 36,000 people, a stop on their own “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that featured musicians including Neil Young, Maggie Rogers and Joan Baez.Speaking under a full moon at Coachella, Sanders urged crowds to stand up against billionaires, health insurance companies, and US President Donald Trump’s administration.”Now we’ve got a president of the United States,” Sanders began, before the crowd’s boos quickly drowned out Trump’s name.”I agree,” Sanders continued. “He thinks that climate change is a hoax. He is dangerously wrong, and you and I are going to have to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and tell them to stop destroying this planet.”- ‘Exactly the move’ -Sanders introduced pop singer Clairo to the stage, whom he thanked for using her platform to support social justice causes.”I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try to end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza, where thousands of women and children are being killed,” he said. “So I want to thank Clairo not only for being in a great band, but for the great work she is doing.”The message hit: “I love Bernie Sanders!” screamed one festival-goer as the self-described socialist senator who caucuses with Democrats concluded his speech.Samara Guillory, 21, was among the music fans who sprinted to the stage where Sanders spoke.”It meant so much that Senator Sanders came to our level,” Guillory told AFP. “We’re the new generation, we’re the future of America.””Coming here, talking to us, spreading awareness — I think this was exactly the move, honestly.”