Members phkrause Posted April 24, 2025 Author Members Posted April 24, 2025 Trump says Zelenskyy is prolonging the war in Ukraine President Donald Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Ukraine’s president, saying Volodymyr Zelenskyy is prolonging the “killing field” after pushing back on ceding Crimea to Russia as part of a potential peace plan. Read more. Why this matters: Zelenskyy on Tuesday ruled out ceding territory to Russia in any deal before talks set for Wednesday in London among U.S., European and Ukrainian officials. “There is nothing to talk about. It is our land, the land of the Ukrainian people,” Zelenskyy said. During similar talks last week in Paris, U.S. officials presented a proposal that included allowing Russia to keep control of occupied Ukrainian territory as part of a deal, according to a European official familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump called Zelenkyy’s pushback “very harmful” to talks and asserted they were close to a deal and that Ukraine’s leader can have peace or “he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.” Even achieving a limited, 30-day ceasefire has been beyond the reach of negotiators, as both sides continue to attack each other along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and launch long-range strikes. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Zelenskyy cuts short South African trip after massive Russian strike on Kyiv kills 9 PHOTOS: Kyiv pummeled by deadly Russian drone and missile strikes An incessant crackdown in Belarus hurls dozens of independent journalists into harsh prisons Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 The Untold Story of How Ed Martin Ghostwrote Online Attacks Against a Judge — and Still Became a Top Trump Prosecutor The attacks on Judge John Barberis in the fall of 2016 appeared on his personal Facebook page. They impugned his ethics, criticized a recent ruling and branded him as a “politician” with the “LOWEST rating for a judge in Illinois.” https://www.propublica.org/article/ed-martin-trump-interim-dc-us-attorney-secret-judge-attacks? Politically Connected Firms Benefit From Trump Tariff Exemptions Amid Secrecy, Confusion The administration’s lack of transparency about tariff exemptions has experts concerned that some firms might be winning narrow carve-outs behind closed doors. “It could be corruption, but it could just as easily be incompetence,” one lobbyist said. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-tariffs-exemptions-pet-lobbyists-asbestos-confusion-secrecy? The Long History of Lawlessness in U.S. Policy Toward Latin America By shipping immigrants to Nayib Bukele’s megaprison in El Salvador, Trump is using a far-right ally for his own ends. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/22/trump-latin-america-bukele-el-salvador-prison/? Congress’s Biggest Financial Priority Is “Stablecoin.” What the Hell Is That? Instead of tackling crashing markets, Congress is pushing a crypto sector that the Trump family is financially involved in. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/21/congress-crypto-stablecoin-trump/? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish The school later told staff it had provided the Trump administration with personal contact information for faculty members. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/trump-eeoc-barnard-columbia-texts-jewish/? AI Firm Behind Mysterious Trump Donation Is Run by Alleged Election Overthrow Plotter Why did a shadowy nonprofit make a six-figure gift to Trump’s inauguration committee? “It was mostly to meet people,” said a company official. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/23/tranquility-ai-nonprofit-trump-inauguration-donor/? China Calls BS on Trump’s Panic Claim They’re in Trade Talks Trump told reporters on Wednesday that the U.S. and China spoke about trade “every day.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/china-calls-bs-on-donald-trumps-panic-claim-theyre-in-trade-talks/? ps:Oh boy do I believe China or trump? Why that's a tough one!! Na, not at all will take China over trump every day of the week!!!!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Trump administration asks Supreme Court to let it enforce ban on transgender service members for now The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to let it begin enforcing a ban on transgender service members, escalating a fight over a controversial policy that has faced numerous legal setbacks in recent weeks. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/24/politics/transgender-service-members-supreme-court? Three judges, including two Trump appointees, rule against the Department of Education’s anti-DEI policy President Donald Trump’s efforts to crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs suffered a major legal blow Thursday as three separate judges – two of them appointed by the president – ruled against a Department of Education policy that threatened to withhold federal funding for schools engaging in DEI or incorporating race in certain ways in many other aspects of student life. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/24/politics/education-dei-policy-blocked? Florida endangered species at risk from Trump rule change, say environmentalists President Donald Trump’s administration is proposing a change to the Endangered Species Act that environmental groups say will kneecap habitat protection and lead to extinction of vulnerable species. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/04/24/florida-endangered-species-at-risk-from-trump-rule-change-say-environmentalists/? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Judge blocks parts of Trump’s overhaul of US elections, including proof-of-citizenship requirement A judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from immediately enacting certain changes to how federal elections are run, including adding a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form. Read More. In rare rebuke of Putin, Trump urges Russia to 'STOP!' after deadly attack on Kyiv President Donald Trump on Thursday offered rare criticism of Vladimir Putin, urging the Russian leader to “STOP!” after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Read More. Crimea is a focus of discussions to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Here's why it's so coveted Russia’s illegal seizure of Crimea from Ukraine 11 years ago was quick and bloodless. But Kyiv — and most of the world — never recognized Moscow’s annexation of the strategic peninsula, which is now a major focus of U.S.-led efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Read More. Trump asks Supreme Court to allow ban on transgender members of the military to take effect, for now President Donald Trump’s administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed. The high court filing Thursday follows a brief order from a federal appeals court that kept in place a court order blocking the policy nationwide. Read More. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Courts hammer Trump Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images The Trump administration had an exceptionally bad day in court today, with a string of losses on multiple issues. Trump's still-ongoing torrent of executive orders has taken a ton of hits in the courts. Today's was perhaps the most concentrated blow yet, Axios court watcher Sam Baker reports. Today alone, federal judges ruled against the White House on four major policy initiatives. 1️⃣ Voting: A federal judge in Washington blocked enforcement of a Trump executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote. 2️⃣ Immigration: Trump cannot proceed with his plan to deny federal funding to "sanctuary" cities, a judge in California ruled. 3️⃣ Deportation: Judge Stephanie Gallagher — a Trump appointee — ruled against the administration in a case that's remarkably similar to the high-profile battle involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Gallagher's case involves a man known as Cristian, who was living in Maryland. He and Abrego Garcia were deported to El Salvador on the same day. Cristian's deportation violated a pre-existing court order, Gallagher said. She told the administration to facilitate his return, and noted the games the White House has played over the meaning of "facilitate" in Abrego Garcia's case. "Standing by and taking no action is not facilitation," she wrote. 4️⃣ Education: A judge blocked Trump's plan to cut funding for K-12 schools with diversity programs, calling it overly vague and a violation of teachers' First Amendment rights. A second court agreed to push back the deadline for schools to comply with new anti-DEI directives. ? What we're watching: Also today, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to let it enforce a ban on trans people serving in the military. The court granted a nearly identical request, over a nearly identical policy, in Trump's first term. ? The bottom line: Less than 100 days in, the courts are already the central battleground of Trump 2.0. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Trump to be interviewed by The Atlantic's Jeffery Goldberg after Signal scandal President Trump said Thursday that he will meet with The Atlantic's editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, for an interview following the Signal chat scandal. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/24/trump-jeffrey-goldberg-atlantic-editor-interview-signal? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 The Blueprint (Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: J. David Ake / Getty; belterz / Getty.) View in browser Paul Dans was a true believer in Donald Trump from the start, and by 2020, he had finally clawed his way to a job as a White House staffer. When Trump left office, Dans returned to private life but remained ready if the MAGA movement needed him—like the Roman statesman Cincinnatus, he said. The call came in the spring of 2022, when Kevin D. Roberts, the president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, summoned him to Washington and asked him to convene policy thinkers from across the full sweep of the American right to write an aspirational agenda for the next Republican president. The contributors Dans gathered believed that the Christian, right-wing nation they desired could come about only if Republicans stopped doing politics the way they always had and refused to accept the structure of the executive branch as it existed. They also understood that the faster a new president moved, the more he’d be able to achieve as the courts, Congress, and civil society struggled to keep up. The blueprint they produced for achieving that was Project 2025. The agenda was endlessly dissected by the press and Democrats during the election, leading Trump to angrily distance himself from it. Heritage forced Dans out in July 2024 as a sacrificial gesture. Yet these ideas have been key to the head-spinning first three months of the Trump administration, and they offer the best indications of where Trump’s attention will land next. The most important tactic laid out in the plan was to transform the federal bureaucracy by firing as many civil servants as possible, changing others into political appointees, and terrifying the rest into obeisance. We are already seeing the impact: Trump has bought out, driven off, or fired tens of thousands of federal employees, and although courts have ordered some of them reinstated, he has transformed—perhaps permanently—the federal bureaucracy. The attack on the civil service was one of the best-known planks of the plan, but many of the most shocking moments of the Trump presidency so far have actually come from less prominent ideas buried across Project 2025’s 922 pages. It foretold the sacking of top generals (see, for example, C. Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), branding these officials as “Barack Obama’s general officer corps” (page 88), and it said military officers had “been advanced by prior Administrations for reasons other than their warfighting prowess” (page 104). The repeal of Temporary Protected Status for people from Venezuela, and the targeting of academia by slashing student visas? Those are in there, too (pages 145 and 141). An obsessive focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs appears throughout Project 2025; that has become a recurring theme of the Trump presidency, leading to the removal of certain webpages about Black winners of combat medals and the purging of references to the Enola Gay, the atomic bomber whose name suddenly made it vulnerable to keyword-search deletion. Trump’s attempts to fire agency officials, in defiance of the law, reflect a conviction by Project 2025’s architects that any restrictions on the president’s hiring and firing powers inside the executive branch are unconstitutional, a position they hope to persuade the Supreme Court to bless (page 560). Even the muddled approach to tariffs of Trump’s three months in office—now on, now off, now postponed—mirrors cleavages in the Republican Party that appear in Project 2025. Although Trump is a lifelong fan of protectionism, trade is one of the few areas where conservative wonks have not entirely surrendered to his view. Instead of taking a solid position, as Project 2025’s authors did on most topics, they instead offered a point and counterpoint between the Trump adviser Peter Navarro, who favors aggressive tariffs on China, and a pro-free-trade voice. As for what comes next, the text suggests two major things to watch. One is an end to any policies that acknowledge climate change, and to any federal climate research. Already, the Defense Department has canceled climate work, NASA has fired its chief scientist, NOAA has laid off hundreds of workers, and the EPA has plans to fire hundreds more, but even these steep cuts are likely only the start. Earlier this month, Politico reported on an Office of Management and Budget memo proposing an evisceration of NOAA that closely mirrors Project 2025’s proposals. Unlike some on the right, Project 2025 doesn’t treat climate change as a hoax, but it does view these programs as an impediment to the unfettered exploitation of fossil fuels, especially on federal land, that they want. The second is a more organized campaign to promote conservative gender norms, traditional families, and Christian morality. Trump has already moved to limit transgender rights, but the Project 2025 agenda is much wider, aiming to return the United States to a country of married families with male breadwinners and female caregivers. The authors also want to ban abortion nationally, though Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea. Though he’s content to let states strictly limit abortion, he’s attuned to how unpopular overturning Roe v. Wade was outside of his base. Even if Trump won’t act, the authors of Project 2025 have ideas for how to chip away at abortion access. They want to revoke federal approval for abortion drugs and criminalize mailing them, and they envision wide-ranging federal surveillance of abortion at the state level. To bolster traditional families, they want to pay caregivers to remain at home, nudge single fathers toward marriage, and restructure welfare programs to reward married couples. Taken together, these moves will try to replicate an idealized vision of pre–Roe v. Wade America. “We had hoped, those of us who worked putting together Project 2025, that the next conservative president would seize the day, but Trump is seizing every minute of every hour,” Dans told Politico last month. Though Dans has not joined the administration, many of the people involved in Project 2025 have landed top jobs, including Russ Vought, head of OMB; CIA Director John Ratcliffe; and Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr. If Dans’s ouster from Heritage last summer seemed like a defeat, it was only a temporary one. When Politico asked him to assess the administration’s progress in enacting Project 2025’s agenda, he was euphoric. “It’s actually way beyond my wildest dreams,” he said. Thinking about Project 2025 as simply a laundry list of management tweaks and policy proposals is a mistake. The authors set out to turbocharge the Trump administration and reshape the executive branch, but their ambitions are much bigger. Their goal is to transform American society in their image. So far, everything is going according to plan. Related: The top goal of Project 2025 is still to come. Trump’s assault on USAID makes Project 2025 look like child’s play. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Trump President Trump continued to tangle with the judicial system this week as multiple judges, including ones he appointed, ruled against actions his administration has taken since he returned to office. Three judges ruled against a Department of Education policy that threatened to withhold federal funding unless schools banned diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. One of the judges even described the administration’s policy as “textbook viewpoint discrimination.” On the issue of immigration, a federal judge barred the administration from denying or conditioning the use of federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, saying that portions of Trump’s executive orders were unconstitutional. And a judge halted parts of Trump's executive order, which required voters to prove their citizenship when registering to vote. “Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States — not the President — with the authority to regulate federal elections,” the judge ruled. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 As immigrant arrests surge, complaints of abuse mount at America’s oldest detention center As President Donald Trump sought to make good on his campaign pledge of mass arrests and removals of migrants, Krome Detention Center in Miami, the country's oldest immigration detention facility and one with a long history of abuse, saw its prisoner population swell to nearly three times its capacity of 600. As hundreds of migrants crowded into Krome, a palpable fear of an uprising set in among its staff. Read more. What to know: “There are 1700 people here at Krome!!!!” one ICE employee texted a co-worker last month, adding that even though it felt unsafe to walk around the facility, nobody was willing to speak out. A copy of the text exchange and several other documents were shared with the AP by a federal employee on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Since Trump returned to the White House, three detainees have died while in ICE custody — two of them at Krome. Reports have poured in about a lack of water and food, unsanitary confinement and medical neglect at the center. With the surge of complaints, the Trump administration shut down three Department of Homeland Security oversight offices charged with investigating such claims. Krome is hardly alone in a core challenge faced by other facilities: a lack of bed space. After Trump took office, ICE had orders to round up migrants with few options on where to send them. His administration has yet to reveal plans for mass deportations even as he seeks to eliminate legal status for 1 million migrants previously granted humanitarian parole or some other form of temporary protection. The latest ICE data suggests so-called removal of migrants is actually below levels at the end of the Biden administration. That means detentions are likely to rise and, with facilities at capacity, the need to house all the detainees will get more urgent. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Civil rights groups sue to restore jobs at Homeland Security oversight offices that were gutted Fears of racial profiling swirl over registration policy for immigrants in the US illegally A wrong turn onto a bridge at the US-Canada border has a Detroit woman facing deportation Canadians put off by Trump’s bluster and border arrests are booking far fewer US visits Rulings coming fast and furious in lawsuits over Trump’s policies on immigration, elections and DEI US says no warrant was needed to arrest Columbia student activist because they feared he’d flee Largest federal employee union, a leading Trump opponent, to lay off more than half of staff Nebraska Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts faces occasional jeers as he defends Trump’s cuts Trump orders Justice Department to investigate Democrats’ top fundraising platform DNC chair rips vice chair David Hogg’s plan to challenge incumbent Democrats Florida Senate’s Democratic leader says the state party is dead and he’s leaving it Ex-US Rep. George Santos faces sentencing for fraud after duping donors and voters Trump pardons Nevada politician who paid for cosmetic surgery with funds to honor a slain officer USDA withdraws a plan to limit salmonella levels in raw poultry Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 How Trump backed away from promising to end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours During his campaign, Donald Trump said repeatedly that he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” upon taking office. He has changed his tone since becoming president again. https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-ukraine-war-633a216d0506c82353fc7745b69c0fe0? ps:He didn't change his mind! He knew he couldn't do it!! But what the heck, say it enough times and all his followers will believe it!!! Trump backs down in legal fight over canceling international students’ status records for now The Trump administration is backing down from a multi-state legal fight over sweeping actions taken by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement that potentially terminated the immigration status of thousands of international students studying in the United States. https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/politics/international-students-status-records-fight? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 25, 2025 Author Members Posted April 25, 2025 Trump Caught Red-Handed Lying in Crazy ’200 Deals’ Interview The president made numerous eye-popping claims in a wide-ranging TIME interview to mark 100 days. Donald Trump sat down with TIME magazine for an extensive interview to mark the first 100 days of his second term and delivered a series of White House whoppers. While the president loves to blast the media, he has a soft spot for the magazine. He has long coveted twice being named TIME’s Person of the Year, and even showcased a fake cover featuring himself at his golf clubs. In the wide-ranging interview, the president claimed without providing any details that he had locked in “200 deals” as the global economy has been rocked by his widespread tariffs and trade war fears. When TIME asked him why there haven’t been any trade deals so far, Trump said “no, there’s many deals.” No trade deals have been announced to date since Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” on April 2, despite the president caving and halting some of the announced tariffs for 90 days amid market turmoil. “You have to understand, I’m dealing with all the companies, very friendly countries. We’re meeting with China. We’re doing fine with everybody. But ultimately, I’ve made all the deals,” Trump said in the interview. “I’ve made 200 deals,” he claimed. However, he refused to share who he has made the deals with, declaring “the deal is a deal that I choose” before rambling about setting tariffs. The president suggested that the deals would be announced over the next three to four weeks” and would be finished. The president also claimed the U.S. is losing $2 trillion on trade a year, but the trade deficit with the rest of the world was $917 billion last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Throughout the hour-long interview at the White House on April 22, the president also repeated some of his favorite falsities. When it came to inflation, the president repeated his claim that the price of groceries has gone down. However, the price of groceries was up 2.4 percent in March from a year ago. The president had a separate eye-popping exchange during the interview when it came to his administration’s mass deportations and the effort to return Maryland man Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The 29-year-old dad was wrongfully sent to an Elsavadoran prison due to an “administrative error.” The president said he believes in the U.S. court system despite his numerous attacks on judges who have ruled against him since he retook office. However when it came to the return of Garcia, the president insisted he was not defying the 9-0 Supreme Court order to facilitate his return. “Well, that’s not what my people told me—they didn’t say it was, they said it was—the nine to nothing was something entirely different,” Trump said. TIME quoted the order to the president and asked directly if Trump was facilitating a release. “I leave that to my lawyers. I give them no instructions. They feel that the order said something very much different from what you’re saying, but I leave that to my lawyers,’ he responded. He acknowledged that he had not asked El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to return Garcia. “But if you haven’t asked him, then how are you facilitating his release?” TIME asked. “Well, because I haven’t been asked to ask him by my attorneys. Nobody asked me to ask him that question, except you,’ Trump told TIME. Earlier this month, Trump met with Bukele in the Oval Office where the El Salvador leader said he did not have the power to return Garcia to the U.S. During the interview, the president continued to blast his predecessor President Biden over the border and illegal immigration. The president ran on mass deportations in the 2024 election and frequently brought up the border and accused illegal immigrants of being criminals at his rallies. He continued to repeat his claims about immigration to TIME. “Many criminals, they emptied their prisons, many countries, almost every country, but not a complete emptying, but some countries a complete emptying of their prison system,’ Trump told TIME while discussing illegal immigration. It was a claim he often made on the campaign trail without evidence, baffling immigration experts. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-caught-red-handed-lying-in-crazy-200-deals-interview/? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 26, 2025 Author Members Posted April 26, 2025 Immigration is Trump's strongest issue, but many say he's gone too far, a new AP-NORC poll finds A new poll shows just under half of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, which is nearly 10 percentage points higher than his approval rating on the economy and foreign trade. But about half of Americans say the Republican president has “gone too far” when it comes to deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally. Read More. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 26, 2025 Author Members Posted April 26, 2025 Inspector General Probes Whether Trump, DOGE Sought Private Taxpayer Information or Sensitive IRS Material A Treasury Department inspector general is probing efforts by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to obtain private taxpayer data and other sensitive information, internal communications reviewed by ProPublica show. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-irs-treasury-tigta-inspector-general-probe? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 26, 2025 Author Members Posted April 26, 2025 Trump denies disaster aid, tells states to do more ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Following recent natural disasters, state leaders across the country are finding that emergency support from the federal government is no longer a given. https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/04/26/trump-denies-disaster-aid-tells-states-to-do-more/? Trump’s aggressive actions against free speech speak a lot louder than his words defending it Harvard University took the extraordinary step of suing the Trump administration on April 21, 2025, claiming that the pressure campaign mounted on the school by the president and his Cabinet to force viewpoint diversity on campus violated the Constitution’s guarantees of free speech. https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trumps-aggressive-actions-against-free-speech-speak-lot-louder-his-words-defending-it? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 26, 2025 Author Members Posted April 26, 2025 Photo Trump shared of Abrego Garcia's tattoos real but altered; no evidence they're gang-related U.S. President Donald Trump held up a photo supposedly showing that Kilmar Abrego Garcia's hand tattoos meant he was a member of the MS-13 gang. Claim: A post from U.S. President Donald Trump showing Kilmar Abrego Garcia's hand tattoos was unedited and proves he was affiliated with the Salvadoran gang MS-13. Rating: Mixture What's True Although the original image held by Trump in the photo was genuine, it had been edited to insert the text "MS-13" above the symbols tattooed on Abrego Garcia's hand. What's False There is no clear evidence proving a link between Abrego Garcia's hand tattoos and MS-13. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-ms13-photo-abrego-garcia/? ps:This has been debunked a number of years ago!!!!! Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 27, 2025 Author Members Posted April 27, 2025 Trump's first 100 days seen as bringing big changes, but still too much focus on tariffs — CBS News poll Is 100 days enough time to evaluate this president? His supporters generally don't think so, but others do — perhaps because most Americans think President Trump is already making major changes to how the government — and the U.S. economy — work. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-trump-100-days-tariffs/ ?? Scoop: Game-planning North Korea talks The Trump administration has quietly been holding discussions and consulting outside experts as it considers options for potentially restarting dialogue with North Korea, a senior U.S. official and three additional sources familiar with those discussions tell Axios' Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler. Why it matters: North Korea has made alarming nuclear advances since President Trump and Kim Jong-un held two dramatic but ultimately failed summits. While nothing appears imminent, Trump has made clear he'd like to reconnect with Kim — perhaps face-to-face — and his national security team is preparing for that scenario. State of play: North Korea is relatively low on Trump's priority list for now, but the world's newest nuclear power rarely stays off the international agenda for long. "We are convening agencies to understand where the North Koreans are today. A lot has changed in the last four years. We are evaluating, diagnosing and talking about potential avenues, including engagement," a senior U.S. official said. ? Between the lines: The "closed-door discussions" involving think tank experts and current and former U.S. officials "suggest the Trump administration is sizing out different scenarios for another Trump-Kim meeting," said Andrew Yeo, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Trump's "many positive statements" about Kim over the past six months suggest interest in that path, Yeo added. A former senior U.S. official said members of the administration were doing some "initial planning," knowing that it might only take "one flowery letter" from Kim to catch Trump's attention, "then you're off to the races." Zoom in: The Swedish ambassador to North Korea, who represents U.S. interests in the country, visited Washington last week for consultations with U.S. officials and experts One source familiar with the visit said it was mostly about taking the temperature in Washington on engagement with Pyongyang. ☢️ What we're watching: The former senior U.S. official told Axios the regime's willingness to engage would depend on the nature of the conversation. While past talks have focused on denuclearization, Kim is unlikely to seriously entertain that idea at this point, the former official says. North Korea's status as a nuclear power has been enshrined in the country's constitution and the Kim family lore. Keep reading. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 27, 2025 Author Members Posted April 27, 2025 ? Trump snapshot: Day 98 Lead stories of yesterday's N.Y. Times, today's Washington Post. A passel of polls dropped this weekend ahead of President Trump hitting his 100-day milestone on Tuesday. The Smart Brevity: ? "Chaotic," "scary": "The turbulent early months of Mr. Trump's administration are seen as 'chaotic' and 'scary' by majorities of voters — even many who approve of the job he is doing. Voters do not view him as understanding the problems in their daily lives and have soured on his leadership." — N.Y. Times (gift link) ? Lowest 100-day approval in 72 years: "Trump's approval rating stands at 41%, down 4 points since March and 7 points since late February, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds. That's lower than any newly elected president dating back at least to Dwight Eisenhower." — CNN ? Short honeymoon: "39 percent of adult Americans approve of the way Trump is handling his job, compared with 55 percent who disapprove ... In February, those numbers were 45 percent positive and 53 percent negative. Among registered voters, the deterioration has been even larger. ... Most presidents enjoy a honeymoon during their first months in office, only to see their ratings decline later in the first year. Trump may be an exception." — WashPost (gift link) ? As Elon Musk gained power, "his popularity has fallen, an AP-NORC poll finds ... Just 33% of U.S. adults have a favorable view of Musk ... down from 41% in December." —AP Go deeper: 5 NYT takeaways (gift link) ... Explore NYT data (free) ... Explore WP data (gift link) ... Explore AP data (free). Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 27, 2025 Author Members Posted April 27, 2025 Trump’s first 100 days: Steamrolling government, strong-arming allies and igniting trade wars In his first 100 days, President Donald Trump exerted his power in a scale that has no easy historical comparison. The Republican president has made emergency declarations to rewrite rules of global trade, and ordered the removal of migrants to a prison in El Salvador without judicial review. He has taken direct aim at law, media, public health and culture, attempting to bring all to heel, with some surprising success. Read more. Republicans in the toughest swing districts become hard to find for people angry about Trump MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Many days over the past two weeks, no one answered the phone at any of U.S. Rep. Scott Perry’s four offices. https://apnews.com/article/republicans-recess-congress-no-town-halls-de45284c77fbc54a13c7090f75994674? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 27, 2025 Author Members Posted April 27, 2025 Judges Are Slowing Down Trump’s Fascist Deportation Regime. Now He’s Arresting Them For It. In the absence of opposition party challenges and disempowered labor, courts are one of the few sites of meaningful pushback on Trump’s agenda. https://theintercept.com/2025/04/25/judge-arrest-trump-immigrants-deport/? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 28, 2025 Author Members Posted April 28, 2025 The art of persuading Trump President Trump's improvisational and unpredictable leadership style has forced Cabinet officials, advisers and friends to develop a playbook to scuttle ideas they consider dumb, dangerous or undoable, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. Why it matters: White House aides, Trump's Cabinet and top CEOs often resort to indirect tricks and techniques to sway "the boss." ? The current trade fight captures this reality: Lots of top administration officials have doubts about Trump's insistence on aggressive, across-the-board tariffs. Almost all CEOs privately say the overall idea, and the way it was implemented, are dumb, delusional and destructive. They believe America was legitimately on the edge of a Golden Age if Trump used his victory to lower taxes, cut regulations, and smartly reset global trade and investment to America's benefit. They saw explosive growth unfolding this year, absent an unexpected shock. ? Trump is the shock they feared. His improvisational strategy and sky-high tariffs spooked almost every aspect of the global economy. It's now hard to reverse, especially in a timely enough manner to dull economic pain. Inside the White House, officials employ a daily dance of trying to ease, gently nudge and flatter Trump into shifting his worldview. Make no mistake (and lots of people do): Trump believes as fervently in tariffs and his approach as he does in any topic he's ever pursued. His team has all bought in on the idea of using more tariffs. But the details of how to employ them, and when, vary widely. ? So the dance begins, with several specific moves: The Block: Trump is notorious for reacting impulsively to the last thing he heard. So, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and those aligned with his view of winding down the trade war work hard to get alone time with Trump, away from pro-tariff warriors like Peter Navarro. Sometimes, they track physical locations of rivals to pounce on meetings with Trump. The Scare: Trump is very hard to persuade after winning two elections and surviving being shot. His self-confidence and self-certainty are soaring. But he's not fully impervious to fear. That's why top officials wanted him to hear dire economic warnings from Walmart, Target and Home Depot last week — or Jamie Dimon's forecast of a potential meltdown three weeks ago. Trump's walk-back on firing Fed chair Jay Powell showed this. The Glorification: This is increasingly common in trying to move Trump. Make a different idea — "We're trying to isolate China!" or "Negotiate genius deals!" — sound like it's both brilliant and Trump's. This requires using Trumpian language to make the ideas feel fresh, wise — and definitely not a capitulation. The Nudge: This is next-level Trump persuasion. Trump hates being cornered — forced to compromise or surrender. So aides delicately, slowly use a combination of data points, friends, and CEOs Trump admires, to subtly and slowly move him. The TV: This is an oldie but goodie for a reason — it works. Get respected CEOs on the right shows saying the right things, knowing Trump will either be watching or shown a clip. The Level-Set: This is where Trump receives blunt advice, but he needs to be ready for it. Trump hit the 90-day tariff pause after the stock and bond markets revolted and after Vice President Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles had multiple meetings with him. Trump also began talking about lowering the sky-high 145% tariffs on China when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told him that the U.S. will collect zero tariff revenue if there isn't trade with China at all. ? Behind the scenes: Both inside and outside the White House, Trump advisers bristle at the notion that he doesn't receive blunt advice. They credit Wiles with creating an information environment where the president doesn't feel managed or limited. So she has packed Trump's schedule with meetings with CEOs, car companies and major retailers who can share their opinions. "She doesn't claim to have all the answers, but she orchestrates one of the most complex information flows with tremendous strategy and effectiveness," an adviser texts Axios' Marc Caputo. "Her goal is to ensure Trump is presented unvarnished truths so HE can make the decision. She doesn't manipulate the process to effectuate a decision. It's why he trusts her and provides her the leeway to execute." But the adviser said some CEOs talk tough and then get wobbly when in the White House: "She recognizes that Trump alone, left alone Trump behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, is a tremendously intimidating presence and even the most accomplished CEOs wither in front of him." Axios' Marc Caputo contributed reporting ... Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 28, 2025 Author Members Posted April 28, 2025 ? Visualizing Trump's 100 days Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo and Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images Tomorrow is Day 100: In just three months, President Trump has reshaped the federal government — redefining the scope of executive power, testing and defying the courts, and targeting his perceived enemies, Axios' Jacque Schrag and Natalie Daher report. Axios Visuals made sense of the chaos by putting our coverage and exclusive reporting since Inauguration Day into an expansive, explorable timeline. Explore the first 100 days. Lawn mug shots Photos provided to Axios by a Trump administration source Trump administration officials began placing dozens of posters of arrested unauthorized immigrants along the White House driveway late last night, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports. It's a provocative, sure-to-be-controversial move aimed at highlighting President Trump's immigration crackdown as his 100th day in office approaches. The "roughly 100" posters were being placed strategically along "Pebble Beach," where TV news crews do live shots in front of the mansion. A White House official told Axios the intent is for the posters to be visible behind TV journalists reporting from those positions. Posters positioned near the West Wing claim to show unauthorized immigrants arrested for "first-degree murder," "sexual abuse of a child," "kidnapping and rape," "murder," "rape of a child" and "distribution of fentanyl." Their names and precise legal statuses aren't included. Keep reading. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 28, 2025 Author Members Posted April 28, 2025 ? Trump to The Atlantic: "I'm having a lot of fun" Cover: The Atlantic "The first time, I had two things to do — run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys," President Trump told The Atlantic's Ashley Parker, Michael Scherer and Jeffrey Goldberg in the Oval Office. "And the second time, I run the country and the world." In an earlier phone conversation, the president said: "I'm having a lot of fun, considering what I do ... You know, what I do is such serious stuff." In the magazine's June cover story, "Donald Trump Is Enjoying This," the president says about running for a third term, which the Constitution doesn't allow: "That would be a big shattering, wouldn't it? ... Well, maybe I'm just trying to shatter. ... It's not something that I'm looking to do. And I think it would be a very hard thing to do." ? On the billionaire class prostrating before him: "It's just a higher level of respect. I don't know ... Maybe they didn't know me at the beginning, and they know me now." On Jeff Bezos: "He's 100 percent. He's been great ... [Mark] Zuckerberg's been great." On SecDef Pete Hegseth: "I think he's gonna get it together." On a hypothetical accidental deportation of a legal resident, or even an American citizen: "Let me tell you that nothing will ever be perfect in this world." On his interviewers: "Tell the people at The Atlantic, if they'd write good stories and truthful stories, the magazine would be hot." Keep reading. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 28, 2025 Author Members Posted April 28, 2025 Immigration The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown kicked into high gear over the weekend with hundreds of arrests. On Friday, the FBI arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan and charged her with allegedly helping an undocumented immigrant in her courtroom avoid capture. Over a four-day period, ICE and Florida law enforcement agencies detained nearly 800 people who were allegedly undocumented immigrants. More than 100 people who were accused of being in the country without proper documentation were arrested in Colorado Springs after a raid at an underground nightclub. Amid these mass arrests, staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency are reportedly building a master database of sensitive data gleaned from the IRS, Social Security and Health and Human Services, among other government agencies. Trump officials said the database will help create “targeting lists” that can be used to find, detain and deport migrants. Harvard Just days into his second term, President Trump began directing America’s elite universities to make major policy changes under the auspices of fighting antisemitism. Since then, his administration has taken punitive actions against Columbia, Princeton, Cornell, Northwestern and others for not fully adapting to his priorities. But Harvard refused the government's demands to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion policies, audit the viewpoints of students, faculty and staff, and alter rules for on-campus protests — even with the threat of losing federal funding. Instead, the nation's oldest university sued the Trump administration, claiming such threats were a violation of the First Amendment as well as “arbitrary and capricious.” Both sides will make their first appearance in a Boston court today. The judge is expected to set deadlines for the government to provide documentation showing its internal deliberations behind the funding freeze. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted April 28, 2025 Author Members Posted April 28, 2025 The US and China are on a collision course, and nations are being forced to choose sides America’s unnerved allies and partners are cozying up with China to hedge their bets. It comes as President Donald Trump’s trade push upends a decade of American foreign policy — including his own from his first term — toward rallying the rest of the world to join the United States against China. Read more. Why this matters: China is the world’s largest exporter and the U.S. the largest importer. Beijing is reaching out to countries far and near, portraying itself as a stabilizing force and a predictable trading partner, both to cushion the impact from Trump’s tariffs and to forge stronger trade ties outside of the U.S. market. Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping — on his first foreign trip this year — visited Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia, resulting in mutual pledges for closer economic and trade ties. Countries caught between the U.S. and China are in “an impossible situation” because they need to stay economically connected both to China, “a source of a lot of their input and imports” and to the powerhouse U.S. market, said Matthew Goodman from the Council on Foreign Relations. Last week, while the Swiss president was in Washington to lobby U.S. officials over Trump’s threatened 31% tariff on Swiss goods, the Swiss foreign minister was in Beijing, expressing his nation’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with China and upgrade a free trade agreement. The White House has framed any negotiations as being between Trump and Xi, but neither leader seems willing to make the initial outreach without some kind of concession. The two countries can’t even agree publicly whether they are holding talks. In the latest Ipsos poll, for the first time, more people globally now say China has a positive impact on the world than the U.S. The pollster cited the broad backlash to Trump’s tariffs. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ China shrugs off threat of US tariffs to economy, says it has tools to protect jobs Market turmoil has many afraid to check retirement savings In first 100 days, Trump struggles to make good on promises to quickly end Ukraine and Gaza wars Greenland's prime minister says island can't be bought and US isn't showing respect As Musk gained power in Washington, his popularity has fallen, an AP-NORC poll finds Trump makes clear he will not recognize Indigenous Peoples Day alongside Columbus Day JB Pritzker calls out 'do-nothing' Democrats for failing to push back against Trump On air, '60 Minutes' reporter says 'none of us is happy' about changes that led top producer to quit White House journalists use annual press dinner to celebrate First Amendment Tech industry tried reducing AI's pervasive bias. Now Trump wants to end its 'woke AI' efforts Trump's push to save the fading coal industry gets a warm embrace in West Virginia Republican-led states keep adding school voucher programs even as critics worry about cost Hope Florida: A timeline of how a DeSantis-backed state charity was accused of wrongdoing Suspect arrested in Homeland Security Secretary Noem’s purse theft Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
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