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ICE Barbie’s List of ‘Sanctuary’ Cities Yanked After Furious Backlash

The pro-Trump National Sheriffs’ Association had called the list “arbitrary” and a betrayal.

Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security has taken down a list of dozens of “sanctuary” cities and counties accused of hampering the administration’s mass-deportation efforts after even a pro-Trump law enforcement group denounced the list.

Homeland Security Secretary Noem announced the list last week in a blustering statement accusing the cities of obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

“These sanctuary cities are endangering Americans and our law enforcement in order to protect violent criminal illegal aliens,” Noem said.

The jurisdictions listed would be receiving “formal notice of non-compliance and all potential violations of federal criminal statutes,” DHS warned in the statement.

In sanctuary cities, local law enforcement officers don’t routinely collect information about people’s immigration status, though they do turn undocumented people over to federal immigration agents if a federal arrest warrant has been issued, or if the person has been convicted of a serious crime.

Supporters say the policies reduce crime by fostering trust between police and the community.

In an April executive order, though, President Donald Trump called the practice “a lawless insurrection” against the federal government and ordered the Department of Justice and DHS to publish a list of sanctuary jurisdictions.

The published list included cities like Boston, Chicago, New York City, and Denver, whose mayors have defended the policy during congressional hearings, Reuters reported. But it also included a number of jurisdictions that had never adopted a sanctuary policy.

In a statement Saturday, the National Sheriffs’ Association—whose leadership has typically supported Trump—called the list “arbitrary,” while doing its best to distance Trump from his own policy.

“DHS has done a terrible disservice to President Trump and the Sheriffs of this country. The President’s goals to reduce crime, secure the Borders, and make America safer have taken a step backward,” said the group’s president, Sheriff Kieran Donahue of Canyon County, Idaho. “The sheriffs of this country feel betrayed.”

The statement said the list was “created without any input, criteria for compliance, or mechanism for how to object to the designation,” meaning sheriffs had no way of knowing what they needed to do to avoid being tagged with the “arbitrary” label.

During a meeting over the weekend, nobody from DHS was able to say who had compiled, proofed, or verified the list, the statement complained.

In a statement to the Daily Beast, a senior DHS official said the list is being constantly reviewed and can be changed at any time. It will be updated regularly, the official added.

“Designation of a sanctuary jurisdiction is based on the evaluation of numerous factors, including self-identification as a sanctuary jurisdiction, noncompliance with federal law enforcement in enforcing immigration laws, restrictions on information sharing, and legal protections for illegal aliens,” the official said.

The sheriffs’ association, however, said the list “violated the core principles of trust, cooperation, and partnership with fellow law enforcement.”

“It also has the potential to strain the relationship between Sheriffs and the White House administration,” the organization said. “This decision by DHS could create a vacuum of trust that make takes years to overcome.”

By Sunday, the list was no longer on the DHS website, though it wasn’t clear exactly when on Saturday it was taken down or whether the decision was related to the sheriffs’ association statement, according to Reuters.

Asked about the list by Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday, Noem did not address its removal from DHS’ website.

“Some of the cities have pushed back,” she said. “They think because they don’t have one law or another on the books that they don’t qualify, but they do qualify. They are giving sanctuary to criminals.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dhs-yanks-ice-barbie-kristi-noems-list-of-sanctuary-cities-after-furious-backlash/?

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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‘MAGA Granny’ Pamela Hemphill Fights Against Capitol Riot Pardon From Trump

Pamela Hemphill is now waiting for the president’s reaction.

Jan. 6 rioter Pamela Hemphill has refused a pardon from President Donald Trump, and is now expecting him to come after her.

More than 1,500 people who participated in the 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol have been pardoned by Trump this year. However, when Hemphill, from Idaho, was pardoned by the president on Jan. 20, the 72-year-old contacted Sen. James Risch, the Idaho Republican, to formally refuse and block it.

“Ms. Hemphill’s non-acceptance is noted,” the pardon’s attorney office acknowledged on April 2, while a spokesperson for Risch told CBS News, “Due to privacy concerns, we cannot disclose details about individual cases.”

The grandmother, 72, spent 60 days in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges related to the riot in July, 2022. She explained her battle to refuse Trump’s pardon to CBS and claimed she was expecting the president to mention her at any moment.

“Trump will probably say, ‘That ungrateful lady, I’m going to make sure she gets back on probation and give her the worst you can give her.’ I won’t be surprised,” she said.

““We were guilty, period,” Hemphill added. “The pardons just contribute to their narrative, which is all lies, propaganda.”

“We all know that they’re gaslighting us. They are using January 6 to just continue Trump’s narrative that the Justice Department was weaponized. They were not. When the FBI came to my home, oh my God, they were very professional. They treated me very good.”

Hemphill’s reaction to her pardon is out of the ordinary, according to former Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer, who was sacked by the Trump administration in March.

“Some Jan. 6 defendants blew up our phones seeking a copy of their pardons. They wanted the copies quickly. They wanted it framed and signed,” Oyer told CBS.

Hemphill labelled Trump “a felon” on her social media in January. She told the Daily Beast last year she realized, “I was trespassing. I had a choice—I could have left.”

It’s a stark reversal from a post on Dec. 28, 2020, on Hemphill’s social media that read “It’s a WAR!” and one day later when she posted, “On my way to Washington DC January 6th.” She was arrested two days after Jan. 6.

Hemphill said she has had time to reflect on her actions, even if they have made her the target of MAGA hate. Some have labelled her an “FBI plant” and she also has also been targeted by former Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio on social media.

“How could you sleep at night taking a pardon when you know you were guilty? You know that everybody there was guilty. I couldn’t live with myself. I have to be right with me. And with God,” Hemphill said.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-granny-pamela-hemphill-fights-against-capitol-riot-pardon-from-trump/?

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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How To Combat America’s Culture-Warrior-In-Chief

President Donald Trump is often perceived as an ideological paradox — at once populist and plutocratic, pro-working-class and anti-labor, pro-growth and anti-trade, maverick conservative and Old Guard Republican. But for all of what looks like impulsive zig-zagging, there is a consistent throughline: He’s always focused on finding, spotlighting, and exacerbating the country’s most divisive cultural flashpoints.

https://www.levernews.com/how-to-combat-americas-culture-warrior-in-chief/?

?‍? Exclusive: Federal cyber exodus
 
Illustration of a cursor pushing out a worker holding a cardboard box with their possessions.
 

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

 

Roughly 1,000 people have already left the nation's top cybersecurity agency during the second Trump administration — nearly one-third of its workforce, a former government official tells Axios' Sam Sabin.

  • Why it matters: The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is facing a potential 17% funding cut under the president's proposed budget — raising fears that power grids, water utilities, and election systems could be left without a well-equipped federal partner.

Trump officials are actively pursuing plans to increase offensive cyber operations against adversarial nations like China — and experts warn those nations are bound to respond in kind to those strikes.

  • But with a smaller cyber defense agency, security experts fear the country won't have the resources needed to protect the homeland.

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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? Trump's immigration enforcement hot spots
 
A map that shows which states have law enforcement agencies with 287(g) signed or pending agreements with ICE. Florida has 295 agreements, Texas has 95, Georgia has 33 and 37 other states have at least one agreement. 10 states, including California, Illinois and New Jersey, have no agreements.
Data: ICE. Map: Jacque Schrag/Axios

Efforts to arrest and remove unauthorized immigrants appear most aggressive in five southern states with Democratic-leaning cities, while deeply red rural states are seeing less activity, according to an analysis by Axios' Russell Contreras and Brittany Gibson.

  • Why it matters: Our review of removal orders, pending deportation cases and agreements between immigration officials and local law enforcement agencies sheds light on where the Trump administration is dispatching resources to support its mass deportation plan.

The analysis shows local law enforcement agencies in Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia have been most cooperative with ICE in rounding up immigrants through deals known as 287 (g) agreements.

  • There are 629 such agreements now in place across the country. About 43% of them are in Florida, followed by 14% in Texas and 5% in Georgia.

? Zoom in: The GOP-led state governments in Florida, Texas and Virginia also have made a point of pushing local agencies to partner with federal agents, leading to a series of high-profile, mass raids in those states.

  • Recent raids in Florida by a coalition of agencies led to 1,120 arrests in an effort dubbed Operation Tidal Wave.

?️ The big picture: The data analyzed by Axios and the locations of the agreements between federal and local authorities reflect a few simple truths about immigration enforcement across the U.S.

  1. There aren't nearly enough federal agents to meet President Trump's unprecedented deportation goal of deporting a million immigrants a year.
  2. In some places where the Trump administration faces a gap in resources, local law enforcement agencies are unable or unwilling to meet the feds' demands or expand beyond their usual enforcement duties.
  3. With the nation's borders essentially locked down, the administration has shifted much of its deportation operations to the nation's interior.

Keep reading.

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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A Chilean Billionaire Strikes Gold In The Budget Bill

A last-minute provision inserted into President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget reconciliation bill would allow Chile’s wealthiest business magnate — and former landlord to Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump — to begin mining operations on protected federal lands. Mining at the proposed Minnesota site poses irreversible environmental risks to nearby bodies of freshwater, according to a federal environmental review

https://www.levernews.com/a-chilean-billionaire-strikes-gold-in-the-budget-bill/?

ps:So now we're putting foreigners into our Bills??????????

The Tech Recruitment Ruse That Has Avoided Trump’s Crackdown on Immigration

It’s a tough time for the rank-and-file tech worker or computer science graduate looking for a job. The Silicon Valley giants have laid off tens of thousands in the past couple years. The longstanding threat of offshoring persists, while the new threat of AI looms.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-immigration-h1b-visas-perm-tech-jobs-recruitment?

Death, Sexual Violence and Human Trafficking: Fallout From U.S. Aid Withdrawal Hits the World’s Most Fragile Locations

American diplomats in at least two countries have recently delivered internal reports to Washington that reflect a grim new reality taking hold abroad: The Trump administration’s sudden withdrawal of foreign aid is bringing about the violence and chaos that many had warned would come.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-usaid-malawi-state-department-crime-sexual-violence-trafficking

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

? Swamping the drain with Project 2025 sycophants. More than 50 high-level officials tapped to be a part of the second Trump administration have ties to groups affiliated with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint to “dismantle the administrative state.” This comes after President Donald Trump distanced himself from the arch-conservative project during the campaign last year, maintaining he’s “not an extremist at all” and has “nothing to do with” Project 2025. Yet, according to this independent tracking project, in less than six months Trump has accomplished more than 40 percent of Project 2025’s agenda.

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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Trump Is Melting Down in Private at ‘Weak’ Amy Coney Barrett

The president has reportedly become increasingly frustrated by his conservative Supreme Court picks.

President Donald Trump has privately lashed out at conservative Supreme Court justices for not consistently backing his agenda, taking particular aim at his most recent appointee Amy Coney Barrett.

One week after Barrett enraged MAGA Republicans by recusing herself from an Oklahoma charter school case, CNN reported that the president has become increasingly frustrated by his 2020 Supreme Court pick, fueled by right-wing allies telling him that she is “weak”.

According to unnamed sources, Trump has been increasingly irked by others on the bench, too, including Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, whom the president also nominated during his first term.

But the main target was reportedly Barrett amid concerns from allies that her rulings have not been consistent with how she presented herself before she was appointed to her lifetime job on the nation’s highest court.

Tensions in MAGA world over Barrett have been simmering for months. In March, for example, Barrett voted to reject Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid, prompting legal commentator Mike Davis to declare on Steve Bannon’s podcast: “She’s a rattled law professor with her head up her ass.”

Earlier in January, Barrett sided with Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, a fellow conservative, and the liberal justices of the court to allow Trump to be sentenced in his so-called “hush money” trial.

Trump had been convicted in May after a jury in New York unanimously found him guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels.

But last month’s decision to recuse herself in the Oklahoma case particularly enraged those in Trump’s circle, given the administration had backed the school.

In a statement to the Daily Beast, spokesman Harrison Fields said: “President Trump will always stand with the U.S. Supreme Court, unlike the Democrat Party, which, if given the opportunity, would pack the court, ultimately undermining its integrity.

“The President may disagree with the Court and some of its rulings, but he will always respect its foundational role,” he said.

Barrett was nominated by Trump in 2020, but had become a darling of religious conservatives during her earlier confirmation hearings to sit on the Seventh Circuit.

Appointed to the Supreme Court at the age of 48, she was the youngest woman justice to sit on the bench and also happened to be the first mother of school-aged children to serve there.

While Barrett has joined conservatives on major rulings to move US law to the right, including on abortion and affirmative action, MAGA acolytes have become increasingly angered by her more centrist rulings, with some even calling her “evil” and a “DEI” hire.

“Amy Coney Barrett was a DEI appointee,” far-right influencer, Laura Loomer wrote on X in March.

The post also featured a photo of Barrett’s family, which includes two children adopted from Haiti, who are Black.

Her supporters, however, have fought back.

“Barrett is a terrific justice, and, in most cases, those who are criticizing her are forgetting the proper role of the judiciary,” wrote National Review senior editor Charles C.W. Cooke in a recent column titled “In defense of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-melts-down-over-amy-coney-barrett-not-backing-him/?

ps:I guess he doesn't care for those that actually put country above him!!!!!!!!

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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Musk blasts Trump's signature bill as "disgusting abomination"

Elon Musk unloaded on President Trump's signature tax-and-spending bill Tuesday, declaring that he could no longer stay silent on what he called a "disgusting abomination."

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/03/elon-musk-trump-bill-deficit-spending?

The Trump Protests Will Fail — Unless People Do This

In a recent segment, MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow breathlessly described an upcoming “No Kings Day” protest of President Donald Trump on June 14, pointing to a coordinated protest effort that day across all 50 states. 

https://www.levernews.com/the-trump-protests-will-fail-unless-people-do-this/

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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“Not Ready”

(Illustration by The Atlantic; Source: Getty.)

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Who manages the disaster if the disaster managers are the disaster?

That’s a question that the people of the United States may have to answer soon. As hurricane season begins in the U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in disarray.

Reuters reported yesterday that acting FEMA head David Richardson suggested during a meeting with employees that he was unaware of the very existence of a hurricane season. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security dismissed the report: “Despite meanspirited attempts to falsely frame a joke as policy, there is no uncertainty about what FEMA will be doing this Hurricane Season.” The spokesperson added, “FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens.”

FEMA employees, and Americans at large, might be forgiven for having doubts. Richardson has only been on the job since early May, when his predecessor was abruptly fired after telling Congress he did not believe that FEMA should be eliminated, as President Donald Trump has contemplated. Richardson is a Marine veteran who had been leading the DHS office that seeks to prevent attacks on the U.S. involving weapons of mass destruction, but he has no experience with disaster management. The Wall Street Journal reported that he had expressed surprise at how broad FEMA’s remit is. (The last time FEMA was led by an administrator whose profession was not emergency management was the mid-2000s, under Michael Brown. If you don’t know how that turned out, I recommend my colleague Vann R. Newkirk II’s award-winning podcast on Hurricane Katrina, Floodlines.)

But Richardson surely is aware of hurricane season. In mid-May, CNN obtained an internal document warning that FEMA was badly behind schedule. “As FEMA transforms to a smaller footprint, the intent for this hurricane season is not well understood, thus FEMA is not ready,” it read. (DHS, which oversees FEMA, said the information was “grossly out of context.”) To calm worries at the agency, Richardson held a conference call. “I would say we’re about 80 or 85 percent there,” he told staff, according to ABC News. “The next week, we will close that gap and get to probably 97 to 98 percent of a plan. We’ll never have 100 percent of a plan.”

That was not the most reassuring answer, and it looks worse now. The Journal reports that in the same meeting yesterday where Richardson suggested unfamiliarity with hurricane season, he also said the agency would return to its 2024 hurricane-preparedness strategy. How that will work is anyone’s guess, given that FEMA has already slashed programs and staff since last year’s hurricane season. (FEMA responded to my request for comment with DHS’s statement, but did not answer specific questions or make any official available for an interview.)

FEMA is not a large part of the federal government by budget or staff, but it is an important one because it directly affects the lives of ordinary Americans in their worst moments. Washington can seem distant and abstract, but disasters are not, and as Hurricane Helene last year demonstrated, even people living in supposed “climate havens” are susceptible to extreme weather.

In the aftermath of Helene, Trump grasped the widespread public fury at FEMA, which storm victims felt was not responsive enough, fast enough. (Major disasters are major, and even the best-managed response is going to be slower than anyone wants, but no one seems to think this was the best-managed response.) As a candidate, he was quick to say that the Biden administration should do more, but since becoming president again, he has taken steps to ensure that FEMA can and will do less.

FEMA is also making recovery harder for the victims of past disasters. In April, the agency declined to declare a major disaster in Washington State, which would free up funding for recovery from a bomb cyclone in November 2024; the state’s entire congressional delegation pleaded with him to reconsider. DHS also denied North Carolina more funding for cleanup after Helene, which Governor Josh Stein estimated would cost state taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The president also refused individual federal assistance to nine Arkansas counties struck by tornadoes in March, only reversing the decision after Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as press secretary in Trump’s first administration, called the president directly.

In the post-FEMA future that Trump has floated, states would be responsible for all disaster recovery. Some conservatives have long argued that states need to shoulder more responsibility for smaller disasters, but most states (and territories such as Puerto Rico) simply don’t have the resources to respond to large-scale disasters like Helene. This is, after all, one reason the 13 colonies united in the first place: for mutual aid and protection. The federal government has much greater resources and, unlike most states, is not required to balance its budget annually. That makes it a crucial financial backstop. As Brock Long, who led FEMA during Trump’s first term, told me last year, “All disasters are locally executed, state managed, and federally supported.”

FEMA has not, generally, been a partisan agency. Administrators may have different political views, but they try to provide help without consideration for politics. I’ve spoken with several administrators over the years, and they are consistently professional, don’t take wildly differing approaches to their work, and are dedicated to emergency response. When an employee at FEMA was caught telling workers not to help people with Trump signs in their yards, it was rightly a scandal. Yet in his first term, Trump himself reportedly withheld or delayed disaster funds in multiple cases based on partisanship. His reversal on assistance for Arkansas residents raises the specter of a future in which only states whose governors are close to Trump can hope to obtain relief.

And yet if FEMA isn’t prepared for hurricane season, doesn’t have sufficient staff, and is laboring under a president who would like to see it gone, the problem may not be that only the president’s allies can get help from the federal government—but rather that no one can.

Related:

ps:He's got a guy running FEMA that said what? All I can do is shake my head at this administration that seems to have people at the head of each department that seem to be clueless!!!!!!!!!!

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

Amid cuts, Trump’s proposed NASA budget would lay waste to new Artemis launch tower

Work for now continues daily at Kennedy Space Center on a new mobile launch tower that has already cost more than $1 billion. But the Artemis moon mission it is intended to serve may never happen if President Trump’s plans for NASA come to fruition.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/06/04/amid-cuts-trumps-proposed-nasa-budget-would-lay-waste-to-new-artemis-launch-tower/?

The upside-down priorities of the House budget

Adding significantly to debt while reducing incomes for the bottom 40%

https://www.epi.org/publication/the-upside-down-priorities-of-the-house-budget/?

The U.S. approach to globalization has gone from bad to worse under Trump

How to construct a progressive policy agenda instead

https://www.epi.org/publication/the-u-s-approach-to-globalization-has-gone-from-bad-to-worse-under-trump-how-to-construct-a-progressive-policy-agenda-instead/?

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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Putin tells Trump he'll hit Ukraine back for surprise drone attack

President Trump said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin told him he will "have to respond" to the massive Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's strategic air bases.

https://www.axios.com/2025/06/04/putin-trump-call-ceasefire-drone-attack?

ps:Seriously? Is this a game for him?? So than I suppose that Ukraine has the right to invade Russia??????????

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention

When Thomas Fugate graduated from college last year with a degree in politics, he celebrated in a social media post about the exciting opportunities that lay beyond campus life in Texas. “Onward and upward!” he wrote, with an emoji of a rocket shooting into space.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dhs-thomas-fugate-cp3-terrorism-prevention?

ps:Does over qualified comes to mind?? I don't think so!! Another genius in charge of a department he has no clue about!!!!!!!!!!

Trump Wants to Cut Tribal College Funding by Nearly 90%, Putting Them at Risk of Closing

The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, a move that would likely shut down most or all of the institutions created to serve students disadvantaged by the nation’s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities.

https://www.propublica.org/article/tribal-colleges-universities-trump-cuts-funding?

Dismissed by DEI: Trump’s Purge Made Black Women With Stable Federal Jobs an “Easy Target”

In February 2020, President Donald Trump’s first education secretary issued a memo to employees emphasizing the department’s policy “to ensure that diversity, inclusiveness, and respect are integral parts of our day-to-day management and work.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-dei-black-women-minorities-careers-jobs-dismissed?

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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Scoop: Trump's "badass" praise

President Trump thought Ukraine's surprise drone attack over the weekend was "strong" and "badass," sources who discussed it with him tell Axios' Marc Caputo and Barak Ravid.

  • But he's also concerned it will make his ceasefire mission even harder.

Why it matters: The meticulously planned operation on Russia's most strategic air bases — conducted remotely from thousands of miles away — suggested Ukraine has more "cards" than Trump gave them credit for, but also effectively dared Russian President Vladimir Putin to escalate in return.

  • Trump said yesterday that Putin had told him "very strongly" that he'd be hitting back. "It was a good conversation, but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace."
  • He has been surprisingly mum in public when it comes to his personal feelings about the attack. In private, though, he marveled at the operation.

? Behind the scenes: "Pretty strong," Trump told one confidant, who relayed his remarks to Axios.

  • "He thought it was badass," a second source said of Trump's reaction.
  • One Trump adviser said: "From an international perspective, you've got a chihuahua inflicting some real damage on a much bigger dog."

The flipside: Trump also told people he met with in recent days that the drone attack would likely push Putin to retaliate very significantly, another source with knowledge said.

  • Trump is concerned that the scenario will set back his diplomatic initiative, which generated the first direct talks between the parties in three years, the source said.
  • "We want this war to end. We want it to de-escalate. So if Putin goes crazy in response, yeah, the president has concerns," another source who spoke to Trump said.

? Reality check: The recent talks showed no sign of a breakthrough, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that Putin had been refusing to pursue a ceasefire long before the attack.

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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Trump brings back travel ban
 
A world map shows the countries included in Trump
Map: Axios Visuals

President Trump renewed a signature policy from his first term with a new travel ban issued last night that blocks citizens of 12 countries from visiting the U.S., Axios' Sareen Habeshian writes.

  • He also put less-severe restrictions on citizens from seven additional countries.

Why it matters: Trump's original travel ban — announced a week after his 2017 inauguration — defined the early stages of his presidency and sparked a massive wave of protests.

  • The order, often referred to as a "Muslim ban," was met with legal challenges, but the Supreme Court ultimately upheld a revised version of it.

? Zoom in: This ban, which takes effect Monday, largely impacts countries in the Middle East and Africa (mapped above).

  • It includes exceptions for lawful permanent U.S. residents, existing visa holders, other special visas, adoptions, and for athletes traveling for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting events.
  • Trump connected it with Sunday's terror attack in Boulder, Colo., saying it "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted."

? Also last night: Trump ordered an investigation into President Biden's use of an autopen to sign documents and moved to block Harvard's international students from entering the country.

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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? Charted: Trump tariff rollercoaster
 
An area chart showing the average effective U.S. tariff rate from January 20 to June 3, 2025. The rate fluctuates from 2.4% earlier in the year and peaking at nearly 30% in April and May. Key events include a 10% worldwide tariff in April, followed by fluctuations in May and June, ultimately landing at 15.6% on average.
Data: Budget Lab at Yale. Chart: Axios Visuals

This chart sums up how rapidly President Trump has changed the very underpinnings of U.S. trade policy since the start of February, Axios' Neil Irwin writes.

  • Why it matters: Tariffs with major trading partners are not only higher than they have been in decades. They've also become far more volatile.

? By the numbers: In the last month alone, the weighted average tariff has been as low as 6.9% (after a trade court ruling that Trump overstepped his emergency authority) and as high as 28%, just before a de-escalation with China, according to calculations by the Yale Budget Lab shared first with Axios.

  • It was 2.4% at the start of this year.

Keep reading.

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
Posted

phkrause

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
  • Members
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Trump-backed giant tax and spending bill bloats deficit by $2.4T, nonpartisan CBO says

WASHINGTON — The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released detailed analysis Wednesday showing Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” would increase federal deficits by $2.4 trillion during the next decade.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/04/repub/trump-backed-giant-tax-and-spending-bill-bloats-deficit-by-2-4t-nonpartisan-cbo-says/?

Trump tariffs would lower deficit but slow U.S. economic growth, nonpartisan CBO finds

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s tariffs would decrease the deficit over the next decade but overall shrink the U.S. economy and raise costs for consumers, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Wednesday.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/04/repub/trump-tariffs-would-lower-deficit-but-slow-u-s-economic-growth-nonpartisan-cbo-finds/?

Federal judge unseals some records in Abrego Garcia case

WASHINGTON — The Maryland federal judge overseeing the lawsuit concerning the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia unsealed documents Wednesday that the Trump administration had asked to keep unavailable to the public under the so-called state secrets privilege.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/06/04/repub/federal-judge-unseals-some-records-in-abrego-garcia-case/?

✈️ Boeing’s clean slate. Last week, Boeing and the Department of Justice signed an agreement officially letting the aerospace manufacturer completely off the hook for what accountability experts say is one of the deadliest corporate crimes in history. Last summer, Boeing pleaded guilty to criminal fraud and agreed to pay roughly $700 million in fines after The Lever reported that the company ignored fraud allegations at a key supplier, violating its first non-prosecutorial agreement.

  • Now, Boeing has withdrawn that guilty plea and will walk away from its 737 Max crashes — which killed 346 passengers — with total impunity. Meanwhile, some 280,000 people are imprisoned in America every day for violating their probation or parole agreements with the government. 

Free filing software for all. The Internal Revenue Service open-sourced the software behind its hugely popular and time and money-saving Direct File program, making the code available for anyone to access last week. Direct File is facing existential threats from the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans as Intuit/TurboTax lobbies to protect its market domination by killing free government filing.

ps:Thank you trumplican republicans!!!!!!!!!!

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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Crypto’s new bailout fund. After a flood of cryptocurrency industry campaign cash, the U.S. Senate is poised to pass a financial deregulation bill ensuring that when a bank goes out of business, the savings of cryptocurrency holders would be made whole before those of other bank customers. This means that in a bank failure, institutions will be legally obligated to first make stablecoin depositors whole, even if it means using other customers’ money to do it. 

  • “Congress is about to put the claims of stablecoin investors ahead of Ma and Pa’s bank deposits,” Georgetown Law professor Adam Levitin wrote on the matter. “In other words, the GENIUS Act is subsidizing stablecoin issuance on the back of bank deposits.”

Stable for whom? Stablecoins, a form of crypto token, are supposed to be more reliable for investors because their value is tied to the U.S. dollar. But experts have warned that without proper restrictions, stablecoins could cause widespread financial chaos and even contagious bank insolvencies, since they’re interconnected with other, more volatile assets, including other cryptocurrencies. For example, in 2022, the world’s largest stablecoin, Tether, lost its one-dollar value due to the collapse of another cryptocurrency and widespread investor concerns. 

A “FUBAR Situation.” Many stablecoins likely won’t be covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures up to $250,000 worth of depositors’ savings if a bank fails. But the GENIUS Act would lead to a “FUBAR situation” if these stablecoins collapse, wrote Levitin, because the law would require institutions to use FDIC-insured deposits to cover the damage. And it’s not just banks — the Genius Act also stipulates that even non-depository financial institutions that operate like banks, such as highly volatile money market funds, will have to prioritize stablecoin holders over other customers.

Big Crypto gets what it bargained for. The crypto industry recently delivered millions of dollars to the federal lawmakers now crafting and voting on the GENIUS Act. Big Crypto outspent all other industries this past election cycle, doling out more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help place crypto-friendly lawmakers in Congress and the White House, including President Donald Trump, who last year promised to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet” — a promise he’s already following through on.

Reporting contributed by Luke Goldstein and Freddy Brewster

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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Trump's Budget Proposal Includes a Big, Beautiful $250 Fee for EV Drivers

President Trump is proposing new annual fees for hybrid and EV owners in his "Big, Beautiful Bill," which drivers would need to cough up at their state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) during annual vehicle registration.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/trumps-budget-proposal-includes-a-big-beautiful-250-fee-for-ev-drivers?

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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The breakup
 
Illustration of image of Elon Musk's face with strips torn out of the image
 

Illustration: Rebecca Zisser/Axios

 

President Trump and Elon Musk are in the middle of a very nasty, very public breakup.

  • ⏱️ Today's drama started in the Oval Office, where Trump met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
  • "I'm very disappointed in Elon," Trump told reporters in his first public comments about Musk's social media tirade against his "big, beautiful bill."
  • "Whatever," Musk quickly replied on X.

? Things went off the rails from there.

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  • Trump said on Truth Social that Musk "just went CRAZY" over electric vehicle tax credits, and he threatened to cancel Musk's federal contracts.
  • Musk has tweeted about Trump or the bill more than 40 times today. "Without me, Trump would have lost the election," he wrote, slamming Trump's "ingratitude." He also agreed with a user who said Trump should be impeached and removed from office.
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The big picture: These are two of the most powerful men in the world.

  • Any disruption between the federal government and SpaceX — whether it's Trump following through on threats to cancel contracts or Musk following through on threats to yank important technology — could have real implications.
  • Republicans would certainly feel the sting if Musk stopped shoveling millions of dollars into their campaigns.
  • Even if none of that happens, this explosive divorce is a messy, distracting spectacle — less than six months into Trump's second term.

ps:Well each one got what they wanted from the other and now that he's not needed trump is just throwing him under bus just like everyone else and threatening him on top of it!!!

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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