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Raw Story
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[l] at 4/29/25 8:50pm
ABC News' Day 100 interview with President Donald Trump went off the rails after reporter Terry Moran refused to accept Trump's false assertion that an altered photo was real.Trump and Moran were discussing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the Maryland resident who the administration admitted was deported by mistake — when Trump brought up the photoshopped image of Abrego Garcia's knuckles that made it look as if Abrego Garcia was publicly affiliating with the MS-13 gang."He said he wasn't a member of a gang, and then you look on his knuckles, they said 'MS-13' — wait a minute — he had 'MS-13' on his knuckles.""That was photoshopped," Moran said.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent"That was photoshopped? Terry, I've given you the big break of a lifetime," Trump responded. "You're doing the interview. I picked you because frankly, I've never heard of you, but that's OK. Terry, you're not being very nice."Moran pointed out that the photo Trump was referencing was proven to be fake, as Abrego Garcia was photographed alongside Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) at the senator's hotel, and the purported tattoos were not present. Trump pushed back and insisted the photo was real and offered to show it to Moran, though the ABC News journalist attempted to pivot the conversation to Ukraine. He ultimately relented when Trump pushed him to finally say that he would "look at" the photo again at a later time."It's such a disservice," Trump bristled. "Why don't you just say yes, he does, and go on to something else?"
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[l] at 4/29/25 8:24pm
Donald Trump’s exclusive new interview with ABC News’ Terry Moran quickly lit up social media – and not in a positive way for the president as he marked his 100th day of his second term on Tuesday.The Oval Office sit-down delivered a series of viral moments – from defiant outburst to doubling down on misinformation – which critics wasted no time pouncing on.“What did we do to deserve such a stupid President?” military veteran Ralph Sagola wrote on X above a video clip of Trump snapping at Moran. That moment came as the president accused Moran of not being “very nice” after being pressed on whether a White House photo of Kilmar Abrego Garcia with MS-13 tattoos was digitally altered.The exchange garnered its fair share of criticism. “OMG HE THOUGHT THE PHOTOSHOP KNUCKLES WERE REAL,” former Republican strategist Tim Miller, who now hosts The Bulwark podcast, posted on X.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent“The funniest thing about Trump is that he’ll do a thing and then his defenders are like “obviously he didn’t mean that specific thing” only for Trump to angrily insist he meant exactly that specific thing a few days/weeks later,” The Bulwark editor Sonny Bunch told his X followers. “Moran asks Trump if he trusts Putin,” former Biden administration national security advisor Brian P. McKeon pointed out in an X post. “He weaves and dodges but never answers it.”Trump’s sweeping new tariffs on China, which analysts said sent the U.S. economy – and consumer confidence – into a spiral, also picked up some traction across social media, as did the MAGA leader's claims surrounding tourism.“I know I'm a broken record on this but he is tanking our economy because he so unbelievably stupid, he doesn't understand the first thing about the policy he's made central to his economic vision,” X user @Wilson_Valdex wrote. “And the media just let him completely get away with it, scot free.”“Tourism is way up.” – Trump. Why lie about the most easily disprovable data points?” Spencer Hakimian pointed out to his followers on X. That exchange prompted Moran to hit back at Trump's claim in real time: "‘Not now."
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[l] at 4/29/25 7:51pm
President Donald Trump's tumbling polls are doing more than hurting the Republican Party domestically, CNN data analyst Harry Enten told anchor Erin Burnett on Tuesday evening — they're even causing left-leaning foreign parties to surge in allied nations that are fed up with Trump's antics.A clear example was the Liberal Party's rout in Canadian elections this week, mere months after polling had them all but doomed to lose their majority to the Conservatives.However, Burnett was quick to note, "It's not just Canada. The other country closest to the U.S. is Mexico. How has Trump impacted Mexico since the election?"ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent"Yeah, it's not just north of the border, it's south of the border as well," said Enten. "The Mexican president. Look at her net approval rating. Look how much it has risen since the November election here in the States. Hello? Up 28 points since November, Claudia Sheinbaum's approval rating. And I will tell you this. More than that, look at her overall approval rating. It is now north of 80 percent ... well, who was the last president who had an approval rating north of 80 percent in this country? It was George W. Bush after 9/11. She has a massive rally-around-the-flag event and her net approval rating and her overall approval rating, way up since Donald Trump took office.""That is incredible," said Burnett. "Now let's go with some other allies. There's an election coming up soon in Australia. What do you see there?""So if we went south, well, let's go way to the east or way to the west, depending on which way you want to go, right?" said Enten. "And what we see there was the Labor Party there looked like an underdog when Trump took office, right? But then all of a sudden, what happened? You see Trump takes office, and hello, the odds that they win the lower house in that election, look at that, up to 89 percent right now ... they were losers, and Trump has turned them into winners. And why is that? Because the conservative coalition in that country tied themselves very much to sort of the wokism type, wokism is bad. And then the Labor were able to say, you know what, the tariffs are bad. Donald Trump put the tariffs in, you can trust us. And we will make sure that Donald Trump doesn't beat us up."Watch the video below or at the link here. - YouTube www.youtube.com
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[l] at 4/29/25 7:33pm
President Donald Trump's combative interview with ABC News that aired late Tuesday stayed the course when the MAGA leader was pressed on whether he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin wants peace.The contentious segment featured Trump and interviewer Terry Moran talking about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As Trump tried to insist that Putin is "willing to stop the fighting," Moran immediately interjected."You think he wants peace? You think Vladimir Putin wants peace?" Moran pressed.Trump affirmed he believes Putin wants peace, too.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent"Still?" Moran pressed again. "Even with the raining missiles on [Ukraine]?"Trump doubled down, asserting that Putin's dream was to take over the entire country."Because of me, he's not going to do that," said Trump.When Moran asked whether Trump trusted Putin, Trump quipped, "I don't trust you." He then launched into an attack on Moran and took issue with his aggressive line of questioning. "I don't trust a lot of people. I don't trust you. Look at you, you're coming in all shooting for bear. You're so happy to do the interview and then you start hitting me with fake questions. You start telling me that a guy whose hand is covered with a tattoo doesn't have a tattoo. You're being dishonest."As Moran fired back, "No I'm not," Trump continued, saying he distrusts many people — but that doesn't include Putin."I think that — let's say he respects me. And I believe because of me he's not going to take over the whole — but his decision, his choice, would be to take over all of Ukraine," the president said.Watch the clip below or at this link.MORAN: You think Vladimir Putin wants peace?TRUMP: I think he does, yesMORAN: Still, even while he's raining missiles?TRUMP: His dream was to take over the whole country. Because of me, he's not going to do that ... you start hitting me with fake questions. You're being… pic.twitter.com/pjRaLrNVmQ— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2025
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[l] at 4/29/25 7:20pm
Trump Pick to Run DEA Could Challenge America’s Already Tense Relations With Mexicoby Tim GoldenProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.In the spring of 2019, as a new Mexican government shut down most of its cooperation with the United States in the fight against drug trafficking, a small group of American drug agents decided to confront the problem in a different way.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentSifting through databases and court files, they compiled dossiers on Mexican officials suspected of colluding with the mafias. Months later, federal prosecutors used the evidence to indict a former security minister, Genaro García Luna, the most important Mexican figure ever convicted on U.S. drug corruption charges.The senior agent who led the team, Terrance C. Cole, was not rewarded for his efforts. He sought a promotion to run the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Mexico City office but was passed over. Frustrated with the agency’s direction and his own career trajectory, he retired in 2020 to take a job with a software company before becoming Virginia’s secretary of public safety in 2023. Five years later, Cole is returning to run the DEA, having emerged as President Donald Trump’s unexpected choice for the position.Unlike other former agents who have led the DEA, Cole never rose to its top ranks or even ran one of its 23 domestic field divisions. His most significant leadership experience has been overseeing police, prisons and emergency response agencies under Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Trump ally who championed Cole for the DEA post.But with the White House promising an all-out fight against the traffickers who have flooded U.S. markets with fentanyl and other illegal drugs, Cole would bring an unusual background to the job. That includes some searing experiences with the corruption that sustains the drug trade, and a conviction that the United States cannot successfully fight the traffickers without also taking on the officials who abet their operations.“The Mexican drug cartels work hand-in-hand with corrupt Mexican government officials at high levels,” Cole said in an interview with the far-right news site Breitbart shortly after his retirement. “If the average taxpayer had a basic understanding of how these two groups work together still — to this minute — they would be sickened.”The Trump administration has warned that it is prepared to take unilateral actions against drug mafias in Mexico if the government there does not greatly escalate its own efforts. But current and former officials said White House discussions have been more focused on the tactics it could use against the traffickers — from drone strikes to cyber operations — than on any longer-term strategy to weaken them.The administration may also have set in motion a new era of interagency competition on the issue, with the CIA and the Defense Department presenting proposals to expand U.S. intelligence collection on traffickers in Mexico and try to disrupt their operations in ways that may or may not complement the efforts of the DEA and other law enforcement agencies.How U.S. officials might confront Mexico’s endemic corruption remains an open question. But after decades in which the problem has been mostly subordinated to other U.S. interests, it is likely to command a higher priority in American policy — and to unsettle the U.S. relationship with Mexico.In its first announcement of punitive tariffs on Mexico, the White House cited “an intolerable alliance” between the government and the drug trade. “This alliance endangers the national security of the United States, and we must eradicate the influence of these dangerous cartels,” it said.Hoping to avoid an economic calamity, Mexico has conspicuously intensified its own drug enforcement efforts since then. But when asked about Cole’s nomination, President Claudia Sheinbaum warned that she would uphold the sharp restrictions on DEA activities in Mexico imposed by her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.“We will never permit interventionism or violations of our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum said. “It will not be like before President López Obrador, no.”Privately, some DEA veterans have lobbied against Cole. Those former officials, most of them associated with the agency’s Special Operations Division, have questioned Cole’s qualifications for the job in discussions with Senate staff aides, but they have been unwilling to air their criticism publicly.A former college lacrosse player, Cole was described by colleagues as a driven, competitive and sometimes abrasive agent and supervisor. As a rookie agent in McAlester, Oklahoma, Cole made enough of an impression to be sent in 2002 to Bogotá, Colombia, in the early years of the billion-dollar U.S. aid program known as Plan Colombia.The ambitious U.S. effort sought to help Colombia transform its criminal justice system, root out corruption, and combat the interwoven threats of drug gangs, leftist guerrillas and right-wing paramilitary groups. At the center of the plan was the creation of elite police teams, vetted and trained by the DEA, that operated alongside U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies.The team that worked with Cole and several other agents was among Colombia’s most effective, former DEA officials said. In Bogotá, it made a series of arrests and drug seizures that struck at the Norte del Valle Cartel and its leader, Diego Montoya. It also uncovered evidence that the cartel had co-opted high-level officials in both the police and military, they said.“We were doing amazing things,” Cole recalled last year on a podcast with Republican former U.S. Rep. Mary Bono. “Working some of the biggest corruption cases, against some of the highest-level Colombian government officials. But on May 22, 2006, that’s when it all came crashing down for me.”That day, an informant walked into the Colombian team’s offices in Cali offering a tip that Montoya’s men had stashed some cocaine in the nearby town of Jamundí. After seeking approval from senior police officials but not the DEA, agency officials said, the team leader gathered nine of his agents and drove off with the informant to investigate.As they pulled up to the isolated location, the police came under a barrage of gunfire. The shooting continued for 20 minutes until all 10 agents and their informant were dead. When Cole arrived at the scene that night with the Colombian attorney general and the head of the national police, they found the agents’ bodies on the ground; the Colombian army soldiers who attacked them were still on the hillside above them.Cole was devastated.“Those guys worked very closely with him,” his supervisor, Matthew Donahue, said. “We depended on them, and they depended on us. It was like having your partner killed.”Although the army claimed that the shootings were a tragic accident, the attorney general found that the informant had been planted by the traffickers and that the lieutenant colonel who led the troops had organized the ambush. In 2008, he and 14 soldiers were convicted of aggravated homicide.A few months after the killings, Cole went ahead with a planned tour of duty in Afghanistan. There, he found again that U.S. allies in the war were sometimes as involved in the drug trade as the Taliban insurgents they fought.In 2008, Cole moved to Dallas, where he earned a reputation as a sharp-elbowed group supervisor who pushed his agents to get their photographs on the office wall by making the biggest cases and seizing the biggest loads. He was regarded highly by his superiors, several former colleagues said, but less popular with some of his peers.By 2010, Cole’s squad was focused on the Texas distribution network of the Zetas, then widely seen as the most violent of Mexico’s drug mafias, and one of its leaders, Miguel Treviño Morales.By leveraging the cooperation of traffickers facing prosecution, one of Cole’s agents obtained a list of cellphone numbers being used by Treviño; his brother, Omar; and their lieutenants. It was a coup — a way to perhaps intercept the Zeta leaders’ calls and encrypted text messages or even track their movements in real time.On March 9, 2011, government records show, Cole entered the eight numbers and a PIN code for one of the phones into a secure agency database. He then forwarded them to the DEA’s Special Operations Division, which could sometimes intercept or geolocate cellphones overseas with the help of U.S. intelligence agencies.Cole also sent the numbers to the DEA offices in Mexico City and Nuevo Laredo, where other agents were investigating the Zetas, officials said. Ten days later, gunmen led by the Treviño brothers roared into the Mexican border town of Allende, where the DEA’s informants had been operating. The traffickers began torturing and murdering anyone who they suspected might be connected to the men they thought had betrayed them, killing as many as 200 men, women and children.In a 2017 article, ProPublica reported that Cole’s forwarding of the numbers to U.S. agents in Mexico — who then shared them with a DEA-trained Mexican police unit that warned the Zetas — led to the Treviños’ rampage. Only years later did the DEA, prodded by Congress, even review its files on the case; it never investigated its possible role in the massacre.Cole declined to be interviewed for ProPublica’s article, and a White House spokesperson said he could not comment on the case now because the Treviño brothers, who were handed over to the United States by Mexico on Feb. 27, are facing prosecution for trafficking, murder and other crimes. They pleaded not guilty last month in a Washington, D.C., federal court.The White House spokesperson said “of course” Cole and other DEA officials considered the sensitivity of sending the Zetas’ phone information to Mexico but followed standard protocols in doing so. A former deputy head of the DEA office in Dallas, Daniel Salter, said he and the special agent in charge there made that decision, not Cole.At least three senior Mexican police officials who might have had access to the phone numbers shared by the DEA have since been charged in the United States with colluding with the traffickers. But officials said that subsequent DEA reporting also pointed to another reason why the Treviños might have turned on the informant who was their primary target in Allende: He owed them some $30 million and was blamed for some earlier U.S. seizures of drugs and cash.After Dallas, Cole spent four years at the agency’s Washington-area headquarters, watching as U.S. law-enforcement agencies struggled with the Mexicans to hunt down well-protected drug bosses, like Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, without making any substantial impact on the flow of drugs.But even that halting cooperation came to an end as Mexico’s new president, López Obrador, took office promising to fight the drug trade with “hugs, not bullets.” He sidelined police teams trained by the DEA, shut down a Mexican marine commando unit that had been the country’s most effective weapon against the traffickers and even refused to grant visas to DEA agents assigned to Mexico.Former officials said Cole, who arrived in Mexico City in late 2018 as a deputy director of the DEA’s regional office, soon proposed a radical solution: If the agents couldn’t get Mexican officials to work with them to pursue the traffickers, what about going after the corrupt officials who were protecting the traffickers’ operations?For decades, U.S. investigators had generally avoided such targets, lest they be seen as interfering in internal Mexican politics. But the extradition of high-level Mexican traffickers over the previous decade had created a pool of criminals eager to reduce their sentences by helping U.S. prosecutors, and many were willing to testify about the officials they had bribed.A team of DEA agents pulled together files on some 35 possible targets, ranging from police and military commanders to Mexican cabinet officials. One target that stood out was García Luna, the once-powerful security minister who had worked closely with U.S. officials.While the Biden administration hailed García Luna’s prosecution in 2023 as proof of its mettle in pursuing corruption, it also worked assiduously to avoid drug enforcement actions that might antagonize López Obrador and jeopardize his help in controlling illegal migration.Cole was by then gone from the DEA, having left Mexico City after just a year. He had once hoped to succeed Donahue there but was not seriously considered for the post. He retired from the agency after 22 years.As Virginia’s secretary of public safety and homeland security, Cole focused on trying to limit fentanyl trafficking, an effort that drew the attention of Trump supporters. While he kept a fairly low public profile, Cole’s tough rhetoric on Mexico was also very much in line with Trump’s.“Mexico has been a failing state for years,” he told Bono. Referring to the reported recruitment of foreign mercenaries by the drug gangs, he added, “Now we’re seeing Mexico turn into a terror training camp similar to what we saw in the Middle East years ago.”Although the Trump administration’s attention to the drug issue has raised the DEA’s profile, Cole will, if confirmed as the administrator, likely have to fight for its place in a growing bureaucratic scrum.Already, officials said, the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations have been pushing to lead the Trump administration’s campaign against trafficking groups that it has designated as terrorist organizations. The CIA and the Defense Department have also expanded their efforts to collect intelligence on the traffickers and put forward options for more aggressive actions to strike at their operations.With Sheinbaum still attacking the DEA as a symbol of American interventionism, all four of those competing agencies may have an easier time rebuilding trust with the Mexican government. But while Mexican leaders insist they will act on hard evidence of corruption in their ranks, many U.S. officials remain skeptical that they will be able to make a serious push for such action without upending the two countries’ relationship.
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[l] at 4/29/25 7:17pm
Donald Trump grew visibly frustrated during a heated interview exchange with ABC News' Terry Moran, whom the president accused of not being “very nice” after being pressed on whether a White House photo of a migrant with MS-13 tattoos was digitally altered.The testy back-and-forth came after Moran challenged Trump’s claim that a photo clearly showed Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father deported to El Salvador, with gang tattoos on his knuckles. The image has come under scrutiny as being “contested,” Moran told Trump.“You think it was photoshopped? Trump asked Moran. “Go look at his hand. He had MS-13.”Moran pushed back, noting that the tattoos weren’t visible in previous images as he tried to move the exclusive Oval Office interview that aired as Trump marked his 100th day in office, along to the topic of Ukraine.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent“You know, you’re doing the interview,” Trump said Tuesday as he fired back. “I picked you because frankly, I never heard of you – but that’s okay. But you’re not being very nice.”Trump refused to move on from the moment.“This is why people no longer believe the news – because it’s fake news,” the president said. “It’s such a disservice,” he added. “Why don’t you just say, ‘yes,’ he does, and go on to something.”Watch the clip below or at this link.TRUMP: He had MS-13 on his knuckles, tattooed!MORAN: That was photoshopped TRUMP: Terry, they're giving you the big break of a lifetime. I picked you. But you're not being very nice. pic.twitter.com/NgCpEB8o1S— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 30, 2025
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:57pm
President Donald Trump's attorney general, Pam Bondi, made an astonishing claim about the administration's anti-drug trafficking efforts on Tuesday afternoon."Today is Fentanyl Awareness day," Bondi posted to X. "In President Trump’s first 100 days we’ve seized over 22 million fentanyl laced pills, saving over 119 Million lives. We are fighting relentlessly for the families of loved ones lost, for those whose lives are at risk, and for the soul of our nation. We will not rest until this poison is off our streets and those peddling it are behind bars. Today I visited a @DEAHQ forensic lab to learn more about how the cartels are quickly making this poison that kills Americans."Many commenters, however, called out the absurd figure that 119 million American lives — about a third of the entire population — were saved from fentanyl overdoses in 100 days.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent"RIP math" wrote David Burge of @iowahawkblog."Over one-third of the population would have died!" wrote blogger Bob Seawright."Wow, they prevented 1/3 of the country from OD’ing," wrote Robert Hirschfield, director of water policy for the Illinois-based Prairie Rivers Network."Wow. If it were not for President Trump, 1/3 of the US population would have died in the last 100 days," wrote George Mason University economics professor Alex Tabarrok."Apparently 1-in-3 Americans would have suffered fentanyl-related deaths in the last 100 days (from each taking one fifth of a pill) if not for the Attorney General's innumeracy," wrote University of Michigan economics professor Justin Wolfers."By the end of 2025, Donald Trump will have saved every American. Thank you, Mr. President!" wrote University of Toronto assistant political science professor Connor Ewing."Let me get this straight: You think 1/3 of the American public would have died as a result of one pile of drugs?" wrote Words & Numbers co-host James Harrigan. "Would the capture of 66m pills save the entire country from certain death? Are you dumb enough to buy this, @AGPamBondi ? Or do you just hope your followers are?"
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:51pm
U.S. House GOP starts reconciliation work with increase for border security by Ariana Figueroa and Jennifer Shutt, Kansas Reflector April 29, 2025 WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday kicked off their work to build consensus on “one big, beautiful bill,” to fund President Donald Trump’s priorities, including a major funding boost for immigration enforcement and border security. After returning from a two-week recess, House lawmakers started debating and amending the various sections of the bill with markups in the Armed Services, Education and Workforce, and Homeland Security committees. Congressional Republicans are using reconciliation — a special procedure that skirts the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster — to put together one bill to fulfill the White House’s priorities on border security, tax cuts, energy policy and defense. The Homeland panel’s bill, which would increase funding for border security by $70 billion, aligns with Trump’s second-term agenda, which has centered on an immigration crackdown. The Homeland Security portion of the reconciliation package recommends $46.5 billion to construct a barrier along U.S. borders and $5 billion for Customs and Border Protection facilities, including $4.1 billion to hire 3,000 Border Patrol agents and 5,000 CBP officers. It would also set aside $2 billion for retention and signing bonuses for CBP staff. “It is critical that the Republican majority do what the people elected us to do, approve funds for effective border security and enforcement measures,” House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green of Tennessee said. The bill also includes $2.7 billion in technology surveillance along U.S. borders and roughly $1 billion for inspection technology at ports of entry. The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said Democrats were unified in their opposition to the proposal. He argued that roughly $70 billion in funding would only aid the Trump administration in its plans of mass deportation and not address border security. “House Republican leadership is putting lipstick on this pig of a reconciliation package by pretending it’s about border security,” Thompson said. Votes on all three committees’ bills, and amendments mostly from Democrats raising objections to the package, were expected late Tuesday or after midnight Wednesday. The committees are not expected to adopt any of the Democratic amendments. Summer floor votes Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday he expects the House will spend the rest of this week and next week debating the 11 different bills in committee before rolling them all into one reconciliation package. The full House will debate and vote to approve the legislation before Memorial Day, under the current timeline. “I don’t know how long the Senate is going to take to do their piece,” Johnson said. “But I was very encouraged after the meeting yesterday, frankly. Leader (John) Thune and Sen. (Mike) Crapo are on point. The Senate Republicans have been working very hard together.” Thune, of South Dakota, is the Senate majority leader and Crapo, of Idaho, chairs the tax-writing Finance Committee. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the administration would like the package to clear Congress before the Fourth of July, though Johnson said he “hopes” to finalize a deal before that deadline. Thune said later Tuesday that the reconciliation package’s final look will be decided by what policies have the votes to get through each chamber. “Ultimately, what gets included in a reconciliation bill will be determined by what there are 218 votes for in the House and 51, or 50, votes for in the United States Senate,” Thune said. Democrats object to deportations Democrats on the Homeland Security panel introduced amendments to signal their opposition to the administration’s deportation agenda. Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter was one of several Democrats to sharply criticize the recent deportation of three U.S. citizen children to Honduras during the Homeland Security Committee’s markup. He noted that one of the children removed with his mother to Honduras, is a 4-year-old battling Stage 4 cancer. “This is not border security,” Carter said. “This is state-sanctioned trauma. Democrats introduced amendments to bar federal funds being used to detain immigrants at a foreign prison, following an agreement between the U.S. and El Salvador to detain more than 300 men in a notorious mega-prison. Experts have raised concerns the agreement could violate a law against funding foreign governments engaged in human rights abuses. “This is not an idle possibility,” Democratic Rep. Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island said. He pointed out that Trump asked El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele to consider taking “homegrown” criminals, meaning U.S. citizens. “This is insane,” Magaziner said. “It is outrageous and every American should be terrified by this prospect.” Several other Democrats introduced amendments related to the Trump administration’s use of the prison in El Salvador. Boost for Pentagon The House Armed Services Committee portion of the reconciliation package would bolster defense spending by $150 billion over the next decade. That funding would be divvied up between numerous national security priorities, including $25 billion for Trump’s goal of having a countrywide missile defense system, similar to Israel’s Iron Dome. The defense bill would appropriate $34 billion for shipbuilding and the maritime industrial base, $21 billion for munitions purchases, $14 billion for “initiatives to scale production of game changing new technology,” $13 billion for nuclear deterrence and $12 billion to enhance military readiness, according to a GOP summary of that bill. Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said at the beginning of his committee’s markup that the bill would make a “generational investment in our national security.” “It is clear we are no longer deterring our adversaries,” Rogers said. “The threats we face today from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea and others, are much more serious and challenging than we have ever faced before.” Washington Democratic Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member on the panel, said there’s “no question that the Department of Defense has needs and there’s also no question that we as a country face threats.” But Smith criticized Republicans for moving the defense funding boost within the massive reconciliation package, which will increase the deficit. “We’re, once again, saying to the American people, ‘This is important but not important enough to actually pay for it.’ So the budget itself is a huge problem,” Smith said. “And you really can’t support the additional $150 billion for defense if you don’t support the overall reconciliation bill because that’s what this is. And the overall reconciliation bill, I firmly believe, is a disaster for this country.” Smith criticized Republicans for proposing additional dollars for the Pentagon while it is run by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is under investigation for sending information about a bombing campaign in Yemen to a group chat that inadvertently included a journalist and a different group chat that included his wife, brother and others. “They have not even begun to prove that there is a chance in hell that they will spend this money intelligently, efficiently and effectively,” Smith said. “Secretary Hegseth has proven himself to be completely incapable of doing the job of secretary of Defense.” Cuts for Pell grants The Education and Workforce Committee’s markup fell along similar partisan lines, with GOP lawmakers lauding the bill and Democrats rejecting Republicans’ plans seeking to overhaul federal spending. Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Mich., said the legislation would cut $330 billion in federal spending over the next decade by reshaping federal student loan programs and Pell grants for low-income students, among several other changes. “Dumping more federal money into a broken system doesn’t mean that system will work,” Walberg said. “In fact, government spending on higher education has reached record highs, yet millions of students benefiting from those funds will ultimately end up with a degree that doesn’t pay off or fail to finish school altogether.” The GOP bill, he said, would “bring much-needed reform in three key areas: simplified loan repayment, streamlined student loan options, and accountability for students and taxpayers.” Walberg scolded former President Joe Biden for not working with Congress to overhaul federal grant and loan programs for higher education, saying the former administration “was determined to keep pouring taxpayer funds into the abyss in a futile attempt to keep up with the unacceptable and unaccountable institutional prices.” Virginia Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member, said that Congress should look at ways to make college more affordable through reforms, but said the GOP bill “misses the mark.” “This current reconciliation plan would increase costs for colleges and students. It would limit students access to quality programs, which would then reduce their likelihood of finding a rewarding or successful career,” Scott said. “And then take the so-called savings to pay for more tax cuts for the wealthy and the well-connected.” Republicans “limiting the students’ access to Pell grants and federal loans,” he said, could increase the number of people who have to rely on “predatory, private loans” to pay for college. “Put bluntly: The Republican plan will limit how much money middle- and low-income students can borrow from the federal government,” Scott said. “As a result, limiting the federal student aid that students can receive means that millions of students will not be able to access federal assistance that they need to complete their degrees. Moreover, this bill will force student borrowers into unaffordable repayment plans.” Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:45pm
President Donald Trump didn’t hold back his frustrations with a journalist during a heated moment in an exclusive ABC News interview, where he refused to say whether he had “100% confidence” in his embattled defense secretary.The tense exchange came in a new interview with ABC’s Terry Moran, who pressed Trump about ongoing turmoil inside the Pentagon involving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.“Do you have 100% confidence in Pete Hegseth? Moran asked Trump in the Oval Office moment previewed on CNN Tuesday evening.“I don’t have 100% confidence in anything, okay? Anything,” Trump said as he bristled between his responses. “It's a stupid question.” ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentThat’s when Moran pushed back, telling the president the topic was “pretty important.” But Trump didn't back down.“No, no, no,” Trump shot back. “You don't have 100%. Only a liar would say I have 100% confidence. I don’t have 100% confidence that we're going to finish this interview.”Moran replied: “We will,” and the interview later concluded, CNN reported. The moment came as Hegseth continues to be embroiled by revelations that he shared detailed military planning in private Signal chats, including with his wife, brother, personal attorney, and about a dozen other people in tow, according to media reports.Watch the video below via CNN or at the link here:
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:43pm
Harvard University task forces charged with investigating claims of anti-Semitism, and anti-Arab and Muslim hate reported Tuesday that such prejudice had taken root on campus, urging the college to champion the fight against bigotry.Harvard, with other prestigious US universities, has been accused by President Donald Trump of turning a blind eye to campus anti-Semitism in the wake of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, and the retaliatory campaign in Gaza.US universities, including Harvard, were at the forefront of vocal protests against Israel's military onslaught, as well as sometimes tense counter-demonstrations.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentIn response, Trump has sought to take control of college curriculums and staffing as well as slash funding, while deporting foreign student activists associated with the pro-Palestinian movement.A task force report on anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias said both had "been fomented, practiced, and tolerated not only at Harvard but also within academia more widely."The report, which heard from hundreds of students and staff at dozens of listening sessions, urged the university's leadership "to become champions in the fight against anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli bias."A separate task force on combating anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias found "a deep-seated sense of fear among students, staff, and faculty." "Muslims, Palestinians, Arab Christians, and others of Arab descent as well as pro-Palestinian allies described a state of uncertainty, abandonment, threat, and isolation, and a pervasive climate of intolerance," the report said.- Trump's fury -Vowing to implement changes recommended in the reports, the university's president, Alan Garber, said "Harvard cannot -- and will not -- abide bigotry.""We will continue to provide for the safety and security of all members of our community and safeguard their freedom from harassment," he said in a statement.Trump has previously bashed Harvard, labeling the prestigious university an "Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution," as it battles his administration's bid to freeze billions of dollars of its federal funding.He is furious at Harvard for rejecting government supervision of its admissions, hiring practices and political ideology and ordered the freezing of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the storied institution.Trump and his White House team have publicly justified their campaign against universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism.Many US universities, including Harvard, cracked down on pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the time, with the Cambridge-based institution placing 23 students on probation and denying degrees to 12 others, according to protest organizers.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:42pm
by Ben TurnerWith music blasting and flags flying, supporters of Donald Trump celebrated his barnstorming first 100 days back in office as they gathered in Michigan in a party-like atmosphere to see the US president speak."He's done a beautiful job," said seller Donna Fitzsimons, 65, as she arranged an array of Trump merchandise outside the venue -- including special "I Was There!" badges to mark Tuesday's milestone.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentHundreds of people, many sporting Trump's iconic red baseball cap, erupted in sporadic cheers as Trump gave a 90-minute speech at Macomb Community College, just north of US carmaking hub Detroit and near the border of American friend-turned-foe Canada.The event marked 100 hectic days in the White House dominated by an immigration crackdown, sweeping levies and a wider right-wing agenda that has pitted Trump against the US courts amid complaints of executive overreach."He's taken quick action on things," said janitor Kyle Murphy, 45, who praised Trump for "calling out wokeness" and the work of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by his billionaire ally Elon Musk.Steve Camber, a 60-year-old retired nurse, agreed: "No one can do anything in 100 days that quickly. But I think he's doing really good, and DOGE is doing amazing things"Trump's supporters, who danced to rock music in the gymnasium-style hall before the president arrived, broke into chants of "USA! USA!" after he walked on stage in his signature blue suit and red tie.Speaking in front of a sign reading "The Golden Age," Trump whipped the crowd up as he touted his successes, from tackling illegal immigration to renaming the Gulf of Mexico."We're saving the American dream. We're making America great again and it's happening fast," Trump told the audience, which was mostly full but thinned out towards the back.One of the biggest cheers came after a video was played showing migrants deported from the United States having their heads shaved by armed guards in El Salvador, which has agreed to accept US deportees.At least one young man -- Trump suggested over the microphone he was a "radical left lunatic" -- was removed from the event to boos after a disturbance in the audience.Dozens of protesters aligned with the Democrats also gathered opposite the venue, with some holding signs reading "I desist," local media showed.Tuesday's event marked Trump's return to his campaign trail stomping grounds in blue-collar Macomb County, which helped him win the crucial swing state of Michigan.- 'Love' -For some attendees, it was a historic chance to show their love for the Republican leader."Any opportunity to see our president is exciting for me," said Lisa Reeves, a 55-year-old decorator, who sported a glittery MAGA hat."We love President Trump and his family. We just love their heart for America and the morality that they have for this country," she added.Still, some voiced reservations about Trump's actions, as opinion polls have shown a slump in support for the president since January.Nelly Nkouka, 40, who moved to America from the Congo in 2005, said she liked that Trump was "honest" but was hesitant about his large-scale deportation of migrants."I think everybody needs a chance to be here," the care home supervisor said. "Somebody needs to talk to him about it, to let people have an American dream."Zaid Hanif, 29, said he backed Trump's clampdown on the southern US border but was disappointed about his coziness with Israel, and his failure to make China concede in the countries' ongoing trade war.Still, he was confident Trump could fix the economic turbulence triggered by his broad, stop-start tariffs policies that advocates say will boost American industry."Obviously the economy is not too good right now but to fix it, if you're not feeling well, you're going to take some medicine, and medicine doesn’t always taste the best," said Hanif, a textiles business owner.Fitzsimons, the merchandise seller, agreed: "It takes time to get to where you need to go... Let it play out."
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:39pm
by Andréa BAMBINOMiriam Haleyi told jurors at Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault and rape retrial Tuesday that the mogul "humiliated" her and reduced her to tears, recounting to the court her ordeal, the disclosure of which fired the "MeToo" movement.Haleyi previously worked for Weinstein and her testimony was key to his conviction in 2020, subsequently overturned by an appeals court triggering the retrial at which she began to testify Tuesday. She will take the stand again Wednesday.The former Miramax studio boss is charged with the 2006 sexual assault of former production assistant Haleyi and the 2013 rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann. He also faces a new count for an alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old in 2006.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentAhead of 48-year-old Haleyi's evidence, her lawyer Gloria Allred told journalists: "It is a big sacrifice for her to return to New York in terms of time, emotionally, to have to relive again what she alleged happened to her many years ago in 2006.""But she's willing to do it. I'm very proud of her. She's doing it for only one reason -- because it's for the cause of justice," Allred said.Assistant District Attorney Shannon Lucey recounted Weinstein's alleged attacks in graphic detail during opening statements, saying all three women had begged him to stop, but that he had "all the power... He made all these women feel small."Prosecutors have described how Weinstein pestered Haleyi with multiple requests for massages and sexual favors before she found herself alone with him in an apartment one day in 2006.They detailed how Weinstein then forced himself on Haleyi, performing oral sex on her despite her pleas for him to stop.The award-winning movie producer, who was brought into the Manhattan criminal court in a wheelchair and wore a dark business suit, looked somber at times during the proceedings.Accusers describe the impresario as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actresses and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.But Arthur Aidala, Weinstein's defense attorney, has argued that the jury would hear no evidence of the use of force or a lack of consent.Presentation of the evidence in the retrial is expected to last five to six weeks.Weinstein's 2020 convictions over Haleyi and Mann were overturned last year by the New York Court of Appeals, which ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.The 73-year-old has said he hopes his case will be judged with "fresh eyes."Weinstein is already serving a 16-year prison sentence after being convicted of raping and assaulting a European actress more than a decade ago.The producer of a string of box office hits such as "Sex, Lies and Videotape," "Pulp Fiction" and "Shakespeare in Love," Weinstein has battled health issues.He has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:38pm
US President Donald Trump has removed Doug Emhoff, husband of his former rival Kamala Harris, from the Holocaust Memorial Council board, drawing an angry reaction.Emhoff, who is married to the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president, campaigned against anti-Semitism as part of the administration of Joe Biden, who appointed him to the board."Let me be clear: Holocaust remembrance and education should never be politicized," Emhoff, who is Jewish, posted on Tuesday, confirming his dismissal.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent"To turn one of the worst atrocities in history into a wedge issue is dangerous -- and it dishonors the memory of six million Jews murdered by Nazis that this museum was created to preserve."Since taking office, Trump has looked beyond politics to impose his brand of right-wing populism on cultural and educational institutions such as Washington's prestigious Kennedy Center and Harvard University.He has also sought to settle scores with perceived adversaries -- targeting law firms associated with his political foes, such as Emhoff's employer, Willkie Farr & Gallagher.Several other former officials removed from the Holocaust board include Biden's White House chief of staff Ron Klain, domestic policy advisor Susan Rice and an aide to former first lady Jill Biden, The New York Times reported.The White House Presidential Personnel Office sent an email to council members early Tuesday, according to the Times, which read: "(On) behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council is terminated, effective immediately."The council was established by Congress in 1980 to lead the country in commemorating the Holocaust, launching the Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1993.Emhoff said his commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education, as well as to combating hate and anti-Semitism, remained undiminished. "I will continue to speak out, to educate, and to fight hate in all its forms because silence is never an option," he said.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:35pm
In visit to Texas, RFK Jr. said autism, diabetes deserve more attention than measles By Terri Langford, The Texas Tribune April 29, 2025 "In visit to Texas, RFK Jr. said autism, diabetes deserve more attention than measles" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a visit to Texas on Tuesday that measles deserves less attention than other chronic diseases, while downplaying the number of deaths that have occurred in the state’s historic outbreak of the virus. During a visit to Texas A&M University in College Station, Kennedy said that Europe’s measles deaths are higher than the U.S.’ “four deaths in 20 years,” two of whom were Texas children this year. He also said more attention should be focused on chronic conditions like diabetes, as well as autism, which Kennedy has previously linked to the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine. The scientific community has widely debunked the theory, asserting the vaccine does not cause autism. [More than 660 measles cases reported in Texas. Track the spread here.] “Every child who gets measles gets a headline,” Kennedy said during the visit alongside Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. “When I was kid, there were 2 million measles cases a year and nobody wrote about them.” Over the last few months, Kennedy has been criticized for his response to the measles outbreak, which has been largely centered in Texas. He has questioned the role measles had in the deaths of three individuals confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control this year. He has praised private medical providers who have used alternative treatment methods on measles patients, to ease some symptoms including vitamin A and budesonide, an inhaled steroid typically used for asthma but does not “cure” measles. Public health officials have repeatedly said that two doses of the MMR vaccine is the most effective way to prevent measles. He stressed on Tuesday that his agency has to take care of Texans who want to vaccinate, but also Texans who do not. “We have to talk to those people, too,” he said. Kennedy stressed the federal support he’s sending to Texas, which has footed the bill so far to try to contain the outbreak through testing and vaccination. So far, the effort has cost the state more than $4.5 million since the first case was detected in late January, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. “We’re working very closely with the governor of Texas with the public health officials in Texas. We’ve provided them enormous support from the CDC, all the support that they’ve requested for vaccines and for alternative medicine,” he said. He also struck an optimistic note about the state of Texas’ outbreak. He said measles cases are slowing as officials are doing well to manage the outbreak. While Tuesday’s state measles update shows the number of cases slowing in Gaines County, the heart of the outbreak, areas new to the outbreak, such as El Paso, are showing a faster rise in cases. On Tuesday, El Paso had 11 new cases, a 45% increase since Friday. Texas health officials were more cautious about whether this slowing of infections could be maintained. On Tuesday the number of measles cases in Texas had risen to 663 cases in 26 counties. Of those, 87 patients had been hospitalized and two school-aged children have died since the outbreak began in January. "It’s too soon to say. We can really only see trends looking backwards. We’d need to see a few weeks of decline to say that it was trending downward,” said Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services. “There was a lot of travel for the Easter holiday so we’re watching to see if there is an increase in cases over the next few weeks." Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine and vocal vaccine proponent, said work remains to contain the outbreak. “The numbers are still going up,” Hotez said. “This is not a time to take your foot off the gas.” Rollins said she invited Kennedy to her alma mater to see Texas A&M’s research, as the two agencies work on the upcoming five-year Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The report, which both secretaries said would come out this summer, is expected to be a rejection of the latest 453-page advisory report, completed under the Biden Administration, that typically informs policies on healthy eating. “Traditionally, the dietary guidelines have been a political document,” Kennedy said. “Today, we’re changing that.” During the event, Rollins ticked off Americans’ poor health metrics, including how about 100 million Americans are obese and the rates of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other diet-related diseases on the rise. She also announced a second round of funding for USDA’s marketing assistance for specialty crops program. A total of $1.3 billion is being made available to farmers who grow specialty items including fruits, vegetables, vegetable seed, mushrooms, tree nuts, nursery crops, Christmas trees and culinary and medicinal herbs and spices. Kennedy complimented A&M’s commitment to providing better nutrition to the American people, after making several tour stops on the campus including a sorghum greenhouse. “No longer will taxpayers pay for junk food and sugary drinks for our SNAP recipients. When we talk about chronic obesity and chronic disease, especially amongst our youth and our adolescents, it hits the hardest with those who are the most food challenged,” Rollins said. Disclosure: Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas’ breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2025/04/29/texas-measles-robert-kennedy-autism/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:22pm
An unlikely institution is being pressganged into assisting in President Donald Trump's war on immigrants: the U.S. Postal Service.According to The Washington Post, "The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, a little-known police and investigative force for the mail agency, recently joined a Department of Homeland Security task force geared toward finding, detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of professional reprisals."Typically, the Postal Inspection Service's mandate is to ensure security for the mail and postal workers and prevent the use of the Postal Service to send illegal materials like drugs or child abuse imagery.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentHomeland Security officials "are seeking photographs of the outside of envelopes and packages — an Inspection Service program known as 'mail covers' — and access to the postal investigation agency’s broad surveillance systems, including Postal Service online account data, package- and mail-tracking information, credit card data and financial material and IP addresses, the people said," the report continued.The development raised alarms among observers, fearful that the Postal Service's broad reach throughout the country could be dangerous if weaponized.“The Inspection Service is very, very nervous about this,” an anonymous source close to the Postal Inspection Service said. “They seem to be trying to placate Trump by getting involved with things they think he’d like. But it’s complete overreach. This is the Postal Service. Why are they involved in deporting people?”Trump has already faced an avalanche of court challenges over his mass deportation schemes, from the removal of a Maryland father protected by a court order to the deportation of U.S. citizen children being treated for cancer.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:18pm
The Trump administration just dismissed all 400 experts working on America’s official climate report "This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here." Every several years for the past 25 years, the federal government has published a comprehensive look at the way climate change is affecting the country. States, local governments, businesses, farmers, and many others use this National Climate Assessment to prepare for rising temperatures, more bouts of extreme weather, and worsening disasters such as wildfires.On Monday, however, the Trump administration told all of the more than 400 volunteer scientists and experts working on the next assessment that it was releasing them from their roles. A brief memo said the scope of the report was being “reevaluated” within the context of the Congressional legislation that mandates it.The move throws the National Climate Assessment, whose sixth iteration is supposed to be released in late 2027 or early 2028, into even deeper uncertainty. Earlier this month, the Trump administration canceled funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, the White House office that produces the report and helps coordinate research across more than a dozen federal agencies.Rachel Cleetus, a senior policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, was among the authors who were dismissed on Monday. She and her colleagues had just submitted a draft outline for a chapter about coastlines, with information on how sea level rise could affect communities and urban infrastructure. “It was an honor and I was looking forward to contributing,” Cleetus said. “This is the kind of actionable science that people need to help prepare for climate change and address the challenges that climate change is already bringing our way.”Cleetus said it was “irresponsible” that the administration would dismiss hundreds of experts working on the assessment, seemingly without a plan for creating an alternative. Although the memo says participants may still have “opportunities to contribute or engage,” it doesn’t elaborate and the White House did not respond to a list of questions from Grist. The Trump administration is required by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 to, among other things, commission a scientific report every four years on “global change, both human-induced and natural.” The report is supposed to cover the latest science on a wide range of climate and environmental trends and how they might affect agriculture, energy production, human health, and other areas for the next 25 to 100 years.Since 2000, this report has taken the form of the National Climate Assessment. The last one, released in 2023, broke down climate impacts by topic and geography, with individual chapters on the Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, and so on. It also laid out the state of the science on mitigating and adapting to climate change, including examples of what many cities and states are already doing. The fourth assessment was published in 2018, during Trump’s first term in the White House.All of the science that informs the national assessments must be peer-reviewed, and the reports themselves don’t endorse specific policies. “They’re not telling anyone what to do,” said Melissa Finucane, the Union of Concerned Scientists’ vice president of science and innovation and an author of the fifth assessment. “They’re just providing information on how to best address problems with effective solutions.”What’s next for the National Climate Assessment is unclear. Legally, only Congress can scrap it altogether, but experts say the Trump administration could decide to publish a dramatically scaled-back version or use it as a tool for misinformation — by, for instance, downplaying the link between global warming and the use of fossil fuels.“One might be concerned that the administration will replace it with something much less robust, replacing it potentially with junk science,” Finucane said. The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, a list of policy recommendations that the Trump administration seems to have drawn from during its first 100 days, only mentions the National Climate Assessment in a short section about the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Russell Vought, now director of the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget, recommended that the program be scaled back to a limited advisory role. He wrote that the program typified “climate fanaticism” and “the woke agenda.”Another possibility is that the experts involved in the assessment will continue their work, even without federal support. That’s what happened earlier this year with what was supposed to be the country’s first National Nature Assessment. When the Trump administration canceled work on it in February, its authors vowed to carry on and publish their results anyway.Finucane said the Nature Assessment had been farther along than the sixth climate report, and that it wouldn’t be possible for a small group of volunteers to take on the massive amount of work and coordination required to put together the sixth assessment “I absolutely hope that the work that has been done can continue in some way, but we have to have our eyes wide open,” Finucane said.Dave White, director of the Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation at Arizona State University, said there are some international and state-level climate reports that could fill in the gaps left by a scaled-back or canceled National Climate Assessment. The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for example, synthesizes climate science on a global level every few years (although the Trump administration recently blocked federal scientists from participating in it). “I’m disappointed, upset, frustrated on behalf of not only myself and my colleagues, but also on behalf of the American communities that benefit from the knowledge and tools developed by the assessment,” White said. “Those will be taken away from American communities now.”This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/science/trump-administration-experts-official-climate-report-nca/.Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:15pm
A federal judge in California issued an injunction on Tuesday preventing the U.S. Border Patrol in that district from making most warrantless arrests.According to Cal Matters, "The ruling came in response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed after the El Centro Border Patrol traveled to Kern County to conduct a three-day sweep in January, detaining day laborers, farm workers and others in a Home Depot parking lot, outside a convenience store and along a highway between orchards."U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Thurston scorched the Border Patrol's policies, saying, "You just can’t walk up to people with brown skin and say give me your papers."ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentAs part of the order, Thurston held that "Border Patrol is enjoined from conducting detentive stops in this District unless, pre-stop, the detaining agent has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is a noncitizen who is present within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law, as required by the Fourth Amendment," and that "Border patrol is enjoined from effecting warrantless arrests in this District unless, pre-arrest, the arresting agent has probable cause to believe that the noncitizen being arrested is likely to escape before a warrant is obtained."The upshot, noted American Immigration Council attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, is a "significant injunction in the Eastern District of California, barring the Border Patrol from stopping people without reasonable suspicion that they're in the country illegally and barring warrantless arrests without probable cause of escape without a warrant (as required by law)."This comes as the Trump administration seeks to ramp up not just border patrols but also mass deportations of people already within the country, sometimes in violation of protective orders. Attorneys for families ripped apart by these deportations are alleging in a lawsuit that the administration not only deported citizen children, including one with advanced cancer, but also proceeded to lie about the reason for it.
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[l] at 4/29/25 6:06pm
President Donald Trump added to the chaos of his fiery Michigan rally on Tuesday by unexpectedly calling up CNN conservative Scott Jennings – and the internet immediately took notice.“He defends me really well, but he can’t go too far because if he goes too far, he’ll get fired,” Trump told a crowd of supporters. “I watched him for years – I don’t know him – but he likes Trump,” he added. As Jennings made his way to the rally stage, Trump jabbed the cable news network where the longtime political insider is a regular defender of the president’s MAGA agenda. “Oh, CNN, this is the end of Scott – oh, who cares, we’ll take care of you Scott.” The moment drew cheers from rallygoers, but online, critics wasted no time piling on Jennings – and CNN.“Station has become a joke. Scott Jennings is a joke,” attorney Mike McGorry told his X followers. “Trump invites Scott Jennings on stage. Congrats, CNN!” independent journalist Aaron Rupar wrote in a Bluesky post.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent“David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Brothers Discovery, is the clown who hired Jennings,” Greg Gardner, a retired journalist, reminded his followers on Bluesky.Political strategist April Glick Pulito wrote in her own Bluesky post: “Jfc Scott Jennings just has always been mask off but this is new.”“Cable news keeps pretending people like Jennings are neutral while they’re literally on stage at political rallies,” Austin musician Nikos Unity wrote on X.“Beaming Scott Jennings [is] live from that Trump speech like he’s an actual journalist reporting on it is very much out of order,” Aneesa McMillan, communications director for the anti-gun organization GIFFORDS, concluded on Bluesky.Jennings himself took to social media after his on-stage cameo to tell his followers about his brief remarks: "I got caught up in the moment."
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[l] at 4/29/25 5:50pm
A prominent economist is challenging U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s claims about the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff war on Americans’ ability to access goods in stores and online.Bessent, a hedge fund manager and Trump donor and fundraiser, was asked on Monday if he’s worried about the possibility of empty shelves.“Not at present,” Bessent told Fox News. “We have some great retailers. I assume they preordered.”Appearing to mock Bessent, Wolfers paraphrased the Treasury Secretary: “If I hurt the American consumer enough, we’ll see how quickly the Chinese want to deescalate.”ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent“Well,” Wolfers continued, “I’m not sure which side’s meant to be looking out for us right now,” he told MSNBC’s Katy Tur.“Bessent might be right to say that shelves aren’t going to be empty,” Wolfers explained, “but the reason that would be is, if we have less stuff coming into the country and we’re not making more stuff, the only way that the shelves don’t empty is if the prices go up.”“So, I think at this point, any economist is forecasting, either the shelves empty or the prices go up a lot. I’m actually in camp prices go up, but these are two pretty terrible flavors.”Earlier on Tuesday, Wolfers appeared to mock several top members of the Trump administration.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “says he’s relying on Bessent to get a deal done with China, but on Sunday Bessent said he didn’t know whether or how often Trump has been calling Chinese President Xi, and Trump said he’s calling, but Xi said he’s not getting through,” Wolfers explained before asking, “Is anyone working on this?”Watch the video below or at this link.Here's what Treasury Secretary Bessent is saying: "If I hurt the American consumer enough, we'll see how quickly the Chinese want to escalate." pic.twitter.com/6aPiUxpx8h— Justin Wolfers (@JustinWolfers) April 29, 2025
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[l] at 4/29/25 5:30pm
President Donald Trump's mass deportation program is testing the limits of his constitutional authority and breaking up his MAGA coalition.Naturalized immigrant voters played a key role in Trump's return to the White House, picking up on gains he made in his losing 2020 race, with surveys showing he picked up 46 percent of their two-party vote. But his crackdown on undocumented immigrants, foreign students, and legal residents could erase those gains, wrote a pair of data analysts in a Washington Post op-ed."Voters so far appear to be souring on his handling of immigration in response — and there is reason to believe it might pose a unique threat to his party’s current coalition," Lakshya Jain and Max McCall are partners at Split Ticket, an election data analysis firm."Survey estimates are often prone to wide error bands, but actual election results substantiate the theory that Trump made extremely significant gains with these voters," they added. "Immigrant-heavy areas in New Jersey and New York, two states with the largest swings toward Trump in 2024, rocketed further to the right than areas with fewer immigrants did."ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituentRepublicans in general made similar gains in immigrant-heavy areas, which called into question long-held conventional wisdom about GOP immigration policies and immigrant voters."When Trump won in 2016 on an even more aggressively restrictionist and antagonistic campaign, his victory was mostly a result of his gains with blue-collar White voters in swing states, not immigrants," Jain and McCall wrote."Given Trump’s regular calls for mass deportations in 2024, the most recent realignment might seem counterintuitive," they added. "Many still assume that naturalized voters and their children are a steadfast bulwark for the Democratic Party, a notion that has leached its way into the darker undertones of public discourse, with Elon Musk recently calling Democratic immigration policies 'voter importation scams,' implying that new immigrants could permanently tilt the map against Republicans."However, the data shows immigrants who became citizens abandoned the Democratic Party at an even higher rate than natural-born citizens."Why? YouGov’s pre-election polling data, shared with the Post, found that immigrants rated the economy as their top issue in 2024, and that immigrant non-White voters were significantly more likely than native-born non-White voters to view crime as a determining factor in their vote," the analysts wrote. "On both of these topics, Republicans held issue-specific edges with the overall electorate in 2024. Additionally, moderate and liberal immigrants were much less likely to view abortion as particularly important to their vote, which helped neutralize one of Democrats’ strongest issues."Polling now shows that Trump's approval on immigration is rapidly declining, with a 50-45 disapproval rating, and vast majorities want him to return the mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego García from El Salvador and oppose the deportation of students who criticized U.S. foreign policy."If immigrant voters turn on Trump, it could rapidly unravel a key new addition to the Republican coalition," Jain and McCall wrote. "But there are few surveys with large sample sizes of naturalized immigrants or that regularly single them out for polling, and a combination of challenges posed by language, nonresponse and data reliability make it harder (and more expensive) for pollsters to track their attitudes.""If there’s a major shift, it might take some time to detect it," they added, "and the results of the 2025 gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey to help confirm it."
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[l] at 4/29/25 5:21pm
President Donald Trump encountered a heckler during his 100-day celebration rally in Michigan, and went off ranting about the person before confusedly correcting himself on their gender. "What's the problem over there? Is that a radical left lunatic?" said Trump in response to the heckling. "He's just a child. Get him out.""Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am," he continued. "I thought it was a guy. And she now has to go home to a mother who's a big Trump fan. Her mother's watching. I'm sorry. I said he and it's a she." This comes after a colorful speech in which Trump also attacked members of his own party, threatening to end their careers if they don't support his sweeping tax cut, energy, and border security bill.ALSO READ: 'Never so scared': Furious pastor berates cops after witnessing tasing of MTG constituent“If our bill doesn’t pass – we have 100%, just about, Republican support – but it’d be nice if we had just a couple of Democrats just to make sure. Because once in a while, you have a grandstander Republican – we have some grandstanders,” said Trump. “But remember who those grandstanders were and vote them the hell out of office, okay, will you do that?”Trump has often entertained the thought of violence against people who interrupt him, famously telling crowds in 2016 to attack protesters and that he would pay their legal fees. He went on to pardon around 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol to try to prevent the certification of his election loss in 2020.Watch the video below or at the link here.

As of 4/30/25 1:26am. Last new 4/29/25 10:30pm.

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