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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration moved its fast-paced dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development toward what appeared to be its final phases, telling all but a fraction of staffers worldwide that they were on leave as of Monday and notifying at least 1,600 of the U.S.-based staffers they were being fired.

The move was the latest and one of the biggest steps in what President Donald Trump and cost-cutting ally Elon Musk say is their goal of gutting the six-decade-old aid and development agency in a broader campaign to slash the size of the federal government.

The move comes after a federal judge on Friday allowed the administration to move forward with its plan to pull thousands of USAID staffers off the job in the United States and around the world. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols rejected pleas in a lawsuit from employees to keep temporarily blocking the government’s plan.

The top 10% of earners—households making about $250,000 a year or more—are splurging on everything from vacations to designer handbags, buoyed by big gains in stocks, real estate and other assets.

Those consumers now account for 49.7% of all spending, a record in data going back to 1989, according to an analysis by Moody’s Analytics. Three decades ago, they accounted for about 36%.

The top-level post uses a gift link. When it runs out, there is an archived copy of the article.

The former US ambassador to Panama has launched a stinging critique of Donald Trump’s approach towards Latin America, comparing his conduct to that of the ruthless and egotistical fictional mob boss Tony Soprano.

In the first month of his presidency, the US president has shocked some observers with his aggressive focus on a region many expected him to largely ignore. Early steps have included threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal, accusing Mexico’s government of being in cahoots with narco-traffickers, sending an envoy to meet the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, and clashing with Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, over deportation flights.

John Feeley, who was regarded as one of the state department’s top Latin America experts until he resigned from his job in Panama during Trump’s first term, said he was horrified but not surprised by Trump’s moves.

“If you use as your psychological paradigm [for Trump] a combination of Tony Soprano and Thucydides … it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he’s going to go to the Americas first,” the ex-ambassador said, referring to the ancient historian who chronicled the fifth-century BC struggle between Athens and Sparta.

Summary

The Trump administration has blocked the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant review meetings by halting their required Federal Register submissions, effectively freezing medical research funding in apparent violation of a judge’s order.

The NIH’s actions defy a court ruling mandating an end to funding pauses. Experts warn the delay could cost $1 billion every three days and disrupt life-saving research.

Scientists suspect the move is a covert attack on medical science. If the administration continues to defy court orders, officials could face contempt charges.

The NIH did not provide an explanation for the cancellations.

Appalachia, which spans from southern New York to northern Mississippi, usually evokes images of white working-class people, as depicted in JD Vance’s 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy. But it’s little known to people outside of the region that there’s a robust community of Black organizers who are rewriting the narrative of what it means to be Appalachian.

While just 10% of Appalachia is made up of Black residents, they are disproportionately impacted by resource extraction that has led to adverse effects on the environment, health and access to food. But Black activists in Appalachia such as Staysha Quentrill, a midwife and reproductive justice advocate in West Virginia; the Right Rev Marcia Dinkins, an environmental justice advocate in Ohio; and Femeika Elliott, a foodways practictioner in Tennessee are working to improve the wellbeing and safety of the people in their communities.

In her work as the founder of the Black Appalachian Coalition (Blac), an environmental justice group, Dinkins said she seeks to “dismantle the romanticized whitewashed narrative around Appalachia”.

Key U.S. agencies, including the FBI, State Department and the Pentagon, have instructed their employees not to comply with cost-cutting chief Elon Musk’s demand that federal workers explain what they accomplished last week — or risk losing their jobs.

Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated he is willing to resign if it ensures peace or NATO membership for Ukraine.

"If it is peace for Ukraine, and if you really want me to leave my post, I’m ready," he said. "Alternatively, I can trade this for NATO membership... I’m focusing on Ukraine’s security today, not in 20 years."

His comments come amid tensions with Donald Trump, who falsely suggested the Ukrainian president was responsible for starting the war.

Meanwhile, U.S.-Russia negotiations continue without Ukraine, which Zelenskyy firmly rejects. Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of Ukrainian involvement in any peace negotiations.

The United States sent $50 million in condoms to Hamas. Diversity programs caused a plane crash. China controls the Panama Canal. Ukraine started the war with Russia.

Except, no. None of that is true. Not that it stops President Trump. In the first month since he returned to power, he has demonstrated once again a brazen willingness to advance distortions, conspiracy theories and outright lies to justify major policy decisions.

Mr. Trump has long been unfettered by truth when it comes to boasting about his record and tearing down his enemies. But what were dubbed “alternative facts” in his first term have quickly become a whole alternative reality in his second to lay the groundwork for radical change as he moves to aggressively reshape America and the world.

MBFC
Archive

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/32672000

US Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys have asked a federal court in Texas to end a temporary pause on a case accusing Elon Musk’s tech company SpaceX of discriminating against immigrant job applicants.

Case file: https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/SpaceExplorationTechnologiesCorpvBelletalDocketNo123cv00137SDTexS/8?doc_id=X3GIQUAF0TQ80AB63HIABKNFIUF

Summary

Germany’s conservative CDU/CSU, led by Friedrich Merz, won around 29% of the vote in the snap general election, making Merz the frontrunner to form a ruling coalition.

The far-right AfD surged to 20%, nearly doubling its 2021 result, but remains politically isolated as major parties refuse to cooperate with it.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats suffered their worst result since WWII, while his coalition partners, the Greens and FDP, also lost support.

Merz faces challenges forming a government, addressing economic woes, and countering the AfD’s growing influence.

Summary

The Trump administration is preparing to reinstate Title 42, a public health order used during the COVID-19 pandemic to expel migrants without asylum processing, citing concerns over diseases like tuberculosis.

Internal documents show the CDC plans to classify unauthorized migrants as public health risks, allowing Customs and Border Protection to quickly deport them.

Critics argue the move is a political tool rather than a public health necessity.

The policy is expected to face legal challenges, as previous court rulings limited Title 42’s use against asylum seekers and minors.

Summary

A new H5N1 bird flu variant has become "endemic in cows," with cases detected in Nevada and Arizona, raising concerns about human transmission.

Experts warn that without intervention, the outbreak will continue, but Trump has cut CDC staff and halted flu vaccination campaigns.

The virus's spread coincides with a severe flu season, increasing the risk of mutation.

The administration has also stopped sharing flu data with the WHO and shifted its containment strategy away from culling infected poultry, raising fears of inadequate response.

• ICE memo outlines new effort to deport unaccompanied minors
  

• Agents are collecting data on the migrant children and sorting them into three priority groups
• ICE moves to require fingerprinting and DNA tests of sponsors

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is directing immigration agents to track down hundreds of thousands of migrant children who entered the United States without their parents, expanding the president's mass deportation effort, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo outlines an unprecedented push to target migrant children who crossed the border illegally as unaccompanied minors. It lays out four phases of implementation, beginning with a planning phase on January 27, though it did not provide a start date for enforcement operations.

More than 600,000 immigrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data, as the number of migrants caught crossing illegally reached record levels.

Tens of thousands have been ordered deported over the same time frame, including more than 31,000 for missing court hearings, immigration court data show.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not respond to a request for comment about the memo and the Trump administration's plans.

During his first term, Trump introduced a "zero tolerance" policy that led to the separation of migrant children from their parents at the border. The children were sent to children's shelters run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a government agency housed within the Department of Health and Human Services, while their parents were detained or deported.

The separation of families, including babies from nursing mothers, was met with widespread international outrage. Trump halted the policy in 2018, though up to 1,000 children may still remain separated from parents, according to Lee Gelernt, the lead American Civil Liberties Union attorney in a related legal challenge.

People with disabilities say President Trump's DEI purge is eroding health care, education and legal protections they've only won in recent decades.

Why it matters: The Trump administration has taken actions that undermine accessibility measures — critical for leveling the playing field for people with disabilities — as part of its efforts targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

• "It's very clear that there is an orchestrated attack by conservatives to dismantle the rights of people with disabilities," said Shawn Murinko, a Washington resident who has cerebral palsy. 

State of play: Trump last month ordered an end to all federal programs that mandate or invoke accessibility, alongside diversity, equity and inclusion.

• The Department of Justice said it will penalize programs that promote accessibility.

President Donald Trump fired Chair of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown on Friday night, and said he intends to dismiss the Navy’s top admiral and the Air Force’s second in command — an unprecedented shakeup of the Pentagon’s top brass that will trigger ripple effects throughout the military.

Trump, in a Truth Social post, said he was nominating retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to take Brown’s place. Caine is a partner at Shield Capital, a venture capital firm.

Trump also has claimed Caine donned a ‘MAGA’ hat during their 2018 meeting in Iraq, which is against military regulations.

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican state lawmakers seeking to aid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration are threatening local officials who resist with lawsuits, fines and even potential jail time.

Lawmakers in more than 20 states this year have filed legislation targeting so-called sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural.

Some of those states already ban sanctuary policies but are now proposing to punish mayors, council members and other government officials who violate the prohibition.

The goal is to provide “teeth to those who are being aggrieved by local governments and local officials who are not abiding by Georgia immigration law,” said Republican state Sen. Blake Tillery, whose legislation would allow lawsuits against anyone who implements sanctuary policies. His bill recently passed the Senate and is now in the House.

Summary

Elon Musk's email illegally demanding federal employees report their weekly tasks or face “resignation" sparked immediate backlash.

FBI Director Kash Patel instructed staff to ignore it, citing internal review procedures. The State Department and DOJ also advised employees against responding, fearing ethical violations.

The email, reaching millions, including air traffic controllers, triggered widespread confusion and resistance.

Senator Tina Smith criticized Musk's "d*** boss move."

The incident highlights a potential power struggle within the Trump administration, questioning Musk's authority.

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was conscious but still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen Sunday following a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, as he remains in critical condition with a complex lung infection, the Vatican said.

“The night passed quietly, the pope rested,” Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in an early statement.

Further clinical tests were being performed on the 88-year-old pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, and a more detailed medical update was expected later Sunday.

On Saturday, Francis suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis that required “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe through a nasal tube. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said.

Doctors said Saturday his prognosis was “reserved.”

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israel’s defense minister said Sunday troops will remain “for the coming year” in parts of the occupied West Bank where they have launched an offensive and will prevent tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians from returning, as Israel deepens its crackdown on the Palestinian territory.

Israel launched the broad offensive in the northern West Bank on Jan. 21 — two days after the current ceasefire in Gaza took hold — and expanded it to nearby areas, saying it is determined to stamp out militancy amid a rise in attacks.

Palestinians view such raids as part of an effort to cement Israeli control over the territory, where 3 million Palestinians live under military rule. The deadly raids have caused destruction in urban areas.

Posting this because no one else seems to want to, and it’s a discussion worth having outside of drama or personal conflicts. I’m undecided and can see both sides, but it’s important to address.

Potential benefits of a limit:

• Frequent posters hold significant influence and could, in theory, push misinformation or propaganda (though I haven't seen evidence of this it’s a fair concern).
• A community dominated by one or two voices might discourage new members from participating.
• Encouraging quality over quantity could increase the value of individual posts.

Potential downsides of a limit:

• Could reduce overall community engagement.
• If set too low, it might discourage meaningful participation from well-intentioned members.
• It could inadvertently encourage the (mis)use of alt accounts.

These are some pros/cons but certainly not all! I encourage more discussion below.