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American media isn't covering the many protests happening right now. Please share.

Doug Burgum’s order would hobble clean energy development, hinder protections for migratory birds and endangered species and open significant landscapes to resource extraction.

Kennedy’s hearing signifies how close a man with medically racist beliefs is to becoming the US’s leading health official

Musk has repeatedly accused people who post the names of his DOGE associates on X of breaking the law (to be clear: doing so absolutely is not a crime). He made a similar claim in response to the screenshots from r/WhitePeopleTwitter posted by Reddit Lies, saying “they have broken the law.” Engadget was unable to verify the Reddit comments posted by the account, but it included statements like “time to hunt” and “this nazi stooge needs to be shot.”

Driving the news: Iran's government has seemingly welcomed the agency's overhaul and freezing U.S. foreign aid, with state media reports suggesting the moves will cut off support pro-democracy activists, APreported.

• Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev praised Elon Musk — Trump's righthand man who has led the charge against USAID — for "trying to plug USAID's Deep Throat."
• Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Duginpraised the USAID's takedown as a "critical blow to globalism" in the right-wing outlet Arktos.

Summary

FBI agents involved in January 6 investigations are suing the Justice Department, citing retaliation under Trump’s leadership.

Two lawsuits, including a class action, claim Trump’s DOJ is compiling lists of agents for potential punitive action. Agents cite First Amendment and Privacy Act violations, fearing demotions, job denials, or exposure to Trump’s supporters.

The FBI Agents Association has also filed suit.

Trump's nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, has allegedly compiled an "enemies list," raising concerns about political purges and protection of Trump loyalists.

Summary

The CIA has reportedly offered buyouts to its entire workforce as part of efforts to align with Trump’s national security priorities.

The agency is also freezing conditional job offers, potentially rescinding those not fitting its new focus on drug cartels, Trump’s trade war, and countering China.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s office says the move is part of a broader strategy to reshape the agency.

This follows Trump’s wider government downsizing plan, which includes mass federal buyouts and aligns with Project 2025’s goal of replacing workers with political appointees.

Reddit has temporarily banned one of its communities - and removed another - after X owner Elon Musk claimed comments made by the site's users about his employees were breaking the law.

The r/WhitePeopleTwitter subreddit, which typically invites people to share funny posts from X, has been banned for 72 hours after some users posted comments calling for violence against members of the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).

They were responding to reports which suggested some Doge staff have been granted access to sensitive personal information of millions of Americans.

Musk - who frequently champions his commitment to free speech - shared a post on X containing the comments, and stated: "they have broken the law".

The subreddit was banned soon afterwards.

Arthur Douglas has been passionate about guns his entire life. He spent his childhood hunting, then amassed a treasured collection of firearms, including antique rifles he considers priceless. For years, he’s worked as a firearms instructor for the National Rifle Association and the U.S. Concealed Carry Association.

But the 61-year-old building contractor was incensed to learn from ProPublica that his name, age, New Hampshire address, phone number and registered voting status were in a database compiled by the gun industry’s chief lobbying group to help friendly politicians win elections.

Douglas is one of millions of people whose sensitive personal information was compiled over two decades by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, working with some of America’s most iconic gun-makers and retailers. As ProPublica previously reported, the industry group assembled data on this collection of gun owners and others without their knowledge or consent to persuade them to vote in the industry’s interests. The NSSF credited the campaign with landmark victories that vanquished gun control efforts.

Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tore into Tucker Carlson for calling him a “dictator,” accusing him of repeating Vladimir Putin’s propaganda.

In an interview with Piers Morgan, Zelensky dismissed claims of suppressing opposition and defended Ukraine's paused elections as necessary under martial law.

Criticizing Carlson’s pro-Kremlin rhetoric, he fumed, “It seems to me he needs to more deeply understand what's happening in Ukraine, to stop working for Putin, to stop licking his ass.”

Zelensky insisted Ukraine is fighting to preserve democracy, not undermine it.

Summary

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) reversed its decision to ban inbound mail and packages from China and Hong Kong just a day after announcing it.

The initial suspension followed Trump’s move to end the "de minimis" tax exemption for imports under $800 and impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.

The abrupt change sparked concerns over shipping disruptions for ecommerce.

USPS did not explain the reversal but stated it will work with Customs to enforce tariff collection without delivery delays.

Summary

Elon Musk’s staffers entered NOAA and the Department of Commerce without clearance, raising concerns over budget cuts and downsizing.

Project 2025, a conservative plan linked to former Trump officials, calls for dismantling NOAA, citing its climate research as harmful to U.S. prosperity.

Critics warn such cuts could impact weather forecasting, ocean conservation, and fisheries.

NOAA declined to comment, while experts fear an aggressive strategy to weaken the agency before legal challenges can halt changes.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/54635924

Reuters discusses former U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial proposal for the U.S. to take control of Gaza and transform it into a luxurious "Riviera of the Middle East" while resettling Palestinians elsewhere. This plan has been widely condemned by international powers, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France, China, Russia, and several European nations, all of which reaffirmed their support for a two-state solution.

Trump suggested that Jordan and Egypt could be persuaded to accept displaced Palestinians, though both countries have rejected the idea. Critics argue that forced displacement of Palestinians would violate international law and destabilize the region. The Palestinian militant group Hamas dismissed Trump's proposal as "ridiculous and absurd," while Palestinians fear another "Nakba" (catastrophe), referring to the mass displacement during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Saudi Arabia reaffirmed that it would not normalize relations with Israel without a Palestinian state, contradicting Trump's claim that Riyadh was open to normalization without such conditions. The proposal has raised concerns about worsening regional tensions and whether it is a serious policy initiative or a bargaining tactic.

Opinion: This reeks of tactics to drum up war in the Middle East. By bullying the little sibling that is Palestine, Trump looks to provoke the bigger Islamic states into conflict. With Trump's track record of arrogance and the already poor relationship that the United States has with countries like Iran and Iraq, that conflict is likely to happen. If Trump and his administration continues this route, there is bound to be retaliation from Palestinian supporters, and they will have a backing that will enable them to do so. It would then be the Trump administration's agenda to find a large enough enemy to blame and then likely invade.

Summary

FBI agents who investigated Jan. 6 and Trump-related cases are suing the Justice Department, alleging they are being targeted for termination.

The lawsuit claims the DOJ is compiling a list of agents involved in these cases, and some of their personal information has appeared on the dark web.

The agents fear retaliation from Trump allies and convicted Jan. 6 rioters. They seek an immediate halt to the list’s creation and publication, citing privacy violations.

A second lawsuit filed separately also challenges the alleged politically motivated firings.

Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who is Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, completed 11 combat deployments during the War on Terror. The combat left scars. In 2019, an ISIS suicide bomber killed his wife, a Navy cryptologist and linguist, in Syria. By the time he returned home, his worldview had shifted: Kent came to believe, as I wrote in a 2022 profile, that his early tours in Iraq gave him a “special gift of clarity.” He understood how quickly a society could come undone.

After this, Kent went from apolitical to active. The Black Lives Matter and antifa protests in Portland during the summer of 2020 triggered fears for him that the United States could similarly implode. Everything, he felt, was crumbling. He and his two young boys quickly left the city for rural Washington.

“We need to treat antifa and BLM like terrorist organizations. We need to use the tools of the federal government, the FBI, the US Marshals—go after them like organized criminals and terrorists,” Kent said in a 2021 conversation with the podcaster Tim Pool about the group’s leaders. “So, when we start arresting these guys and charging them with federal terrorism charges, that’s going to take away a lot of the incentive to go out and riot.”

A thief or thieves managed to steal approximately 100,000 eggs from a truck parked in Pennsylvania, according to a state police report.

The report filed by the Chambersburg Patrol Unit (pdf) says the eggs were stolen out of a distribution trailer shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday.

The theft occurred at Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs in Greencastle, Penn., the report says.