USA

Waters' Bond Stance Baffles Compton Educators Amidst Student Success

Yemen Details — Fri, 29 May 2026 16:08:06 +0300

Compton Unified School District leaders have expressed bewilderment following a recommendation from Representative Maxine Waters advising voters to reject Measure CPT, a $360 million school bond measure, despite significant improvements in student performance and a critical need to replace aging school facilities.

The district, recognized as a state and national leader in student achievement gains, is seeking to fund the modernization of its campuses, including the badly outdated Dominguez High School, through Measure CPT. School Board President Micah Ali stated that Representative Waters' opposition, disseminated through her campaign's sample ballot mailer, carries considerable weight and could jeopardize the bond's passage, thereby hindering the district's ability to continue its progress.

Ali's surprise is compounded by the fact that Representative Waters recently attended a ceremony celebrating the new Compton High School campus, a project supported by significant donations from prominent alumni. Meanwhile, students at Dominguez High School, which is over 70 years old, are contending with dilapidated conditions, including a cafeteria that has been an outdoor plaza for over three years following a fire. Electrical and plumbing systems are outdated, and air conditioning in the gymnasium has been non-operational for years.

The author's attempts to solicit a reason for Representative Waters' opposition from her office were met with a statement citing U.S. House Ethics rules, preventing a response. This lack of transparency has left district officials baffled, questioning why a representative would oppose infrastructure improvements for a community where students are approximately 84% Latino and 14% Black. While some opposition to Measure CPT exists due to the estimated $60 per $100,000 in assessed property value it would add to annual tax bills, concerns about safety and leadership have not been publicly linked to Waters' stance.

Further complicating the matter are the disclosures within the slate mailer itself, which state that endorsements are "paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure," yet do not reveal the source or amount of payment. Election law experts suggest this practice can be misleading and contributes to a broader issue of undisclosed funding in elections. Despite the congressional representative's recommendation, some local figures, including school board candidate Tana McCoy, intend to vote in favor of Measure CPT, emphasizing the importance of positive school environments for student well-being and mental health.

Students like Zaiden Ross at Dominguez High have highlighted severe infrastructure issues, including non-working sinks and water quality concerns, while also showcasing the academic achievements of the robotics program, which consistently wins awards despite outdated equipment. Educators believe that with proper resources, students could reach even greater heights. The article concludes by suggesting Representative Waters consider a visit to Dominguez High to witness firsthand the conditions and the potential that Measure CPT could unlock.

Desperate search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll rises

Yemen Details — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 22:11:40 +0300

Hunt (United States) (AFP) – Rescuers in Texas raced against time Sunday to find dozens of missing people, including children, swept away by flash floods that killed at least 68, as forecasters warned of new deluges.

Local Texans joined forces with disaster officials on the ground and in helicopters to search for the missing, including 11 girls and a counselor from a riverside Christian summer camp where some 750 people had been staying when disaster struck.

In a terrifying display of nature's power, the rain-swollen waters of the Guadalupe River reached treetops and the roofs of cabins in Camp Mystic as girls slept overnight Friday, washing away some of them and leaving a scene of devastation.

Blankets, teddy bears and other belongings ended up caked in mud. Windows in the cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said heavy rain likely to cause more flooding was falling Sunday, as the death toll at the camp and elsewhere in Kerr County rose to at least 59.

"We expect that to go higher, sadly," Patrick told Fox News Sunday.

He told stories of heroics, such as a camp counselor smashing a window so girls in their pajamas could swim out and walk through neck-high water.

"These little girls, they swam for about 10 or 15 minutes. Can you imagine, in the darkness and the rushing waters and trees coming by you and rocks come on you? And then they get to a spot on the land," Patrick said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Camp Mystic had been "horrendously ravaged in ways unlike I've seen in any natural disaster."

"We won't stop until we find every girl who was in those cabins," he said in a post on social media platform X after a visit to the site.

Officials and US media say nine people died in other Texas counties, for a total of 68.

Officials had earlier said 27 girls were missing from the camp. Kerrville city manager Dalton Rice told a news conference Sunday morning that the figure is now 11. He did not explain the sharp drop in the number.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned Sunday that slow-moving thunderstorms threatened more flash floods over the saturated ground of central Texas.

The flooding began at the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, much of it coming overnight as people slept.

The Guadalupe surged some 26 feet (eight meters) -- more than a two-story building- in just 45 minutes.

'Washed away'

President Donald Trump, at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, signed a major disaster declaration that freed up resources for the state.

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

The region of south and central Texas where the weekend's deluge occurred is known colloquially as "Flash Flood Alley."

But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.

Texans also started flying personal drones to help look but Rice urged them to stop this, saying it is a danger for rescue aircraft.

One of the searches focused on four young women who were staying in a house that was washed away by the river. Adam Durda and his wife Amber, both 45, drove three hours to chip in.

"There was a group of 20-year-olds that were in a house that had gotten washed away," Durda told AFP. "That's who the family requested helped for, but of course, we're looking for anybody."

Search for missing girls as Texas flood death toll rises to 43

Yemen Details — Sun, 06 Jul 2025 03:23:32 +0300

Hunt (United States) (AFP) – Rescuers searched Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 43 people -- with more rain pounding the region.

"We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among these who are deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children," said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha.

Leitha earlier put the number of evacuated people at 850, including eight reported injured.

Addressing a press conference, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources from US President Donald Trump.

Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead.

"We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found," he said.

The flooding began Friday -- the start of the fourth of July holiday weekend -- as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that more rain was forecast, and that "excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations."

Multiple flash flood warnings remained in place over the weekend in central Texas.

In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris.

"The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," said local resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river."

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.

Devastation at Camp Mystic

On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from the Camp Mystic Christian summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were enrolled at the camp.

US media reported that four of the missing girls were dead, citing their families.

The camp, located along the banks of the Guadalupe, was a picture of disarray, with blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other belongings caked in mud.

The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Michael, who only gave AFP his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter.

"I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it," he said, adding that he was hoping for a "miracle."

The Heart O' The Hills summer camp, located about a mile from Camp Mystic, confirmed on Saturday that its director Jane Ragsdale was among the dead.

'Catastrophic'

Department of Homeland Security head Kristi Noem told a press conference that Trump wanted to "upgrade the technologies" at the weather service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Trump's administration has faced criticism from scientists and disaster management agencies after cutting funding and hundreds of staff at the NOAA, in charge of weather forecasts and preparedness, and the NWS.

"We need to renew this ancient system," Noem said.

When asked about claims that residents were given insufficient warning of the floods, Noem said she would "carry your concerns back to the federal government."

Officials have said the speed and level of flooding was shocking.

"We didn't know this flood was coming," Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday.

Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said rescuers were facing "very difficult" conditions, warning people against traveling to the site.

Rice added it was not known how many people may have been visiting the popular camping area, and declined to give an overall figure for how many were missing.

Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.

"Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people's houses... It's just crazy," she added.

With rescuers fanning out across the region, Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring urged the community to come together.

"People need to know today will be a hard day," he said.

Elon Musk announces creation of his new ‘America Party’

Yemen Details — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 23:41:06 +0300

Elon Musk on Saturday said he had launched a new US political party to challenge what the tech billionaire described as the country's "one-party system".

A day after asking his followers on X whether a new U.S. political party should be created, Elon Musk said on Saturday that the "America Party is formed."

"By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!" he said in a post on X.

"Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom."

The announcement from Musk comes after President Donald Trump signed a tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla fiercely opposed.

Musk spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election and led the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration aimed at slashing government spending, but the two have since fallen out over disagreements about the bill.

Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk's companies receive from the federal government.

Musk said previously that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the bill.

Republicans have expressed concern that Musk's on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.

US rescuers search for missing girls in deadly Texas flash floods

Yemen Details — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 22:34:07 +0300

"So far, we've evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time," said Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha, adding that nine children were among the dead.

Addressing a press conference, Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said hundreds of people were taking part in rescue operations, which included ones conducted aerially by helicopter.

"One thing I want to tell you and assure y'all is that we will not stop till every single person is found," said Leitha.

The flooding began Friday as months' worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes.

The National Weather Service warned of more extremely heavy rain and "locally catastrophic" flash flooding to come in the region, located northwest of San Antonio.

The National Weather Service warned of more heavy rain to come on Saturday © RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP

In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe River was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris.

"It rained in a day what it usually rains in a year," said local resident Gerardo Martinez, 61.

"The water reached the top of the trees. About 10 meters or so," he added. "Cars, whole houses were going down the river."

Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual.

But scientists say that in recent years human-driven climate change has made extreme weather events like floods, droughts and heat waves more frequent and more intense.

'Still missing'

On Saturday, city official Rice said 27 children from the Camp Mystic Christian summer camp in the flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were enrolled at the camp.

Cabins at Camp Mystic in Texas were ravaged by rushing waters when the Guadalupe River flooded, causing multiple deaths in the area and leaving at least 20 girls missing © RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP

US media reported that two of the missing girls were dead, citing their families.

The camp, located along the banks of the Guadalupe, was a picture of disarray, with blankets, mattresses, teddy bears and other belongings scattered across buildings.

The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water.

Michael, who only gave AFP his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter.

"I was in Austin and drove down yesterday morning, once we heard about it, we were in Kerrville all day at the emergency stations," he said.

He pointed to the cabin where his daughter was meant to be, and said he had found some of her belongings within.

The Heart O' The Hills summer camp, located about a mile away from Camp Mystic, confirmed on Saturday that its director Jane Ragsdale was among the dead.

'Boots on the ground'

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a disaster declaration to boost resources for counties in the region, and President Donald Trump has promised federal support.

Rice said rescuers were facing "very difficult" conditions.

"We did start boots on the ground operations about 8:00 am (1300 GMT) this morning," he said, warning residents not to launch their own searches.

Rice added that it was not known how many people may have been visiting the popular camping area, and declined to give an overall figure for how many people were missing.

State and local officials warned against residents traveling to the area, which includes campgrounds dotted along the river, with dozens of roads impassable.

Videos on social media showed houses and trees swept away by the flash flood caused by heavy overnight rain of up to 12 inches -- one-third of Kerr County's average annual rainfall.

Governor Abbott shared a video on X of a victim being plucked from a tree by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, as floodwaters raged below.

Soila Reyna, 55, a Kerrville resident who works at a local church helping people who lost their belongings, witnessed the devastation unfold.

"Nothing like as catastrophic as this, where it involved children, people and just the loss of people's houses and you know, it's just crazy," she added.

Martinez said Friday's flooding was some of the worst he had ever seen.

"There is a saying here that there's a flood every hundred years," he said. "We had it. We've never seen anything like that and hopefully we won't ever see it again."

With rescuers fanning out across the region, Joe Herring, the Kerrville mayor, urged the community to come together.

"People need to know today will be a hard day. It will be a hard day," he said, his voice breaking.

At least 13 dead, 20 missing in Texas flash flood

Yemen Details — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 02:19:29 +0300

At least 13 people were dead after flash flooding hit south-central Texas early Friday, officials said, with more than 20 girls at a summer camp still unaccounted for.

"We have identified 13 fatalities," Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha told a press conference after devastating floods swept through the region northwest of San Antonio, warning more casualties were likely.

Some of the dead were children, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said.

"About 23" girls were unaccounted for from Camp Mystic along the Guadalupe River, which rose 26 feet (eight meters) in 45 minutes overnight, Patrick added.

"That does not mean they've been lost, they could be in a tree, they could be out of communication," he said.

Patrick read out a message from the director of the summer camp, which had some 750 campers over the July 4 long weekend, reporting that it had "sustained catastrophic level of flooding."

"We have no power, water or Wi-Fi," the message said.

State and local officials warned against residents traveling to the area which includes camp grounds dotted along the river, with dozens of roads "impassable."

Videos on social media showed houses and trees swept away by the overnight flash flood caused by heavy overnight rainfall of 12 inches -- one-third of Kerr County's average annual rainfall.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott shared a video on X of a victim being plucked from the top of a tree by a rescuer dangling from a helicopter, as floodwaters raged below.

- 'Another wave' -

"Air rescue missions like this are being done around the clock. We will not stop until everyone is accounted for," he said.

Freeman Martin, director of the state's public safety department, said the flood was a "mass casualty event."

About 500 rescue personnel and 14 helicopters were deployed, with the Texas National Guard sending rescue teams and the US Coast Guard joining efforts.

"The rain has let up, but we know there's another wave coming," Martin warned, saying more rain would be hitting areas around San Antonio and Austin.

"We didn't know this flood was coming," Kerr County judge Rob Kelly said earlier on Friday, adding that the region has "floods all the time."

"This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States," he added, referring to the Guadalupe River that flows through the region.

Forecasters issued a flood warning for Kerr County, urging those living near the Guadalupe River to "move to higher ground."

In mid-June, at least 10 people were killed by flash flooding in San Antonio following torrential rains.

Trump signs flagship US tax and spending bill into law

Yemen Details — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 02:08:51 +0300

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed his package of tax breaks and spending cuts into law Friday after his cajoling produced almost unanimous Republican support in Congress for the domestic priority that could cement his second-term legacy.

Flanked by Republican legislators and members of his Cabinet, Trump signed the multitrillion-dollar legislation outside the White House, and then banged down the gavel that House Speaker Mike Johnson gifted him that was used during the bill’s final passage Thursday.

Against odds that at times seemed improbable, Trump achieved his goal of celebrating a historic — and divisive — legislative victory in time for the nation’s birthday. Fighter jets and stealth bombers streaked through the sky over the annual White House Fourth of July picnic.

“America’s winning, winning, winning like never before,” Trump said, noting last month’s bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear program, which he said the flyover was meant to honor. “Promises made, promises kept, and we’ve kept them.”

The White House was hung with red, white and blue bunting for the regular Fourth of July festivities. The United States Marine Band played patriotic marches — and, in a typical Trumpian touch, tunes by 1980s pop icons Chaka Khan and Huey Lewis. There were three separate flyovers.

Trump spoke for a relatively brief 22 minutes before signing the bill, but was clearly energized as the legislation’s passage topped a recent winning streak for his administration. That included the Iran campaign and a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulingshe’s fought for.

The budget legislation is the president’s highest-profile win yet. It includes key campaign pledges like no tax on tips or Social Security income. Trump, who spent an unusual amount of time thanking individual Republican lawmakers who shepherded the measure through Congress, contended “our country is going to be a rocket ship, economically,” because of the legislation.
Big cuts to Medicaid and food stamps

Critics assailed the package as a giveaway to the rich that will rob millions more lower-income people of their health insurance, food assistance and financial stability.

“Today, Donald Trump signed into law the worst job-killing bill in American history. It will rip health care from 17 million workers to pay for massive tax giveaways to the wealthy and big corporations, amounting to the country’s largest money grab from the working class to the ultra-rich,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement. “Every member of Congress who voted for this devastating bill picked the pockets of working people to hand billionaires a $5 trillion gift.”

The legislation extends Trump’s 2017 multitrillion-dollar tax cuts and cuts Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion. It provides for a massive increase in immigration enforcement. Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper projects that nearly 12 million more people will lose health insurance under the law.

The legislation passed the House on a largely party-line vote Thursday, culminating a monthslong push by the GOP to cram most of its legislative priorities into a single budget bill that could be enacted without Senate Democrats being able to block it indefinitely by filibustering.

It passed by a single vote in the Senate, where North Carolina Republican Thom Tillis announced he would not run for reelection after incurring Trump’s wrath in opposing it. Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote.

In the House, where two Republicans voted against it, one, conservative maverick Tom Massie of Kentucky, has also become a target of Trump’s well-funded political operation.

The legislation amounts to a repudiation of the agendas of the past two Democratic presidents, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, in rolling back Obama’s Medicaid expansion under his signature health law and Biden’s tax credits for renewable energy.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage.
Democrats vow to make bill a midterm issue

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin on Friday called the bill “devastating” and said in a statement that Trump’s signature on the legislation “sealed the fate of the Republican Party, cementing them as the party for billionaires and special interests — not working families.”

He predicted Republicans would lose their majority in Congress over it. “This was a full betrayal of the American people,” Martin said.

Trump exulted in his political victory Thursday night in Iowa, where he attended a kickoff of events celebrating the country’s 250th birthday next year.

“I want to thank Republican congressmen and women, because what they did is incredible,” he said. The president complained that Democrats voted against the bill because “they hate Trump — but I hate them, too.”

The package is certain to be a flashpoint in next year’s midterm elections, and Democrats are making ambitious plans for rallies, voter registration drives, attack ads, bus tours and even a multiday vigil, all intended to highlight the most controversial elements.

Upon his return to Washington early Friday, Trump described the package as “very popular,” though polling suggests that public opinion is mixed at best.

For example, a Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that majorities of U.S. adults support increasing the annual child tax credit and eliminating taxes on earnings from tips, and about half support work requirements for some adults who receive Medicaid.

But the poll found majorities oppose reducing federal funding for food assistance to low-income families and spending about $45 billion to build and maintain migrant detention centers. About 60% said it was “unacceptable” that the bill is expected to increase the $36 trillion U.S. debt by more than $3 trillion over the next decade.

The House gives final approval to Trump’s big tax bill and sends it to him to sign

Yemen Details — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 22:33:41 +0300

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump’s big trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final passage Thursday in Congress, overcoming multiple setbacks to approve his signature second-term policy package before a Fourth of July deadline.

The tight roll call, 218-214, came at a potentially high political cost, with two Republicans joining all Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to him to sign into law. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delayed voting for more than more than eight hours by seizing control of the floor with a record-breaking speech against the bill.

“Are you tired of winning yet?” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invoking Trump as he called the vote.

“With one big beautiful bill we are going to make this country stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before.” Republicans celebrated with a rendition of the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.,” a song the president often plays at his rallies, during a ceremony afterward.

The outcome delivers a milestone for the president, by his Friday goal, and for his party,. It was a long-shot effort to compile a lengthy list of GOP priorities into what they called his “one big beautiful bill,” an 800-plus page measure. With Democrats unified in opposition, the bill will become a defining measure of Trump’s return to the White House, aided by Republican control of Congress.
Tax breaks and safety net cuts

At its core, the package’s priority is $4.5 trillion in tax breaks enacted in 2017 during Trump’s first term that would expire if Congress failed to act, along with new ones. This includes allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults earning less than $75,000 a year.

There’s also a hefty investment, some $350 billion, in national security and Trump’s deportation agenda and to help develop the “Golden Dome” defensive system over the U.S.

To help offset the lost tax revenue, the package includes $1.2 trillion in cutbacks to the Medicaid health care and food stamps, largely by imposing new work requirements, including for some parents and older people, and a major rollback of green energy tax credits.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage.

“This was a generational opportunity to deliver the most comprehensive and consequential set of conservative reforms in modern history, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the House Budget Committee chairman.
Democrats united against ‘ugly bill’

Democrats unified against the bill as a tax giveaway to the rich paid for on the backs of the working class and most vulnerable in society, what they called “trickle down cruelty.”

Jeffries began the speech at 4:53 a.m. EDT and finished at 1:37 p.m. EDT, 8 hours, 44 minutes later, a record, as he argued against what he called Trump’s “big ugly bill.”

“We’re better than this,” said Jeffries, who used a leader’s prerogative for unlimited debate, and read letter after letter from Americans writing about their reliance of the health care programs.

“I never thought that I’d be on the House floor saying that this is a crime scene,” Jeffries said. “It’s a crime scene, going after the health, and the safety, and the well-being of the American people.”

And as Democrats, he said, “We want no part of it.”

Tensions ran high. As fellow Democrats chanted Jeffries’ name, a top Republican, Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, called his speech “a bunch of hogwash.”

Hauling the package through the Congress has been difficult from the start. Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way quarreling in the House and Senate, and often succeeding only by the narrowest of margins: just one vote.

The Senate passed the package days earlier with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie vote. The slim majority in the House left Republicans little room for defections.

Once Johnson gaveled the tally, Republicans cheered “USA!” and flashed Trump-style thumbs-up to the cameras.
Political costs of saying no

Despite their discomfort with various aspects of the sprawling package, in some ways it became too big to fail — in part because Republicans found it difficult to buck Trump.

As Wednesday’s stalled floor action dragged overnight Trump railed against the delays.

“What are the Republicans waiting for???” the president said in a midnight post.

Johnson relied heavily on White House Cabinet secretaries, lawyers and others to satisfy skeptical GOP holdouts. Moderate Republicans worried about the severity of cuts while conservatives pressed for steeper reductions. Lawmakers said they were being told the administration could provide executive actions, projects or other provisions in their districts back home.

The alternative was clear. Republicans who staked out opposition to the bill, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, were being warned by Trump’s well-funded political operation. Tillis soon after announced he would not seek reelection.

Massie voted against it as did Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, who has raised concerns about the administration halting arms shipments to Ukraine.
Rollback of past presidential agendas

In many ways, the package is a repudiation of the agendas of the last two Democratic presidents, a chiseling away at the Medicaid expansion from Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, and a pullback of Joe Biden’s climate change strategies in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Democrats have described the bill in dire terms, warning that cuts to Medicaid, which some 80 million Americans rely on, would result in lives lost. Food stamps that help feed more than 40 million people would “rip food from the mouths of hungry children, hungry veterans and hungry seniors,” Jeffries said.

Republicans say the tax breaks will prevent a tax hike on households and grow the economy. They maintain they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse.

The Tax Policy Center, which provides nonpartisan analysis of tax and budget policy, projected the bill would result next year in a $150 tax break for the lowest quintile of Americans, a $1,750 tax cut for the middle quintile and a $10,950 tax cut for the top quintile. That’s compared with what they would face if the 2017 tax cuts expired.

2 dead after multiple people shot in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, while responding to a brush fire

Yemen Details — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 04:44:27 +0300

Two people, believed to be fire personnel, were fatally shot and others injured while responding to a brush fire in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and at least one active shooter continues to fire at law enforcement with high-powered rifles, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris.

“We don’t know if there’s one, two, three or four,” shooters, Norris said, with officers reporting bullets coming from multiple directions. “We will neutralize this threat.”

The fire may have been intentionally set to draw first responders to the scene, one responding firefighter noted in audio from Kootenai County Fire and EMS via Broadcastify.

The blaze, which began as a half-acre, remains active as police work to stop the “rapid fire” shooting.

It is unknown how many people were injured in the shooting, and hikers and residents are still “stuck” on the mountain, officials said.

“This is going to likely be a multiday operation,” Norris said. “It’s going to be a tough next couple hours … I’m hoping that somebody has a clear shot and is able to neutralize because they are not, at this point in time, showing any evidence of wanting to surrender.”

The shooter or shooters are using “modern day sporting rifles,” Norris said.

Multiple agencies are responding to the area, the chief said. The FBI is also sending assets “to provide tactical and operational support” to the active situation, Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on X.

Kootenai County Emergency Management has told people in the area to shelter in place and asked others to avoid the area.

Video and photos show law enforcement officers rushing to the scene. A police car can be seen speeding down the road, bypassing a barrier erected to restrict access to the area, video shows, as other law enforcement officials block the street.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little urged people to stay away from the area to allow law enforcement and firefighters to do their work.

“Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho,” Little said in a post on X. “This is a heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters. I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more. Teresa and I are heartbroken.”

The incident is in the Canfield Mountain Natural Area, a 24-acre park on the east side of the city. There are several hiking and biking trails and heavy tree cover.

US arrests 11 Iranians in US illegally, Homeland Security says

Yemen Details — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 20:35:54 +0300

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested 11 Iranian nationals in the country illegally, the US Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Tuesday.

Authorities also arrested a US citizen accused of threatening law enforcement and harboring one of the Iranian nationals, according to the department, which oversees ICE.

Trump on Iran strikes: 'I may do it, I may not do it'

Yemen Details — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 21:25:42 +0300

Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump said he was considering Wednesday whether the United States will join Israeli strikes on Iran and said that Tehran had reached out to seek negotiations on ending the conflict.

Speaking as he watched installation of a new flagpole at the White House, Trump added that his patience "had already run out" with Iran and repeated his call for the Islamic republic's "unconditional surrender."

"I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," Trump told reporters on the South Lawn when asked if he had decided whether to launch US air strikes.

"I can tell you this, that Iran's got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate."

Trump said Iran had even suggested sending officials to the White House for talks on Tehran's nuclear program in a bid to end Israel's air assault, but added that it was "very late."

"I said it's very late to be talking. We may meet. There's a big difference between now and a week ago, right? Big difference," Trump added.

"They've suggested that they come to the White House. That's, you know, courageous, but it's, like, not easy for them to do."

When asked if it was too late for negotiations, he said: "Nothing is too late."

Trump had favored diplomatic route to end Iran's nuclear program, seeking a deal to replace the one he tore up in his first term in 2018.

But since Israel launched strikes on Iran six days ago Trump has moved in behind the key US ally and is now weighing whether to use US military power against Tehran too.

'I've had it'

Trump issued a series of bellicose statements on social media on Tuesday, saying that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an "easy target" and calling for Iran's "UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!".

Khamenei said Wednesday the nation would never surrender and warned the United States of "irreparable damage" if it intervenes.

Asked on Wednesday what he meant by his earlier statement, Trump replied: "Two very simple words. It's very simple -- unconditional surrender."

"That means I've had it, okay? I've had it. I give up, no more, we go and blow up all the nuclear stuff that's all over the place," Trump said.

Trump meanwhile backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu to continue Israel's offensive against Iran. Iran has hit back with salvos of ballistic missiles.

Asked what he had told Netanyahu in a call on Tuesday, he said: "Keep going. I speak to him every day, he's a good man, doing a lot."

The US president however rebuffed Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to mediate in the Israel-Iran conflict, saying Russia should end its own war in Ukraine first.

"He actually offered to help mediate, I said 'do me a favor, mediate your own. Let's mediate Russia first, okay? You can worry about this later," Trump said.

Iran later denied it had offered to send officials to Washington.

"No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House," Iran's mission to the UN said in a post on X.

"The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to “take out” Iran’s Supreme Leader."

Trump predicts Iran will sign nuclear deal, says it should’ve acted before strikes

Yemen Details — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 01:00:53 +0300

US President Donald Trump said on Monday Iran should have signed a deal with the United States on its nuclear program before Israeli strikes began and that he believes Tehran now wants to make an agreement.

“As I’ve been saying, I think a deal will be signed, or something will happen, but a deal will be signed, and I think Iran is foolish not to sign,” Trump told reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said that Iran was not winning its conflict with Israel and should re-enter negotiations “before it’s too late.”

“They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties, but I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late,” Trump told reporters.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war, Israel on Friday launched a surprise aerial campaign against targets across Iran.

Iran has launched several waves of missiles in retaliation at Israel, sparking fears of a wider regional conflict.

Israel’s strikes have so far killed at least 224 people, including top military commanders, nuclear scientists and civilians, according to Iranian authorities.

The Israeli prime minister’s office says 24 people have been killed in Iranian attacks since Friday.

Minnesota lawmaker shot dead, another wounded in targeted attack

Yemen Details — Sat, 14 Jun 2025 21:14:48 +0300

A gunman shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early Saturday, killing one and her husband and wounding the other, in what the northern US state's governor said were politically motivated attacks.

The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands took to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.

The suspected assailant was still at large, officials said, with a massive manhunt underway.

Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called "horrific violence" and said the perpetrators would be prosecuted to "the fullest extent of the law."

State representative Melissa Hortman -- the former speaker -- and her husband Mark were killed at their home near Minneapolis, Governor Tim Walz told a press conference.

State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded, the governor said, his voice breaking with emotion. He said officials remained "cautiously optimistic" they would recover.

"This was an act of targeted political violence," Walz told reporters.

"Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don't settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint."

Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later.

The suspected gunman was able to escape during an exchange of gunfire with officers near Hortman's residence, Evans told reporters.

"We're actively searching for that individual right now," he said.

- Impersonating law enforcement -

In both cases, authorities believe the assailant was impersonating a law enforcement officer.

"The suspect exploited the trust that our uniform is meant to represent," said Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

An anti-Trump rally in Minneapolis -- part of the national wave of "No Kings" protests planned for Saturday -- was canceled after police issued a shelter-in-place order because of the shootings.

Flyers for the protests were found in the suspect's car, as well as a manifesto that named numerous politicians and state officials, police said.

Police are looking for a white man with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants, local TV station KSTP said.

"We do have the suspect's car. Suspect is on foot," said Mark Bruley, the police chief in Brooklyn Park, where Hortman lived.

The United States has been deeply divided since Trump returned to the White House in January.

The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda.

"At this precipice moment we're on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us," Walz said.

"The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place."

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar remembered Hortman as a friend who entered politics at the same time as her and dedicated her life to serving the state, working on issues such as women's rights and clean energy.

"Let me be absolutely clear: this was an act of targeted political violence, and it was an attack on everything we stand for as a democracy," Klobuchar said in a statement. "We must all condemn it."

Minnesota's other US senator, Tina Smith, also issued a statement condemning the shootings.

Former House member Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting to the head in 2011 and is now a prominent advocate for the prevention of gun violence, described herself as "devastated" by the death of Hortman.

"We must protect our democracy from those who try to destroy it with a gun," Giffords wrote on X.

Los Angeles ‘safe and sound’ for two nights after protests: Trump

Yemen Details — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 01:53:45 +0300

Los Angeles “was safe and sound for the last two nights,” US President Donald Trump said Thursday morning, as he hailed troops for helping to restore order in the city after days of anti-deportation protests.

“Our great National Guard, with a little help from the Marines, put the L.A. Police in a position to effectively do their job,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that without the military the city “would be a crime scene like we haven’t seen in years.”

The mostly peaceful protests ignited last week over a sudden escalation in efforts to apprehend migrants in the country illegally.

But there were also pockets of violence, including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling stones at police.

Trump deployed several thousand National Guard troops and some 700 active-duty marines over the objections of Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom, the first such action by a US president in decades.

In his post Trump said Newsom “had totally lost control of the situation.”

“He should be saying THANK YOU for saving his ass, instead of trying to justify his mistakes and incompetence!!!” the president added.

Similar protests also ignited in other cities across the United States, as California prepared Thursday for a legal showdown of Trump’s deployment of the military.

A second night of curfew was in place as city leaders tried to get a handle on the after-dark vandalism and looting that scarred a few city blocks in the 500-square-mile (1,300 square kilometers) metropolis.

Musk regrets some of his Trump criticisms, says they 'went too far'

Yemen Details — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 03:00:50 +0300

Elon Musk, the world's richest person and Donald Trump's former advisor, said Wednesday he regretted some of his recent criticisms of the US president, after the pair's public falling-out last week.

"I regret some of my posts about President @realDonaldTrump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote on his social media platform X, in a message that was received favorably by the White House.

Musk's expression of regret came just days after Trump threatened the tech billionaire with "serious consequences" if he sought to punish Republicans who vote for a controversial spending bill.

Their blistering break-up -- largely carried out on social media before a riveted public since Thursday last week -- was ignited by Musk's harsh criticism of Trump's so-called "big, beautiful" spending bill, which is currently before Congress.

Some lawmakers who were against the bill had called on Musk -- one of the Republican Party's biggest financial backers in last year's presidential election -- to fund primary challenges against Republicans who voted for the legislation.

"He'll have to pay very serious consequences if he does that," Trump, who also branded Musk "disrespectful," told NBC News on Saturday, without specifying what those consequences would be.

Trump also said he had "no" desire to repair his relationship with the South African-born Tesla and SpaceX chief, and that he has "no intention of speaking to him."

But after Musk's expression of regret, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump was "appreciative," adding that "no efforts" had been made on a threat by Trump to end some of Musk's government contracts.

"The president acknowledged the statement that Elon put out this morning, and he is appreciative of it," Leavitt said.

According to the New York Times, Musk's message followed a phone call to Trump late on Monday night.

Vice President JD Vance and Chief of Staff Susan Wiles had also been working with Musk on how to broker a truce with Trump, the report said.

- 'Wish him well' -

In his post on Wednesday, Musk did not specify which of his criticisms of Trump had gone "too far."

The former allies had seemed to have cut ties amicably about two weeks ago, with Trump giving Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

But their relationship cracked within days, with Musk describing the spending bill as an "abomination" that, if passed by Congress, could define Trump's second term in office.

Trump hit back at Musk's comments in an Oval Office diatribe and from there the row detonated, leaving Washington stunned.

Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that cutting billions of dollars in subsidies and contracts to Musk's companies would be the "easiest way" to save the US government money. US media have put the value of the contracts at $18 billion.

With real political and economic risks to their falling out, both already appeared to inch back from the brink on Friday, with Trump telling reporters "I just wish him well," and Musk responding on X: "Likewise."

Trump had spoken to NBC on Saturday after Musk deleted one of the explosive allegations he had made during their fallout, linking the president with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking.

Trump admin announces plan to loosen power plant regulations

Yemen Details — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 02:45:07 +0300

President Donald Trump's administration proposed Wednesday to roll back measures enacted by former Democratic presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama aimed at reducing polluting emissions from gas and coal-fired power plants.

The move "would deliver savings to American families on electricity bills, and it will ensure that they have the electricity that they need today," Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Lee Zeldin told a press conference, adding that his office would balance protecting the economy and the climate.

Regulations set to be repealed include limitations on carbon dioxide emissions by power plants and a rule curbing release of hazardous air pollutants such as mercury.

The measures were meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States, the world's top polluter, and to protect people living near power plants and exposed to elevated levels of air pollutants that can damage the nervous system and harm breathing.

The Trump administration argues the regulations are costly and rein in energy output at a time when the development of artificial intelligence is driving booming demand for electricity.

- A powerful polluter -

"No power plant will be allowed to emit more than they do today," Zeldin said Wednesday.

The US power sector is already one of the world's top polluters, according to a recent report by the Institute for Policy Integrity, a nonpartisan think tank at New York University.

Were it considered a country, it would have ranked as the world's sixth-biggest emitter in 2022 and contributed five percent of total worldwide emissions from 1990-2022, the institute said in a May briefing on the topic.

"The best available evidence shows that each year of greenhouse gas emissions from US coal-fired and gas-fired power plants will contribute to climate damages responsible for thousands of US deaths and hundreds of billions in economics harms," the institute said in its report.

Regulations facing the axe include requirements for coal-fired power plants to capture CO2 emissions instead of releasing them into the atmosphere, using expensive capture and storage techniques that are still not widely in use.

- A change in course -

Since Trump -- a proponent of fossil fuels and climate change skeptic -- returned to power in late January, federal authorities have reversed course on climate policy.

In March, the EPA said it would undo dozens of environmental measures enacted during Biden's term in office, including those cutting vehicle emissions and drastically reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that coal-fired power plants can emit.

The proposed federal rules announced Wednesday will be subject to a period of public comment before being finalized. If they become law, they would most likely be challenged in court.

Protests spread across US despite Trump threats

Yemen Details — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 23:05:21 +0300

Protests against Donald Trump's harsh immigration policies spread Wednesday across the United States despite a military-backed crackdown in Los Angeles and a threat by the Republican president to use "heavy force."

In Los Angeles, where the unrest began last Friday, an overnight curfew in the downtown area saw police make 25 arrests by morning.

Heavily armed officers patrolled near government buildings, and storekeepers boarded up windows to protect against vandalism.

US Marines -- ordered by Trump to deploy in addition to more than 4,000 National Guard soldiers -- were expected to make their first appearance on the streets Wednesday.

The mostly peaceful protests ignited over a sudden escalation in efforts to apprehend migrants who were in the country illegally.

Pockets of violence -- including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling stones at police -- triggered a massive response from authorities using tear gas and other crowd-control weapons.

Trump won the election last year partly on promises to combat what he claims is an "invasion" by undocumented migrants.

He is now seizing the opportunity to make political capital, ordering the California National Guard to deploy despite Governor Gavin Newsom's objections, the first time a US president has taken such action in decades.

Trump then tested the constitutional limits of his power even further by ordering about 700 Marines -- a force designed primarily for combat in foreign wars -- to the scene.

"If our troops didn't go into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now," Trump insisted on social media Wednesday, without evidence.

The White House later doubled down on that rhetoric.

"President Trump will never allow mob rule to prevail in America," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.

"The most basic duty of government is to preserve law and order, and this administration embraces that sacred responsibility."

Governor Newsom, a Democrat, has charged that Trump is seeking to escalate the confrontation for political gain.

"Democracy is under assault right before our eyes," he said in a televised address late Tuesday. "California may be first, but it clearly won't end here."

Trump has expressed support for a call by one of his top officials to arrest Newsom, who is seen as a potential Democratic presidential candidate in 2028, when Trump will be required by the constitution to step down.

- Nationwide protests growing -

Despite Trump's threats to deploy the National Guard to other Democratic-run states over the objections of governors, protesters appear undeterred.

Thousands marched in New York and Chicago late Tuesday.

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced he was deploying the state's National Guard to counter a protest announced for San Antonio on Wednesday.

Demonstrations were also planned Wednesday in New York, Seattle and Las Vegas ahead of what organizers say will be a nationwide "No Kings" movement on Saturday, when Trump will attend a highly unusual military parade in the US capital.

In a speech at an Army base on Tuesday, Trump warned that any protests during the Washington parade would face "very heavy force."

The parade, featuring warplanes and tanks, has been organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army but also happens to be the day of Trump's 79th birthday.

The last large parade in Washington was in 1991 after the first Gulf War.

- 'Inflamed' situation -

The Trump administration is painting the protests as a violent threat to the nation, requiring military force to support regular immigration agents and police.

Trump on Tuesday cited a "full-blown assault on peace, on public order and national sovereignty" from a "foreign enemy."

Protesters and the beleaguered Democratic opposition party say Trump is manufacturing a crisis that has little to do with expelling criminals in the US illegally.

Newsom said Trump "inflamed" the situation and went "well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals. His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses."

In the Atlanta suburb of Brookhaven, dozens of demonstrators waved American and Mexican flags and held signs against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency that has ramped up arrests and deportations of migrants under Trump.

"You got people that are being arrested on the street by (immigration) agents that don't wear badges, wear masks... it makes me really angry," 26-year-old protester Brendon Terra told AFP.

US immigration officials raid meat production plant in Omaha, dozens detained

Yemen Details — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 20:29:17 +0300

WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) - An immigration raid on Tuesday at a meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska was the "largest worksite enforcement operation" in the state during the Trump presidency, the Homeland Security Department said.

U.S. Congressman Don Bacon told local media 75-80 people were detained.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid happened at a plant of Glenn Valley Foods. The food packaging company said it was surprised by the raid and had followed the rules regarding immigration status.

Chad Hartmann, president of Glenn Valley Foods in Omaha, said the plant that was raided used E-Verify, a federal database used for checking employees' immigration status. He told Reuters that when he said this to a federal agent, the agent responded "the system is broken" and urged him to contact his local congressional representative.

ICE officers have been intensifying efforts in recent weeks to deliver on U.S. President Donald Trump's promise of record-level deportations. The White House has demanded the agency sharply increase arrests of migrants in the U.S. illegally, sources have told Reuters.

Tensions boiled over in Los Angeles over the weekend when protesters took to the streets after ICE arrested migrants at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse, according to migrant advocates.

Local police in Omaha said they were informed by immigration officials about the raid in advance while the company said it got no notice about the operation ahead of time.

Hartmann said federal agents had a warrant that said they had identified 107 people who they believed were using fraudulent documents.

"This was the largest worksite enforcement operation in Nebraska under the Trump Administration," the Homeland Security Department said on X, adding no law enforcement official was hurt.

ICE said a criminal investigation was ongoing into what immigration officials called a large-scale employment of immigrants who are present in the U.S. illegally.

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and federal law enforcement partners, executed a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods, today, based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the large-scale employment of aliens without authorization to work in the United States," an ICE spokesperson told an ABC News affiliate.

More than half of all meatpacking workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a think tank.

Rights advocates, including the ACLU of Nebraska, condemned the raid.

Trump deploys Marines, raising tensions in Los Angeles protests

Yemen Details — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 21:21:02 +0300

Hundreds of US Marines were expected in Los Angeles on Tuesday after President Donald Trump ordered their deployment in response to protests against immigration arrests and despite objections by state officials.

The 700 elite troops will join around 4,000 National Guard soldiers, amping up the militarization of the tense situation in the sprawling city, which is home to millions of foreign-born and Latino residents.

The small-scale and largely peaceful demonstrations -- marred by sporadic but violent clashes between police and protesters -- were entering their fifth day.

In downtown LA's Little Tokyo neighborhood at night Monday, scores of protesters faced off with security officials in riot gear, some shooting fireworks at officers who fired back volleys of tear gas.

The unrest was sparked by a sudden intensification last week of Trump's signature campaign to find and deport undocumented migrants, who he claims have mounted an "invasion" of the United States.

California officials have stressed the majority of protesters have been peaceful -- and that they were capable of maintaining law and order themselves.

Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X that US Marines "shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."

But Trump has branded the LA protesters "professional agitators and insurrectionists."

"If I didn't 'SEND IN THE TROOPS' to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now," he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.

Trump has called for Newsom's arrest, while the president's ultra-loyal speaker in the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, on Tuesday declared the California governor "ought to be tarred and feathered."

Earlier, demonstrators marching with banners and handmade signs yelled "ICE out of LA" and "National Guard go away" -- a reference to immigration agents and Guard soldiers.

One small business owner in the city, whose property was graffitied during the protests, was supportive of Trump's strong-arm tactics.

"I think it's needed to stop the vandalism," she told AFP, declining to give her name.

Others were horrified.

"They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us," Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. "This is not a democracy anymore."

LA police have detained dozens of protesters in recent days, while authorities in San Francisco and other US cities have also made arrests.

- 'Incredibly rare' -

Trump's use of the military is an "incredibly rare" move for a US president, Rachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and a former lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force, told AFP.

The National Guard -- a fully equipped reserve armed forces -- is usually controlled by state governors and used typically on US soil in response to natural disasters.

The Guard has not been deployed by a president over the objections of a state governor since 1965, at the height of the civil rights movement.

Deployment of regular troops, such as the Marines, on US soil is even more unusual.

US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force -- absent an insurrection. Speculation is growing that Trump could invoke the Insurrection Act giving him a free hand to use regular troops for law enforcement around the country.

Trump "is trying to use emergency declarations to justify bringing in first the National Guard and then mobilizing Marines," law professor Frank Bowman, at the University of Missouri, told AFP.

Bowman said the "suspicion" is that Trump is aiming to provoke the kind of all-out crisis which would then justify extreme measures.

"That kind of spectacle feeds the notion that there is a genuine emergency and, you know, a genuine uprising against the lawful authorities, and that allows him to begin to use even more force."

The state of California has sued to block the use of the Guard troops and Newsom said he would also sue against the Marines deployment.

Trump deploys Marines as tensions rise over Los Angeles protests

Yemen Details — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 02:11:37 +0300

US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered active-duty Marines into Los Angeles, vowing those protesting immigration arrests would be "hit harder" than ever.

The extraordinary mobilization of 700 full-time professional military personnel -- who join hundreds of National Guard troops already there -- looked likely to further stoke tensions in a city with a huge Latino population.

California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the move as "deranged."

"US Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy," Newsom posted on X.

"They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."

The deployment came after demonstrators took over streets in Downtown LA on Sunday, torching cars and looting stores in ugly scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets.

"The people are causing the problems are professional agitators and insurrectionists," Trump told reporters in Washington.

On social media he said he had deployed National Guard troops "to deal with the violent, instigated riots" and "if we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated."

He said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, "I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!"

One small businessowner whose property was graffitied was supportive of the strongarm tactics.

"I think it's needed to stop the vandalism," she told AFP, declining to give her name.

"Everybody has the right to protest, but do it the right way. Don't vandalize or hurt your own town because you're hurting people that are trying to make a living."

"They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us," Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. "This is not a democracy anymore."

-'Go home!' -

A fourth day of protest was unfolding in Los Angeles triggered by dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.

"Pigs go home!" demonstrators shouted at National Guardsmen outside a federal detention center. Others banged on the sides of unmarked vehicles as they passed through police containment lines.

A swelling crowd was converging on the center, where Los Angeles Police Department officers were forming containment lines seemingly aimed at separating demonstrators from federal agents.

Trump's border czar Tom Homan said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was targeting members of cartels in Mexico and Colombia.

Many locals painted a different picture.

They are "people who are here earnestly trying to improve their lives (and) deserve a chance and don't deserve to be treated as criminals," Deborah McCurdy, 64, told AFP at a rally.

Overnight, vandals had set fires and smashed windows, adding to the scenes of damage left after five Waymo self-driving cars were torched. Obscene graffiti was daubed over many surfaces.

Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful.

Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged.

Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that in contrast to Trump's rhetoric, "this is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest."

At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests in San Francisco.

The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities.

Trump's deployment of the force -- the first over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement -- was criticized by Democrats, including Kamala Harris.

The former vice president and Trump's opponent in the 2024 election called it "a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos."

The United Nations warned against "further militarization" of the situation, in remarks likely to anger the White House.

Unrest in Los Angeles over immigration raids as troops sent by Trump fan out

Yemen Details — Mon, 09 Jun 2025 21:12:31 +0300

Police ordered the public to disperse from downtown Los Angeles after further unrest, with cars torched and security forces firing tear gas at protesters, in the wake of Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to America’s second-biggest city.

Protests in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, broke out on Friday, triggered by immigration raids that resulted in dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.

Critics say the US president -- who has made clamping down on illegal migration a key pillar of his second term -- was deliberately stoking tensions with his deployment of California’s National Guard, a stand-by military usually controlled by the state governor.

Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order, with one calling it an “intimidation tactic.”

“You have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights,” protester Thomas Henning said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump’s order a “serious breach of state sovereignty” and demanded the president to rescind the order and “return control to California.”

He also urged protesters to stay peaceful, warning that those who instigate violence will be arrested.

“Don’t take Trump’s bait,” he said on social media platform X.

Authorities declared downtown Los Angeles a place of “unlawful assembly” by late Sunday evening. Local media showed a heavy police presence blanketing mostly deserted streets in various areas.

A few protesters remained scattered, with some lobbing projectiles and fireworks according to local aerial TV coverage.

Trump called the protesters “insurrectionists,” and demanded authorities “ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!”

“BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

At least three self-driving Waymo cars were torched as demonstrators thronged around downtown Los Angeles earlier on Sunday, and local law enforcement deployed tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse protesters.

An Australian reporter was hit in the leg with a rubber bullet fired by a police officer while on live television. Her employer 9News said she was unharmed.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers established containment lines some distance from federal buildings by Sunday afternoon, preventing contact between angry demonstrators and the scores of armed National Guardsmen from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who had gathered in helmets and camouflage gear.

Law enforcement had arrested at least 56 people over two days and three officers had suffered minor injuries, the LAPD said.

Police in San Francisco said on Sunday about 60 people had been arrested in similar protests in the northern Californian city.
‘Troops everywhere’

Trump was unrepentant when asked about the use of troops, hinting instead at a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country.

“I think you’re going to see some very strong law and order,” he told reporters.

Responding to a question about invoking the Insurrection Act -- which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force -- Trump said: “We’re looking at troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country.”

US Northern Command, part of the Department of Defense responsible for national defense, said “approximately 500 Marines... are in a prepared-to-deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support” the ongoing federal operations.

The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities.

Trump’s deployment of the force -- the first over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement -- was criticized by Democrats, including Kamala Harris. The former vice president called it “a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos.”

Newsom said Trump was “putting fuel on this fire.”

“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” he said on X. “California will be taking him to court.”
‘Intimidation’

However, Republicans lined up behind Trump to dismiss the pushback.

“I have no concern about that at all,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing Newsom of “an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary.”

Demonstrator Marshall Goldberg, 78, told AFP that deploying Guardsmen made him feel “so offended.”

"We hate what they’ve done with the undocumented workers, but this is moving it to another level of taking away the right to protest and the right to just peaceably assemble.”

Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in other US cities have triggered small protests in recent months, but the Los Angeles unrest is the biggest and most sustained against Trump’s immigration policies so far.

Trump says Musk will face ‘very serious consequences’ if he funds Democratic candidates

Yemen Details — Sat, 07 Jun 2025 20:56:59 +0300

Donald Trump said on Saturday there would be “serious consequences” if Elon Musk funds US Democrats running against Republicans who vote for the president’s sweeping tax-cut and spending bill and said his relationship with his billionaire donor is over.

In a telephone interview with NBC News, Trump declined to say what those consequences would be, and went on to add that he had not had discussions about whether to investigate Musk.

Asked if he thought his relationship with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was over, Trump said, “I would assume so, yeah.”

“No,” Trump told NBC when asked if he had any desire to repair his relationship with Musk.

Musk and Trump began exchanging insults this week, as Musk denounced Trump’s bill as a “disgusting abomination.” Musk’s opposition to the measure is complicating efforts to pass the bill in Congress, where Republicans hold a slim majority in the House of Representatives and Senate.

The bill narrowly passed the House last month and is now before the Senate, where Trump’s fellow Republicans are considering making changes. Nonpartisan analysts estimate the measure would add $2.4 trillion to the U.S. debt over 10 years.

Trump said on Saturday he is confident the bill would get passed by the U.S. July 4 Independence Day holiday.

“In fact, yeah, people that were, were going to vote for it are now enthusiastically going to vote for it, and we expect it to pass,” Trump told NBC.

Musk had deleted some social media posts critical of Trump, including one that signaled support for impeaching the president, appearing to seek a de-escalation of their public feud, which exploded on Thursday.

Trump late on Friday suggested a review of federal government contracts held by Musk. People who have spoken to Musk said his anger has begun to recede and they think he will want to repair his relationship with Trump.

Trump threatens Musk's government deals as feud explodes over tax-cut bill

Yemen Details — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 23:12:08 +0300

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump threatened on Thursday to cut off government contracts with companies owned by billionaire Elon Musk, as the alliance between the world's most powerful man and its richest erupted into a rancorous public fight.

The feud, which exploded in spectacular fashion over the course of a few hours, pushed shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla down dramatically. The company, where Musk serves as CEO, closed down 14.3% for the day and lost about $150 billion in value after Trump and Musk began their war of words.

Trump lashed out at Musk in comments in the Oval Office. For two days, the billionaire who had been Trump's close adviser campaigned to torpedo the sweeping tax-cut and spending bill, the Republican president's top legislative priority, saying it would add too much to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt. Even as Trump spoke, Musk responded with posts on his social media platform X.

Continuing the battle, Trump wrote later on his social media site Truth Social: "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts." Trump had appointed Musk this year to slash the federal bureaucracy.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office he was "very disappointed" in Musk. The president had held his tongue this week as Musk criticized his bill, an opinion also voiced by some Republicans in the closely divided U.S. Senate.

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump told reporters, making his first direct response to Musk's criticism.

Musk quickly unleashed a series of biting responses on X.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election," Musk posted. "Such ingratitude."

Besides electric vehicle maker Tesla, Musk's companies include rocket company and government contractor SpaceX and its satellite unit Starlink. The billionaire spent nearly $300 million in the 2024 election in support of Trump and other Republican candidates.

Trump could have a hard time carrying out his threats against Musk's space business, which plays a critical role in the U.S. government's space program. SpaceX's cheap, reusable Falcon 9 rockets have made it the world's most active launch provider. Its vast Starlink network has disrupted the global satellite communications market.

EVER-PRESENT ALLY

After serving as the biggest Republican donor in the 2024 campaign season, Musk became one of Trump's most visible advisers as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which mounted a sweeping effort to downsize the federal workforce and slash spending.
Musk was frequently present at the White House and made multiple appearances on Capitol Hill, sometimes carrying his young son.

A prolonged feud between Trump and Musk could make it more difficult for Republicans to keep control of Congress in next year's midterm elections. In addition to his campaign spending, Musk has a huge online following and helped connect Trump to parts of Silicon Valley and wealthy donors.

Musk had already said he planned to curtail his political spending in the future.

Soon after Trump's Oval Office comments, Musk polled his 220 million followers on X: "Is it time to create a new political party in America that actually represents the 80% in the middle?"

'KILL THE BILL'

Starting on Tuesday, the tech executive unleashed a series of blistering attacks against what Trump calls his "big, beautiful bill." Musk called it a "disgusting abomination" that would deepen the federal deficit, amplifying a rift within the Republican Party that could threaten the bill's prospects in the Senate.

Nonpartisan analysts say Trump's bill could add $2.4 trillion to $5 trillion to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt.
Trump asserted that Musk's complaints were motivated by the proposed elimination of consumer tax credits for electric vehicles.

Trump also suggested that Musk was upset because he missed working for Trump. Last week, Trump and Musk showered praise on one another at an Oval Office event to mark the end of Musk's service, and both said Musk would remain a trusted adviser.

"He's not the first," Trump said on Thursday. "People leave my administration ... then at some point they miss it so badly, and some of them embrace it and some of them actually become hostile."

Musk wrote on X, "Slim Beautiful Bill for the win," adding "KILL the BILL." He followed that up by saying he was fine with Trump's planned cuts to electric vehicle credits as long as Republicans rid the bill of "mountain of disgusting pork" or wasteful spending.

He also pulled up past quotes from Trump decrying the level of federal spending, adding, "Where is this guy today?"

Trump, meanwhile, posted on Truth Social that Musk "went crazy."
Musk came into government with brash plans to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget. He left last week having cut only about half of 1% of total spending.

DOGE eliminated thousands of federal jobs and cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and other programs, causing disruption across federal agencies and fueling a wave of legal challenges.
Musk's increasing focus on politics provoked widespread protests at Tesla sites in the U.S. and Europe, driving down sales while investors fretted that Musk's attention was too divided.

Following Trump's remarks, a White House official, speaking on background, underscored the shift in the once-close dynamic between Musk and Trump.

"The president is making it clear: this White House is not beholden to Elon Musk on policy," the official said. "By attacking the bill the way he did, Musk has clearly picked a side."

'Very disappointed' Trump in stunning live break-up with Musk

Yemen Details — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 22:05:57 +0300

Washington (AFP) – Tensions between Donald Trump and Elon Musk exploded into public view Thursday, as the US president said he was "very disappointed" by his billionaire former aide's criticisms and Musk hit back in real time on social media.

"Look, Elon and I had a great relationship. I don't know if we will anymore," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office after Musk slammed his tax and spending mega-bill as an "abomination".

The world's richest man responded by live-tweeting on his X social media platform as Trump spoke on television, saying that the Republican would not have won the 2024 election without him and slamming him for "ingratitude."

In an extraordinary rant as visiting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sat mutely beside him, 78-year-old Trump unloaded on SpaceX and Tesla boss Musk in his first comments on the issue.

"I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here... All of a sudden, he had a problem," Trump said when asked about Musk.

The clash comes less than a week since Trump held a grand Oval Office farewell for Musk as he wrapped up his time leading the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

South African-born Musk, 53, hit back minutes later, saying Trump's claims he had advance sight of the bill were "false."

"Whatever," he added above a video of Trump saying Musk was upset about the loss of subsidies for electric vehicles.

Musk then ratcheted up the public spat even further, saying the Republican would have lost the election without his support. He was the biggest donor to Trump's campaign, to the tune of nearly $300 million.

"Without me, Trump would have lost the election," Musk said on X. "Such ingratitude."

Tesla shares fell sharply on Wall Street, down eight percent, after his comments, in a sign of the huge stakes for a falling out between the world's richest man and its most powerful.

'A little make-up?'

A wistful-sounding Trump took reporters through the break-up with Musk on live television, in what at times sounded more like a therapy session than a meeting with a foreign leader.

Trump talked about Musk's farewell appearance in the Oval Office on Friday, when he turned up with a black eye that he said was caused by a punch from his son.

Musk at the time was also facing reports of drug use on the Trump campaign trail.

"You saw a man who was very happy when he stood behind the Oval desk, and even with the black eye. I said, you want a little makeup? We'll get you a little makeup," Trump said.

"But he said, 'No, I don't think so,' which is interesting and very nice. He wants to be who he is."

Trump said he could understand why Musk was upset with some steps he had taken, including withdrawing a nominee to lead the NASA space agency whom the tech tycoon had backed.

Through it all, the visiting German chancellor sat silently.

Merz had prepared to avoid a repeat of the ambushes that Trump unleashed on the Ukrainian and South African presidents in the Oval Office -- but in the end it was Musk that the US president ambushed.

At the center of the bitter row is Trump's "big, beautiful bill" on tax and spending.

The centerpiece of his domestic agenda, it aims to continue tax cuts from his first term -- and could define his second term and make or break Republican prospects in the 2026 midterm elections.

Musk however called it a "disgusting abomination" on Tuesday, on the grounds that it will increase the US deficit.

A day later, the magnate called for Republicans to "kill the bill," and for an alternative plan that "doesn't massively grow the deficit."

Trump orders inquiry into 'conspiracy' to hide Biden's health decline

Yemen Details — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 04:16:53 +0300

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a "conspiracy" to cover up Joe Biden's declining cognitive health during his time in the White House.

The move is the latest in a long-running campaign by Trump to discredit his predecessor, which has been joined by Republican Party politicians and their cheerleaders in the conservative media.

But it also comes as a growing chorus of Democrats begin to acknowledge the former president appeared to have been slipping in recent years.

Those concerns were thrown into stark relief by a disastrous debate performance against Trump during last year's presidential campaign, in which the then-81-year-old stumbled over his words and repeatedly lost his train of thought.

"In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former President Biden's aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden's cognitive decline," a presidential memorandum issued Wednesday reads.

"This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.

"The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden's signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts."

Republicans have long claimed that Biden was suffering from intellectual decline even as the White House pressed ahead with major legislation and presidential decrees.

They cite his infrequent public appearances, as well as his apparent unwillingness to sit for interviews as evidence of what they say was a man incapable of doing the demanding job of Commander-in-Chief of the United States.

They insist that those around him covered up his physical and cognitive decline, taking decisions on his behalf and using a device that could reproduce his signature to allow them to continue to run the country in his name.

"The Counsel to the President, in consultation with the Attorney General and the head of any other relevant executive department or agency... shall investigate... whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercise the authorities and responsibilities of the President," the document says.

The probe will also look at "the circumstances surrounding Biden's supposed execution of numerous executive actions during his final years in office (including) the policy documents for which the autopen was used (and) who directed that the President's signature be affixed."

Biden's calamitous debate performance ultimately sank his bid for reelection, with key Democratic Party figures soon calling for him to drop out of the race.

But it was only several weeks later, after unsuccessful attempts to quieten his critics, that he withdrew, anointing his vice-president Kamala Harris, who eventually lost to Trump.

Trump signs ban on entry from 12 countries, restrictions on 7 more

Yemen Details — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 03:03:57 +0300

President Trump signed a proclamation to ban travel from certain countries on Wednesday evening, citing national security risks, administration officials told CBS News.

The ban will be targeted at specific countries, but will allow for exceptions.

Mr. Trump's proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, the officials said. It partially restricts the entry of people from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

"President Trump is fulfilling his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors that want to come to our country and cause us harm. These commonsense restrictions are country-specific and include places that lack proper vetting, exhibit high visa overstay rates, or fail to share identity and threat information. President Trump will always act in the best of interest of the American people and their safety," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told CBS News.

Officials said the action is due to a high level of risk to the United States.

Exceptions allowed under the new travel ban will be for lawful permanent residents, adoptions, dual nationals traveling on a passport from an unrestricted country, Afghan Special Immigrant Visas, foreign nationals traveling on diplomatic, U.N. or NATO visas; athletes or members of athletic teams, including coaches and support staff, and athletes traveling for the World Cup, Olympics or other sporting events; immediate family member immigrant visas, Special Immigrant Visas for U.S. government employees, immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, and other national interest exceptions, officials said.

The announcement of the ban follows an attack in Boulder, Colorado, on marchers raising attention for Israelis taken hostage by Hamas.

FBI announces new probes into White House cocaine incident and Dobbs Supreme Court leak

Yemen Details — Tue, 27 May 2025 20:23:21 +0300

The FBI will launch new probes into the 2023 discovery of cocaine at the White House during President Joe Biden’s term and the 2022 leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, a top official announced on Monday.

Dan Bongino, a rightwing podcaster-turned-FBI deputy director, made the announcement on X, saying that he had requested weekly briefings on the cases’ progress.

Both incidents have been popular talking points on America’s right.

The discovery of a small bag of cocaine in a cubby near the entrance to the West Wing two years ago drew excited commentary from Republicans, including Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential candidate, who said it was implausible that the drugs could belong to anyone beyond Biden and his son Hunter - even though the Biden family was away from Washington at the time.

A White House spokesperson at the time said that the allegations were “incredibly irresponsible.” A spokeswoman for Biden declined to comment on Monday about the new probe.

The May 2, 2022, publication of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion, provoked condemnation from Trump, who called the source of the leak “slime” and demanded that the journalists involved be imprisoned until they revealed who it was.

Previous investigations into both cases, by the Secret Service and the Supreme Court, respectively, ended without identifying who was responsible for the cocaine or the leak.

The Supreme Court and the Secret Service didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment on Monday.

Bongino has previously alleged, without presenting any evidence, that he was in touch with whistleblowers who told him they were “suspicious” that evidence from the White House cocaine bag “could match a member of the inner Biden circle.”

Bongino also announced more resources for the FBI’s investigation into the placement of pipe bombs at the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in Washington in January 2021.

The bombs, which were later defused, had been planted the night before Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol in a failed bid to block Congress from certifying Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

The perpetrator has never been publicly identified.

Authorities say they’ve captured three more of the 10 escapees who broke out of a New Orleans jail

Yemen Details — Tue, 27 May 2025 04:35:55 +0300

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities said Monday they have captured three more of the 10 escapees who broke out of a Louisiana jail this month.

One of the men was arrested in Baton Rouge by local police and two others were arrested in Walker County Texas by officials there, Louisiana State Police posted on the platform X.

Two more inmates remain on the lam, state police said.

Authorities have been scouring New Orleans for the men after they escaped in an audacious May 16 jailbreak. The men yanked open a faulty cell door inside a jail, squeezed through a hole behind a toilet, scaled a barbed-wire fence and fled into the coverage of darkness.

The inmates’ absence wasn’t discovered until a morning headcount, hours after they bolted for freedom.

City and state officials have pointed to multiple security lapses in the jail.

Louisiana authorities named the latest inmates who were recaptured as Lenton Vanburen, Leo Tate and Jermaine Donald.

Many of the men were originally in the New Orleans jail, awaiting sentences or trials, for alleged violent crimes including murder.

Trump attacks opponents, judges on day honoring US war dead

Yemen Details — Mon, 26 May 2025 23:23:15 +0300

President Donald Trump marked the annual day for honoring the US war dead Monday by tearing into his "scum" opponents and judges who don't rule in his favor.

Trump performed the traditional presidential duties on Memorial Day of visiting Arlington National Cemetery -- the resting place for some 400,000 fallen soldiers and others.

And after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Trump delivered a speech that likewise stuck mostly to the typical presidential script of praising US war heroes.

However, the 78-year-old Republican began his day with a lengthy, all-caps tirade on his Truth Social platform in which he declared: "HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY."

The post claimed that "warped radical left minds" had allowed in millions of illegal immigrants, "many of them being criminals and the mentally insane."

As well as blaming his political predecessors, Trump accused "USA hating" judges of being "on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world, in our country so they can rob, murder and rape again."

Trump is locked in a series of court battles with federal judges who have repeatedly imposed temporary restraining orders to freeze potentially unconstitutional actions, pending further rulings.

With the Republican Party controlling Congress and rarely pushing back against the White House, the only significant remaining roadblocks to Trump's unprecedented drive to test constitutional norms are the courts.

One of the key cases being contested revolves around court injunctions stopping the use by Trump of an obscure wartime law to deport alleged illegal migrants or alleged foreign criminals without any due process.

In his Arlington speech, Trump hailed notable US battles over history and paid homage to several individual members of the armed forces killed in combat.

However, Trump did not entirely avoid his penchant to veer off script and begin talking about his own successes.

Overlooking the storied cemetery of white marble crosses, he mused about his luck in being president now, because he will preside over the 2026 soccer World Cup, the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 250th anniversary of the United States also in 2026.

Had he not lost his first reelection bid in 2020 -- a result he tried to overthrow and still frequently claims he was cheated on -- he would have not been president for the three events, he noted.

"In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term," he told the audience of military officers, top government officials and surviving relatives of slain soldiers.

"Now look what I have: I have everything," Trump said. "Amazing the way things work out. God did that."

Trump threatens 25 percent tariff on apple if iPhones not made in US

Yemen Details — Fri, 23 May 2025 22:39:05 +0300

US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened Apple with a 25 percent tariff if the iPhones the company sells in the United States are not manufactured locally.

In a post on Truth Social Trump said he had “long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else.”

“If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 percent must be paid by Apple to the US,” he added.

Trump’s sweeping tariffs on major US trading partners have roiled global markets and upended international commerce.

Trump’s comments Friday echo statements he made last week while on a trip to Qatar, urging Apple to bring iPhone production to US shores.

“I had a little problem with Tim Cook,” Trump said on May 15.

The president said he told Apple chief executive Cook: “We’re not interested in you building in India... we want you to build here and they’re going to be upping their production in the United States.”

When presenting the tech company’s first-quarter profits in early May, Cook said he expected “a majority of iPhones sold in the US will have India as their country of origin.”

He warned of the uncertain impact of the 145 percent US tariffs on products from China -- the company’s long-time manufacturing hub -- despite a temporary reprieve for high-end tech goods such as smartphones and computers.

Although completed smartphones are exempted from Trump’s tariffs for now, not all components that go into Apple devices are spared.

Apple expects US tariffs to cost $900 million in the current quarter, even though their impact was “limited” at the start of this year, according to Cook.

Judge temporarily halts Trump block on foreign students at Harvard

Yemen Details — Fri, 23 May 2025 22:02:41 +0300

A judge has temporarily suspended the Trump administration’s move to block Harvard from enrolling and hosting foreign students after the prestigious university sued, calling the action unconstitutional.

On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revoked Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign nationals, throwing the future of thousands of students and the lucrative income stream they provide into doubt.

But Harvard sued, and a Massachusetts district judge, Allison Burroughs, ordered that “The Trump administration is hereby enjoined from implementing… the revocation of Plaintiff’s SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) certification.”

There will be an injunction hearing on May 29, a court filing shows.

US President Donald Trump is furious at Harvard — which has produced 162 Nobel prize winners — for rejecting his demand that it submit to oversight on admissions and hiring over his claims that it is a hotbed of antisemitism and “woke” liberal ideology.

His administration has already threatened to put $9 billion of government funding to Harvard under review, gone on to freeze a first tranche of $2.2 billion of grants and $60 million of official contracts, as well as targeted a Harvard Medical School researcher for deportation.

“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” says the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court.

The lawsuit calls for a judge to “stop the government’s arbitrary, capricious, unlawful, and unconstitutional action.”

The loss of foreign nationals — more than a quarter of its student body — could prove costly to Harvard, which charges tens of thousands of dollars a year in tuition.

Second Oval Office ambush by Trump could make foreign leaders think twice

Yemen Details — Thu, 22 May 2025 20:34:02 +0300

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump turned down the lights in the Oval Office on Wednesday and made South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the target of his latest geopolitical ambush of a foreign leader in front of television cameras.

In an extraordinary scene clearly orchestrated by the White House for maximum effect and reminiscent of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit in February, Trump confronted Ramaphosa with false claims of genocide against South African whites, including allegations of mass killings and land seizures.

It was another display of Trump's apparent readiness to use the Oval Office, historically reserved as a place of honor for foreign dignitaries, to embarrass visitors from less-powerful nations or hold their feet to the fire on matters he is fixated upon.

Trump's unprecedented use of the presidential setting for such displays could prompt foreign leaders to think twice about accepting his invitations and risk public humiliation, a reluctance that could make it harder to cement ties with friends and partners that are also being courted by archrival China.

Patrick Gaspard, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa under President Barack Obama, said Trump had turned the meeting with Ramaphosa into a "shameful spectacle" and "savaged him with some fake snuff film and violent rhetoric."

"Engaging on Trump’s terms never goes well for anyone," Gaspard, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress think-tank in Washington, wrote in a post on X.

The Oval Office meeting had been billed as a chance to reset strained relations between the U.S. and South Africa, especially after Trump's imposition of tariffs, and to defuse escalating tensions over his unfounded accusations of "white genocide" and offer to resettle white minority Afrikaners.

After a cordial start to the meeting, Trump, a former reality TV star, ordered the lights dimmed and showed a video and printed articles purporting to be evidence that white South Africans are being persecuted.

Ramaphosa, clearly prepared to counter Trump's accusations but unlikely to have expected the political theater, was attentive and composed as he sought to refute what was presented by his host, but he stopped short of directly challenging or criticizing a U.S. president with a reputation for being thin-skinned.

“I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Ramaphosa quipped with a smile, referring to the luxury jetliner Qatar has offered Trump as a replacement for Air Force One.

His spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told South African broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that "you could see President Ramaphosa was being provoked."
"You could see he was having his eye pulled, and he did not fall for the trap," Magwenya said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request on whether the meeting was set up to put Ramaphosa in the hot seat and whether that might discourage other foreign leaders from such visits.

Cameron Hudson, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank in Washington, said that while the televised portion of the meeting was a circus, "it never crossed the line into anger or vitriol, so it didn't go off the cliff."

ZELENSKIY-TRUMP SHOUTING MATCH

That mood stood in sharp contrast to Trump's meeting just months ago with Zelenskiy, which devolved into a shouting match involving both the president and Vice President JD Vance.

Zelenskiy, much like Ramaphosa, was there to try to heal a rift in relations and in Ukraine's case maintain U.S. military assistance to Kyiv in the war against Russia's invading forces.

But the meeting quickly went off the rails, with Trump accusing Zelenskiy of being disrespectful and gambling with a potential World War Three, and Vance charging that the Ukrainian leader had not shown enough appreciation for U.S. support.

The contentious nature of the meeting sent shockwaves through the NATO alliance backing Ukraine's fight against Russia.

There may have been less at stake in Trump's meeting on Wednesday with Ramaphosa, but South Africa is a major political and economic player in Africa that counts China as its biggest trading partner, with the U.S. coming in second.

South Africa, which endured centuries of harsh discrimination against Black people during colonialism and apartheid before becoming a multi-party democracy in 1994 under Nelson Mandela, rejects Trump's allegations.

Trump’s confrontation appeared tailored for parts of his political base, particularly the far-right and white nationalist segments that have long pushed the narrative of a “white genocide” in South Africa.

By showcasing unverified claims of violence against white farmers and framing land reform as racial persecution, Trump tapped talking points popular in U.S. right-wing extremist circles.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has canceled aid, expelled South Africa's ambassador and resettled some white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims Pretoria says are baseless. The program has been divisive as Trump has been largely blocking refugee admissions from the rest of the world.

A new South African land reform law, aimed at redressing the injustices of apartheid, allows for expropriations without compensation when in the public interest, for example if land is lying fallow. No such expropriation has taken place, and any order can be challenged in court.

“If anybody doubts that the Zelenskiy incident was not completely stage managed by the White House, I think the scales should fall from their eyes," British foreign affairs commentator Tim Marshall told Times Radio in London.

Hacker who breached communications app used by Trump aide stole data from across US government: Report

Yemen Details — Thu, 22 May 2025 03:49:39 +0300

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Reuters) - A hacker who breached the communications service used by former Trump national security adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month intercepted messages from a broader swathe of American officials than has previously been reported, according to a Reuters review, potentially raising the stakes of a breach that has already drawn questions about data security in the Trump administration.

Reuters identified more than 60 unique government users of the messaging platform TeleMessage in a cache ofleaked data

, opens new tab provided by Distributed Denial of Secrets, a U.S. nonprofit whose stated mission is to archive hacked and leaked documents in the public interest. The trove included material from disaster responders, customs officials, several U.S. diplomatic staffers, at least one White House staffer and members of the Secret Service. The messages reviewed by Reuters covered a roughly day-long period of time ending on May 4, and many of them were fragmentary.

Once little known outside government and finance circles, TeleMessage drew media attention after an April 30 Reuters photograph showed Waltz checking TeleMessage's version of the privacy-focused app Signal during a cabinet meeting.

While Reuters could not verify the entire contents of the TeleMessage trove, in more than half a dozen cases the news agency was able to establish that the phone numbers in the leaked data were correctly attributed to their owners. One of the intercepted texts' recipients - an applicant for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency - confirmed to Reuters that the leaked message was authentic; a financial services firm whose messages were similarly intercepted also confirmed their authenticity.

Based on its limited review, Reuters uncovered nothing that seemed clearly sensitive and did not uncover chats by Waltz or other cabinet officials. Some chats did seem to bear on the travel plans of senior government officials. One Signal group, "POTUS | ROME-VATICAN | PRESS GC," appeared to pertain to the logistics of an event at the Vatican. Another appeared to discuss U.S. officials' trip to Jordan.
Reuters reached out to all the individuals it could identify seeking comment; some confirmed their identities but most didn't respond or referred questions to their respective agencies.
Reuters could not ascertain how TeleMessage had been used by each agency. The service - which takes versions of popular apps and allows their messages to be archived in line with government rules - has been suspended since May 5, when it went offline "out of an abundance of caution." TeleMessage's owner, the Portland, Oregon-based digital communications firm Smarsh, did not respond to requests for comments about the leaked data.

The White House said in a statement that it was "aware of the cyber security incident at Smarsh" but didn't offer comment on its use of the platform. The State Department didn't respond to messages. The Secret Service said TeleMessage products had been used "by a small subset of Secret Service employees" and that it was reviewing the situation. FEMA said in an email that it had "no evidence" that its information had been compromised. It didn't respond when sent copies of internal FEMA messages. A CBP spokesperson repeated a past statement noting that it had disabled TeleMessage and was investigating the breach.

METADATA RISK

Federal contracting data shows that State and DHS have had contracts with TeleMessage in recent years, as has the Centers for Disease Control. A CDC spokesperson told Reuters in an email Monday that the agency piloted the software in 2024 to assess its potential for records management requirements "but found it did not fit our needs." The status of the other contracts wasn't clear. A week after that hack, the U.S. cyber defense agency CISA recommended that users "discontinue use of the product" barring any mitigating instructions about how to use the app from Smarsh.

Jake Williams, a former National Security Agency cyber specialist, said that, even if the intercepted text messages were innocuous, the wealth of metadata - the who and when of the leaked conversations and chat groups - posed a counterintelligence risk.

"Even if you don't have the content, that is a top-tier intelligence access," said Williams, now vice president of research and development at cybersecurity firm Hunter Strategy.

Waltz's prior use of Signal created a public furor when he accidentally added a prominent journalist to a Signal chat where he and other Trump cabinet officials were discussing air raids on Yemen in real time. Soon after, Waltz was ousted from his job, although not from the administration: Trump said he was nominating Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

The circumstances surrounding Waltz's use of TeleMessage haven't been publicly disclosed and neither he nor the White House has responded to questions about the matter.

What is the Golden Dome missile defense shield?

Yemen Details — Thu, 22 May 2025 03:38:56 +0300

May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump picked a design for his Golden Dome missile defense system and named a leader of the ambitious $175 billion defense program. Here are details on Golden Dome, where the idea comes from and how it will work.

HOW WILL IT WORK?

The aim is for Golden Dome to leverage a network of hundreds of satellites circling the globe with sophisticated sensors and interceptors to knock out incoming enemy missiles after they lift off from countries like China, Iran, North Korea or Russia.

"I promised the American people that I would build a cutting edge missile defense shield to protect our homeland from the threat of foreign missile attack," Trump said when he made the announcement on Tuesday.

In April the Pentagon asked defense contractors how they would design and build a network to knock out intercontinental ballistic missiles during the "boost phase" just after lift-off - the slow and predictable climb of an enemy missile through the Earth's atmosphere. Existing defenses target enemy missiles while they travel through space.

Once the missile has been detected, Golden Dome will either shoot it down before it enters space with an interceptor or a laser, or further along its path of travel in space with an existing missile defense system that uses land-based interceptors stationed in California and Alaska.

Beneath the space intercept layer, the system will have another defensive layer based in or around the U.S. This is something the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency looked into during the first Trump administration.

IS GOLDEN DOME LIKE ISRAEL'S IRON DOME?

"We helped Israel with theirs, and [it] was very successful, and now we have technology that's even far advanced from that," Trump said referring to Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.

The short-range Iron Dome air defense system was built to intercept the kinds of rockets fired by the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

Developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems with U.S. backing, it became operational in 2011. Each truck-towed unit fires radar-guided missiles to blow up short-range threats like rockets, mortars and drones in mid-air.
The system determines whether a rocket is on course to hit a populated area; if not, the rocket is ignored and allowed to land harmlessly.

Iron Dome was originally billed as providing city-sized coverage against rockets with ranges of between 4 and 70 km (2.5 to 43 miles), but experts say this has since been expanded.

HOW IS IT SIMILAR TO THEN-PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN'S STAR WARS INITIATIVE?

"We will truly be completing the job that President Reagan started 40 years ago, forever ending the missile threat to the American homeland," Trump said on Tuesday.

The idea of strapping rocket launchers, or lasers, to satellites so they can shoot down enemy intercontinental ballistic missiles is not new. It was part of the Star Wars initiative devised during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. But it represents a huge and expensive technological leap from current capabilities.

Reagan's "Strategic Defense Initiative," as it was called, was announced in 1983 as groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete.

The heart of the SDI program was a plan to develop a space-based missile defense program that could protect the U.S. from a large-scale nuclear attack. The proposal involved many layers of technology that would enable the United States to identify and destroy automatically a large number of incoming ballistic missiles as they were launched, as they flew, and as they approached their targets. SDI failed because it was too expensive, too ambitious from a technology perspective, could not be easily tested and appeared to violate an existing anti-ballistic missile treaty.

WHO WILL BUILD GOLDEN DOME?

Trump ally Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX has emerged as a frontrunner alongside software firm Palantir (PLTR.O)

, opens new tab and drone maker Anduril to build key components of the system.
Many of the early systems are expected to come from existing production lines. Attendees at the White House press conference with Trump named L3Harris Technologies (LHX.N)
, opens new tab, Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab and RTX Corp (RTX.N)
, opens new tab as potential contractors for the massive project.

L3 has invested $150 million in building out its new facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where it makes the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor Satellites that are part of a Pentagon effort to better detect and track hypersonic weapons with space-based sensors and could be adapted for Golden Dome.

But Golden Dome's funding remains uncertain. Republican lawmakers have proposed a $25-billion initial investment for it as part of a broader $150-billion defense package, but this funding is tied to a contentious reconciliation bill that faces significant hurdles in Congress.

Musk says will spend 'a lot less' on political campaigns

Yemen Details — Tue, 20 May 2025 22:04:48 +0300

Doha (AFP) – Billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday he was pulling back from spending his fortune on politics, asserting his Tesla electric car company was doing well despite blowback over his support of US President Donald Trump.

"In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future," Musk told Bloomberg's Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, speaking by video link from Austin, Texas.

Musk, the richest person on Earth, spent hundreds of millions of dollars to help Trump win the 2024 presidential election, and questions were rife in Washington whether his largesse would continue.

"If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. I don't currently see a reason," he said in the often tense interview.

The comments will trigger speculation that the close relationship between Trump and Musk may be shifting as the Tesla tycoon steps away from his full-time role as cost-cutting chief for the US administration.

When it comes to politics, "I did what needed to be done," Musk said.

Musk confirmed he has reduced his role as the unofficial head of the administration's "Department of Government Efficiency," working there now just one or two days a week.

Tesla, which is the major source of Musk's wealth, has suffered significant brand damage due to his political work, particularly with Trump. He has also expressed support for the far-right anti-immigration AfD party in Germany.

Since Trump took office, Tesla dealerships have become scenes of protest and vandalism in the United States and beyond.

"It's certainly fine to object to political things, but it's not fine to resort to violence and hanging someone in effigy and death threats," Musk said.

But he pushed back when asked if he was worried about the effects of his political positions on sales at the electric carmaker, saying the company was doing fine.

Aside from a sales decline in Europe, "we're strong everywhere else," Musk said.

He pointed to the performance of Tesla's shares on Wall Street as a sign that the company was on good footing.

"We're now back over a trillion dollars in market cap, so clearly, the market is aware of the situation, so Tesla is already turned around," he said.
'Annoying'

In the wide-ranging conversation, Musk said he was in no rush to take his rocket and space exploration company SpaceX public, saying he didn't need the money or the added scrutiny.

Going public "is, I guess, a way to potentially make more money, but at the expense of a lot of public company overhead, and inevitably, a whole bunch of lawsuits, which are very annoying," he said.

Musk has faced a series of lawsuits from shareholders in publicly traded Tesla, including one that saw a US judge reject his massive $55.8 billion compensation package.

"The compensation should match that something incredible was done," Musk said, when asked about the judge's decision.

"But I'm confident that whatever some activist posing as a judge in Delaware happens to do will not affect" his future pay.

Musk also said he was pushing ahead with his lawsuit against OpenAI despite that company, which he cofounded in 2015 before leaving, saying it was keeping non-profit oversight as it continues to expand ChatGPT and its AI models.

Musk dismissed the recent restructuring and said his anger towards OpenAI for becoming a profit-driven AI giant, now one of the biggest tech companies in the world, still had merit.

"I funded OpenAI for roughly $50 million and it was intended to be a nonprofit, open source company, and now they're trying to change that for their own financial benefit into a for-profit company that is closed source," he said.

"This would be like you funded a nonprofit to help preserve the Amazon rainforest, but instead of doing that, they became a lumber company, chopped down the forest and sold the wood."

How Biden cancer diagnosis could have gone undetected

Yemen Details — Mon, 19 May 2025 23:25:16 +0300

Washington (AFP) – Joe Biden's diagnosis with an aggressive form of prostate cancer has spurred some prominent conservatives to accuse the former president of a cover-up, but oncologists told AFP that screening limitations could very well have left his condition undetected until now.

The 82-year-old received the diagnosis last week after he experienced urinary issues and a prostate nodule was found, his office said Sunday.

While President Donald Trump said he was "saddened" to learn of his rival's condition, a chorus of Republicans led by Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr said or shared conspiratorial posts to the effect that Biden and his White House medical team had long concealed his illness for political purposes.

Questions over Biden's health dogged him throughout the waning months of his presidency and his short-lived reelection campaign. And they have been renewed in recent weeks ahead of the expected release of a book detailing what it calls his declining physical condition.

Prostate cancer, the most common among men, is typically diagnosed much sooner than other kinds of cancer. It can be caught in its early stages using blood tests that measure for a protein called PSA.

Medical experts interviewed by AFP said the late identification of an advanced cancer would not be unheard of, even for a former president receiving top-of-the-line medical care.

"We can't rule out the possibility that it was an aggressive form that developed quickly," said Natacha Naoun, an oncologist with France's Gustave-Roussy Institute.

Annual PSA screening after the age of 70 is not universally recommended.

The US Preventive Services Task Force advises against it, reasoning that the risk of false positives and the harms from biopsies and treatment outweigh the benefits.

"It could be they decided to stop checking PSA annually, and then he had urinary symptoms," said Russell Pachynski, an oncologist with Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, who told AFP that prostate cancer patients do not always experience telltale pains or signs.

It is also possible that Biden was undergoing routine screenings, but that those checks failed to turn up indications of cancer, Pachynski said.

"Maybe it was just unlucky that his particular cancer didn't express a lot of PSA and he still had a normal PSA. In that setting, you would not go checking the prostate or do a biopsy, etcetera, unless it was driven by symptoms."

Otis Brawley, an oncologist and epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University, said studies have shown both PSA testing and rectal exams are imperfect.

"It is not unusual for a man to be diagnosed with metastatic prostate disease despite normal annual screening," he told AFP. "This is part of the limitations of prostate screening."

Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer

Yemen Details — Sun, 18 May 2025 23:25:24 +0300

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, his office said Sunday.

Biden was seen last week by doctors after urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” his office said. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Severe weather leaves at least 27 dead, including 18 in Kentucky

Yemen Details — Sun, 18 May 2025 03:44:05 +0300

LONDON, Ky. (AP) — At least 27 people have been killed by storms systems that swept across part of the U.S. Midwest and South, with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announcing Saturday that 18 of the deaths came in his state and 10 others were hospitalized in critical condition.

A devastating tornado in Kentucky damaged homes, tossed vehicles and left many people homeless. Seventeen of the deaths were in Laurel County, located in the state’s southeast, and one was in Pulaski County: Fire Department Maj. Roger Leslie Leatherman, a 39-year veteran who was fatally injured while responding to the deadly weather.

Parts of two dozen state roads were closed, and some could take days to reopen, Beshear said. He also said the death toll could still rise.

“We need the whole world right now to be really good neighbors to this region,” the governor said.

State Emergency Management Director Eric Gibson said hundreds of homes were damaged,

Kayla Patterson, her husband and their five children huddled in a tub in their basement in London, the county seat, as the tornado raged around them.

“You could literally hear just things ripping in the distance, glass shattering everywhere, just roaring like a freight train,” she recalled Saturday. “It was terrible.”

The family eventually emerged to the sounds of sirens and panicked neighbors. While the family’s own home was spared, others right behind it were demolished, Patterson said as the sound of power tools buzzed in the background. The neighborhood was dotted with piles of lumber, metal sheeting, insulation and stray belongings — a suitcase, a sofa, some six-packs of paper towels.

Rescuers were searching for survivors all night and into the morning, the sheriff’s office said. An emergency shelter was set up at a local high school and donations of food and other necessities were arriving.

The National Weather Service hadn’t yet confirmed that a tornado struck, but meteorologist Philomon Geertson said it was likely. It ripped across the largely rural area and extended to the London Corbin Airport shortly before midnight.

Resident Chris Cromer said he got the first of two tornado alerts on his phone around 11:30 p.m. or so, about a half-hour before the tornado struck. He and his wife grabbed their dog, jumped in their car and scrambled to the crawlspace at a relative’s nearby home because the couple’s own crawlspace is small.

“We could hear and feel the vibration of the tornado coming through,” said Cromer, 46. A piece of his roof was ripped off, and windows were broken, but homes around his were destroyed.

“It’s one of those things that you see on the news in other areas, and you feel bad for people — then, when it happens, it’s just surreal,” he said. “It makes you be thankful to be alive, really.”

The storm was the latest severe weather to cause deaths and widespread damage in Kentucky. Two months ago, at least 24 people died in a round of storms that swelled creeks and submerged roads. Hundreds of people were rescued, and most of the deaths were caused by vehicles getting stuck in high water.

A storm in late 2021 spawned tornadoes that killed 81 people and leveled portions of towns in western Kentucky. The following summer, historic floodwaters inundated parts of eastern Kentucky, leaving dozens more dead.
Missouri pounded by storms, with deaths confirmed in St. Louis

About 1,200 tornadoes strike the U.S. annually, and they have been reported in all 50 states over the years. Researchers found in 2018 that deadly tornadoes were happening less frequently in the traditional “Tornado Alley” of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and more frequently in parts of the more densely populated and tree-filled mid-South area.

The latest Kentucky storms were part of a weather system Friday that killed seven in Missouri and two in northern Virginia, authorities said. The system also spawned tornadoes in Wisconsin, brought a punishing heat wave to Texas and temporarily enveloped parts of Illinois — including Chicago — in a pall of dust on an otherwise sunny day.

“Well that was.....something,” the weather service’s Chicago office wrote on X after issuing its first-ever dust storm warning for the city. Thunderstorms in central Illinois had pushed strong winds over dry, dusty farmland and northward into the Chicago area, the weather agency said.

In Missouri, St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer said five people died, 38 were injured and more than 5,000 homes were affected in her city.

“The devastation is truly heartbreaking,” she said at a news conference Saturday. An overnight curfew was to continue in the most damaged neighborhoods.

Weather service radar indicated a likely tornado touched down between 2:30 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. in Clayton, Missouri, in the St. Louis area. The apparent tornado touched down in the area of Forest Park, home to the St. Louis Zoo and the site of the 1904 World’s Fair and Olympic Games the same year.

Three people needed aid after part of the Centennial Christian Church crumbled, St. Louis Fire Battalion Chief William Pollihan told The Associated Press.

Stacy Clark said his mother-in-law, Patricia Penelton, died in the church. He described her as a very active church volunteer who had many roles, including being part of the choir.

John Randle said he and his girlfriend were at the St. Louis Art Museum during the storm and were hustled into the basement with about 150 other people.

“You could see the doors flying open, tree branches flying by and people running,” said Randle, 19.

At the Saint Louis Zoo, falling trees severely damaged the roof of a butterfly facility. Staffers quickly corralled most of the butterflies, the zoo said on social media, and a conservatory in suburban Chesterfield is caring for the displaced creatures.

A tornado struck in Scott County, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) south of St. Louis, killing two people, injuring several others and destroying multiple homes, Sheriff Derick Wheetley wrote on social media.
Forecasters say severe weather could batter parts of the Plains

The weather service said that supercells are likely to develop across parts of Texas and Oklahoma Saturday afternoon before becoming a line of storms in southwest Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas on Saturday night.

The biggest risks include large to very large hail that could be up to 3.5 inches (8.9 centimeters) in size, damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes.

These conditions were expected to continue on Sunday across parts of the central and southern Plains as well as parts of the central High Plains.

“Be prepared to take action if watches and warnings are issued for your area,” the weather service said.
National Weather Service offices lost staff

The storms hit after the Trump administration massively cut staffing of National Weather Service offices, with outside experts worrying about how it would affect warnings in disasters such as tornadoes.

The Jackson, Kentucky, weather office, which was responsible for the area around London, Kentucky, had a March 2025 vacancy rate of 25%, the Louisville, Kentucky, weather service staff was down 29%, and the St. Louis office was down 16%, according to calculations by weather service employees obtained by The Associated Press. The Louisville office was also without a permanent boss, the meteorologist in charge, as of March, according to the staffing data.

Experts said any vacancy rate above 20% is a critical problem.

One person killed in explosion outside fertility clinic; police say act was ‘intentional’

Yemen Details — Sun, 18 May 2025 03:25:43 +0300

An explosion that heavily damaged a fertility clinic Saturday in the upscale California city of Palm Springs was apparently intentional, local authorities said. One person was found dead, and the FBI said it was sending investigators, including bomb technicians, to the scene.

Palm Springs Police Chief Andy Mills said in a statement that the blast “appears to be an intentional act of violence” and that several buildings were damaged, some severely.

“There has been one fatality, the person’s identity is not known,” Mills said.

The act was being investigated as a possible car explosion, according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter who insisted on anonymity to discuss preliminary information from an ongoing investigation. One of the officials told AP that investigators believe the person who died was likely the person who set off the explosion, but they cautioned that the investigation was still in its early stages. Authorities have not disclosed a motive.

Attorney General Pam Bondi said federal agents were working to learn more about the explosion, adding, “Let me be clear: the Trump administration understands that women and mothers are the heartbeat of America. Violence against a fertility clinic is unforgivable.”

The FBI’s Los Angeles field office said via the social platform X that “assets being deployed include investigators, bomb technicians & an evidence response team.” Investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also assisting.

The city of Palm Springs said the explosion happened at 11 a.m. and residents were asked to avoid the area around North Indian Canyon Drive near East Tachevah Drive.

Dr. Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers fertility clinic, confirmed that his facility was damaged. He told AP in a phone interview that all staffers were safe and accounted for. The explosion damaged the practice’s office space, where it conducts consultations with patients, but the IVF lab and the stored embryos were spared.

“I really have no clue what happened,” Abdallah said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”

Aerial video showed a burned-out car in a parking lot behind the building that housed the fertility clinic’s office space. The blast caved in the roof and blew a wide debris field across a sidewalk and four lanes of the street on the other side of the structure.

Rhino Williams, 47, said he was chatting with customers at a restaurant he helps manage inside the Skylark Hotel just over a block away when he heard a huge boom. Everything rattled, Williams said, and he sprinted to the scene to see if anyone was in need of help.

Williams saw a large dark gray plume of smoke and covered his nose with his shirt as he smelled burning plastic and rubber. He said he saw a building had “blown out” into the street, with bricks and debris scattered everywhere, and he spotted a car’s front axle on fire in the parking lot.

He said it was the only car in the lot that he saw. He ran into the building, calling out and peering behind the counter to see if anyone was inside. He did not hear a response and did not see anyone behind the counter.

Williams then ran around to check on other buildings. Multiple windows of the neighboring liquor store were also blown out, he said. Once he saw authorities arrive, he headed back to the hotel.

Nima Tabrizi, 37, of Santa Monica, said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.

“The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke,” Tabrizi said. “Crazy explosion. It felt like a bomb went off. ... We went up to the scene, and we saw human remains.”

Palm Springs is about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles. Its known for upscale resorts, golf courses and a history of celebrity residents.

US indicts Mexican citizen on terrorism charges for helping cartel

Yemen Details — Sat, 17 May 2025 22:31:54 +0300

A Mexican citizen will face charges related to providing material support to a terrorist organization for the first time for allegedly conspiring to traffic guns, grenades, drugs and migrants for a drug cartel, US prosecutors said Friday. The cartel was recently designated a foreign terrorist organization.

An indictment alleging the crimes by Maria Del Rosario Navarro Sanchez, a 39-year-old Mexican, was unsealed Friday in the Western district of Texas. It was not immediately clear if Navarro Sanchez had a lawyer.

It came just days after an indictment was unsealed in San Diego against two alleged Mexican drug cartel leaders on narco-terrorism charges.

Navarro Sanchez was arrested by Mexican authorities on May 4, according to a statement from the US Attorney General’s Office. Among the things found with her was a golden AR-15-style assault rifle.

Prosecutors said Navarro Sanchez was assisting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent organized crime groups. She is alleged to have conspired to give the cartel grenades, buy guns for them, smuggle cash across the border and move drugs.

Two men were also charged in the indictment, though not with providing material support to a terrorist organization.

In February, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel was among eight Latin American criminal groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations the administration of US President Donald Trump. He had called for the move in an executive order signed in January.

The “foreign terrorist organization” label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaeda or ISIS that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels.

The Trump administration argues that the international connections and operations of the groups — including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory — warrant the designation.

The Jalisco cartel was one of six Mexican organized crime groups to receive the designation.

“The arrest of Maria del Rosario Navarro Sanchez should send a clear message to people who wish to align themselves with terrorist groups that they will be sought out and held to the highest extent of the law,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in the statement.

Trump has made clear he wants to throw everything possible at Mexico's cartels for flooding the US with fentanyl.

Mexico's new administration has shown a willingness to help, pursuing cartel operations and making arrests like that of Navarro Sanchez.

Two dead, at least 3 injured in Las Vegas gym shooting, police say

Yemen Details — Sat, 17 May 2025 22:26:50 +0300

A shooting inside a Las Vegas gym Friday afternoon left two people dead, including the suspect, and injured at least three others, police said.

One person was killed at the Las Vegas Athletic Club on the city’s west side as gunfire erupted, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Andrew Walsh said.

Officers shot the suspect, who was armed with a gun, after he ran out the door, the police department said in a statement. He was confirmed dead at a local hospital, police said in a social media post.

Police said three people who were injured were transported to local hospitals, with one in critical condition.

Walsh said there was no longer a threat to the public.

Officials said they were still investigating a motive.

“They said ‘Get out, get out, get out,’” Claudio Vigani, a witness who was at the gym when the shooting began, told KLAS-TV. “Then I saw the dead guy next to the machine.”

Gary Steward, who was headed to the gym with another person, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that a stop at a nutrition store saved their lives.

He said if they hadn’t stopped, they would have been at the front desk where the shooter entered. They saw glass breaking as they walked up to the gym and ran back to the parking lot.

“It’s just a weird feeling right now,” Steward said. “It’s strange. Who shoots up a gym?”

Calls to the athletic club and its corporate office went unanswered.

Tornadoes kill more than 20 in two southern US states

Yemen Details — Sat, 17 May 2025 21:39:52 +0300

Washington: More than 20 people have died after severe storms swept through the southern US states of Missouri and Kentucky, officials and local media reports said Saturday.

Kentucky governor Andy Beshear said on X that at least 14 people had died in Friday night's storms. At least seven people were killed in Missouri, the Washington Post reported.

"Kentucky, we're starting today with the tough news that we lost at least 14 of our people to last night's storms, but sadly, this number is expected to grow as we receive more information," Beshear said. "Please pray for all of our affected families."

The Washington Post reported, citing city officials, that five people had been killed in St. Louis in Missouri.

"Our city is grieving tonight," Mayor Cara Spencer told reporters Friday night. "The loss of life and the destruction is truly horrendous."

US considering reality TV competition for citizenship

Yemen Details — Sat, 17 May 2025 01:50:25 +0300

Washington (AFP) – The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering taking part in a reality TV show in which immigrants would compete for American citizenship, the department confirmed on Friday.

Asked about the reported idea, DHS responded with a statement that said the pitch "has not received approval or rejection by staff," and that "each proposal undergoes a thorough vetting process prior to denial or approval."

"We need to revive patriotism and civic duty in this country, and we're happy to review out-of-the-box pitches," Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the proposed show -- which was pitched by a Canadian American named Rob Worsoff -- would see contestants face off to prove they are the most American.

"This isn't 'The Hunger Games' for immigrants," the newspaper quoted Worsoff as saying -- a reference to a dystopian novel and subsequent movie about children forced to kill each other in a televised competition for survival.

"This is not, 'Hey, if you lose, we are shipping you out on a boat out of the country,'" he said.

The Journal reviewed a 36-page slide deck from Worsoff's team about the proposed program, which would see contestants compete in one-hour episodes.

This could include a gold rush competition to see who can retrieve the most precious metal from a mine, or one in which contestants would work in teams to assemble the chassis of a Model T car, according to the newspaper.

The show would start with an arrival at Ellis Island -- the traditional entrance point for immigrants to the United States -- and would see one contestant eliminated per episode.

The news comes as former reality show star President Donald Trump's administration has moved to end temporary protected status (TPS) for various groups of immigrants it had shielded them from deportation.

Federal law permits the government to grant TPS to foreign citizens who cannot safely return home because of war, natural disasters or other "extraordinary" conditions.

Since taking office, Trump has sought to strip TPS protections from citizens of countries including Afghanistan, Haiti and Venezuela as part of his broader crackdown on immigration.

That crackdown -- led by DHS -- has included immigration raids, arrests and deportations.

US hits Lebanese Hezbollah with new sanctions

Yemen Details — Thu, 15 May 2025 20:02:03 +0300

The Trump administration on Thursday issued new sanctions on Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Treasury Department said.

The sanctions targeted two senior Hezbollah officials and two financial facilitators based in Iran and Lebanon for coordinating financial transfers for the group. “Today’s action underscores Hezbollah’s extensive global reach through its network of terrorist donors and supporters, particularly in Tehran,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Michael Faulkender.

Faulkender added: “As part of our ongoing efforts to address Iran’s support for terrorism, Treasury will continue to intensify economic pressure on the key individuals in the Iranian regime and its proxies who enable these deadly activities.”

First group of white South Africans arrive in US for resettlement

Yemen Details — Tue, 13 May 2025 02:43:13 +0300

A group of around 50 white South Africans arrived on Monday for resettlement in the United States after President Donald Trump granted them refugee status as victims of what he called a "genocide."

Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals after taking office, but is making an exception for the Afrikaners despite Pretoria's insistence that they do not face persecution in their homeland.

"Welcome to the land of the free," Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau said as he greeted the South Africans, several of whom were waving small American flags, at Dulles Airport in Virginia following their flight from Johannesburg.

"We're sending a clear message that the United States really rejects the egregious persecution of people on the basis of race in South Africa," Landau said.

Speaking at the White House shortly before the group's arrival, Trump, who is expected to meet with South African leaders next week, said the Afrikaners were fleeing a "terrible situation" back home.

Trump, whose tycoon ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa, said white farmers were being killed in the country and repeated an allegation of "genocide" that has been widely dismissed as absurd.

"It's a terrible situation taking place," the president said. "So we've essentially extended citizenship to those people to escape from that violence and come here."

Those being resettled just "happen to be white, but whether they're white or black makes no difference to me," Trump said.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed claims Afrikaners were being persecuted and said he recently told Trump what he is being told about their situation "is not true."

"A refugee is someone who has to leave their country out of fear of political persecution, religious persecution, or economic persecution," Ramaphosa said. "And they don't fit that bill."

"We're the only country on the continent where the colonizers came to stay and we have never driven them out of our country," he added at a forum in Abidjan.

South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola also scoffed at claims that white Afrikaners face persecution or are being targeted for murder.

Most victims of killings in South Africa are young black men in urban areas, according to official data.

"The crime that we have in South Africa affects everyone irrespective of race and gender," Lamola said.

- 'Beyond absurd' -

Under eligibility guidelines published by the US embassy, applicants for US resettlement must either be of Afrikaner ethnicity or belong to a racial minority in South Africa.

They must also "be able to articulate a past experience of persecution or fear of future persecution."

Trump and Musk have accused South Africa's government of targeting Afrikaners with a controversial land seizure law enacted this year.

On Monday, Trump threatened to not attend an upcoming G20 summit in South Africa unless the "situation is taken care of."

America's biggest trading partner in Africa is also under fire from Washington for leading a case at the International Court of Justice accusing US ally Israel of "genocidal" acts in its Gaza offensive, a claim Israel denies.

Many have expressed bemusement that whites could be assigned victim status in South Africa.

Prominent Afrikaner author Max du Preez said the resettlement was "beyond absurd."

"This is about Trump and MAGA, not about us. It's about their hatred for DEI," he told AFP, referring to diversity, equity and inclusion programs that have become a favorite Trump target.

"The people who have now fled have probably been motivated by financial considerations and/or an unwillingness to live in a post-apartheid society where whites no longer call the shots," he said.

Whites, who make up 7.3 percent of the population, generally enjoy a higher standard of living than the black majority. They still own two-thirds of farmland and on average earn three times as much as black South Africans.

Mainly Afrikaner-led governments imposed the race-based apartheid system that denied black people political and economic rights until it was voted out in 1994.

Trump promises immediate sweeping cuts to drug prices in his ‘most important and impactful’ Truth Social post

Yemen Details — Mon, 12 May 2025 02:32:43 +0300

The president will sign an executive order next week he promises will reduce prescription drug prices by up to 80 percent “almost immediately,” Donald Trump announced on Sunday on Truth Social.

Earlier in the day, Trump heralded the announcement as “one of the most important and impactful” of his career.

The president said the order, to be signed Monday morning, will institute a “most favored nation’s” policy, where the U.S. will buy drugs at a price matching the lowest rate paid by a country for each medicine.

“Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens’ Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” Trump said in his announcement, claiming, “We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years.”

The announcement did not detail how Trump plans to implement his plans or achieve such rapid savings.

US appeals court rejects Trump bid to revoke 400,000 migrants' legal status

Yemen Details — Tue, 06 May 2025 00:05:41 +0300

BOSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court rejected on Monday a request by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousand of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States.

The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put on hold a judge's order halting U.S. Department of Homeland Security's move to cut short a two-year parole granted to the migrants under Trump's Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.

More than 15,000 USDA employees have taken Trump financial incentive to leave

Yemen Details — Sun, 04 May 2025 22:06:56 +0300

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - More than 15,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees have taken one of the Trump administration's two financial incentive offers to leave the agency, according to a readout from a USDA briefing with congressional staff seen by Reuters.

The sum represents about 15% of the USDA's total workforce.

President Donald Trump's administration has offered federal employees several months of pay and benefits if they opt to leave their jobs as part of his effort with billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal workforce.

At the USDA, 3,877 staff signed contracts in the agency's first Deferred Resignation Program in February and 11,305 signed contracts in the second round in April, for a total of 15,182 resignations, according to the readout of the Friday morning briefing.

The numbers could rise over the next month because employees over 40 were given more time to decide whether to leave, and some who opted to leave have not yet signed contracts, said the readout.

The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More than 260,000 people across the federal civilian workforce have been fired, taken early retirement, earmarked for termination or accepted buyouts since the start of Trump's second term in office. That represents about one tenth of the federal civilian workforce.

Those leaving include 674 county employees of the Farm Service Agency who directly serve farmers in offices across the country, and 2,408 staff of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which provides technical assistance to farmers and manages working land conservation programs.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said frontline staff, like those at FSA, will not be affected by any forthcoming reductions by the agency.

Also leaving are 555 employees of the Food Safety Inspection Service, which ensures the safety of the U.S. meat, poultry and egg supply.

Some of the 1,377 staff departures from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will affect the agency's response to bird flu.

Across federal agencies, more employees opted for the second incentive program, citing exhaustion and uncertainty about whether they would be fired.

Trump says he doesn’t know whether he must uphold US constitution as president

Yemen Details — Sun, 04 May 2025 19:13:22 +0300

US President Donald Trump said in a television interview airing Sunday that he does not know whether he must uphold the US Constitution.

He also said he is not seriously considering running for a third White House term, after musing publicly over an idea clearly barred by the nation’s founding legal document.

“I don’t know,” Trump responded when the host of NBC News “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” asked directly whether he believes he needs to uphold the supreme law of the land.

Asked specifically whether American citizens and non-citizens alike deserve the due process of law, as the US Constitution states, Trump said: “I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.”

The president’s aggressive moves to deport undocumented migrants – some without the benefit of a court hearing – have drawn widespread criticism, but Trump insists it is necessary in the face of what he has declared to be a “national emergency.”

The suggestion of possibly seeking a third term in office has been sharply questioned by legal and constitutional scholars.

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution states that “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

But Trump said in March he was “not joking” about seeking a third term, adding without elaboration that there are “methods” that would allow it to happen.

Changing the Constitution to allow a third term would be a heavy lift, requiring a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress and ratification by at least 38 of the 50 US state legislatures.

But “this is not something I’m looking to do,” Trump told NBC’s Welker, adding: “I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward.”

Asked who that might be, he mentioned Vice President JD Vance – calling him a “fantastic, brilliant guy” – and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, while adding that “we have a lot of good people in this party.”

US president Donald Trump posts picture dressed as the Pope

Yemen Details — Sat, 03 May 2025 15:57:19 +0300

US President Donald Trump posted on Friday a spoof picture of himself dressed as the pope on his Truth Social platform after joking that he would like to be the next Catholic pontiff.

The president is seen in what appears to be an AI-generated color image, with his right index finger pointed toward the sky, wearing papal regalia, including white robes, a gold crucifix pendant and the miter hat.

It comes after Trump joked to reporters this week that he would like to be the next pope, just days before cardinals are due to start the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis who died on April 21.

Asked who he would like to succeed Pope Francis, Trump said: “I’d like to be pope, that would be my number one choice.”

Trump went on to say that he did not have a preference but said there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good.”

He appeared to be referring to the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, a theological conservative and fiercely opposed to abortion.

Trump attended the funeral service of Pope Francis last week, his first foreign trip since returning to power.

About 20 percent of Americans declare themselves Catholic, and exit polls indicated in November that they voted around 60 percent in favor of Trump.

Pope Francis had arguably been one of the most powerful moral voices on the world stage critical of Trump.

When Trump first ran for president in 2016, Francis was unsparing on his signature promise to build a border wall to seal off Mexico.

Francis told reporters, “Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian.”

Cardinals will gather on May 7 in a conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.