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The Third-Worlding of America — Oops, they're doing it again. — Major news media organizations sanewashed Donald Trump all through the 2024 campaign, cleaning up his incoherence and downplaying his extreme policy positions. Aaron Rupar reminds us of this:
Discussion:
The Budget Lab at Yale and Washington Post
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China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Imports to 125%, Calling Trump's Policies a ‘Joke’ — Beijing's retaliation came after the White House ratcheted up its tariff on Chinese goods to 125 percent, on top of an existing 20 percent tax. — 阅读.体中文.閱讀.體中文.


Trump is waiting for Xi to call. The Chinese see it differently — A tariff reprieve from President Donald Trump sent global markets soaring on Wednesday, with the White House saying it's been in touch with dozens of countries about striking deals, lining up calls and meetings in the coming weeks.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Rolling Stone, The Hill, New York Times, Reuters, Raw Story, Associated Press, HotAir, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Foreign Policy and The Guardian

China raises tariffs on U.S. goods to 125 percent as trade war deepens
Discussion:
The Verge, The Hill, New York Times, Politico, New Republic and Townhall

Consumers now face “tariff surcharges” for some goods as companies pass along costs
Discussion:
Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico and CNBC


US fires Greenland military base chief for ‘undermining’ Vance — The head of the US military base in Greenland has been fired after she reportedly sent an email distancing herself from Vice-President JD Vance's criticism of Denmark. — The US military's Space Operations Command …
Discussion:
Reuters, Boing Boing, New York Times and The Hill
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Space Force Commander in Greenland Sent Out Email Breaking with Vance After His Visit — Just days after Vice President JD Vance's March visit to Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, the installation commander sent out an email to the base distancing it from Vance's criticism of Denmark …


U.S. Military Removes Commander of Greenland Base After Vance Visit
Discussion:
Associated Press, CBS News, Blaze Media, Twitchy, Raw Story, CNN, The Gateway Pundit and Semafor


Government Spending Continues to Climb Even as DOGE Touts Cuts — Musk team's $150 billion in savings barely dents $6.8 trillion in spending largely on autopilot, WSJ analysis finds — Cumulative total spending since Trump's inauguration compared with the same periods in 2023 and 2024
Discussion:
Strength In Numbers


Trump's draft budget eviscerates weather and climate tracking and research — The Trump administration plans to eliminate the research arm of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, close all weather and climate labs and eviscerate its budget along with several other NOAA offices …
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Trump seeks to end climate research at premier U.S. climate agency — White House aims to end NOAA's research office; NASA also targeted — Skip backwardsGo ten seconds backward Skip forwardsGo ten seconds forward — Audio is AI-generated. Report an issue| Give feedback
Discussion:
Ars Technica


Judge orders government to lay out steps for return of wrongly deported man — U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis also directed the government to confirm the location of Kilmar Abrego García, who was deported to a Salvadoran mega-prison, by 9:30 a.m. Friday. — just now
Discussion:
Reuters, CBS News, Democracy Docket, New York Times, Civil Discourse …, CNN, Vox, Truthout, UPI, El País, Roll Call, The Daily Wire, Raw Story, Townhall, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg
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Breaking: SCOTUS says Trump admin must “facilitate” Kilmar Abrego Garcia's return

Supreme Court says Trump administration must work to bring back mistakenly deported Maryland man
Discussion:
The Breakdown, New York Magazine, Washington Post, USA Today, NBC News, Reuters, Associated Press, NPR, Fox News, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, NOTUS, The Nation, Politico, abc7NY, Breitbart, New York Post, Reason, Los Angeles Times, Blaze Media, Rolling Stone, SCOTUSblog, The Independent, CNBC, Axios, The Hill, Baltimore Sun, CBS News, Scripps News, RedState, Daily Kos, ABC News, Semafor and Talking Points Memo


Fox News Accidentally Wrecks Trump's Tariff Spin as MAGA Panic Worsens — After President Trump's supposed tariff “pause,” we still have a 10 percent tariff on most global imports; the trade war with China is intensifying; and markets have plunged again. Fox News figures are aggressively spinning the …
Discussion:
Status, New York Times, Media Matters for America, Raw Story, HuffPost, The Bulwark and Business Insider


US consumer sentiment plummets to second-lowest level on records going back to 1952 — Americans are rarely this pessimistic about the economy. — Consumer sentiment plunged 11% this month to a preliminary reading of 50.8, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday …
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An Uprising at a Big Law Firm Targeted by Trump — MORE THAN 500 ASSOCIATES and staff at a top global law firm have signed a letter urging firm leadership not to enter into a consent agreement with Donald Trump as the White House ramps up its targeting of the legal profession.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Above the Law, Raw Story, CBS News and New York Times
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US law firms quietly scrub DEI references from websites to appease Trump
Discussion:
New York Times, Above the Law and Bloomberg, more at Mediagazer »


The Conservative Activist Pushing Trump to Attack U.S. Colleges — Christopher Rufo has helped inspire Republican messaging and bills on hot-button issues. — Produced by Eric Krupke and Asthaa Chaturvedi — Original music by Marion Lozano and Dan Powell — Listen and follow ‘The Daily’


AI Slop Farms Are Churning Out Fake Heartwarming Videos About Trump Figures — Machine-made YouTube videos are racking up views while fooling the MAGA faithful. — The judge demanded that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt remove her cross necklace, but soon he was humiliated.


One Justice Department Office Is Key to Trump's Authoritarian Plans — IN THE FIRST WEEKS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP'S second term, the administration undertook a series of troubling steps to transform the U.S. Department of Justice into an armed political organ. As we have already seen …
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Trump is trying to quietly wrest control of a top federal civil rights board
Discussion:
Raw Story


Chip Roy Says Promise of Deep Entitlement Cuts Won His Vote — The Texas Republican, a holdout on the plan until the end, said commitments from President Trump and G.O.P. senators to pursue deeper spending cuts persuaded him to vote yes. — For days before the House voted on Thursday …
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, National Review, Punchbowl News and NPR
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Trump to Undergo First Physical Since Retaking Office — The president has often been guarded about even the most basic information about his health. — President Trump, the oldest man to be inaugurated as president, will visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a physical on Friday …
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Trump to undergo his annual physical on Friday
Discussion:
CBS News, ABC News, The Independent, New Jersey Online and Associated Press


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Farmers Try to Keep Food on the Table Despite Trump — DONALD TRUMP'S PUSH FOR MASS DEPORTATIONS was always reliant on a degree of shock and awe. Fear and intimidation were both means and ends. But recently, the administration has had to slow down or even abandon individual deportations in the face of strong popular resistance.
Discussion:
California Citrus Mutual, The Guardian, Investigate Midwest, Fox Business and Food & Water Watch
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Trump floats plan for undocumented farm and hotel workers to work legally in the U.S.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Bloomberg


Florida's DOGE agency asks university faculty to hand over research — A letter sent last week asks colleges to compile a list of all research and grants. — Gov. Ron DeSantis' office has asked colleges and universities across Florida to hand over detailed information on grants received …


How DOGE may have improperly used Social Security data to push voter fraud narratives — One of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency lieutenants working in the Social Security Administration has been pushing dubious claims about noncitizens voting, apparently using access to data …
Discussion:
AMAC and Rolling Stone


“Not Just Measles”: Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline — While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak, experts warn that whooping cough and other preventable diseases could get much worse with falling vaccination rates and Trump's slashing of public health infrastructure.
Discussion:
Your Local Epidemiologist, New Jersey Online, “At some point …, NPR and STAT


State tells employees to report on one another for ‘anti-Christian bias’ — “It's very 'Handmaid's Tale'-esque,” one official said. — The Trump administration has ordered State Department employees to report on any instances of coworkers displaying “anti-Christian bias” …


How Politicians Get Their Bad Ideas — I alluded Wednesday to a schism in Democratic ranks over how to attack Trump for tariffing and menacing the United States into economic collapse. … The substantive difference here is, for most purposes, larger than the political one.
Discussion:
Semafor, The Dispatch, New York Magazine and Vox


Trump doubles down on prosecuting his political enemies — I've got to hand it to President Trump. I would not have thought it possible, but he did something on Wednesday that distracted me from his tariff train wreck. — Of course, I'm not saying this is a good thing.
Discussion:
HuffPost, The Moderate Voice, PolitiFact, Democracy Docket, Associated Press and SpyTalk, more at Techmeme »


Am I Still Allowed to Tell the Truth in My Class? — Recent orders from the Trump administration run a real risk of muzzling professors like me who teach about the racism of the country's past. — Scholars of racism face a peculiar accusation: that studying racism causes racism.


She Worked in a Harvard Lab to Reverse Aging, Until ICE Jailed Her — President Trump's immigration crackdown ensnared Kseniia Petrova, a scientist who fled Russia after protesting its invasion of Ukraine. She fears arrest if she is deported there. — President Trump's immigration …