United States | News & Politics

The U.S. government-led crackdown on student protestors against the genocide in the Gaza Strip may be extending to checkpoints with exit controls at land-to-land border crossings. In recent weeks, reports have emerged of plans for new checkpoints near land exits from the U.S., as well as the implementation of programs that use photography and facial recognition technology to identify people attempting to leave the country.

The U.S.-Canada land border has been the point of exit for a large number of students who have had their immigration status revoked after their participation in pro-Palestinian protests on campus, according to lawyers who have worked on their cases. These lawyers told Drop Site that they believe the new measures may be aimed at targeting students who attempt to leave via that route in the future.

Lawyers who have advised students say that so far none have faced detention at the Canadian border when exiting the U.S. “There is a U.S. law that actually requires DHS to match entries and exits, so tracking the departure of the person from the US who is not a citizen is consistent with that statutory obligation. But using the border as a checkpoint for the detention of people based on their political opinions is an entirely different level of concern,” said Greg Nojeim

President Harry S. Truman authorized the first nuclear attack in the history of the world, on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Around 70,000 people, nearly all of them civilians, were vaporized, crushed, burned, or irradiated to death almost immediately. Another 50,000 probably died soon after. The bomb exploded with the force of more than 15,000 tons of TNT.

But the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and its supporting strike group launched the “largest airstrike in the history of the world” from an aircraft carrier on Somalia in February, said Adm. James Kilby, the Navy’s acting chief of naval operations, while speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations’ Robert B. McKeon Endowed Series on Military Strategy and Leadership on Monday.

Is there anything the old guy does except whining?

They are unfair, they are doing this or that....

It's embarrassing. Zero pity given.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30560303

By Sharon Otterman May 23, 2025
Updated 12:22 p.m. ET

https://archive.ph/1xeZj

U.S. military leadership has once again stressed the need to modernize and maintain the combat readiness of the country’s nuclear arsenal.

General Thomas Bussiere, head of the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command, recently addressed the Senate Armed Services Committee.

According to his statements, the U.S. must maintain and upgrade all aging weapons systems, as it faces the challenge of deterring two major nuclear powers. He also voiced concerns about growing threats from North Korea and mentioned that Iran could potentially acquire nuclear weapons.

In conclusion, the general expressed worry that the Air Force has little margin left and is running low on resources—further highlighting the urgent need for modernization and the development of new nuclear capabilities to ensure effective deterrence.

Following him, Vice Admiral Johnny Wolfe Jr. of the U.S. Navy spoke next. He asserted that the Navy remains the most resilient leg of the nuclear triad.

Like the Air Force, Wolfe emphasized that modernization and support are critical for ensuring ongoing readiness. He also noted that the Navy depends heavily on a relatively small number of highly skilled personnel.

House Republicans came together to pass their domestic policy megabill early Thursday, after weeks of internal conflict and last-minute intervention from President Donald Trump.

The 215-214 vote is a major victory for Speaker Mike Johnson, who largely kept his conference together after days of around-the-clock negotiations with holdouts. ... The bill includes a fresh round of tax cuts sought by Trump, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars in new funding for the military and border security.

...

This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday morning. “Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!”

Democrats have their own names for the measure, including “the GOP tax scam” and “one big, ugly bill.” Minority party leaders are deriding the bill by pointing to nonpartisan forecasts that it would increase the federal deficit by trillions of dollars and cause more than 10 million people to lose health care coverage, while shifting resources away from the lowest-income households and to the wealthiest.

In a lengthy closing speech ahead of the final vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of bankrolling tax cuts for the rich with cuts to safety-net programs like Medicaid and SNAP food assistance.

“And people will die. That’s not hype. That’s not hyperbole. That’s not a hypothetical,” Jeffries said, before a heated exchange about “decorum” with the Republican presiding over the floor.

My own 'editorializing'/additional context beyond this point:

EDIT: Link to the bill itself on congress.gov:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1/all-info

Estimates are that 11 million will lose Medicaid coverage, 13 million will lose SNAP benefits, between $3.3 trillion and $3.8 trillion ... to nearly $6 trillion increase to the national debt... many, many other programs are directly cut back, and the existing 'PayGo' laws will force other cutbacks in things like Medicare from the overwhelming deficits this creates... if this passes the Senate, which seems likely, though some modifications also seem likely.

https://www.cbo.gov/publication/61420

https://www.crfb.org/blogs/breaking-down-one-big-beautiful-bill

Possibly also worth noting:

The House version writes into law the formal removal of the 'de minimis' import exception rule, so that means basically every US based, import reliant dropshipper no longer has a workable business model... thats now formally in the law, not just a flurry of Executive Orders.

Also, EV credits are over.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30522962

May 22, 2025 6:58 PM EDT

The image came from a video that showed humanitarian workers lifting body bags in the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of #Congo. #Trump falsely presented the photo as evidence of mass killings of white South Africans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a bid led by two Catholic dioceses to establish in Oklahoma the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school in a major case involving religious rights in American education.

The 4-4 ruling left intact a lower court's decision that blocked the establishment of St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The lower court found that the proposed school would violate the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment limits on government involvement in religion.

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from the Oklahoma case. Barrett is a former professor at Notre Dame Law School, which represents the school's organizers.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30067678

... the Big Ugly Bill is enacted with the following provision, now hidden in the bill:

“No court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued….”

Translated: No federal court may enforce a contempt citation.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to shut down the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. It marks a setback to one of Trump’s campaign promises.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30480687

Waqas Ahmed
and Murtaza Hussain
May 21, 2025

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30471304

By Sharon Otterman
May 21, 2025 Updated 4:08 p.m. ET

"The celebrations at smaller graduation ceremonies on Tuesday were also punctuated by anger directed at Columbia administrators. At the graduation for Columbia College, the university’s main undergraduate school, some students repeatedly interrupted Ms. Shipman’s remarks with loud jeers. At one point, they chanted “Free Mahmoud.”"

https://archive.ph/wip/1P4C6

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30499115

Interview with-
Katie J.M. Baker
investigative reporter for The New York Times.

Stefanie Fox
executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/30507213

Julia Conley
May 22, 2025

The U.S. accepted Qatar's gift of a Boeing 747 to serve as the new Air Force One, the Pentagon said Wednesday, despite the ethical quandaries and potential constitutional violations it entails.

President Trump has brushed off any concerns about the appearance of accepting the $400 million gift despite objections from Democrats and some Republicans.

Trump argued the gift was not being made to him personally but rather to the Department of Defense. It will later be transferred to Trump's presidential library when he leaves office.