Browsed by
Author: From elsewhere

Trump’s assault on the media is being welcomed by authoritarians around the world

Trump’s assault on the media is being welcomed by authoritarians around the world

The Guardian reports: As Donald Trump’s executive order in March led to the shuttering of Voice of America (VOA) – the global broadcaster whose roots date back to the fight against Nazi propaganda – he quickly attracted support from figures not used to aligning themselves with any US administration. Trump had ordered the US Agency for Global Media, the federal agency that funds VOA and other groups promoting independent journalism overseas, to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with…

Read More Read More

Justice Department lawyers are losing their credibility in the eyes of the judiciary

Justice Department lawyers are losing their credibility in the eyes of the judiciary

The Washington Post reports: Justice Department lawyers defending the Trump administration’s policies are encountering mounting criticism and frustration from federal judges, a sign of deepening tension between the executive branch and courts weighing its aggressive uses of power. In recent hearings and rulings, judges appointed by presidents of both parties have criticized the statements and behavior of administration officials, accusing them of defying court orders, submitting flimsy evidence, providing inadequate answers to questions and even acting like toddlers. The cases…

Read More Read More

Trump’s 48-hour scramble to fly migrants to one of the most brutal prisons in the world

Trump’s 48-hour scramble to fly migrants to one of the most brutal prisons in the world

The Washington Post reports: The message from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to El Salvador’s Foreign Ministry outlined an audacious plan: The United States would be sending as many as 500 Venezuelan gang members to the Central American nation, and it planned to do so within 24 hours. The March 13 communication was part of secretive negotiations with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and served as Rubio’s formal notice that the Trump administration was sending the Venezuelans to be imprisoned there…

Read More Read More

The world is finally seeing how dangerous El Salvador’s president really is

The world is finally seeing how dangerous El Salvador’s president really is

Nelson Rauda Zablah writes: In May 2020, during the height of Covid, El Salvador was under a military-enforced lockdown. At a news conference, I asked President Nayib Bukele a straightforward question about meeting with the business community about reopening the economy. Mr. Bukele bristled and criticized the founder of El Faro, the news outlet where I work. Afterward, I received death threats from Mr. Bukele’s supporters. One that still stands out was written on Twitter by someone outside the country:…

Read More Read More

Many in Gaza face malnutrition and hunger as Israel’s blockade enters its third month

Many in Gaza face malnutrition and hunger as Israel’s blockade enters its third month

The Associated Press reports: Malnutrition and hunger are becoming increasingly prevalent in the Gaza Strip as Israel’s total blockade enters its third month. A shortage of food and supplies has driven the territory toward starvation, according to aid agencies. Supplies to treat and prevent malnutrition are depleted and quickly running out as documented cases of malnutrition rise. The price of what little food is still available in the market is unaffordable for most in Gaza, where the United Nations says…

Read More Read More

Australia’s backlash against U.S.-style MAGA politics

Australia’s backlash against U.S.-style MAGA politics

Politico reports: Donald Trump may not have been on Australia’s ballot paper, but his shadow loomed large all the same. Over his three years as opposition leader, Peter Dutton, the hard-right prime ministerial candidate of the conservative Liberal Party of Australia, embraced MAGA-style politics and bigged up Trump. In February, for instance, Dutton called Trump a “big thinker” and lauded his “art of the deal” negotiation tactics after the American president called for the U.S. to take over Gaza and…

Read More Read More

What makes people flourish? A new survey of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries looks for global patterns and local differences

What makes people flourish? A new survey of more than 200,000 people across 22 countries looks for global patterns and local differences

Flourishing is about your whole life being good, including the people and places around you. Westend61 via Getty Images By Victor Counted, Regent University; Byron R. Johnson, Baylor University, and Tyler J. VanderWeele, Harvard University What does it mean to live a good life? For centuries, philosophers, scientists and people of different cultures have tried to answer this question. Each tradition has a different take, but all agree: The good life is more than just feeling good − it’s about…

Read More Read More

Mohsen Mahdawi: I was detained for my beliefs. Who will be next?

Mohsen Mahdawi: I was detained for my beliefs. Who will be next?

Mohsen Mahdawi writes: On April 14, 2025, I was detained during what should have been my citizenship naturalization interview. After more than two weeks of unjust imprisonment, a federal judge ruled in favor of releasing me. In a major victory for democracy, I may be the first of the many student activists who have been detained by the Trump administration to be freed from detention. The Department of Homeland Security had effectively orchestrated a trap. It dangled the prospect of…

Read More Read More

GOP balks at approving even a fraction of Musk’s DOGE cuts

GOP balks at approving even a fraction of Musk’s DOGE cuts

The Washington Post reports: White House officials have in recent weeks brainstormed strategies for enshrining into law the government cuts implemented by billionaire Elon Musk’s team, aiming to turn the U.S. DOGE Service’s moves into lasting policy shifts. So far, however, administration officials are running into resistance not just from Democrats, but also from congressional Republicans, who have in private conversations made clear that it would be difficult to codify even a small fraction of the measures that Musk’s team…

Read More Read More

How to lose an election: emulate Trump

How to lose an election: emulate Trump

Chas Danner writes: Donald Trump keeps losing national elections — for conservatives, in other countries. Prime minister Anthony Albanese claimed a second consecutive term in Australia on Saturday, in large part by running against the trade-warring Trump and highlighting America’s now cautionary tale of what happens when anti-government extremists take over your country and start smashing things. Albanese’s center-left Labor Party is now projected to not only come from behind to win, but expand its majority in Australia’s House of…

Read More Read More

In court, Trump team backs away from its public deportation claims

In court, Trump team backs away from its public deportation claims

Aaron Blake writes: Amid all the controversy over the Trump administration’s deportations, it’s always important to emphasize where these undocumented migrants are being sent. It’s not just that the administration has deported people without legal due process; it’s that it has deported people without legal due process to a brutal prison in El Salvador. The administration says these are gang members and even “terrorists.” But its evidence has been suspect. It has made established mistakes. And a “60 Minutes” report…

Read More Read More

Waltz was seen as more closely aligned with Netanyahu than with Trump

Waltz was seen as more closely aligned with Netanyahu than with Trump

The Washington Post reports: Waltz’s troubles built up over time, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles increasingly felt he was not a good fit for the president, according to a senior White House official, a Trump adviser and one additional person familiar with the matter on Friday. They and others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel considerations. In announcing the shift, Trump on Thursday vowed in a social media post that “together, we will…

Read More Read More

The State Department is using Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter files’ playbook

The State Department is using Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter files’ playbook

Charlie Warzel writes: Darren Beattie, a senior official at the State Department, is concerned that his agency has abused its powers under previous Democratic administrations. To rectify that, he has decided to marshal the power of his office—in what his fellow State Department employees reportedly described as “unusual” and “improper” ways—to conduct a political witch hunt. Yesterday, the MIT Technology Review revealed that, in March, Beattie made a request to gain sweeping access to communications between and about the State…

Read More Read More

A drop in maritime traffic suggests that the worst is yet to come

A drop in maritime traffic suggests that the worst is yet to come

Juliette Kayyem writes: The economy, and the supply chains that allow it to function, can adjust fairly quickly to certain shocks, including weather disasters and even a pandemic. Early in the COVID shutdowns, toilet paper was in short supply as Americans spent more time at home and less at workplaces and schools. The problem eased as manufacturers ramped up production, transportation systems adapted, and consumer anxiety decreased. But Trump’s trade war is different because it is unpredictable and indefinite. Even…

Read More Read More