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Immigration judge allows government to continue effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil

Immigration judge allows government to continue effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil

CBS News reports: An immigration judge in Louisiana on Friday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its effort to deport Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, upholding one of the deportation grounds cited by the government. Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Jamee Comans ruled that the administration’s determination that Khalil poses “adverse foreign policy consequences” for the U.S. is “facially reasonable” and makes Khalil deportable. The judge gave Khalil’s lawyers until April 23 to file applications for relief to stop…

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Why Beijing is not backing down to Trump on tariffs

Why Beijing is not backing down to Trump on tariffs

Stephen McDonell writes: In response to why Beijing is not backing down to Donald Trump on tariffs, the answer is that it doesn’t have to. China’s leaders would say that they are not inclined to cave in to a bully – something its government has repeatedly labelled the Trump administration as – but it also has a capacity to do this way beyond any other country on Earth. Before the tariff war kicked in, China did have a massive volume…

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How to destroy 80 years of credibility in less than 3 months

How to destroy 80 years of credibility in less than 3 months

Paul Krugman writes: There’s an old line about military analysis: “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals talk about logistics.” Well, when it comes to taking the pulse of financial markets, amateurs talk about stocks, but professionals talk about bond and currency markets. That’s because bond and currency markets are generally less driven by emotion. There’s no “meme gambling investing” in bond and currency markets. And these markets are both signaling major loss of faith in America. First, about tariffs: It’s…

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White House wants NOAA to cancel climate research and promote fossil fuel industry

White House wants NOAA to cancel climate research and promote fossil fuel industry

Politico reports: The Trump administration wants to effectively break up NOAA and end its climate work by abolishing its primary research office and forcing the agency to help boost U.S. fossil fuel production, budget documents show. The move, outlined in a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget, carries forward President Donald Trump’s broader goals of slashing federal spending, gutting climate research and unleashing U.S. energy production. But it also represents a dramatic shift in NOAA’s mission….

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Another sign that Musk’s power inside the administration is waning

Another sign that Musk’s power inside the administration is waning

Politico reports: The National Institutes of Health told employees Thursday it was rolling back directives from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to probe worker productivity and limit purchases and travel on company cards, according to messages obtained by POLITICO. It’s a possible sign that the agency’s recently confirmed director, Jay Bhattacharya, is willing to break with Musk and DOGE. “Please disregard any future reminders or instructions on this directive from OPM or the Department of Health and Human Services,”…

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U.S. and China headed for ‘monumental’ split, threatening global economy

U.S. and China headed for ‘monumental’ split, threatening global economy

The New York Times reports: A dizzying escalation of tariffs has unraveled a trade relationship between the United States and China forged over decades, jeopardizing the fate of two superpowers and threatening to drag down the world economy. The brinkmanship displayed by the two countries has already far exceeded the battles they waged during President Trump’s first term. In 2018 and 2019, Mr. Trump raised tariffs on China over 14 months. The latest escalation has played out mostly over a…

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China has readied a trade-war arsenal that takes aim at U.S. companies

China has readied a trade-war arsenal that takes aim at U.S. companies

The Wall Street Journal reports: In the years since President Trump’s first trade war with China, Beijing has built an arsenal of tools to hit the U.S. where it hurts. Now, it is getting ready to deploy them in full. China is increasing tariffs on all U.S. imports to 84%, a response to new U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports of 104% that went into effect at midnight Wednesday. It also added six U.S. companies including defense and aerospace-related firms Shield…

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Trump risks transforming the U.S. into an economic backwater

Trump risks transforming the U.S. into an economic backwater

Konrad Yakabuski writes: It has taken fewer than 100 days for Donald Trump to transform the United States from the world’s most reliable safe haven for global investors into a speculative bet, a country too unpredictable, unstable and lawless in which to risk storing their assets. That is quite the feat. This week, the floundering U.S. President was finally brought to heel, if only momentarily, when investors dumped U.S. Treasury bonds, in part a reaction to his erratic policy shifts…

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The chinks in Trump’s political armor are starting to be exposed

The chinks in Trump’s political armor are starting to be exposed

Rachael Bade writes: The vast, impressive coalition that catapulted Trump back into the White House started to fray as the MAGA faithful took stock of the shock tariffs. Start with the sniping on display from Trump’s allies in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street, including many who were openly balking at his full-bore embrace of protectionism. Even Elon Musk, Trump’s most prominent adviser, reportedly tried to get Trump to back off his tariff obsession, then took to openly attacking top…

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Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government claims power to deport people for beliefs

Pressed for evidence against Mahmoud Khalil, government claims power to deport people for beliefs

The Associated Press reports: Facing a deadline from an immigration judge to turn over evidence for its attempted deportation of Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, the federal government has instead submitted a brief memo, signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the Trump administration’s authority to expel noncitizens whose presence in the country damages U.S. foreign policy interests. The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil, a legal permanent…

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Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots

Russian networks flood the Internet with propaganda, aiming to corrupt AI chatbots

“Annie Newport” and Nina Jankowicz write: Scientists, policy experts, and artists have been concerned about the unintended consequences of artificial intelligence since before the technology was readily available. With most technological innovations, it’s common to ask whether that invention could be maliciously weaponized, and there has been no shortage of experts warning that AI is being utilized to spread disinformation. Just a little more than two years after the public release of AI language models, there are already documented cases of malign actors using the technology…

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Facebook whistleblower testifies that company undermined national security by working with China

Facebook whistleblower testifies that company undermined national security by working with China

The Independent reports: A Meta whistleblower testified before Congress Wednesday about how she witnessed the company repeatedly “undermine‬ U.S. national security.” Sarah Wynn-Williams, a former Facebook employee who released an explosive memoir last month accusing the social media giant of retaliating against her after she reported sexual misconduct, testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism with another revelatory allegation: the company was engaged in “illegal and dangerous activities” with China. Wynn-Williams worked at Facebook for seven years,…

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Trump told people to buy. Hours later, his tariff pause sent markets soaring

Trump told people to buy. Hours later, his tariff pause sent markets soaring

The Washington Post reports: Less than four hours before President Donald Trump’s announcement that he was pausing tariffs sent markets soaring, he posted online telling his 9.4 million followers that it was a good time to buy. “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT” he posted on his social media site, Truth Social, at 9:37 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. Shortly after 1 p.m., he announced on the same site that he would pause most new tariffs, causing the ailing…

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Trump’s drive to dominate can neither be satisfied nor appeased

Trump’s drive to dominate can neither be satisfied nor appeased

Jamelle Bouie writes: The fundamental truth of Donald Trump is that he apparently cannot conceive of any relationship between individuals, peoples or states as anything other than a status game, a competition for dominance. His long history of scams and hostile litigation — not to mention his frequent refusal to pay contractors, lawyers, brokers and other people who were working for him — is evidence enough of the reality that a deal with Trump is less an agreement between equals…

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