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Category: Politics

The ACLU is suing the government to get access to DOGE records

The ACLU is suing the government to get access to DOGE records

Wired reports: The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against the US Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In its lawsuit, the ACLU accuses the agencies of violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by ignoring the ACLU’s requests and subsequent appeals for information concerning the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) “attempted or actual access” to sensitive federal databases. The ACLU began pursuing documents under the federal transparency law in…

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Adam Schiff: The best antidote to fear is to be courageous

Adam Schiff: The best antidote to fear is to be courageous

Eric Lutz writes: It had been a tough week for democracy when I got Senator Adam Schiff on the phone. Donald Trump—who has spent the first three months of his presidency decimating the federal government and trampling over the separation of powers at the heart of the American system—was now flouting a unanimous Supreme Court decision directing officials to facilitate the return of a Maryland man who’d gotten swept up in the president’s immigration crackdown and deported to a hellish…

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Hegseth said to have leaked attack details in second Signal chat. ‘There is a complete meltdown’ in the Pentagon

Hegseth said to have leaked attack details in second Signal chat. ‘There is a complete meltdown’ in the Pentagon

The New York Times reports: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared detailed information about forthcoming strikes in Yemen on March 15 in a private Signal group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer, according to four people with knowledge of the chat. Some of those people said that the information Mr. Hegseth shared on the Signal chat included the flight schedules for the F/A-18 Hornets targeting the Houthis in Yemen — essentially the same attack plans that he shared…

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Trump’s approval rating on the economy drops to lowest level ever

Trump’s approval rating on the economy drops to lowest level ever

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump is registering the worst economic approval numbers of his presidential career amid broad discontent over his handling of tariffs, inflation and government spending, according to the latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey. The survey found that the boost in economic optimism that accompanied Trump’s reelection has disappeared, with more Americans now believing the economy will get worse than at any time since 2023 and with a sharp turn toward pessimism about the stock market. The survey…

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Zuckerberg, Dimon are among top sellers ahead of tariff stock rout

Zuckerberg, Dimon are among top sellers ahead of tariff stock rout

Bloomberg reports: Insiders including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle Corp.’s Safra Catz and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Jamie Dimon cashed out shares worth billions of dollars before President Donald Trump’s tariff announcements roiled markets. Zuckerberg sold 1.1 million shares worth $733 million in the first quarter through his Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and its related foundation, according to an analysis by the Washington Service, which tracks insider buying and selling. All of the sales were in January and February when…

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Trump draft executive order would eliminate Africa operations by State Department

Trump draft executive order would eliminate Africa operations by State Department

The New York Times reports: A draft of a Trump administration executive order proposes a drastic restructuring of the State Department that includes eliminating almost all of its Africa operations and shutting down embassies and consulates across the continent, according to American officials and a copy of the document. The draft also calls for cutting offices at State Department headquarters that address climate change and refugee issues, as well as democracy and human rights concerns. It was not immediately clear…

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U.S. citizen in Arizona wrongly detained by immigration officials for 10 days

U.S. citizen in Arizona wrongly detained by immigration officials for 10 days

AZPM reports: 19-year-old Jose Hermosillo, who is visiting Tucson from Albuquerque, says he was lost and walking near the Border Patrol headquarters when an agent arrested him for illegally entering the country. Hermosillo was not carrying identification. Court documents say a Border Patrol agent arrested Hermosillo “at or near Nogales, Arizona, without proper immigration documents” and that Hermosillo admitted to illegally entering the U.S. Hermosillo and his girlfriend, who have a 9-month-old child together, live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and…

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Mark Carney unveils a plan to Trump-proof Canada and defend its sovereignty

Mark Carney unveils a plan to Trump-proof Canada and defend its sovereignty

Politico reports: Liberal Leader Mark Carney released his election platform on Saturday, touting an emphasis on new military spending and bolstering Canada against Donald Trump’s expansionist vision. “In this crisis we have to prepare for America’s threats to our very sovereignty. They want our land, our resources, they want our water, they want our country,” Carney said Saturday morning in a suburb east of Toronto. “President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us, and that…

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Meta’s chief AI scientist calls French initiative to attract U.S. scientists a ‘smart move’

Meta’s chief AI scientist calls French initiative to attract U.S. scientists a ‘smart move’

Business Insider reports: Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has tightened immigration controls, cut funding for government grants and research, reduced staffing at NASA and NOAA, and attacked top universities. France seems to have sensed an opportunity. The National Research Agency, part of the Education Ministry, announced on Friday a “Choose France for Science” initiative to attract scientists from abroad, opening up more government funding for universities, schools, and research organizations to entice foreign talent. “As the international…

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The Supreme Court’s extraordinary late-night rebuke to Trump

The Supreme Court’s extraordinary late-night rebuke to Trump

Mark Joesph Stern writes: Shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday, the Supreme Court issued an emergency order halting the Trump administration’s reported efforts to fly Venezuelan migrants to an El Salvador prison before they could challenge their deportation. The court’s late-night intervention is an extraordinary and highly unusual rebuke to the government, one that may well mark a turning point in the majority’s approach to this administration. For months, SCOTUS has given the government every benefit of the doubt, accepting the Justice…

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The Abrego Garcia case isn’t about MS-13; it’s about due process and the rule of law

The Abrego Garcia case isn’t about MS-13; it’s about due process and the rule of law

Tom Joscelyn and Ryan Goodman write: As the controversy over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from Maryland to El Salvador has raged, the Trump administration has sought to focus the public’s attention on Abrego Garcia’s alleged membership in MS-13, a violent international gang. The White House, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) have waged an aggressive information campaign to highlight the allegations. The administration’s strategy is clear: Portray those who criticize the manner in which Abrego Garcia…

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Trump team eyes politically connected startup to overhaul $700 billion government payments program

Trump team eyes politically connected startup to overhaul $700 billion government payments program

By Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-Schapiro This story was originally published by ProPublica Four days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, financial technology startup Ramp published a pitch for how to tackle wasteful government spending. In a 4,000-word blog post titled “The Efficiency Formula,” Ramp’s CEO and one of its investors echoed ideas similar to those promoted by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk: Federal programs were overrun by fraud, and commonsense business techniques could provide a quick fix. Ramp sells…

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A Chinese-led global economy is on the horizon

A Chinese-led global economy is on the horizon

David Wallace-Wells writes: China’s share of global manufacturing has grown so much that by 2030, it is expected to reach seven times what it was in 2000; America’s will have fallen by half. And while Trump’s supporters describe the trade war as an effort to reverse that pattern, they’ve done so little beyond erratic tariffs — with no major pledges of government investment and no real commitment to policy stability — it all looks more like policy by culture-war meme….

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Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, is a Russian-state-TV darling

Trump’s pick for U.S. attorney, Ed Martin, is a Russian-state-TV darling

Tom Nichols writes: The United States of America is still a free country, and every private citizen has the right to speak to anyone, anywhere in the world, about anything. If the propaganda arm of an avowed enemy of the West calls and invites you to bash your own nation in public, you are free to do so. It might not be the most patriotic or sensible choice, but it’s your privilege. If you also would like to join the…

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Despair in Gaza as Israeli aid blockade creates crisis ‘unmatched in severity’

Despair in Gaza as Israeli aid blockade creates crisis ‘unmatched in severity’

The Observer reports: Gaza has been pushed to new depths of despair, civilians, medics and humanitarian workers say, by the unprecedented seven-week-long Israeli military blockade that has cut off all aid to the strip. The siege has left the Palestinian territory facing conditions unmatched in severity since the beginning of the war as residents grapple with sweeping new evacuation orders, the renewed bombing of civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, and the exhaustion of food, fuel for generators and medical supplies….

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David Brooks: It is time for a comprehensive national civic uprising

David Brooks: It is time for a comprehensive national civic uprising

David Brooks writes: In the beginning there was agony. Under the empires of old, the strong did what they willed and the weak suffered what they must. But over the centuries, people built the sinews of civilization: Constitutions to restrain power, international alliances to promote peace, legal systems to peacefully settle disputes, scientific institutions to cure disease, news outlets to advance public understanding, charitable organizations to ease suffering, businesses to build wealth and spread prosperity, and universities to preserve, transmit…

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