The ‘Russia hoax,’ revisited: CIA Director John Ratcliffe wants to rewrite history

The ‘Russia hoax,’ revisited: CIA Director John Ratcliffe wants to rewrite history

Shane Harris writes: Last week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe released a report that, by his account, finally reveals the whole story about one of the most closely scrutinized documents ever produced by American intelligence agencies. The “CIA Note,” as it’s officially called, is ostensibly an effort to learn lessons from the past, and it might never have been written absent Ratcliffe’s intervention. In May, he ordered CIA analysts to review the “procedures and analytic tradecraft employed” when drafting an assessment…

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Why Europe doesn’t trust Trump’s latest Ukraine reversal

Why Europe doesn’t trust Trump’s latest Ukraine reversal

Politico reports: Ukraine’s allies in Europe are finally hearing the tough-on-Russia message they’d been hoping for from President Donald Trump. But they don’t trust it. Across European capitals, there’s a feeling of whiplash over the administration’s recent Ukraine policy reversals and confusion about who is calling the shots at the Pentagon. As a result, governments are preparing for multiple scenarios — making it difficult to design any Ukraine strategy while Trump’s foreign policy appears to change at a whim. Trump…

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New research on fungi suggests they could be demonstrating some form of intelligence

New research on fungi suggests they could be demonstrating some form of intelligence

Hayley Bennett writes: To most of us, mushrooms are just weird-looking woodland growths, and a fungus is something you probably need a cream for. Increasingly, though, scientists are describing fungi as more sophisticated than we previously thought. Some even say ‘intelligent’, with a few researchers going so far as to hint they might be conscious. While such theories are controversial among experts, the rest of us would like to know if, for instance, our breakfast ingredients are thinking about us….

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The corruption of the Supreme Court and the end of the rule of law

The corruption of the Supreme Court and the end of the rule of law

  Anand Giridharadas: If you look at figures on the Supreme Court, who I’m sure at least at one point you’ve had respect for — maybe you still have respect for them — who now say things like, hold things like, Donald Trump can do whatever he wants as president and there can never be consequence, I wonder which of those situations you think they are more likely to be in: Do you think they’re essentially scared? Do you think…

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Supreme Court clears way for mass firings at federal agencies

Supreme Court clears way for mass firings at federal agencies

The New York Times reports: The Trump administration can move forward with plans to slash the federal work force and dismantle federal agencies, the Supreme Court announced on Tuesday. The decision could result in job losses for tens of thousands of employees at agencies including the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, State and Treasury. The order, which lifted a lower court’s ruling that had blocked mass layoffs, was unsigned and did not include a vote count. That is typical…

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‘Essential isn’t a strong enough word’: Loss of foreign workers begins to bite U.S. economy

‘Essential isn’t a strong enough word’: Loss of foreign workers begins to bite U.S. economy

Politico reports: President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration is starting to ripple across the U.S. economy. From small farms in California, to meat packing facilities in Nebraska to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent administration actions have taken immigrants, both legal and illegal, out of the labor force, including several hundred thousand people who had been given temporary work permits under President Joe Biden. That’s because foreign-born workers, or their relatives, have become critical…

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U.S. farm secretary says ‘no amnesty’ for farmworkers from deportation

U.S. farm secretary says ‘no amnesty’ for farmworkers from deportation

Reuters reports: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Tuesday that there will be “no amnesty” for agricultural workers as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to deport all immigrants in the country illegally. Rollins said the administration wants a 100% American workforce and suggested some people receiving government aid could replace immigrant workers. “Ultimately, the answer on this is automation, also some reform within the current governing structure. And then also, when you think about, there are 34 million able-bodied…

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The rule of law is key to capitalism − eroding it is bad news for American business

The rule of law is key to capitalism − eroding it is bad news for American business

By Robert Bird, University of Connecticut Something dangerous is happening to the U.S. economy, and it’s not inflation or trade wars. Chaotic deregulation and the selective enforcement of laws have upended markets and investor confidence. At one point, the threat of tariffs and resulting chaos evaporated US$4 trillion in value in the U.S. stock market. This approach isn’t helping the economy, and there are troubling signs it will hurt both the U.S. and the global economy in the short and…

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Christian nationalism unleashed: IRS says churches can endorse candidates from the pulpit

Christian nationalism unleashed: IRS says churches can endorse candidates from the pulpit

The New York Times reports: The I.R.S. said on Monday that churches and other houses of worship can endorse political candidates to their congregations, carving out an exemption in a decades-old ban on political activity by tax-exempt nonprofits. The agency made that statement in a court filing intended to settle a lawsuit filed by two Texas churches and an association of Christian broadcasters. The plaintiffs that sued the I.R.S. had previously asked a federal court in Texas to create an…

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Grok is spewing antisemitic garbage on X

Grok is spewing antisemitic garbage on X

Wired reports: Grok, the chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, made a series of deeply antisemitic remarks in response to several posts on X on Tuesday. A large language model that is integrated into X, Grok acts as a platform-native chatbot assistant. In several posts—some of which have been deleted but have been preserved via screenshot by X users—Grok parroted antisemitic tropes while insisting that it was being “neutral and truth-seeking.” In some posts, Grok said that…

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ICE raids derail Los Angeles economy as workers go into hiding

ICE raids derail Los Angeles economy as workers go into hiding

Bloomberg reports: Los Angeles was already struggling to revive its fragile economy after the most destructive wildfires in its history erupted six months ago. Now, immigration raids are driving workers crucial to the rebuilding into the shadows. Framers and landscapers are abandoning job sites. Renovations of retail shops have stopped midway. Real estate developers say they are struggling to find crews to keep projects on track in a sector that relies heavily on immigrant labour. “We don’t have enough people…

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Stephen Miller runs DHS and the DOJ and now has a rapidly expanding army under his command

Stephen Miller runs DHS and the DOJ and now has a rapidly expanding army under his command

Jason Zengerle writes: Stephen Miller was livid. It was a couple of months after Donald Trump’s inauguration, and Mr. Miller, a senior White House adviser, believed that the federal government was not doing nearly enough to stem the tide of illegal immigration into the United States. In a relentless round of meetings, phone calls and emails, he reached deep into the federal bureaucracy and, according to a former Department of Homeland Security official, berated mid- and low-level bureaucrats inside the…

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ICE is now the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history

ICE is now the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency in history

Garrett Graff writes: No healthy law enforcement agency can grow quickly. And ICE is far from a healthy law enforcement agency. ICE’s annual budget is about $10 billion a year, and the new legislation is about to hand it about nearly untold billions more — including $30 billion for hiring staff and conducting deportations and $45 billion for detention operations, as well as about $46 billion for border security construction, which could include the border wall and more detention facilities….

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Trump regime’s assault on free speech faces judicial scrutiny through a First Amendment lawsuit

Trump regime’s assault on free speech faces judicial scrutiny through a First Amendment lawsuit

Politico reports: A trial on a First Amendment lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s drive to deport pro-Palestinian academics quickly confronted a thorny legal issue Monday: whether foreigners in the U.S. enjoy the same free speech rights as American citizens. The administration’s stance on that critical question proved murky. Under questioning by U.S. District Judge William Young in his Boston courtroom, Justice Department attorney Victoria Santora initially said non-citizens have the same First Amendment rights as citizens. “People in the United…

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