When Trump regime officials threaten a federal takeover of a Democratic-led city, we should take them seriously

When Trump regime officials threaten a federal takeover of a Democratic-led city, we should take them seriously

Anthony L. Fisher writes: It’s understandable that the headlines about the news conference Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem held in Los Angeles on Thursday are focused on Secret Service agents manhandling Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and throwing him to the ground after he attempted to ask Noem a question. The images of Padilla — the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s panel on immigration, citizenship and border safety and one of two senators representing the most populous state in…

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Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order

Judge blocks Trump’s election executive order

The Associated Press reports: A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to overhaul elections in the U.S., siding with a group of Democratic state attorneys general who challenged the effort as unconstitutional. The Republican president’s March 25 executive order sought to compel officials to require documentary proof of citizenship for everyone registering to vote for federal elections, accept only mailed ballots received by Election Day and condition federal election grant funding on states adhering to the new…

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The Trump regime’s war on science

The Trump regime’s war on science

ProPublica reports: The National Institutes of Health is responsible for more than 80% of the world’s grant investment in biomedical research. Its funding has sparked countless medical breakthroughs — on cancer, diabetes, strokes — and plays a fundamental role in the development of pharmaceutical drugs. Scientists compete vigorously for a slice of the more than $30 billion that the agency doles out annually; they can spend years assembling grant applications that stretch thousands of pages in hopes of convincing peer reviewers of…

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Israel launches major strike on Iran

Israel launches major strike on Iran

The Times of Israel reports: The IDF in an official statement says that it has launched a “precise, preemptive strike” in Iran, “with the goal of damaging Iran’s nuclear program and in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing aggression against Israel.” “Dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft recently completed the opening blow, which included strikes on dozens of military targets, including nuclear-related sites in various areas in Iran,” the IDF says. “The public is requested to follow the instructions of…

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No Kings: Stand against Trump’s un-American birthday bash on June 14

No Kings: Stand against Trump’s un-American birthday bash on June 14

Jeffrey C. Isaac writes: As we anticipate Trump’s Kim Jong-un–style celebration of this year’s Flag Day, it is worth keeping this flag-centered image clearly in view: This is MAGA patriotism in action—the merging of the U.S. flag with the Confederate battle flag and the Trump flag, and the conflation of patriotism with racist reaction, violence, and Trump himself, the megalomaniac who has declared that “I was saved by God to make America great again.” The Trumpian June 14, 2025 parade…

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Bukele regime blocked extradition of MS-13 leaders to prevent them testifying in U.S. courts

Bukele regime blocked extradition of MS-13 leaders to prevent them testifying in U.S. courts

By T. Christian Miller and Sebastian Rotella This story was originally published by ProPublica In mid-April, President Donald Trump sat down in the Oval Office with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador to celebrate a new partnership. They had recently negotiated an extraordinary deal in which El Salvador agreed to incarcerate in a maximum security prison hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants that the Trump administration had labeled as violent criminals, though few had been convicted of such crimes. The U.S. also…

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Families arrested in Los Angeles ICE raids held in basements with little food or water, lawyers say

Families arrested in Los Angeles ICE raids held in basements with little food or water, lawyers say

The Guardian reports: As federal agents rushed to arrest immigrants across Los Angeles, they confined detainees – including families with small children – in a stuffy office basement for days without sufficient food and water, according to immigration lawyers. One family with three children were held inside a Los Angeles-area administrative building for 48 hours after being arrested on Thursday immediately after an immigration court hearing, according to lawyers from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), which is providing non-profit…

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National Guard troops and Marines deeply troubled by being deployed ‘against our own communities’

National Guard troops and Marines deeply troubled by being deployed ‘against our own communities’

The Guardian reports: California national guards troops and marines deployed to Los Angeles to help restore order after days of protest against the Trump administration have told friends and family members they are deeply unhappy about the assignment and worry their only meaningful role will be as pawns in a political battle they do not want to join. Three different advocacy organisations representing military families said they had heard from dozens of affected service members who expressed discomfort about being…

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Trump tells Israelis: end war in Gaza and don’t to strike Iran. Netanyahu considers military action without U.S. support

Trump tells Israelis: end war in Gaza and don’t to strike Iran. Netanyahu considers military action without U.S. support

The Times of Israel reports: In a tense 40-minute phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, US President Donald Trump told the premier he must permanently end the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli television reported Tuesday. Trump reportedly told Netanyahu that the so-called “Witkoff framework,” which would pause the war for some 60 days in exchange for about half of the hostages held by Hamas, will not suffice. Netanyahu has so far refused to negotiate a Gaza…

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What Trump’s war on universities means for international students and scholars

What Trump’s war on universities means for international students and scholars

John K. Wilson writes: On June 4, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning all new international students from Harvard University, and asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to prohibit all existing foreign students there, which a Harvard spokesperson called “yet another illegal retaliatory step taken by the Administration in violation of Harvard’s First Amendment rights.” Trump’s attack on Harvard is part of a war on academia unprecedented in the history of American higher education. In this battle against universities,…

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The man who got the Diggers digging

The man who got the Diggers digging

Rowan Wilson writes: In April 1649, the earth of St George’s Hill in Surrey, England, was disturbed. A group of men and women calling themselves the ‘True Levellers’, known to history as the ‘Diggers’, had taken to the ‘wast[e] ground’ in the parish of Walton to protest enclosure, the process by which common land was parcelled into units of private property, stripping commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. The land was bad – ‘nothing but a bare…

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‘No Kings’: 1,800+ rallies planned as protests spread across the U.S.

‘No Kings’: 1,800+ rallies planned as protests spread across the U.S.

  A nationwide “No Kings” movement plans to hold over 1,800 anti-Trump rallies across the United States on June 14, the same day as President Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., as he celebrates his 79th birthday. Organizers are protesting President Trump’s mass deportations, militarized crackdown against protesters, defiance of court orders, and attacks on civil rights. “We’re going to show him on June 14 that real power lies in the people,” says Leah Greenberg⁠, co-founder and co-executive director of…

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Trump wants to look strong because he feels weak

Trump wants to look strong because he feels weak

You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep. Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another. If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you @realDonaldTrump. https://t.co/4i8VIiYZLr pic.twitter.com/sUYD2KHu6O — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 9, 2025 Greg Sargent writes: With President Donald Trump sending more troops into Los Angeles amid protests there, a remarkable image has gone viral on social media. It shows members of…

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The challenge posed by lawful but unethical orders

The challenge posed by lawful but unethical orders

Joshua Braver writes: Would a military officer disobey a lawful but unethical order — unethical in the sense that it violates the officer’s professional code? We may be on the verge of finding out. The Trump administration has sent Marines to the Los Angeles area to join the National Guard troops already there. At the moment, the Marines have been deployed to help protect “federal functions and property,” as President Trump’s memorandum specifies — not to engage in broader domestic…

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