Billionaires’ bet on Trump has already cost them $209 billion

Billionaires’ bet on Trump has already cost them $209 billion

Bloomberg reports: As Donald Trump took the oath of office on Jan. 20, he was flanked by some of the world’s wealthiest people. The billionaires present that day — including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg — had never been richer, flush with big gains from frothy stock markets. Seven weeks later, it’s a different story. The start of Trump’s second term has delivered a stunning reversal for many of those billionaires sitting behind Trump in the Capitol Rotunda,…

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Mark Carney: Americans ‘would destroy our way of life’

Mark Carney: Americans ‘would destroy our way of life’

  The Associated Press reports: Trump’s trade war and his talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state have infuriated Canadians, who are booing the American anthem at NHL and NBA games. Some are canceling trips south of the border, and many are avoiding buying American goods when they can. The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election expected within days or weeks, and Liberal showings have been improving in opinion polls. “The…

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U.S. will immediately resume military aid as Ukraine says it is open to 30-day ceasefire

U.S. will immediately resume military aid as Ukraine says it is open to 30-day ceasefire

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine, and Kyiv signaled that it was open to a 30-day ceasefire in the war with Russia, pending Moscow’s agreement, American and Ukrainian officials said Tuesday following talks in Saudi Arabia. The administration imposed the measures a week ago to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to enter talks to end the war with invading Russian forces. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the…

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Elon Musk has wanted a government shutdown

Elon Musk has wanted a government shutdown

Wired reports: As President Donald Trump has been trying to keep House Republicans in line over a continuing resolution to keep the government open through the fall, Elon Musk has expressed a desire for a government shutdown, four sources familiar with his position tell WIRED. Sources also tell WIRED that Musk has wanted a government shutdown—an aim that runs contrary to the White House’s stated desire to avoid one—in part because it would potentially make it easier to eliminate the…

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Judge to consider free speech issues in Columbia activist’s arrest

Judge to consider free speech issues in Columbia activist’s arrest

The New York Times reports: A judge on Wednesday is expected to scrutinize the constitutional issues at play in the case of Mahmoud Khalil, a recent Columbia University graduate and permanent legal resident who was arrested over the weekend and taken to a Louisiana detention center. The judge, Jesse Furman, has ordered the government not to remove Mr. Khalil from the United States while his case is pending. Mr. Khalil, who has Palestinian heritage, was a leader of demonstrations against…

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A word that hasn’t changed in sound or meaning in 8,000 years

A word that hasn’t changed in sound or meaning in 8,000 years

Sevindj Nurkiyazova writes: One of my favorite words is lox,” says Gregory Guy, a professor of linguistics at New York University. There is hardly a more quintessential New York food than a lox bagel—a century-old popular appetizing store, Russ & Daughters, calls it “The Classic.” But Guy, who has lived in the city for the past 17 years, is passionate about lox for a different reason. “The pronunciation in the Proto-Indo-European was probably ‘lox,’ and that’s exactly how it is pronounced in…

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The greatest threat to free speech since McCarthyism

The greatest threat to free speech since McCarthyism

Michelle Goldberg writes: On Saturday, immigration agents showed at the apartment building of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of last year’s pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, and told him his student visa had been revoked and that he was being detained. Khalil is married to an American, and his lawyer, speaking to the agents by phone, informed them that he had a green card, but they said that had been revoked as well. He was taken away, and as of this…

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Through its assault on climate science, U.S. is ‘now at war with humanity,’ says Michael Mann

Through its assault on climate science, U.S. is ‘now at war with humanity,’ says Michael Mann

E&E News reports: President Donald Trump has long rejected climate science. Now, his administration is grappling with how to assemble a body of federal climate research to show a warming world is benefiting humanity. The claims would be highly misleading and ignore decades of scientific research that shows climate change will have increasingly dire effects. But a federal report downplaying or denying the threat of climate change would become a cornerstone of Trump’s efforts to end or weaken climate regulations…

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GOP’s Rep. Don Bacon says the Trump admin. committing ‘terrible mistake’ in Russia-Ukraine negotiations

GOP’s Rep. Don Bacon says the Trump admin. committing ‘terrible mistake’ in Russia-Ukraine negotiations

  A GOP lawmaker blasted the Trump administration for its latest decisions on Ukraine. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) has been outspoken about President Donald Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war and has been adamant about his support for Ukraine in recent days. In an interview with CNN’s Pamela Brown on Monday, Bacon said it was a “terrible mistake” to not include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in talks to end the war. “It’s a terrible mistake not to have the…

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Ukrainian journalist, Victoria Roshchyna, died exposing Russia’s hidden crimes

Ukrainian journalist, Victoria Roshchyna, died exposing Russia’s hidden crimes

Slidstvo.Info reports: Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who was captured by Russian forces in the summer of 2023, endured brutal torture in captivity, according to an investigation by Slidstvo.Info. Investigators found she suffered knife wounds, electric shocks, and became so emaciated her weight dropped to just 30 kilograms. Russian prison staff reportedly hid her from inspections to conceal her deteriorating condition. Roshchyna was taken prisoner in August 2023 while reporting from Russian-occupied territories. For months, her whereabouts were unknown. It wasn’t…

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U.S. added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms

U.S. added to international watchlist for rapid decline in civic freedoms

The Guardian reports: The United States has been added to the Civicus Monitor Watchlist, which identifies countries that the global civil rights watchdog believes are currently experiencing a rapid decline in civic freedoms. Civicus, an international non-profit organization dedicated to “strengthening citizen action and civil society around the world”, announced the inclusion of the US on the non-profit’s first watchlist of 2025 on Monday, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Italy, Pakistan and Serbia. The watchlist is part of…

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Trump is shredding the First Amendment under the guise of ‘national security’

Trump is shredding the First Amendment under the guise of ‘national security’

Vox reports: President Donald Trump is going after a pair of major law firms — and attacking the First Amendment in the process. Trump issued an executive order on Thursday that took aim at Perkins Coie, a law firm that represented Hillary Clinton when she ran against Trump in 2016. Notably, Perkins Coie hired a research firm that produced the infamous “Steele dossier,” which alleged the president colluded with Russia to steal the election. Trump’s order aims to strip the…

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Tesla shares plunge 15%, suffering steepest drop in five years

Tesla shares plunge 15%, suffering steepest drop in five years

CNBC reports: Tesla’s selloff on Wall Street intensified on Monday, with shares of the electric vehicle maker plunging 15%, their worst day on the market since September 2020. On Friday, Tesla wrapped up a seventh straight week of losses, its longest losing streak since debuting on the Nasdaq in 2010. The stock has fallen every week since CEO Elon Musk went to Washington, D.C., to take on a major role in the second Trump White House. Since peaking at $479.86…

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DOGE is the real Deep State

DOGE is the real Deep State

Brian Barrett writes: The “deep state” is a top-tier conservative bogeyman, right up there with DEI and George Soros. But it seems fair to ask: If a bunch of shadowy, unelected figures, many with shared business interests and connections, took over government functions at the highest levels and directly contravened the will of Congress, what might you call that? How about … DOGE? After years of alarm over unelected bureaucrats pulling the strings, what better example can you find than…

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