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Trump is halfway to making America a police state — The president's refusal to accept a Supreme Court ruling on illegal deportation is a turning point — At around noon on April 14 2025, America ceased to have a law-abiding government. Some would argue that had already happened on January 20, when Donald Trump was inaugurated.
Discussion:
NOTUS, Racket News, New York Post, The Guardian, PolitiFact, Blaze Media, The Hill, New Republic, Foreign Policy, USA Today, Vanity Fair and Lawyers, Guns & Money
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Trump's immigration agenda is not popular — To start this post, I am going to ask you a key question about immigration policy. But first, I need to establish a few facts based on recent news: — On Monday, April 14, 2025, Donald Trump met with the President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, in the Oval Office.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Daily Kos, RVM News, NPR and ProPublica

Trump told us the horrifying reason why Kilmar Abrego Garcia is not back in the U.S. — We are approaching one month since the United States illegally sent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the CECOT “terrorism” prison in El Salvador on the third March 15 flight that took people to the prison.
Discussion:
New Yorker, MeidasTouch News, The Message Box, Politico, HuffPost, Breitbart, New Republic, The Hill, Raw Story, New York Daily News, Techdirt, Reason, CBS News, Slate, New York Times and Rolling Stone

Trump Tests the True Limits of Presidential Power — Greetings and welcome to this week's midair performance of the Carnival of Fools! Like a prestige subscription-service drama, our story resumes from a potent cliff-hanger: Last week, Donald Trump had invoked the laws of cartoon physics …
Discussion:
To the Contrary, Truthout and Mediaite

The Supreme Court Got It Badly Wrong
Discussion:
Letters from an American, Reason, The Fucking News, Daily Kos and PennLive

A whistleblower's disclosure details how DOGE may have taken sensitive labor data — In the first days of March, a team of advisers from President Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency initiative arrived at the Southeast Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Labor Relations Board.
Discussion:
New Republic, Alternet.org and Raw Story
Roger Parloff / Default:
Abrego Garcia and MS-13: What Do We Know? — The allegation seems to stem from double hearsay in a document authored by a later suspended police detective. — Meet The Authors … In multiple filings, the government has conceded that it wrongfully removed Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia …
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The Constitutional Crisis Is Here — Between the path of outright defiance of the Supreme Court …
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Bloomberg, Today's Edition Newsletter, HuffPost, The Moderate Voice, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mother Jones, Techdirt, OutsideTheBeltway, Alternet.org, CNBC, Blaze Media, The Forward, Axios, The Daily Caller, Boing Boing, New Republic, UPI, The Post Millennial, To the Contrary, KDFX-TV, NextDraft and New York Times

This Tax Day, an IRS in Crisis — Every year during tax season, please spare a thought for the IRS. It is our least loved agency, but one of our most important. Last year, I noted how an IRS modernization effort was making real progress in terms of improved service quality.
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, 19FortyFive and Fox News
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Happy Tax Evasion Day!
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USA Today, The Hill, FedSmith.com, Fox News, Staten Island Advance and New York Post
Amanda Friedman / Politico:
Trump threatens to remove Harvard's tax-exempt status
Trump threatens to remove Harvard's tax-exempt status
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Fox News, ABC News, USA Today, The Hill, New York Post, Mediaite, Raw Story, The Independent, Washington Times, The Guardian and Semafor

JD Vance: My message to Europe America doesn't want a vassal continent — “It's not good for Europe to be the permanent security vassal of the United States.” So says JD Vance during a phone conversation with UnHerd on Monday, his first major interview with a European outlet since taking office as Vice President.
Discussion:
Politico, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, UPI, The i Paper, Bloomberg, The Independent, PinkNews, The Kyiv Independent, Semafor and CBS News, more at Mediagazer »

Levin and Martinez express support for Harvard amid funding fight with Trump administration — University president Jonathan Levin '94 and Provost Jenny Martinez expressed support for Harvard after its president Alan Garber M.D. '83 — a Stanford Medicine professor emeritus …
Discussion:
Raw Story and New York Times
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Reuters:
Harvard rejects Trump demands, gets hit by $2.3 billion funding freeze
Harvard rejects Trump demands, gets hit by $2.3 billion funding freeze
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Politico, New York Times, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit, KRDO, Al Jazeera, Not the Bee, Shut up and calculate, NPR, Associated Press, STAT, The Japan Times, IJR, Daily Kos, WBUR, The Independent, The Guardian and Business Insider
U.S. Department of Education:
Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism Statement Regarding Harvard University — Today, the Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism released the following statement: — “Harvard's statement today reinforces the troubling entitlement mindset that is endemic in our nation's …
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Bloomberg, The Washington Free Beacon, USA Today, IJR, The Daily Wire, The Independent, Fox News, Blaze Media, RedState, PinkNews, The Western Journal, The Post Millennial, The Daily Caller, Townhall, Raw Story, Politico, The Hill, UPI, CNN, Ars Technica, Washington Examiner, The Guardian and Semafor
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Democratic lawmakers say they'll travel to El Salvador to push for Kilmar Abrego Garcia's release — Sen. Chris Van Hollen said if the Maryland man whom the administration acknowledged mistakenly deporting was not back in the U.S. by ‘midweek,’ the senator would travel to El Salvador.
Discussion:
USA Today, Washington Times, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and The Hill
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The Vibe Shifts Against the Right — Alex Kaschuta's podcast, “Subversive,” used to be a node in the network between weird right-wing internet subcultures and mainstream conservatism. She hosted men's rights activists and purveyors of “scientific” racism, neo-reactionary online personalities …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Alternet.org

State Terror — Yesterday the president defied a Supreme Court ruling to return a man who was mistakenly sent to a gulag in another country, celebrated the suffering of this innocent person, and spoke of sending Americans to foreign concentration camps. — This is the beginning …
Discussion:
Mediaite

Inside Trump's Plan to Halt Hundreds of Regulations … At the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump administration officials want to reverse a regulation that has required nursing homes to have more medical staff on duty. — At the Mine Safety and Health Administration …
Discussion:
Alternet.org

Why President Trump isn't signing many laws … Trump and Republican congressional leaders often claim his new administration has been the most productive in recent memory. — Except when it comes to passing laws. — Trump has signed fewer bills into law at this point in his presidency …

China orders its airlines to stop accepting deliveries of Boeing jets, report says — The Chinese government has told the country's domestic airlines to stop accepting deliveries of Boeing jets as a trade war between the world's two largest economies escalates, Bloomberg News reports.
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US Economy to Lose Billions as Foreign Tourists Stay Away … The US economy is set to lose billions of dollars in revenue in 2025 from a pullback in foreign tourism and boycotts of American products, adding to a growing list of headwinds keeping recession risk elevated.
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Guardian

US Derails G-7 Condemnation of Russian Missile Strike on Ukraine — The US has told Group of Seven allies it won't endorse a statement condemning Russia's deadliest attack on Ukraine this year because it wants to keep negotiations with Moscow on track. — Russia fired two short-range …
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CBS News, New Jersey Online, The Kyiv Independent, Associated Press, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, BBC, New York Times, Politico, Reuters, WSVN-TV and The Defense Post

Kamala Harris for governor? Poll shows how California voters feel about the idea. — California's Democratic voters cheer the potential of Harris for governor, but warning signs are lurking. — Political influencers in California are greeting Kamala Harris' potential bid for governor with a shrug …
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, Fox News and Los Angeles Times

Columbia Activist Arrested by ICE at His Appointment for Citizenship — Mohsen Mahdawi, a legal permanent resident, has lived in the United States for 10 years and was arrested in Vermont. He has not been charged with a crime. — Mohsen Mahdawi, an organizer of pro-Palestinian demonstrations …
Discussion:
CBS News, NBC News, Politico, CNN, WCAX-TV, Reason, The Washington Free Beacon, Mediaite, kottke.org, New Republic, abc7NY, The Western Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Scripps News, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Reuters, UPI, Informed Comment, Fox News, HuffPost, Axios, The Independent, New York Post, Twitchy, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Hill, New York Daily News, Raw Story and The Intercept

As Trump pursues mass deportation, his businesses again seek foreign workers — While President Donald Trump and his administration reiterate the need to “hire American” and crack down on both documented and undocumented immigrants alike, his company is again seeking seasonal foreign workers …
Discussion:
Raw Story

North Carolina Supreme Court throws out hundreds of ballots based on flawed data — This is a special collaboration between Popular Information and Anderson Alerts, a newsletter about North Carolina politics. — Josiah Young was born and raised in North Carolina.
Discussion:
Fox News, The Atlantic, Associated Press, Anderson Alerts and USA Today

Jeffries backs stock trading ban after Greene buys market dip — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday backed a stock trading ban for sitting members of Congress, after ripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for reportedly profiting off market fluctuations during President Trump's tariff roller-coaster.
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Bloomberg, Baltimore Sun, New York Times, New Republic, Alternet.org, USA Today, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Business Insider

House lawmaker to subpoena state attorney general over Hope Florida's millions — A key lawmaker said he will issue a subpoena for text messages and call logs from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier about the Hope Florida Foundation, a dramatic escalation in House Republicans' investigation …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Florida Politics, FOX 35 Orlando and Sun-Sentinel

Trump to skip White House Correspondents' Association dinner amid battle with press — The president snubbed the event throughout his first administration. — President Donald Trump will not attend the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner later this month …
Discussion:
Axios

The Supreme Court threatens to bring “Don't Say Gay” to every classroom in America — Remember Florida's “Don't Say Gay” law? — The unconstitutionally vague law imposed such unclear restrictions on teachers who speak about sexual orientation or gender identity that many feared …

Tariff carve-outs underscore weak US position in China trade war: ‘This is going to get really ugly’ — With its electronics exceptions, the United States has demonstrated that it is more willing to bend than the Chinese. — The White House says it has the upper hand in its trade war with China.
Discussion:
fmprc.gov.cn, The Hill, Raw Story, Xinhua and The Daily Wire