Time: Trump Issues Blistering Response After Iran Threatens U.S.

“Look, you’re a man of great faith. A man who’s highly respected in his country. You have to tell the truth. You got beat to hell,” Trump said as he addressed the Iranian Supreme Leader during a White House press conference on Friday. Trump issued an even stronger response on his social media platform, Truth Social, later in the day, and doubled down on his stance once more when he reposted his message early Saturday morning.

In the lengthy post, Trump accused Khamenei of publicly sharing a “lie” by claiming Iran achieved a victory over Israel. He reaffirmed his much debated viewpoint that the U.S. strikes “obliterated” the three key nuclear facilities it targeted on Saturday, June 21. Trump also seemingly made reference to previous reports that stated the White House turned down a plan by Israel to try and kill Khamenei.

“His country was decimated, his three evil nuclear sites were obliterated, and I knew exactly where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces… terminate his life. I saved him from a very ugly and ignominious death,” Trump said, lamenting that Khamenei would not “thank” him for this. “During the last few days, I was working on the possible removal of sanctions, and other things, which would have given a much better chance to Iran at a full, fast, and complete recovery. The sanctions are biting! But no, instead I get hit with a statement of anger, hatred, and disgust, and immediately dropped all work on sanction relief.”

Awwww … Poor Trumpsie got his feelings hurt?

https://time.com/7298477/trump-iran-threat-khamenei-nuclear-bombs-sanctions

The Forward: Official who posted antisemitic rhetoric becomes Pentagon press secretary

Kingsley Wilson has repeatedly echoed the antisemitic “Great Replacement” theory on her X account, sparking backlash.

The House Jewish Caucus called for answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the promotion of Kingsley Wilson, the Pentagon press secretary accused of repeatedly posting antisemitic rhetoric online.

In a letter sent Tuesday, the 21 Democratic representatives in the caucus aired their concerns over “a series of deeply troubling and offensive statements made by Kingsley Wilson.”

“These statements include promoting the antisemitic and racist ‘Great Replacement’ theory, praising far-right political movements using slogans tied to neo-Nazi groups, and repeating patently false statements commonly circulated in neo-Nazi circles about Leo Frank, a Jewish man who was lynched by an antisemitic mob in Georgia in 1915,” the letter read.

The letter, which was led by Rep. Laura Friedman, a California Democrat, said that Wilson’s statement’s “raised questions” about the Department of Defense’s “commitment to opposing extremism and antisemitism.” The letter was first reported by Jewish Insider.

Scrutiny of the former acting press secretary last month showed that in 2024 she had tweeted a neo-Nazi talking point about Frank, whose murder by a Georgia mob spurred the creation of the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL and the American Jewish Committee condemned her appointment.

She has also tweeted several times in support of the “Great Replacement” theory, whose original version contends that Jews are orchestrating immigration in order to undermine white-majority populations.

The caucus letter asked the DOD about steps it has taken to address antisemitism and whether Hegseth finds Wilson’s comments to be “acceptable language for an official representing the Department of Defense.”

It was co-signed by caucus co-chairs Rep. Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, and Brad Schneider, an Illinois Democrat, and 18 other House Democrats.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, also lambasted Hegseth over the appointment of Wilson as press secretary.

“Given the rise in antisemitic violence and hate crimes in our nation, and to show that the Trump Administration does have a zero-tolerance policy for antisemitism, will you dismiss Ms. Kingsley from her role as the U.S. military’s spokesperson today? Yes or no,” asked Rosen.

In his response, Hegseth defended Kingsley, saying that she “does a fantastic job” and that suggesting he, Wilson or others are “party to antisemitism is a mischaracterization attempting to win political points.”

“I’m going to assume that your lack of an answer confirms what we’ve known all along, that the Trump Administration is not serious,” replied Rosen. “You are not a serious person. You are not serious about rooting out antisemitism in the ranks of our DOD. It’s despicable. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”

In other words, real antisemitism on the part of their chums is overlooked, while they mischaracterize support for Palestinians as “antisemitism” and deport Palestinian sympathizers. The Trump regime has its collective head screwed on backwards.

https://forward.com/fast-forward/723511/official-who-posted-antisemitic-rhetoric-becomes-pentagon-press-secretary

AFP: Justice orders release of migrants deported to Costa Rica by Trump

A court on Tuesday ordered Costa Rican authorities to release foreign migrants locked up in a shelter after being deported by the United States, according to a resolution issued on the eve of a visit by the US secretary of homeland security.

Some 200 migrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Russia as well as from Africa and some other Asian countries, including 80 children, were brought to the Central American nation in February under an agreement with the US administration of President Donald Trump, a move criticized by human rights organizations.

By partially accepting an appeal filed in March on behalf of the migrants, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice gave immigration 15 days to process the “determination of the immigration status of the deportees” and their release, according to the resolution seen by AFP.

The migrants were detained in February at the Temporary Migrant Care Center (CATEM), 360 kilometers (220 miles) south of San Jose, on the border with Panama.

However, in the face of criticism, the government allowed them to move freely outside the center in April.

Some accepted voluntary repatriation but about 28 of them remain at CATEM, 13 of them minors, according to official data.

The habeas corpus petition continued until it was resolved Tuesday, and would serve as a precedent to prevent a similar agreement. 

The court also ordered Costa Rican authorities to “determine what type of health, education, housing, and general social assistance they require from the State.”

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250625-justice-orders-release-of-migrants-deported-to-costa-rica-by-trump

Buzzfeed: Trump Allegedly Decided To Bomb Iran And “Get In On The Action” After Watching Fox News

President Donald Trump apparently decided to bomb Iran and “get in on the action” Saturday after watching Fox News praise Israel for striking the country earlier this month, says New York Times reporter Helene Cooper, who cited Pentagon and Trump administration officials.

Cooper argued Monday on MSNBC’s All In With Chris Hayes that Trump previously prided himself on being a noninterventionist, and said he maintained an “America First” perspective even after Israel attacked Iran on June 13, but that a shift occurred the very next day.

“One official told me that it started as early as the next morning when President Trump woke up and watched Fox News and started to see how well Israel was being presented as doing,” Cooper, who also spoke with U.S. military and Pentagon officials, said Monday.

“Israel was hitting all of these Iranian sites, it was taking out military commanders, nuclear scientists, and that was being presented on Fox as this huge victory,” she continued.

“And he decided that he wanted a piece of it,” she said of Trump.

Cooper explained that the president then started taking credit for some of Israel’s operations, citing a June 17 social media post in which Trump said “We” have taken control of Iran’s airspace, and that a meeting with his national security advisers cemented the decision to enter the war.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/marcomargaritoff/trump-decision-bomb-iran-influenced-by-fox-news

Newsweek: Man married to US citizen detained by ICE after delaying green-card process

An Alabama woman who married an Iranian man she met online is asking for financial help after he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) even though he had a visa, she said.

She said Monday that they “are devastated, confused and overwhelmed” and that she’s “trying to do everything I can to get him home.”

Morgan Karimi (Gardner) of Locust Fork, Alabama, about 45 minutes outside Birmingham, said in a Facebook post that her husband, Ribvar Karimi, was detained by ICE on Sunday morning.

She said Monday that they “are devastated, confused and overwhelmed” and that she’s “trying to do everything I can to get him home.”

ICE agents reportedly told Gardner that her husband was arrested because they did not file for an adjustment of status. The couple was unaware that further action was required after the K1 visa was approved, notably as they were married within the designated 90-day window required by law.

Big oops! I hope things work out for them, but I don’t buy into their excuses. Without filing the I-485 (Adjustment of Status), he was also ineligible to work or get a driver’s license. And they noticed nothing was amiss?

After being admitted to the United States as a K-1 nonimmigrant and marrying the U.S. citizen petitioner—Gardner in this case—within 90 days, Karimi could have applied for lawful permanent resident status and gotten a green card, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).

https://www.newsweek.com/iran-ice-detained-visa-immigration-2090079

CNN: Court orders Trump administration to return another wrongly deported man

A federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of a Salvadoran man deported last month to his native country just minutes after the same court ruled he shouldn’t be removed from the US.

An order issued by judges from the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit stated the government must facilitate the return of Jordin Melgar-Salmeron, 31, “as soon as possible.”

Melgar-Salmeron, who was deported in May, is at least the fourth individual to have been wrongly removed from the US, despite court rulings or protected status, amid the administration’s vast deportation efforts.

The judges also stated the government must file within a week a supplemental declaration addressing Melgar-Salmeron’s current physical location and custodial status and include what steps the government will take, “and when, to facilitate his return to the United States.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/25/us/court-trump-wrongly-deported-man-hnk

Tampa Free Press: National Guard Joins DEA In California Desert To Bust Illicit Marijuana Grow

National Guard troops deployed to California to quell the anti-deportation riots were later mobilized to help federal agents bust dozens of illegal migrants working at illegal marijuana farms.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) confirmed that their agents, working in conjunction with multiple federal agency partners, arrested at least 70 illegal migrants allegedly working at multiple illegal marijuana farms in California’s Coachella Valley. National Guard troops assisted DEA, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agents in the massive raid.

Roughly 315 National Guard troops mobilized to respond to the anti-ICE violence were redeployed to the Coachella Valley area to help federal agents with the operation, according to newly filed court documents obtained by the LA Times.

Using nationally mobilized National Guard troops for law enforcement purposes is a clear violation of the federal Posse Comitatus Act.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/national-guard-joins-dea-in-california-desert-to-bust-illicit-marijuana-grow/ar-AA1HlkRx

AsAmNews: Army veteran and purple heart recipient deported

Even after earning the Purple Heart for his bravery and calling the United States his home since the age of 7, on Monday Sae Joon Park self-deported due to immigration issues.

He served in Panama during the Noriega war in 1989.

“I got shot in the spine with an AK-47, M16, in my left lower back. In my mind, I’m going, ‘Oh my god, I’m shot in the back. I can’t feel my legs. I must be paralyzed,’” he recalled to Hawaii News Now.

Park faced post-traumatic stress disorder after being honorably discharged. He turned to marijuana as a way of dealing with stress, but that led him to develop an addiction to cocaine.

He ended up serving two and a half years in prison in 2009. These charges also led to the revocation of his green card and detainment by ICE.

He fought the deportation in court and was allowed to stay in the country due to being a Purple Heart veteran. However, recently, he was told he must leave the country willingly or he will be deported forcibly.

“ I can’t believe that this is happening in America,” Park told NPR in an interview prior to his departure. “That blows me away, like a country that I fought for.”

Park leaves behind a wife, two children and an 85-year-old mother.

https://asamnews.com/2025/06/24/sae-joon-park-drug-addiction-and-use-self-deportation-under-threat

MSNBC: Maddow Blog | Trump’s response to intelligence assessment on Iran strikes takes an incoherent turn

The intelligence about the U.S. strikes on Iranian targets can’t be conclusive and inconclusive at the same time.

As Donald Trump arrived in the Netherlands this week for an annual NATO summit, the American president reportedly hoped to take a victory lap of sorts, celebrating the success of the preemptive military strikes he approved targeting Iranian nuclear sites. As is often the case with the Republican, reality quickly got in the way.

On Tuesday, the world learned of a preliminary intelligence assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, which jolted the public and political debate. As NBC News confirmed, the initial assessment concluded that the U.S. airstrikes “were not as effective” as Trump claimed, and the mission set Iran’s nuclear program “back by only three to six months.”

Looney bird Trump is in denial:

Pressed on the efficacy of the mission and the accuracy of the intelligence, Trump said, “The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don’t know. It could have been very severe. That’s what the intelligence says. So I guess that’s correct. But I think we can take the ‘we don’t know.’ It was very severe. It was obliteration.

Or put another way, according to the American president, U.S. intelligence officials don’t know, but he does know.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-response-intelligence-assessment-iran-strikes-takes-incoherent-rcna214937

Politico: McIver heads to court as watchdog group files complaint against Alina Habba

The charges against the New Jersey Democrat stem from a confrontation at an ICE facility.

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) is expected to appear in federal court for the first time Wednesday morning on a trio of charges following a May scuffle outside a federal immigration facility.

At her arraignment in Newark, McIver will plead not guilty, spokesperson Hanna Rumsey said. McIver is accused in a three-count indictment of slamming a federal agent with her forearm, “forcibly” grabbing him and using her forearms to strike another agent.

McIver’s allies, including two other Democrats who were with her during the incident, have decried the charges as political and have said she was roughed up by federal agents. Her allies are also trying to turn the tables on the federal prosecutor bringing the case, the interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba.

The Campaign for Accountability, a liberal watchdog group, filed a complaint this week against Habba with the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics.

The complaint alleges Habba has acted improperly since becoming a prosecutor and cites her actions in the McIver case, along with comments about turning “New Jersey red” and announcing investigations into its Democratic governor and attorney general over immigration.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/mciver-heads-to-court-as-watchdog-group-files-complaint-against-alina-habba-00422080