Tag Archives: Israel

Washington Free Beacon: Trump Admin Revokes Visas for Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly Meeting, Citing ‘Incitement to Terrorism’

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The Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization have long had a “pay-to-slay” policy of providing money to imprisoned terrorists and their families

The Trump administration on Friday revoked visas for Palestinian officials seeking to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York City next month, denying them entry into the United States as punishment for inciting terrorism against Israel and pursuing statehood outside of the established peace process.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio “is denying and revoking visas from members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian National Authority (PA) ahead of the upcoming United Nations General Assembly,” a State Department spokesman confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon. The Trump administration’s decision marks the first time the U.S. government has denied the Palestinian government permission to attend the U.N. gathering.

“The Trump Administration has been clear: it is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” the State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon.

The decision is meant to derail the Palestinian officials’ unilateral bid to seek statehood when the U.N. General Assembly convenes for a session expected to revolve around the issue. France and Saudi Arabia hosted a two-state solution summit last month in hopes of building momentum for the recognition of a Palestinian state among U.N. member nations.

French president Emmanuel Macron announced last month he “will recognize the State of Palestine” as part of his country’s “commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East.”

The U.S. government will only consider the PA and PLO “partners for peace” if they “consistently repudiate terrorism—including the October 7 massacre—and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by law and as promised by the PLO,” the State Department spokesman said in a statement.

One of the more noteworthy forms of both organizations’ support for terrorism is known as “pay-to-slay,” a program in which the PA and PLO provide millions of dollars to imprisoned terrorists and their families. While PA president Mahmoud Abbas announced the end of the policy earlier this year, he subsequently said, “Even if we have [only] one penny left, it is for the prisoners and Martyrs.” There is no evidence to suggest the PA ceased its payments to terrorists after Abbas’s decree.

The PA must also end its pursuit of legal charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, which the Trump administration described as “attempts to bypass negotiations.”

The State Department spokesman cited the PA’s “efforts to secure the unilateral recognition of a conjectural Palestinian state” as another reason for the punitive measures. “Both steps materially contributed to Hamas’s refusal to release its hostages, and to the breakdown of the Gaza ceasefire talks,” he said.

Preexisting agreements between the United States and United Nations mean the PA’s mission to the international organization will still receive waivers, but the State Department will not permit Abbas and other senior officials to enter the country.

The Trump administration said it “remains open to re-engagement that is consistent with our laws, should the PA/PLO meet their obligations and demonstrably take concrete steps to return to a constructive path of compromise and peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel.”

The decision to revoke the visas came after the State Department imposed sanctions on Palestinian officials in the West Bank last month over those leaders’ support for terrorism, “including incitement and glorification of violence.”

A senior State Department official told the Free Beacon ahead of the July two-state summit the “U.S. would absolutely consider blocking” the visas should Palestinian officials “try to even decide to visit the United States.”

“The heads of the PA have openly praised the horrific attack that took place on Oct. 7. They celebrated terrorism and the killing of hundreds of innocent people,” the official said at the time.

It’s time to move the United Nations headquarters from New York to Switzerland. The U.S. has no business controlling their dialogue and debate in this manner.

There will be no peace until the Palestinians get their due. If that means the end of Israel, so be it!

Trump Admin Revokes Visas for Palestinian Officials Ahead of UN General Assembly Meeting, Citing ‘Incitement to Terrorism’
The decision means Palestinian leaders will be unable to enter the United States for next month’s U.N. General Assembly.

Daily News: Calls for reporter’s dismissal after linking school shooter to Trump

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Calls for ABC reporter to be fired over misleading report linking Minneapolis gunman to Trump

An ABC reporter is facing calls to be fired for misleadingly linking Minneapolis shooter to Donald Trump.

Chief Investigative Reporter Aaron Katersky was reporting on the events inside the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday where Robin Westman killed two kids.

Katersky mentioned the transgender gunman having left a video manifesto in which she revealed a twisted obsession with school shooters, along with a dislike of President Trump, and made a mockery of the Church.

Katersky said: ’23-year-old Robin Westman was able to leave what police called a video manifesto that they’re now going through to try and establish motive. 

‘There are also photos of the weapons, and they include all sorts of writings: the names of past mass shooters, criticism of Israel, the name of President Trump written on the guns.

‘There are also racial slurs, nihilistic statements, all painting the picture of a disturbed individual who carried out this mass shooting on the first week of school at the Annunciation church in Minneapolis.’

His failure to mention the shooter’s disdain for Trump while mentioning the commander-in-chief has caused an outcry online, with the President’s son even making comment. 

Donald Trump Jr. shared the ABC footage to his X profile, posting: ‘WTF is wrong with these people!???’

Vince Coglianese, Daily Caller editor, added: ‘ABC reporter refers to ‘the name of President Trump written on the guns’ without mentioning that the message was ‘k*ll Donald Trump.’

Fox News’ Mary Katherine Ham and her colleague Guy Benson posted: ‘So irresponsible. An obvious lie’, and ‘We call this obfuscation ‘anti-journalism’.’

Matthew Boyle, Washington Bureau Chief for Breitbart News Network, commented: ‘ABC should terminate this person immediately.’

Two young children, aged 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting while 18 other victims – 15 of which were children – were wounded.

Trump called for flags be lowered to half-staff in honor of those who lost their lives when Westman started firing into the church.

The president branded the shooting a ‘senseless act of violence’ and urged prayers for the victims.

Police said the two children who lost their lives were killed as they sat in the church pews, while others ducked for cover as the horror unfolded. 

Westman, who was transgender, was armed with three guns – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol – police said. All were used in the attack and bought legally. 

Police are now investigating the killer’s motive for the shooting, including probing the disturbing videos posted on Westman’s since-deleted YouTube account.

Westman also showed the camera pages of handwritten notes in a final letter to family and friends.

In the letter, Westman claimed to have cancer caused by a vaping habit.

‘I think I am dying of cancer. It’s a tragic end as it’s entirely self inflicted. I did this to myself as I cannot control myself and have been destroying my body through vaping and other means,’ the shooter wrote. 

Westman went on to write about wanting ‘to go out on my own means’, adding: ‘due to my depression, anger and twisted mind, I want to fulfill a final act that has been in the back of my head for years,’ Westman said.

The note was signed with the name ‘Robin M Westman, 2002-2025’ and what appeared to be a bird drawing.

As well as the warped letter, the video also showed a stash of gun magazines, with white writing scrawled on them.

Several school shooters’ names including ‘Lanza’ for Sandy Hook mass shooter Adam Lanza was seen on some of the cartridges. One of the other cartridges was labeled: ‘For the children.’

Will somebody please call a whaaaambulance for the Boy King aka Crybaby in Chief! The reporter reported the news. It’s what he does. Get used to it.

Calls for reporter to be fired for linking Minneapolis gunman to Trump
Chief Investigative Reporter Aaron Katersky was reporting on the events inside the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday where Robin Westman killed two children.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/media/article-15044443/ABC-reporter-Minneapolis-gunman-Trump.html

Newsweek: Donald Trump Nobel Peace Prize comment raises eyebrows

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Acomment suggesting President Donald Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize has raised eyebrows.

Social media users have reacted to Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, suggesting that the president has been overlooked for the prestigious award.

Why It Matters

Since 2018, Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, which recognizes an individual or organization that has managed to “advance fellowship between nations,” multiple times but has not won.

Only four U.S. presidents have won the award, which is among the world’s most prominent international honors. President Barack Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, eight months into his presidency—a move Donald Trump Jr. described as “affirmative action.”

In the past few months, Trump and his allies have argued in support of the president’s worthiness as a candidate, citing foreign policy interventions his administration has been involved in.

What To Know

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting, Witkoff said: “There’s only one thing I wish for—that the Nobel committee finally gets its act together and realizes that you are the single finest candidate since this Nobel award was ever talked about. Your success is game-changing out in the world today, and I hope everybody wakes up and realizes that.”

Several campaign groups and figures responded negatively to Witkoff’s comments.

The X account Republicans Against Trump wrote, “Nobel Peace Prize for what exactly?”

Call to Activism, a progressive political account, called the applause that followed Witkoff’s comments “North Korea-style” and “terrifying.”

User Alok Bhatt told 91,000 followers, “It is astonishing to see the great American empire crumble before our eyes—brick by brick, piece by piece.”

User Ron Smith, a self-described “proud Democrat,” wrote, “Hard to believe this is not a North Korean cabinet.”

What People Are Saying

Mark Shanahan, who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K., told Newsweek: “The Trump Cabinet is an exercise in obsequious forelock tugging where each member aims to outdo the rest in fawning flattery at the feet of the president. For all his talk, Donald Trump has done little to end the cruelly attritional war in Ukraine following Putin’s invasion, while he continues to support Netanyahu’s total war in Gaza.

“Nobel seeks to support fraternity between nations. With his America First policies, 47 is the antithesis of this.”

President Donald Trump complained about the prize on Truth Social in June: “No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be, but the people know, and that’s all that matters to me.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a July news briefing: “It is well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Representative Claudia Tenney, a Republican from New York, wrote on X in June: “I’ve officially nominated President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize twice! He has done more for world peace than any modern leader.”

What Happens Next

The deadline to nominate candidates for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize passed on January 31. Nobel Prize laureates are scheduled to be announced on October 10, with an award ceremony following on December 10 in Oslo, Norway.

Donald Trump Nobel Peace Prize comment raises eyebrows
Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, said Trump was “the single finest candidate” for the illustrious prize.

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-nobel-peace-prize-steve-witkoff-2119969

Slingshot News: ‘I Thought We’d Have That Settled Easier’: Trump Demonstrates His Incompetence, Defends His Failed Negotiations With Russia During Press Conference

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‘I Thought We’d Have That Settled Easier’: Trump Demonstrates His Incompetence, Defends His Failed Negotiations With Russia During Press Conference
During his remarks at a press conference in June, President Trump defended his failed negotiations with Russia. Trump stated, “I thought we’d have that settled easier.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/i-thought-we-d-have-that-settled-easier-trump-demonstrates-his-incompetence-defends-his-failed-negotiations-with-russia-during-press-conference/vi-AA1LkS4d

Raw Story: ‘Nuts!’ Ex-GOP lawmaker tees off after Trump calls himself a ‘war hero’

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A former member of Congress unloaded on CNN on Tuesday evening after the president referred to himself as a “war hero” during a radio interview.

During an interview with conservative radio host Mark Levin, President Donald Trump described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war hero” for his actions in Gaza. Trump added that he should also be known as a war hero because he approved of the bombing mission that destroyed Iran’s nuclear facility.

“Nobody cares, but I am too,” Trump said, referring to himself as a hero. “I sent those planes.”

Adam Kinzinger, a former Air National Guard officer, discussed Trump’s comments on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

“This is nuts!” Kinzinger, who represented Illinois in Congress as a Republican for more than a decade, shouted. “This is nuts, and his people are going to find a way to justify this.”

“Listen, when they were putting out something honoring the Army’s 250th anniversary, they put out a picture of Donald Trump in his military academy uniform,” he continued. “Which has nothing to do with the military except that they drill you.”

“This is nuts. He’s not a war hero,” Kinzinger said. “You can like what he’s done. That’s fine. I hope he gets a resolution in Ukraine, but to put himself on the same level as people who have actually gone out and served this country, not claimed bone spurs, is an offense to anybody who’s served.”

Watch the entire clip by clicking here.

‘Nuts!’ Ex-GOP lawmaker tees off after Trump calls himself a ‘war hero’

https://www.rawstory.com/adam-kinzinger-2673902589

Raw Story: ‘Nuts!’ Ex-GOP lawmaker tees off after Trump calls himself a ‘war hero’

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A former member of Congress unloaded on CNN on Tuesday evening after the president referred to himself as a “war hero” during a radio interview.

During an interview with conservative radio host Mark Levin, President Donald Trump described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a “war hero” for his actions in Gaza. Trump added that he should also be known as a war hero because he approved of the bombing mission that destroyed Iran’s nuclear facility.

“Nobody cares, but I am too,” Trump said, referring to himself as a hero. “I sent those planes.”

Adam Kinzinger, a former Air National Guard officer, discussed Trump’s comments on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.”

“This is nuts!” Kinzinger, who represented Illinois in Congress as a Republican for more than a decade, shouted. “This is nuts, and his people are going to find a way to justify this.”

“Listen, when they were putting out something honoring the Army’s 250th anniversary, they put out a picture of Donald Trump in his military academy uniform,” he continued. “Which has nothing to do with the military except that they drill you.”

“This is nuts. He’s not a war hero,” Kinzinger said. “You can like what he’s done. That’s fine. I hope he gets a resolution in Ukraine, but to put himself on the same level as people who have actually gone out and served this country, not claimed bone spurs, is an offense to anybody who’s served.”

Watch the entire clip by clicking here.

‘Nuts!’ Ex-GOP lawmaker tees off after Trump calls himself a ‘war hero’

https://www.rawstory.com/adam-kinzinger-2673902589

CNN: US military deploying over 4,000 additional troops to waters around Latin America as part of Trump’s counter-cartel mission

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The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials told CNN — a dramatic show of force that will give the president a broad range of military options should he want to target drug cartels.

The deployment of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to US Southern Command, which has not been previously reported, is part of a broader repositioning of military assets to the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility that has been underway over the last three weeks, one of the officials said.

A nuclear-powered attack submarine, additional P8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft, several destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser are also being allocated to US Southern Command as part of the mission, the officials said.

A third person familiar with the matter said the additional assets are “aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region.”

On Friday, the US Navy announced the deployment of the USS Iwo Jima, the 22nd MEU, and the two other ships in the Amphibious Ready Group — the USS Fort Lauderdale and the USS San Antonio — but did not say where they were going.

One of the officials emphasized that the military buildup is for now mostly a show of force, aimed more at sending a message than indicative of any intention to conduct precision targeting of cartels. But it also gives US military commanders — and the president — a broad range of options should Trump order military action. The ARG/MEU, for example, also features an aviation combat element.

The deployment of the Marine Expeditionary Unit, however, has raised concerns among some defense officials who worry that the Marines are not trained to conduct drug interdictions and counter drug-trafficking. If that is part of their mission set, they will have to lean heavily on the Coast Guard, officials said.

MEUs have been instrumental in the past in supporting large-scale evacuation operations; a MEU was stationed for months in the eastern Mediterranean, for example, amid tensions between Israel, Hamas and Iran.

A Marine official told CNN that the MEU “stands ready to execute lawful orders and support the combatant commanders in the needs that are requested of them.”

The US military deployed destroyers to the areas around the US-Mexico border in March to support US Northern Command’s border security mission and reinforce the US’ presence in the western hemisphere. The additional assets being moved now, however, will fall under US Southern Command, and are set to support SOUTHCOM for at least the next several months, one of the officials said.

CNN previously reported that a memo signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year stated that the US military’s “foremost priority” is to defend the homeland, and instructed the Pentagon to “seal our borders, repel forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities, and deport illegal aliens in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security.”

The same memo also formally asked Pentagon officials for “credible military options” to ensure unfettered American access to the Panama Canal, CNN reported at the time.

So when do we invade Mexico, our future 52nd state (after Canada)?

US military deploying over 4,000 additional troops to waters around Latin America as part of Trump’s counter-cartel mission | CNN Politics
The US military is deploying more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the waters around Latin America and the Caribbean as part of a ramped-up effort to combat drug cartels, two US defense officials told CNN — a dramatic show of force that will give the president a broad range of military options should he want to target drug cartels.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/15/politics/us-military-deploying-caribbean-latin-america-cartel-mission

Rolling Stone: Trump Cuts Off Medical Visas from Gaza After Laura Loomer Meltdown

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The move comes after Loomer, the right-wing provocateur, freaked out over a video of children from Gaza coming to the U.S. for medical care

Donald Trump’s administration stopped all visitor visas from Gaza — including those for humanitarian and medical aid — on Saturday after far-right provocateur and Trump friend Laura Loomer posted about several Palestinian children being allowed into the U.S. for medical care amid Israel’s relentless siege and blockade. 

The State Department said it will “conduct a full and thorough review of the process and procedures used to issue a small number of temporary medical-humanitarian visas in recent days,” in a post on X. 

“It’s amazing how fast we can get results from the Trump administration,” Loomer wrote on X, adding an applause emoji.”

Loomer posted a video Friday showing children from Gaza arriving in San Francisco for treatment, greeted by a cheering crowd. Loomer called the video an “exclusive,” posting it to X with her watermark on it, despite it being posted on Aug. 6 by the nonprofit HEAL Palestine, which provides medical care to Palestinians. 

“How did Palestinians get Visas under the Trump administration to get into the United States? Did @StateDept approve this? How did they get out of Gaza? Is @SecRubio aware of this?” she asked Friday. 

The caption of the Aug. 6 video reads, “Leyan, Ghazal, and their siblings will [begin] medical treatment and school as soon as possible under the care of HEAL.”

Loomer messages Rolling Stone on Saturday afternoon: “The MAGA base didn’t vote for more Islamic immigration into the United States. I applaud Secretary of State Marco Rubio for halting the Visas of Gazans from a HAMAS hot zone and look forward to seeing the State Department’s review of the rogue State Department employees who signed off on visas for Gazans who have shown a disrespect for American life as Hamas continues to hold hostages.”

According to NBC Bay Area, Leyan is a 14-year-old who was burned and injured by shrapnel in an explosion at her school. Ghazal, 6, was also hurt in an explosion. Another child who arrived, 8-year-old Anas, was hurt in an explosion that killed his entire family. There were 11 children in total evacuated, the largest medical evacuation of injured children from Gaza to the U.S.

“The logistics of getting them out is also a nightmare,” Talha Baquar of HEAL Palestine told NBC Bay Area. “The Israeli government has to approve of their release. One of the children who’s coming today, he’s been on a waitlist to get out. He’s had his medical visa since November of last year.”

“These children could not wait,” Dr. Zeena Salman, pediatric oncologist and co-founder of HEAL Palestine, said in a statement. “Their lives are at stake, and this mission is about giving them a future.”

After the children receive medical care, they will go to Egypt, where HEAL will continue to support them, the organization said. HEAL has evacuated 63 injured children and 148 people total as of August 4, according to its website.

Andrew Miller, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs, posted on X that the State Department’s move reflected “prejudice.” 

“I dealt with such cases during the Biden admin. No one leaves Gaza w/o Israel’s approval & everyone’s vetted through U.S. databases. Any security risk is negligible. This is rank ethnic/religious prejudice. Denying sick people critical medical care is cowardly & depraved.”

Loomer declared victory after the State Department announced it would stop visas from Gaza.

“This is fantastic news,” she posted on X. “Hopefully all GAZANS will be added to President Trump’s travel ban. There are doctors in other countries. The U.S. is not the world’s hospital!”

“Thank you for bringing attention to this matter, @LauraLoomer,” Jan. 6 rally organizer Caroline Wren wrote on X. 

Islamophobic Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) applauded Loomer for posting the video. “Massive credit needs to be given to @LauraLoomer for uncovering this and making me and other officials aware. Well done, Laura,” he posted on X. 

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement that the State Department’s move seemed “intentionally cruel.” 

“Blocking Palestinian children injured by American weapons from coming to America for medical treatment is the latest sign that the intentional cruelty of President Trump’s ‘Israel First’ administration knows no bounds,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.

Israel has led a brutal onslaught and near-total blockade in Gaza since October 7, 2023, following the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, Gaza’s Health Ministry said at the end of July. More than 50,000 children in Gaza have been killed or injured during this period, according to UNICEF, and more than one child has been killed per hour, according to The Washington Post. In April, an Israeli airstrike destroyed part of the last fully functional hospital in Gaza. Israel has tightly restricted food and humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza, creating widespread famine throughout the strip.

Trump previously called Loomer a “free spirit” when the two traveled together last September, and she continues to privately advise him and others in the administration.

After Trump won in November, various Gazan families and immigration attorneys — who were already largely sickened by the Biden administration’s actions during this conflict — were in panic mode, fearing the worst for how any slivers of relief and options they were offered under the Democratic presidency would evaporate under a second Trump government.

Those fears are being realized, and then some.

“I’ve visited with some of the children in Houston, [Texas], who have been brought here from Gaza for medical treatment,” human rights lawyer Maria Kari told Rolling Stone in January. “I’m a mother and I don’t know how many diapers you’ve changed. But until this war, I had never seen someone have to change a diaper on a baby — who was just under two years old — who had third-degree burns on the diaper-change area. The sound the baby makes is horrifying. It’s seared into your brain. It haunts you forever. I’ve sat and ate with a girl who had to hold her jaw while we ate because there’s a hole in her jaw and food was falling out while she ate. I’ve sat and painted ceramic dinosaurs with these children — the same things I do with my children — and they’re so beautiful, they’re so cute and resilient. One of them had just buried her baby sister just before she got on a plane to come here.” 

This is whom Republicans and their allies are working hard to shun, banish, and deny relief.

Trump Cuts Off Medical Visas from Gaza After Laura Loomer Meltdown
Donald Trump stopped all visas from Gaza, including for humanitarian and medical aid, after Laura Loomer freaked out about children getting care.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-gaza-laura-loomer-medical-visas-hospital-1235410184

Reuters: Trump told Norwegian minister he wants Nobel Prize, newspaper says

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Me Trump! Me Want!

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

When U.S. President Donald Trump called Norway’s finance minister last month to discuss tariffs, he also told him he wanted the Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian business daily Dagens Naeringsliv reported on Thursday.

Several countries including Israel, Pakistan and Cambodia have nominated Trump for brokering peace agreements or ceasefires, and he has said he deserves the Norwegian-bestowed accolade that four White House predecessors received.

“Out of the blue, while Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg was walking down the street in Oslo, Donald Trump called,” Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing unnamed sources.

“He wanted the Nobel Prize – and to discuss tariffs.”

In a comment to Reuters, Stoltenberg said the call was to discuss tariffs and economic cooperation ahead of Trump’s call with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Stoere. “I will not go into further detail about the content of the conversation,” he added.

Several White House officials, including U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were on the call, Stoltenberg added.

The White House and the Norwegian Nobel Committee did not reply to requests for comment.

With hundreds of candidates nominated each year, laureates are chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, whose five members are appointed by Norway’s parliament according to the will of Swedish 19th-century industrialist Alfred Nobel.

The announcement comes in October in Oslo.

The Norwegian newspaper said it was not the first time Trump had brought up the prize in conversation with Stoltenberg, a former secretary general of the NATO military alliance.

The White House on July 31 announced a 15% tariff on imports from Norway, the same as the European Union.

Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that Norway and the United States were still in talks regarding the tariffs.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-told-norwegian-minister-he-wants-nobel-prize-newspaper-says-2025-08-14

NBC News: Stanford student newspaper sues Trump officials over immigration law that they say led to chilling of free speech

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The Stanford Daily accused the administration of using immigration provisions to threaten deportation, leading to censorship and violating First Amendment rights.

Stanford University’s student newspaper sued the Trump administration Wednesday over two provisions in federal immigration law that it says the officials have wielded against those with pro-Palestinian views.

The Stanford Daily, in addition to two former college students, filed the lawsuit against Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, accusing the administration of using the provisions to threaten deportation and the revocation of visas. They say the situation has led to censorship and violations of free speech rights.

The paper’s staff members who are on visas have self-censored and declined assignments related to the war in Gaza, fearful that their reporting could jeopardize their lawful immigration status, the lawsuit said.

“In the United States of America, no one should fear a midnight knock on the door for voicing the wrong opinion,” Conor Fitzpatrick, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which is helping represent the plaintiffs, said in a statement. “Free speech isn’t a privilege the government hands out. Under our Constitution it is the inalienable right of every man, woman, and child.”

A senior State Department official declined to comment and directed NBC News to comments Rubio has about visa holders and complying with U.S. law.

In April, Rubio wrote in an opinion piece published on Fox News that he would be taking a “zero-tolerance approach to foreign nationals who abet terrorist organizations.”

“The Supreme Court has made clear for decades that visa holders or other aliens cannot use the First Amendment to shield otherwise impermissible actions taken to support designated foreign terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hizballah, or the Houthis, or violate other U.S. laws,” Rubio said.

Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, described the lawsuit as “baseless.”

“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers, and we are under no obligation to admit them or let them stay here,” she said in a statement.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs take aim at the Deportation Provision and Revocation Provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The first provision allows the secretary of state to deport noncitizens if the secretary “personally determines that the alien’s admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest.” The second gives the secretary the power to revoke a visa or documentation at his or her discretion.

As the lawsuit points out, the Trump administration has cited the Deportation Provision as the basis for trying to deport Columbia University activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was arrested and detained for more than three months. Similarly, the administration used the Revocation Provision to detain Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk, who has also since been released.

Because of the administration’s use of the statutes, the lawsuit said, the Stanford Daily has received a number of requests from lawfully present noncitizens to have their names, quotes or photos removed from articles. Many international students have stopped speaking to the paper’s journalists, and current and former writers have asked for their opinion editorials to be taken down, the lawsuit said.

“The First Amendment cements America’s promise that the government may not subject a speaker to disfavored treatment because those in power do not like his or her message,” the lawsuit said. “And when a federal statute collides with First Amendment rights, the Constitution prevails.”

One of the unnamed plaintiffs appeared on the Canary Mission, the suit said. The website, run by an anonymous group, has published a detailed database of students, professors and others who it says have shared anti-Israel and antisemitic viewpoints. It has been accused of doxxing and harassment, in addition to launching personal attacks that depict pro-Palestinian activists as being in “support of terrorism,” the Middle East Studies Association of North America said. The plaintiff has stopped publishing and “voicing her true opinions” on the Palestinian territories and Israel, the suit said.

Canary Mission has told NBC News that it documents people and groups who “promote hatred of the USA, Israel and Jews” across the political spectrum. It did not respond to criticisms of its work.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions that block the officials from using the provisions against them based on engaging in what they consider protected speech.

“There’s real fear on campus and it reaches into the newsroom,” Greta Reich, the Stanford Daily’s editor-in-chief, said in a statement. “The Daily is losing the voices of a significant portion of our student population.”

Stanford student newspaper sues Trump officials over immigration law that has chilled free speech
The Stanford Daily accused the administration of using immigration provisions to threaten deportation, leading to censorship and violating First Amendment rights.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/stanford-student-newspaper-sues-trump-officials-immigration-law-rcna223477