The Education Department on Friday opened a probe into New York state education officials for threatening to cut funding to a local school district over its decades-old Native American mascot – an image depicting a man in a feathered headdress, according to a report in Politico.
Two words: “Butt out!”
It’s a state/local matter. Cities, counties, states do not wish to be micromanaged by a deranged wannabe dictator in Washington.
‘Will not stand by’: Trump admin launches probe as uproar over mascot embroils community
The Education Department on Friday opened a probe into New York state education officials for threatening to cut funding to a local school district over its decades-old Native American mascot – an image depicting a man in a feathered headdress, according to a report in Politico. The new investigation came days after Donald Trump used the power of t…
Adam Schleifer, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, was fired without explanation last month in an email from a White House official. It came exactly one hour after Loomer, a conservative internet personality known for incendiary comments, called for his removal in a social media post highlighting his past critical views about Trump while running in a Democratic primary for a New York congressional seat.
In a filing with the Merit Systems Protection Board — which is responsible for protecting government employees from political reprisals — Schleifer argues he was unlawfully fired in retaliation for protected political speech from a time when he wasn’t working as a government lawyer. He’s seeking reinstatement, back pay and other relief.
Ex-Justice Department prosecutor challenges his firing by the White House after Laura Loomer post
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former career Justice Department prosecutor is challenging his firing by the White House, saying it was for “unprecedented partisan and political reasons” and undermines a “bedrock principle” of the justice system after he was dismissed following a post by right-wing activist Laura Loomer. Adam Schleifer, an assistant U.S. attor…
One Friday after school last June,I went to play soccer with friends in the park in Brentwood, New York, where I live. I love the soccer fields there. There are lights and grass, and it feels so much nicer and safer than the fields where I used to play. In El Salvador, where I’m originally from, a gun might go off or gang members might grab a player off the field and beat him up.
Walking home with my friend, Juan* around 8 p.m., I felt good. We ran into a kid we knew from school, Andres,* and he joined us. I knew Andres’ face, and I would say, “Hey, what’s up?” when we ran into each other at school, but I didn’t know him well.
As we were walking, Juan and I started to joke around and shove each other, laughing. All of a sudden, we saw a police car pull up. For months, the police had been stopping me frequently and accusing me of being in a gang. Their “evidence” was based on nothing — a doodle they found in my notebook and people I said hello to at school. I had even asked to meet with the police to explain to them that I’m not in a gang.
…
I don’t belong locked up. I can’t understand why I’ve been in jail for more than two months. I never belonged to a gang. I never hurt anyone. I never threatened anyone. I fled from the gangs in my country. And I thought I was coming to a country where I would be safe.
There’s No Evidence I’m in a Gang — Because I’m Not. But I’ve Been Locked Up for Two Months for Gang Membership. | ACLU
The ACLU dares to create a more perfect union — beyond one person, party, or side. Our mission is to realize this promise of the United States Constitution for all and expand the reach of its guarantees.
Immigration authorities did not have an arrest warrant when agents detained Mahmoud Khalil, lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security said in a court filing this week.
The big picture: Khalil, a leader of Columbia’s pro-Palestinian protests, is alegal U.S. resident who has been in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since last month. His arrest sparked outcry across the U.S.
Zoom in: Government lawyers argue in the filing that DHS was not required to obtain a judicial arrest warrant before taking Khalil, a U.S. green card holder from Syria, into custody on March 8.
The “officers had exigent circumstances to conduct the warrantless arrest, it is the pattern and practice of DHS to fully process a respondent once in custody,” wrote the lawyers in the document that was originally filed in immigration court Wednesday and submitted to federal court Thursday
They argued agents had reasons to believe Khalil “would escape before they could obtain a warrant” when they approached him inside the foyer of his apartment building.
Khalil was eventually served an arrest warrant after being taken into custody and transported to an ICE office in New York.
The other side: The revelation contradicts what agents told Khalil at the time of his arrest and what agents wrote in the arrest report, Khalil’s lawyer said.
“The government’s admission is astounding, and it is completely outrageous that they tried to assert to the immigration judge – and the world – in their initial filing of the arrest report that there was an arrest warrant when there was none,” said Khalil’s attorney, Marc Van Der Hout, in an emailed statement.
Van Der Hout called it “egregious conduct by DHS that should require under the law termination of these proceedings.”
Never forget: Cops lie. All. The. Time.
Mahmoud Khalil was arrested without a warrant, DHS lawyers Trump admin lawyers say
The revelation contradicts what agents told Mahmoud Khalil at the time of his arrest, his lawyer said.
Ranjani Srinivasan didn’t think the knock would come so soon.
A Fulbright scholar. A doctoral candidate. She spent her days studying how cities displace the poor — and nights convincing herself it wouldn’t happen to her.
Then came March 5, 2025.
An email. Cold. Clinical. The U.S. Consulate in Chennai revoked her visa from halfway across the planet, citing alleged “support for Hamas.” No evidence. No hearing. No appeal. Her real offense?
She shared a protest flyer on Instagram.
ICE showed up soon after. Agents visited her New York apartment multiple times — initially without a warrant. On a later visit, they returned with a judicial one. No charges. No formal deportation order. Just pressure.
So she did what people with no choices do.
She left.
On March 11, Ranjani boarded a one-way flight to Montreal. DHS later claimed she “self-deported” using the CBP One app — but her attorney disputes that, saying she simply complied with the law after her visa was revoked.
Her friends smuggled her laptop across the border days later. Her cat, Cricket, she left behind — safe with a friend, but missed in every moment.
Now she’s in Canada. Stateless. Stunned.
Her belongings? Confiscated or inaccessible.
Her research? Interrupted.
Her future? Dangling by the thread of a refugee claim.
She’s no radical. No operative. She liked and reposted human rights content. That’s it. And for that, the country that once welcomed her turned cold and suspicious — as if brilliance were a threat and dissent a crime.
This wasn’t deportation.
It was coerced exile.
Fear and Loathing: Closer to the Edge
Ranjani Srinivasan didn’t think the knock would come so soon. A Fulbright scholar. A doctoral candidate. She spent her days studying how cities displace the poor — and nights convincing herself it…
Colombian President Gustavo Petro is seemingly no longer welcome in the United States.
Petro, a former member of the 19th of April Movement guerrilla group and Colombia’s first leftist president, claimed the Trump administration revoked his visa to attend meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
He is instead be replaced by the Minister of Finance Germán Avila, who is in Washington, D.C. this week.
The major international snub comes after Donald Trump threatened ‘decisive retaliatory measures’ against government officials over Colombia’s refusal to let two US Military flights full of migrants land in January.
‘I can’t go anymore because I think they’ve revoked my visa,’ Petro said during a Council of Ministers meeting on Monday.
‘I didn’t need a visa, but hey, I’ve seen Donald Duck several times. So, I’m off to see other things.’
King Donald is like a child in a school yard who can’t bear to lose a marble.
World leader stunned to learn his US visa has been revoked
A world leader says he’s been denied entry into the United States in what appears to be a major escalation in the Trump administration’s trade and tariff war.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a 40-minute off-the-cuff speech where he nonchalantly dropped the word ‘retarded’.
His unexpected remarks during his visit to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday, which were meant to be a welcome from the new FDA commissioner, Marty Makary, got several staffers to walk out of the room, two anonymous employees told Politico.
Perhaps his brainworms are flaring up again?
RFK Jr. drops slur in 40-minute tirade that made staffers leave
During his visit to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a 40-minute off-the-cuff speech where he said a slur.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would use the power of the Justice Department to go after two officials who were highly critical of him during his first term in office, including one whose anonymously written New York Times op-ed claiming he was part of the “resistance” to Trump’s presidency captivated the nation for years.
The announcement by Trump that he was targeting former Department of Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, who penned the op-ed, and former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs, whose rejection of Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2020 election led to his ousting, comes as the president continues to seek retribution on his perceived enemies in ways big and small.
Executive orders signed by Trump on Wednesday strip Taylor and Krebs of any existing security clearance they may still hold since leaving office and orders the Justice Department to probe both former officials.
The president did not specify any alleged wrongdoing by the men that necessitated investigations by the department. But, speaking in the White House, Trump made clear he thinks he knows what the results should be.
“I think what he did, and he wrote a book, ‘Anonymous,’ said all sorts of lies, bad things– and I think it’s, I think it’s like a traitor, like, it’s like spying,” Trump said of Taylor. “I think it’s a very important case, and I think he’s guilty of treason, if you want to know the truth, but we’ll find out.”
King Donald is an illiterate bumpkin who apparently doesn’t even understand how treason is defined in the U.S. Constitution.
Trump targets two first term critics, a law firm and the American Bar Association | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he would use the power of the Justice Department to go after two officials who were highly critical of him during his first term in office, including one whose anonymously written New York Times op-ed claiming he was part of the “resistance” to Trump’s presidency captivated the nation for years.
A meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Food and Drug Administration was intended to be an introduction between Kennedy and the agency staffers he oversees, but his remarks were so shocking that several people walked out, according to a report by Politico on Friday.
…
According to Politico, Kennedy delivered “largely off-the-cuff remarks” in a 40-minute meeting with FDA staffers Friday. Two employees who attended the meeting spoke anonymously to the reporters, who were provided with a transcript and audio of Kennedy’s comments.
“President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.”
…
Kennedy also accused FDA staffers of being swayed by “agency capture” and acting as a “sock puppet” for the industries subject to their regulatory oversight. He referenced human mind control experiments like the CIA’s Project MKUltra and the Milgram experiment, which tested participants’ willingness to inflict what they were told were painful, possibly fatal, electric shocks to others if an authority figure ordered them to do so — as part of a discussion that Politico described as “an apparent effort to encourage FDA employees to stay true to their mission of making Americans healthier.”
These comments from the boss “alarmed and disheartened” FDA staffers and several of them walked out of the rooms where Kennedy’s speech was being aired, according to the sources who spoke to Politico.
FDA Staffers Dish on Unhinged Meeting With RFK Jr.: ‘The Deep State is Real’
A meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Food and Drug Administration was intended to be an introduction between Kennedy and the agency staffers he oversees, but his remarks were so shocking that several people walked out, according to a report by Politico on Friday.
