Guardian: Australian deported from US says he was ‘targeted’ due to writing on pro-Palestine student protests

Alistair Kitchen says he was detained and questioned about views on Israel and Palestine before being deported from LA to Melbourne

An Australian man who was detained upon arrival at Los Angeles airport and deported back to Melbourne says United States border officials told him it was due to his writing on pro-Palestine protests by university students.

The 33-year-old said he was “clearly targeted for politically motivated reasons” and said officials spent more than 30 minutes questioning him about his views on Israel and Palestine including his “thoughts on Hamas”.

Kitchen said officials asked him for his “thoughts about the conflict in a very broad sense”, including about student protesters, what Israel “should have done differently” and “how I would resolve the conflict”.

“It was quite an in-depth probing of my views on the war,” he said.

Kitchen said he was deported and landed back in Melbourne on Saturday morning.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jun/15/australian-deported-from-us-says-he-was-targeted-due-to-writing-on-pro-palestine-student-protests

Daily Beast: Dem[ocrat] Assassin Is ‘Strong Trump Supporter’ Best Friend Reveals

The suspected assassin who ambushed a Minnesota state senator and lawmaker in a deadly attack was a “strong” supporter of President Donald Trump, his roommate revealed.

David Carlson told reporters Saturday that suspected killer Vance L. Boelter voted fro the MAGA president last year. The revelation came after Republicans such as Elon Musk painted Boelter, who was appointed to Governor Walz’s Workforce Development Board in 2019, as a violent leftist—despite his pro-life views and his plans to target dozens of Democratic leaders.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dem-assassin-is-strong-trump-supporter-best-friend-reveals

Rolling Stone: Trump’s FAA Nominee Lied About Having a ‘Commercial’ Pilot License

Bryan Bedford, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has misled the public, claiming to have a “commercial” pilot license that he does not hold, Politico reported.

Bedford, who serves as president and CEO of Republic Airways, was listed on the airline’s website as holding “commercial, multi-engine and instrument pilot ratings” as recently as Thursday, according to Politico. But after the outlet inquired about Bedford’s credentials, the airline removed “commercial” from the webpage on Friday, the publication reported.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trumps-faa-nominee-lied-commercial-pilot-license-1235365087

Raw Story: Trump delivered a ‘slap in the face to Stephen Miller’ with pivot: MSNBC analyst

A decision by Donald Trump to urge ICE agents to change where they snatch up unsuspecting immigrants was a direct rebuke to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller.

That is the opinion of former Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin as she spoke to MSNBC’s Ali Velshi on Sunday morning.

Attributing the change of heart by the Trump administration to “donor pressure,” Rubin explained, “All of the ag interests and the hotel owners and Trump himself who rely on undocumented immigrants, don’t like this.”

“You know, who could have predicted that this would unravel the economy?” she asked sarcastically. “Who could have predicted that this would be disruptive to American society and the economy? Well, all of us have.”

“And this is really a slap in the face to Stephen Miller and those people who thought that somehow [they were] going to deport 11 million people, it is never going to happen,” she predicted.

Stephen Miller is an ass. Nobody will be shedding any tears for him if his feathers are ruffled.

https://www.rawstory.com/stephen-miller-2672374100

TAG24 News: Trump’s anti-immigrant ICE raids to shift away from certain industries

The New York Times reported the Trump administration is moving away from immigration raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels, and restaurants.

“Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,” senior ICE official Tatum King wrote in the message shared by the outlet.

https://www.tag24.com/politics/refugees/trumps-anti-immigrant-ice-raids-to-shift-away-from-certain-industries-3394991

Raw Story: Trump just went ‘two bridges too far even for MAGA’: ex-GOP strategist

Donald Trump’s latest actions amount to “two bridges too far even for a lot of MAGA folks,” according to a former Republican strategist on Saturday.

First, Wilson noted the “assault” of Senator Padilla, who was tackled while speaking out at a press conference for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

The second, Wilson said, was sending the Marines into LA.

After it was suggested that Republicans “lost their footing” when it comes to immigration, Wilson said, “I think Senator Padilla being assaulted, to my mind, and maybe you have another moment in the week you think is different, I think the Marines being deployed and Senator Padilla being assaulted, were two bridges too far even for a lot of MAGA folks.”

Wilson’s guest agreed, calling the assault a “flex of muscle” that will backfire on the administration.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-two-bridges-rick-wilson

Sacramento Bee: Seven Men Deported in Violation of Court Order, Judge Says

U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy has criticized the Trump administration for expediting the deportation of seven men to South Sudan, violating court orders and due process. The administration reportedly failed to provide sufficient notice before these actions, jeopardizing the deportees’ safety. Murphy has allowed the convicted individuals to remain in U.S. custody abroad on a military base in Djibouti, where they can raise concerns about potential violence in South Sudan.

Murphy wrote, “Defendants have mischaracterized this Court’s order, while at the same time manufacturing the very chaos they decry.” Murphy added, “By racing to get six class members onto a plane to unstable South Sudan, clearly in breach of the law and this Court’s order, Defendants gave this Court no choice but to find that they were in violation of the Preliminary Injunction.”

Murphy wrote, “From this course of conduct, it is hard to come to any conclusion other than that defendants invite lack of clarity as a means of evasion.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/seven-men-deported-in-violation-of-court-order-judge-says/ar-AA1GJqtr

Politico: Trump knocks California on its heels: ‘He’s pulling the trigger on everything all at once.’

In years of conflict with Trump, California has never seen anything like this.

California Democrats have long battled Donald Trump. But they’ve never faced such a ferocious offensive as they did this week.

Between the deployment of federal agents to Los Angeles, the gutting of climate standards and the manhandling of the state’s senior U.S. senator, the state absorbed one show of force after another from the president. And in the balance of power between the Trump administration and the nation’s most populous state, California was on the losing end.

“We’re at DEFCON 1 in the conflict between California and the Trump administration,” said Democratic strategist Katie Merrill. “It’s orders of magnitude more than what we’ve seen, ever.”

Democrats in this deep-blue state have spent years working to shield California from a hostile White House, dating back to his first term. But for them, the week’s events registered a new low — a multifront assault that not only threatened the state’s liberal values, but exposed the limits of California’s ability to control its destiny when the federal government has other ideas.

“The moment we’ve feared,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Tuesday night address, “has arrived.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/14/the-week-trump-rocked-california-00405932

Daily Beast: Trump Turns Presidency Into His Cash Cow With $600M Haul

President Donald Trump has already made a small fortune off his second go-around as commander in chief.

An annual financial disclosure shows the Republican president’s crypto ventures, golf clubs, and resorts, as well as the large fees he collects from garish MAGA-branded merch, have helped him rake in more than $600 million in income last year, Reuters reported.

Overall, Reuters calculated that Trump’s combined assets totaled $1.6 billion, with his income feeding into the Trump Organization trust operated by his three eldest children—which some said allows him to skate the Constitution’s Emoluments clause, which bars the president from benefitting financially from the office.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-turns-presidency-into-his-cash-cow-with-600m-haul

Raw Story: ‘Direct result’: Trump family member ties president to political assassination

President Donald Trump is “directly” responsible for what Governor Tim Walz said is a politically motivated assassination, according to a member of the Trump family.

Mary Trump, a trained psychologist and the president’s niece, weighed in on the recent attacks:

“As you may have heard two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses were shot in a targeted and politically motivated attack. State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark were assassinated. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were shot multiple times and there is still hope that they will survive,” Mary Trump wrote.

She added, “These attacks are the direct result of the dangerous political climate Donald Trump has created, purposefully and maliciously, driven by his need for division and retribution, and his thirst for power.”

“Such incidents make even more urgent the need for us to protest while also increasing the need for us to keep ourselves and each other safe,” Trump’s niece added.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-family-direct-result-shooting