Author Archives: M

Associated Press: Judge denies stay request, lets ruling stand blocking DOGE efforts to shut down peace institute

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A federal judge on Friday denied the Trump administration’s request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S. Institute of Peace back to its acting president and board.

In a seven-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell said the government did not meet any of the four requirements for a stay, including a “strong showing” of whether its request could succeed on the merits.

Howell reiterated her finding that the Institute is not part of the executive branch and is therefore beyond President Donald Trump’s authority to fire its board. She added that the firings also did not follow the law for how a board member of the Institute might be removed by the president.

Judge denies stay request, lets ruling stand blocking DOGE efforts to shut down peace institute
A federal judge has denied the Trump administration’s request that she stay her May 19 ruling that returned control of the U.S.

https://apnews.com/article/doge-institute-of-peace-7e85907358be2c654234d9774c0af90b

Raw Story: Longtime reporters ‘almost speechless’ over Trump’s ‘transparent bribery’ plot

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On Friday morning, longtime Washington D.C. reporters Jonathan Lemire and Peter Baker of the New York Times, as well as conservative columnist Matt Lewis, admitted they were stunned that Republicans turned a blind eye to Donald Trump’s crypto dinner.

During a segment on the president’s much-criticized dinner at his golf club in northern Virginia that took place Thursday night, Lemire prompted guest Baker with, “I mean, you’ve covered the White House for a long time. I mean, I’m almost speechless at this. Could you imagine if Barack Obama or Joe Biden did anything like it?“

“No, we couldn’t, they could –– they never did anything like this,” Baker responded. “It’s not the first presidential family that kind of profited off the White House; you can certainly find other examples of that in history. But the scale of this, the scope of this is so far beyond anything history has ever seen.”

,,,

 I don’t think the Democrats yet have the juice to take what is just transparently bribery and make it matter to the American people.”

Longtime reporters ‘almost speechless’ over Trump’s ‘transparent bribery’ plot

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-crypto-dinner-almost-speechless

Latin Times: Salvadoran Prison Chief Overseeing Trump Deportees Has Been Sanctioned By The U.S. For Negotiating With Gangs: Report

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A top Salvadoran official in charge of overseeing the country’s prisons, including the infamous CECOT where hundreds of Venezuelans have been sent by the Trump administration, is also sanctioned by the U.S. for secretly negotiating with gangs, a new report claims.

The official in question is Osiris Luna, described by the Wall Street Journal as instrumental to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s crackdown on crime and gang violence.

Luna, however, has been sanctioned for engaging in negotiations with powerful gang leaders in the country. The pact would see reduced homicides and political backing for Bukele in exchange for better treatment for incarcerated leaders. The outlet said they ended up receiving cellphones, access to sex workers and other privileges, according to an indictment from U.S. prosecutors.

Bukele and Luna have denied the allegations, but a gang member recently revealed that Bukele himself has been involved in such negotiations.

Salvadoran Prison Chief Overseeing Trump Deportees Has Been Sanctioned By The U.S. For Negotiating With Gangs: Report
Osiris Luna, El Salvador’s prison director, has been reportedly sanctioned by the U.S. for secretly negotiating with gangs

https://www.latintimes.com/salvadoran-prison-chief-overseeing-trump-deportees-has-been-sanctioned-us-negotiating-gangs-583691

Kansas City Star: ‘Party is Completely Broken’: Poll Reveals AOC Approval

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Co/efficient polling has shown a lack of agreement among likely voters concerning the Democratic Party’s future leadership. Co/efficient polling is a U.S.-based analytics firm specializing in political and public affairs research.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stands out as a leading figure, along with Vice President Kamala Harris. As Democrats face recent electoral losses, they have struggled to unite around a common leader, raising speculation about potential presidential candidates for 2028.

University of Kentucky political science professor D. Stephen Voss said, “AOC serves as the face of the Democratic Party for many Trump supporters who dislike national Democrats. They like to pillory her as ignorant and irresponsible.”

Voss added, “At the same time, many Democrats embrace AOC as a worthy young successor to Bernie, someone who can play the role of progressive challenger in a Democratic nomination battle. Likely AOC tops the charts because she attracts so much bipartisan attention. Ocasio-Cortez enjoys good branding, as symbolized by the fact both supporters and critics simply refer to her as AOC. No matter what Ocasio-Cortez does in the next presidential election, she’ll be hard to ignore.”

The polling has found that 26 percent of respondents view Ocasio-Cortez as a leading representative, equal to those who feel there is no clear leader in the party. 

‘Party is Completely Broken’: Poll Reveals AOC Approval

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/party-is-completely-broken-poll-reveals-aoc-approval/ss-AA1FmxV2

Associated Press: Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon

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Bedeviled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late Friday that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon without a government escort — areas where the press has had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world’s most powerful military.

Newly restricted areas include his office and those of his top aides and all of the different locations across the mammoth building where the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Space Force maintain press offices.

The media will also be barred from offices of the Pentagon’s senior military leadership, including Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, without Hegseth’s approval and an escort from his aides. The staff of the Joint Chiefs has traditionally maintained a good relationship with the press.

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
Step out of line, the men come and take you away

Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered further restrictions on how the press operates at the Pentagon.

https://apnews.com/article/military-pentagon-hegseth-press-access-ff9ed0431848cae8816108a8b19c640f

Raw Story: White House claim puts Trump ‘potentially outside the immunity shield’: attorney

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An attempt by White House press secretary Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt to blow off ethical and legal concerns about Donald Trump’s crypto dinner on Thursday night might come back to haunt her boss.

Thursday afternoon [Bimbo #1] Leavitt lectured reporters in the Brady Briefing Room about the dinner which was to include foreign investors at a Donald Trump golf resort in Virginia, telling NBC’s Garrett Haake, “Well, as you know, Garrett, this question has been raised with the president. I have also addressed the dinner tonight. The president is attending it in his personal time. It is not a White House dinner, it’s not taking place here at the White House. But certainly I can raise that question and try to get you an answer for it.”

[Bimbo #1] Leavitt’s claim of “personal time” caught the ear of multiple Trump critics.

On X, The Bulwark’s Tim Miller pointed out, “President’s don’t get ‘personal time.’ There’s not like a magic suit you wear when you are doing official business and one where you are just Donald from Queens.”

Conservative lawyer and ardent Trump opponent George Conway took the next step and suggested, “Actually, it’s fine. If Trump is saying he’s doing something on his ‘personal time,’ then obviously that means he’s not acting within what the Supreme Court calls ‘the outer perimeter of his official responsibility,’ which, in turn, means he’s not immune from criminal prosecution.”

Oops! You probably shouldn’t run your mouth so much, Karoline [Bimbo #1] Leavitt, but I understand that’s all you do, and you do it so exceptionally well. 😀

White House claim puts Trump ‘potentially outside the immunity shield’: attorney

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-immunity-2672194246

Miami Herald: Judge Releases Pro-Palestinian Non-citizen in Blow to ICE

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A U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles has ordered the release of Georgetown University fellow Badar Khan Suri, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) amid the administration’s crackdown on dissent related to Palestinian advocacy. Giles found that Suri’s detention violated his First and Fifth Amendment rights. His case has raised concerns about the targeting of non-citizen academics for their political beliefs.

Judge Releases Pro-Palestinian Non-citizen in Blow to ICE

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-releases-pro-palestinian-non-citizen-in-blow-to-ice/ss-AA1FmSle

Reuters: US judge orders Trump administration to facilitate return of Guatemalan deported

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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after officials acknlowledged an error in his case.

US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston issued the order days after the Justice Department notified him that its claim that the man had expressly stated he was not afraid of being sent to Mexico was based on erroneous information.

The Justice Department said last week that upon further investigation, officials were unable to identify any Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who had asked the man, identified as “OCG” about fears he had for his safety.

…

According to his lawyers, OCG is a gay man who fled Guatemala in 2024 after facing death threats based on his sexuality.

He entered the United States through Mexico in May 2024.

Murphy said that while an immigration judge in February found OCG deserved protection from being returned to Guatemala, authorities two days later wrongly placed him on a bus to Mexico, where he had recently been raped and kidnapped.

US judge orders Trump administration to facilitate return of Guatemalan deported
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Friday to facilitate the return of a gay Guatemalan man who said he was deported to Mexico despite fearing he would be persecuted there, after of…

https://nypost.com/2025/05/24/us-news/us-federal-judge-brian-murphy-orders-trump-administration-to-facilitate-return-of-guatemalan-migrant

Explícame: DOGE must delete the Social Security data in its possession as well as the software it installed

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The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been ordered to immediately delete all Social Security data in its possession, along with the software it installed on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) systems. This directive comes from federal district judge Ellen Hollander, marking a significant moment in the ongoing battle for privacy rights in the United States. The ruling serves as a stern rebuke to DOGE’s methods, which were justified under the guise of fraud prevention.

The decision, as reported by The (Raleigh) News & Observer, follows a lawsuit initiated by unions and retiree organizations. These groups argued that DOGE’s access to sensitive SSA records violated privacy laws and jeopardized the security of highly confidential data. The court’s ruling highlights the tension between government oversight and individual privacy rights.

Judge Hollander’s resolution was unequivocal: “Rooting out potential fraud, waste and mismanagement at SSA is in the public interest. But that doesn’t mean the government can break the law to do it”. She criticized the rationale provided by SSA’s interim commissioner, Leland Dudek, deeming it insufficient to justify such intrusive access.

The court not only denied DOGE’s request for unlimited data access but also mandated corrective actions: “DOGE must delete the Social Security data in its possession as well as the software it installed,” as covered by The (Raleigh) News & Observer. This decision underscores the judiciary’s role in safeguarding privacy against overreach.

DOGE must delete the Social Security data in its possession as well as the software it installed

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/doge-must-delete-the-social-security-data-in-its-possession-as-well-as-the-software-it-installed/ar-AA1FmN4Z

Fortune: Influencer who attended Trump’s memecoin dinner says he got a ‘Walmart steak’—and no access to the president

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Nicholas Pinto, a 25-year-old social media influencer, accumulated more than $360,000 in President Donald Trump’s cryptocurrency to attend an “unforgettable Gala DINNER” with the commander-in-chief. The food, though, was forgettable. “Trash,” Pinto texted Fortune during the banquet. “Walmart steak, man.”

The menu included a “Trump organic field green salad” and an “entrée duet” of filet mignon and pan-seared halibut. “Everyone at my table was saying the food was some of the worst food that they ever had,” said Pinto after the meal.

…

Was the price tag worth it? “I was hoping for either Big Macs or pizza,” Pinto said, referring to the president’s well-known taste for McDonald’s. “That would have been better than the food that we were served.”

…

Pinto was still hungry after the underwhelming meal. “The only good part,” he told Fortune, “[was] the bread and the butter.”

Pinto must not have bought enough of King Donald’s crypto, clearly not enough to qualify for the White House tour. Poor baby.

Influencer who attended Trump’s memecoin dinner says he got a ‘Walmart steak’—and no access to the president

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/influencer-who-attended-trump-s-memecoin-dinner-says-he-got-a-walmart-steak-and-no-access-to-the-president/ar-AA1FmsvQ