Independent: More than half of Americans tell Trump to stay away from colleges and disapprove of his higher education attacks

A new AP-NORC poll finds that the majority of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump’s stance on colleges and universities as he intensifies threats to cut federal funding unless schools comply with his political agenda.

More than half of Americans, 56 percent, disapprove of the Trump administration’s approach to higher education, while about four in 10 approve, reflecting his overall job approval ratings.

This targeting of universities appears out of step with the wider American public, which sees such institutions as key to scientific research, new ideas, and innovation.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-harvard-university-funding-poll-b2748586.html

BBC: Tariffs on car parts entering the US come into force

A 25% import tax on engines, transmissions and other key car parts has come into force in the US, raising pressure on an industry finding its way through a thicket of policy changes.

The US president has said the new tariff, along with a 25% import tax on cars that went into effect last month, is intended to push carmakers to do more manufacturing in the US.

But analysts said any immediate expansions in the US were likely to come at the expense of production elsewhere, while also leading to higher costs for the businesses – and ultimately higher prices for customers.

“American made” cars still rely on foreign-made parts — we’re screwed by these tariffs either way.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/tariffs-on-car-parts-entering-the-us-come-into-force/ar-AA1E5k8b

More here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/the-white-house-says-tariffs-won-t-make-car-buying-more-expensive-top-automakers-don-t-sound-as-sure/ar-AA1E3BLQ

RNS: 550 US rabbis sign letter condemning Trump’s antisemitism policy

More than 550 rabbis and cantors have signed a letter objecting to President Trump’s crackdown on universities for what the administration calls tolerance of antisemitism, calling Trump’s executive orders and detentions of students who criticized Israel “cynical attacks on higher education.”

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman of Bnai Keshet, a Reconstructionist synagogue in Montclair, New Jersey, who helped edit the statement and is co-chair for the rabbinic cabinet for J Street, said the 550 rabbis and cantors who signed were the “tip of the iceberg.”

“I’m quite sure that the vast majority of American Jews support the sentiment behind this,” Tepperman said on Monday.

The letter begins by saying that the signatories are committed to fighting the rising tide of antisemitism. But it quickly adds: “… we cannot allow the fight against antisemitism to be twisted into a wedge issue, used to justify policies that target immigrants and other minorities, suppress free speech, or erode democratic norms.”

The Trump administration has launched a war against higher education for what it insists is a dangerous culture of antisemitism, cutting off federal funding for scientific and other research to Harvard, Columbia and Cornell Universities, among others, and threatening to investigate dozens more colleges and universities.

It has also sought to cancel visas and begin deportation proceedings against a number of students who had participated in demonstrations against Israel during the wave of campus protests last year over the war in Gaza.

“We reject these cynical attacks on higher education — institutions that have long been strongholds of Jewish academic and cultural life — under the pretense of protecting Jewish students,” the letter says.

poll last week found that most American Jews oppose the way President Donald Trump is handling antisemitism. The poll, conducted by the Mellman Group in mid-April among 800 registered Jewish voters, found that 56% do not approve, while 31% do approve of how Trump is handling antisemitism.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/550-us-rabbis-sign-letter-condemning-trump-s-antisemitism-policy/ar-AA1DNhfZ

Irish Star: Mexican President issues chilling five word warning to Trump over drone strikes on cartels

King Donald is threatening drone strikes inside Mexico:

Amid ongoing threats from President Donald Trump to use drone strikes against drug cartels, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated her opposition to any military action inside her country. 

“We do not agree with any kind of intervention or interference,” Sheinbaum told reporters Tuesday at her daily morning news conference. “This has been very clear: We coordinate, we collaborate, [but] we are not subordinate and there is no meddling in these actions.”

The president’s comments come as reports are growing that the Trump administration is considering carrying out military strikes on cartel targets. Reports suggest the administration is prepared to act unilaterally if Washington cannot secure Mexican support. 

Will this happen before or after we liberate Greenlanders from themselves?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/mexican-president-issues-chilling-five-word-warning-to-trump-over-drone-strikes-on-cartels/ar-AA1Cztap

NBC News: Trump quickly works to concentrate power and muzzle critical voices

From law firms and universities to the arts and the press, Trump has targeted these independent actors and tried to bend them to his worldview — willingly or not.

One by one, he is bending ostensibly independent actors under the weight of his power. So far, Trump has targeted the legal community, universities, the arts, career government employees and the press and brought them to heel in some measure, willingly or not. Law firms with even indirect ties to past investigations of Trump now face punitive measures that could put them out of business.

If Trump prevails by the end of his term, he’ll have influenced who votes in American elections and who does not, who gets to stay in America and who must leave, who pays off their student loans and who gets relief, who gets to question the president and who doesn’t.

He’s facing pushback, but working to sweep it away. A pliant Congress has largely forsaken its oversight role since Trump thundered back into office, leaving the courts as the main impediment to his ambitions. And Trump is challenging their authority with a resolve that has nudged the nation closer to a constitutional crisis than at any point in the last half century.

Pessimistic about government’s ability to hold Trump to account, one U.S. senator said a mass uprising may be the only means of derailing his plans.

“Ultimately, popular mobilization” is the only way to tame Trump, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said in an interview. The nation’s fate may come down to “the people on both the right and the left rising up in protest and demanding reform.”

Trump quickly works to concentrate power and muzzle critical voices