Tag Archives: united states

News Nation: Attorney incredulous after ‘missing minute’ of Jeffrey Epstein jail video surfaces | Banfield

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Attorney incredulous after ‘missing minute’ of Jeffrey Epstein jail video surfaces | Banfield
A mostly redundant pile of Jeffrey Epstein case documents released this week includes Aug. 19, 2019, surveillance video of the jail cell in which the accused sex trafficker died — this time, with the so-called “missing minute” intact. Joshua Schiffer, who represents Epstein accusers, says he can’t understand why U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi claimed the footage didn’t exist. “The buck stops with Pam Bondi, and she needs to go back and find out who’s given her blatant lies,” he said. “That is indefensible as the leader of such an important agency.” #Crime #JeffreyEpstein #Jail

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/attorney-incredulous-after-missing-minute-of-jeffrey-epstein-jail-video-surfaces-banfield/vi-AA1LPLcF

The Dispatch: No, President Trump’s Tariffs Haven’t Generated $8 Trillion in Revenue

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C. on September 5, 2025. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

On Labor Day, a post on the White House’s official X account lauded President Donald Trump for having generated $8 trillion in revenue for the federal government and celebrated his “protectionist trade policies” for creating $8 trillion in U.S. investment. The text of the post highlights the trade policies, while an accompanying graphic touts the tariff revenue.

Trump also claimed Tuesday that the U.S. has “taken in almost $17 trillion in investment … most of it has come in because of tariffs.”

None of the claims is accurate.

A Bipartisan Policy Center analysis of the Treasury Department’s daily statements shows that the federal government has taken in $158.4 billion in tariff revenue since January 21, the day after Trump’s inauguration. On August 22, the Congressional Budget Office updated past projections and now estimates that Trump’s tariffs on China, Mexico, and several other countries will reduce deficits by $4 trillion—over the next decade. Each year, the United States on average takes in $3 trillion in imported goods, which makes the claim of $8 trillion in tariff revenue just in 2025 nearly impossible. 

The White House maintains on its website a list of pledges of investment by various companies and countries, most recently updated on September 2. The list includes private sector projects such as a “$600 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing and workforce training” by Apple, $500 billion by Nvidia to update its U.S. infrastructure, and $200 billion by Micron to boost its U.S. production of memory chips. And it includes pledges by foreign nations such as the United Arab Emirates ($1.4 trillion), Qatar ($1.2 trillion), and Japan ($1 trillion) to invest in the U.S. 

Add up those amounts, and you get roughly $7.5 trillion. But there are several reasons not to take these pledges at face value. As Dispatch contributor and Cato Institute vice president Scott Lincicome has written, companies like Apple, Amazon, or the chip manufacturer TMSC often seek to gain favor with a new administration by promising multibillion-dollar investments. These often involve either expansions of projects already in the works or vague pledges that lack concrete time frames. 

“Oftentimes companies that are actually pledging new investment will say they’re going to do it based on market conditions,” Lincicome told The Dispatch. “Well, market conditions change, and suddenly what looks like a good investment isn’t a good investment, and it never happens. Or, the timeline is hilariously drawn out, and so it might take 10 years to hit that number.”

Trump’s first term, Lincicome continued, featured a collection of multibillion-dollar pledges from manufacturing giants—ultimately, with mixed successes. “Some of it certainly happened, but a lot of it didn’t, and some of it that did happen actually ended up collapsing. Look at [Magnitude] 7 Metals, this big aluminum company. [Trump trade adviser] Peter Navarro went out there and claimed this was the future of American aluminum, and it’s closed down two years later.”

When asked to clarify, the White House did not offer further explanation for their Labor Day post or for Trump’s remarks. 

“President Trump is right: tariffs are bringing in historic revenue for the federal government, revenue that will amount to trillions of dollars in the coming years,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai told The Dispatch in an email. “Tariffs made America rich once before, and tariffs will Make America Wealthy Again.”

Simply bullshit! “The federal government has taken in $158.4 billion in tariff revenue since January 2”, not $8 trillion. Liars!

And they probably haven’t taken into account the changes in spending habits that occur when taxes and prices increase.

No, President Trump’s Tariffs Haven’t Generated $8 Trillion in Revenue
The federal government has taken in roughly $160 billion through tariffs in 2025.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/no-president-trump-s-tariffs-haven-t-generated-8-trillion-in-revenue/ar-AA1LZYLT

Reuters: Trump administration drops defense of ban on employee ‘noncompete’ agreements

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  • Rule barred agreements commonly signed by workers
  • Judicial rulings had blocked the Biden-era rule

 President Donald Trump‘s administration abandoned on Friday the U.S. government’s legal defense of a rule adopted under former President Joe Biden that had banned agreements commonly signed by workers not to join rivals of their employers or launch competing businesses.

The U.S. Justice Department filed motions in federal appeals courts in New Orleans and Atlanta to dismiss separate appeals of rulings by two judges that struck down the 2024 U.S. Federal Trade Commission rule concerning “noncompete” agreements. Republicans and business groups have criticized the rule.

The move was expected after FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, who was appointed to the post by Trump and had previously criticized the rule, said in February that the agency was reviewing it. The appeals involve legal challenges to the rule by a marketing firm and a real estate developer, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups.

Dropping the appeals means the courts will not have a chance to address the novel question of whether the commission, which enforces federal antitrust laws, can adopt sweeping regulations such as its nationwide ban on “noncompete” agreements.

More than 20% of U.S. workers have signed noncompete agreements, according to the FTC. The agency, in adopting the rule, had said the agreements limit worker mobility and suppress wages and competition for labor.

Ferguson and other Republicans on the commission have said the FTC has limited rulemaking powers and cannot adopt blanket bans on what it views as anticompetitive conduct.

During Trump’s first term as president, his administration had argued in court that while specific provisions of noncompetes can be unlawful, the agreements themselves were not.

The FTC on Thursday announced its first legal action of Trump’s second term related to noncompete agreements, a settlement barring the largest U.S. pet cremation business from enforcing these agreements with 1,800 workers.

The agency in that case, opens new tab said that the company’s broad agreements, signed even by low-level employees, unlawfully suppressed competitors’ entry into the pet cremation market.

Regressive! Non-compete agreements often unfairly make it all but impossible for many people to find jobs.

Trump administration drops defense of ban on employee ‘noncompete’ agreements
President Donald Trump’s administration abandoned on Friday the U.S. government’s legal defense of a rule adopted under former President Joe Biden that had banned agreements commonly signed by workers not to join rivals of their employers or launch competing businesses.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trump-administration-drops-defense-ban-employee-noncompete-agreements-2025-09-06

L.A. Times: Postal traffic to U.S. down 80% after Trump ended exemption on low-value parcels

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  • Postal traffic to the United States plunged 80% after the Trump administration eliminated tariff exemptions for imported goods valued under $800.
  • Eighty-eight postal operators worldwide suspended services because carriers cannot collect the newly required customs duties on low-value parcels.
  • The change ends a duty-free exemption that existed since 1938, with tariffs now ranging from 10% to 50% on previously exempt goods.

Postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after the Trump administration ended a tariff exemption for low-cost imports, the United Nations postal agency said Saturday.

The Universal Postal Union says it has started rolling out new measures that can help postal operators around the world calculate and collect duties, or taxes, after the U.S. eliminated the “de minimis” exemption for lower-value parcels.

Eighty-eight postal operators have told the UPU that they have suspended some or all postal services to the United States until a solution is implemented with regard to U.S.-bound parcels valued at $800 or less, which had been the cutoff for imported goods to escape customs charges.

“The global network saw postal traffic to the U.S. come to a near-halt after the implementation of the new rules on Aug. 29, 2025, which for the first time placed the burden of customs duty collection and remittance on transportation carriers or U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency-approved qualified parties,” the UPU said in a statement.

The UPU said information exchanged among postal operators through its electronic network showed traffic from its 192 member countries — nearly all the nations in the world — had fallen 81% on Aug. 29 compared with a week earlier.

The Bern, Switzerland-based agency said the “major operational disruptions” have occurred because airlines and other carriers indicated they weren’t willing or able to collect such duties, and foreign postal operators had not established a link to CBP-qualified companies.

Before the measure took effect, the postal union sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to express concerns about its effect.

The de minimis exemption has existed in some form since 1938, and the administration says the exemption has become a loophole that foreign businesses exploit to evade tariffs and criminals use to get drugs into the United States.

Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs now require vetting and are subject to their origin country’s applicable tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.

While the change applies to the products of every country, U.S. residents will not have to pay duties on incoming gifts valued at up to $100, or up to $200 worth of personal souvenirs from trips abroad, according to the White House.

The UPU said its members had not been given enough time or guidance to comply with the procedures outlined in the executive order President Trump signed on July 30 to eliminate the duty-free eligibility of low-value goods.

Postal traffic to U.S. down 80% after Trump ended exemption on low-value parcels
The U.N. postal agency says postal traffic into the United States plunged by more than 80% after a Trump administration move to end a tariff exemption for low-cost imports.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-09-06/postal-traffic-to-us-sank-80-after-trump-administration-ended-exemption-on-low-value-parcels

Reuters: In Chicago, ICE fears turn Mexican parade into a ghost town

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A normally raucous, colorful parade to mark Mexican Independence Day in Chicago turned quiet and nervous on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he intended to ramp up deportations in the nation’s third-largest city.

In a break from traditional celebrations, twirling folklorico dancers decked in glimmering jewelry and billowing, multi-colored dresses distributed “know your rights” pamphlets to sparse crowds in the city’s historically Mexican Pilsen neighborhood. Horses wore the colors of Mexico’s flag in their tails, while their riders wore neon-orange whistles around their necks in case they needed to alert attendees of Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. Along the sidelines, volunteers also kept watch for ICE.

“This place would normally be packed,” Eddie Chavez, a lifelong Pilsen resident, said while waving a Mexican flag in a lone row of lawn chairs along the parade route. “Now it’s empty, like a ghost town.”

Trump alluded to immigration raids in Chicago in a Truth Social post that echoed the movie Apocalypse Now.

“I love the smell of deportations in the morning,” his post said, opens new tab, above an image of Trump in a military uniform juxtaposed against flames and Chicago’s skyline. “Chicago is about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”

Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rename the Department of Defense as the “Department of War.”

Illinois Govornor JB Pritzker, a Democrat and vocal critic of Trump, said on Tuesday he believed ICE raids would coincide with Mexican Independence day festivals scheduled for this weekend and next weekend. Some Mexican festivals in the Chicago area were postponed or canceled, opens new tab amid fears of immigration raids.

“We’re scared, but we’re here,” said Isabel Garcia, a dancer in Saturday’s parade wearing a marigold-yellow dress and multi-colored ribbons and flowers in her hair.

“We’re Mexican. We have to celebrate, and they’re not going to stop us.”

ICE has not responded to requests for comment on whether it sent more agents to Chicago, and residents said they had not seen significantly stepped-up immigration enforcement so far.

A large protest against ICE was expected later on Saturday in Chicago, after thousands turned out for a Labor Day protest on Monday.

Trump last month deployed National Guard troops to Washington, saying they would “re-establish law, order, and public safety.” In addition to Chicago, he has suggested the possibility of deploying troops to Democratic-run Baltimore in Maryland.

In Chicago, ICE fears turn Mexican parade into a ghost town
“We’re Mexican. We have to celebrate, and they’re not going to stop us.”

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/chicago-ice-fears-turn-mexican-parade-into-ghost-town-2025-09-06

Slingshot News: ‘Was That Part Of The Deal?’: Sen. Dick Durbin Torches GOP Colleagues Over Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ In Scathing Remarks

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‘Was That Part Of The Deal?‘: Sen. Dick Durbin Torches GOP Colleagues Over Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ In Scathing Remarks
On the Senate floor several days ago, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) addressed Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and his lies about Donald Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.” Durbin discussed the real impacts of Trump’s bill (now law) on American families.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/was-that-part-of-the-deal-sen-dick-durbin-torches-gop-colleagues-over-trump-s-big-beautiful-bill-in-scathing-remarks/vi-AA1M0UBR

CNN: Trump says Chicago ‘will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR’ ahead of planned crackdown

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President Donald Trump posted a meme on social media Saturday saying that Chicago “will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” as the city’s officials brace for an immigration crackdown.

“I love the smell of deportations in the morning … Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR,” the post reads. Trump signed an executive order Friday to rebrand the Pentagon as the “Department of War.”

The post includes what appears to be an artificially generated image of the president wearing a hat and sunglasses, with the Chicago skyline in the background, accompanied by text reading “Chipocalypse Now.”

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Saturday called Trump’s post “not normal.”

“The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal,” Pritzker wrote on X. “Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator.”

It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most-populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago, and that officials there were bracing for it to begin as early as Friday.

In recent days, personnel from Immigration and Border Protection as well as Customs and Border Protection have begun trickling into the city, White House officials told CNN.

The Trump administration has also reserved the right to call in the National Guard if there is a reaction to the operation that warrants it, the officials said. The Chicago operation is being modeled off of a similar operation carried out in Los Angeles in June. A judge ruled this week that the June deployment broke federal law prohibiting the military from law enforcement activity on US soil in most cases; the Trump administration has appealed.

White House officials have made clear the Chicago immigration crackdown is distinct from the idea the president has floated to use federal law enforcement and National Guard troops to carry out a broader crime crackdown in the city, similar to the operation in Washington, DC.

When asked by a reporter Tuesday about sending National Guard troops into the city, Trump said, “We’re going,” adding, “I didn’t say when. We’re going in.”

Democratic officials who represent Chicago and Illinois also condemned Trump’s post Saturday.

“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” wrote Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on social media. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth described Trump’s post on X as “Stolen valor at its worst,” writing, “Take off that Cavalry hat, you draft dodger. You didn’t earn the right to wear it.”

Rep. Mike Quigley, who represents part of Chicago, said Saturday afternoon on CNN that the post is an example of Trump “edging more and more toward authoritarianism.”

“This is a scary time. For those who haven’t paid attention, it’s time to watch what this president is doing,” Quigley said.

Trump says Chicago ‘will find out why it’s called the Department of WAR’ ahead of planned crackdown | CNN Politics
It comes as Trump has ramped up his rhetoric against the country’s third most-populous city. CNN previously reported the Trump administration’s plans to conduct a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/06/politics/trump-chicago-war-meme-post

Raw Story: Stephen Miller boasts about ‘rich resources’ in nation targeted by Trump for regime change

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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller couldn’t help but note Venezuela’s “rich resources and reserves” Saturday when speaking to a reporter in Washington, D.C., his comments made amid the Trump administration’s growing fixation on enacting regime change in the South American nation.

“It is a drug cartel that is running Venezuela; it is not a government, it is a drug cartel, a narco-trafficking organization that is running Venezuela,” Miller said, fielding questions from reporters. “The people of Venezuela have been suffering and struggling under the reality of a nation that is so rich in resources, so rich in reserves, that is run by (Venezuelan President Nicolas] Maduro, the head of the cartel.”

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have risen in recent weeks, especially after the deadly U.S. precision strike this week on a supposed drug vessel heading toward American shores, an execution-style strike that has widely been condemned as amounting to murder.

President Donald Trump escalated tensions further when on Friday, he indicated that the United States would shoot down Venezuelan jets were they to fly over American naval ships, with at least eight warships and one submarine currently deployed off of Venezuela’s coast.

“Many Americans may not realize that the drugs killing their kids are coming from Maduro; also, the criminal aliens killing their kids are coming from Maduro,” Miller continued.

“So he’s sending his drugs, he is sending his killers, his assassins into our communities, and he’s working directly with other designated foreign terrorist organizations like the [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia], and all the Mexican drug cartels, so it’s one continuous loop.”

Maduro was indicted by the Justice Department on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges in 2020, with the Trump administration issuing a $50 million bounty for his capture.

Given the Trump administration’s designation of drug cartels as terrorists, which permits the administration to carry out execution-style strikes on drug traffickers, a Trump official has admitted that Trump is keeping the idea of assassinating Maduro via strike “as an option.” Trump officials have also spoken favorably about the idea of enacting regime change in Venezuela.

“Maduro is an indicted drug trafficker, a fugitive from justice in America,” Miller said.

To watch the video, use this link.

Stephen Miller boasts about ‘rich resources’ in nation targeted by Trump for regime change

https://www.rawstory.com/venezuela

Associated Press: South Sudan repatriates Mexican man deported from US in July

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South Sudan said Saturday it repatriated to Mexico a man deported from the United States in July.

The man, a Mexican identified as Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez, was among a group of eight who have been in government custody in the east African country since their deportation from the U.S.

Another deportee, a South Sudanese national, has since been freed while six others remain in custody.

Munoz-Gutierrez’s repatriation to Mexico was carried out by South Sudan’s foreign ministry in concert with the Mexican Embassy in neighboring Ethiopia, the South Sudanese foreign ministry said in a statement.

The repatriation was carried out “in full accordance with relevant international law, bilateral agreements, and established diplomatic protocols,” it said.

In comments to journalists in Juba, the South Sudan capital, Munoz-Gutierrez said he “felt kidnapped” when the U.S. sent him to South Sudan.

“I was not planning to come to South Sudan, but while I was here they treated me well,” he said. “I finished my time in the United States, and they were supposed to return me to Mexico. Instead, they wrongfully sent me to South Sudan.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said that Munoz-Gutierrez had a conviction for second-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

South Sudan is engaging other countries about repatriating the six deportees still in custody, said Apuk Ayuel Mayen, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.

It is not clear if the deportees have access to legal representation.

Rights groups have argued that the Trump administration’s increasing practice of deporting migrants to third countries violates international law and the basic rights of migrants.

The deportations have faced opposition by courts in the U.S., though the Supreme Court in June allowed the government to restart swift removals of migrants to countries other than their homelands.

Other African nations receiving deportees from the U.S. include Uganda, Eswatini and Rwanda. Eswatini, in southern Africa, received five men with criminal backgrounds in July. Rwanda announced the arrival of a group of seven deportees in mid-August.

South Sudan repatriates Mexican man deported from US in July
South Sudan has repatriated a Mexican man deported from the United States in July. Jesus Munoz-Gutierrez was among eight people held in South Sudan since their deportation.

https://apnews.com/article/south-sudan-us-mexico-deportations-924ebd609d65efc6681f4bb59b6cc94e

Wichita Eagle: Two Dozen Arrested in Sweeping ICE Operation

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ICE has reportedly arrested two dozen individuals for suspected federal immigration law violations, with advocacy groups claiming the number is as high as 26. Critics argued that officers surveilled workers prior to the detentions. ICE stated that some of those arrested have criminal histories, including seven with final orders of removal. The arrests occurred during a targeted operation, though officials have not disclosed the specific locations.

Advocacy groups have criticized the timing and tactics, calling them disruptive and harmful to local communities. ICE stated, “ICE remains dedicated to upholding the immigration system’s integrity while prioritizing the removals of aliens who undermine the safety and security of the United States.”

ICE said the operation followed an investigation identifying multiple alleged immigration law violators. The agency has declined to release full identities and charges.

Advocacy groups reported that the detained workers were traveling to a Mount Nittany Medical Center construction site. The groups have trained volunteers to monitor ICE activity and called for greater transparency on the arrests.

Centre County Rapid Response Network representatives jointly stated, “A main focus of CCRRN is protecting the constitutional right to due process. If we take this right away from some, we run the risk of taking it away from all.”

The representatives added, “Due process appears to be eroding, and unless we all have these rights, eventually many of us may not have them. We have a duty to care for all segments of our population, believing that unless all are safe, none are safe.”

Pennsylvania State Police initially said troopers had no involvement in the Centre County ICE activity. They later clarified that troopers stopped nearby but left after being told operations were underway.

The Rapid Response Network claimed the arrests have harmed public safety perceptions among immigrant and nonimmigrant residents. The group called for more information on due process and detention conditions.

Two Dozen Arrested in Sweeping ICE Operation
ICE has reportedly arrested two dozen individuals for suspected federal immigration law violations, with advocacy groups claiming the number is as high as 26. Critics argued that officers surveilled workers prior to the detentions. ICE stated that some of those arrested have criminal histories, including seven with final orders of removal. The arrests occurred duringContinue reading “Two Dozen Arrested in Sweeping ICE Operation”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/two-dozen-arrested-in-sweeping-ice-operation/ar-AA1M155w