News

It's nice to see the senate opposition functioning.

Edit: 18 hours of holding the senate floor, giving voice to the american people. Lots of tears as american suffering is read out loud for the congressional record. Testiment from Americans across the country. This is the voice of the people. Please click the link, share and watch. The media needs to know we care about the opposition more than we care about trump rambling on a plane about fort knox.

Summary

ICE admitted it mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia—despite his legal protection from removal—to El Salvador’s brutal CECOT prison.

A Maryland judge had barred his deportation due to gang threats in El Salvador.

The Trump administration claims it can't intervene since he’s no longer in U.S. custody.

His family is suing to compel his return. The administration also deported over 200 Venezuelans using emergency powers, some without criminal records, sparking legal challenges and criticism of its use of the Alien Enemies Act.

https://archive.ph/8GaWL

Summary

A leak allegedly involving 2.87 billion Twitter (X) user profiles has surfaced on Breach Forums, with claims it was stolen by a disgruntled employee during recent layoffs.

The leak, shared by known forum user "ThinkingOne," includes detailed metadata like bios, follower counts, tweet history, and account activity—but not email addresses.

Despite its scale, X has issued no response. The incident raises major privacy concerns amid silence from the company and speculation over the data's true origin.

https://archive.ph/yZnHu

Attorney General Pam Bondi has said the Department of Justice will seek a 20-year prison sentence for a man accused of throwing a firebomb at a Tesla dealership.

Bondi said Monday that Cooper Jo Frederick, who is accused of attacking a Tesla dealership in Loveland, Colorado, on March 7, would face federal charges.

Summary

Rightwing groups across the US are driving a wave of legislation to restrict books in school and public libraries, targeting content deemed “sexually explicit” or “obscene,” often affecting LGBTQ+ and race-related titles.

Texas leads with 31 bills and 538 book bans in the 2023–24 school year.

Proposed laws, like Texas Senate Bill 13, shift book selection power from librarians to parent-led advisory boards.

Critics, including librarians and legal scholars, warn these efforts amount to censorship, risk violating First Amendment rights, and reduce access in underserved communities.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/60051791

> A leaked memo from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Research Service division revealed Sunday that the agency has banned some key language from its vocabulary, including the words “climate” and “vulnerable,” as well as the phrase “safe drinking water.” > >Other baffling entries on the memo’s banned language list are “greenhouse gas emissions,” “methane emissions,” “sustainable construction,” “solar energy,” and “geothermal,” as well as “nuclear energy,” “diesel,” “affordable housing,” “prefabricated housing,” “runoff,” “microplastics,” “water pollution,” “soil pollution,” “groundwater pollution,” “sediment remediation,” “water collection,” “water treatment,” “rural water,” and “clean water,” among dozens of others.

• The USIP is now headed by a 28-year-old, per a federal court filing.
• DOGE named Nate Cavanaugh, a tech entrepreneur and college dropout, as the USIP's acting president.
• Lawyers for the USIP said nearly all of the institute's staff in the US have been fired.

https://archive.ph/fkjbG

Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on Tuesday that she had directed federal prosecutors to seek the penalty for the "premeditated, cold-blooded assassination".

In the press release, Bondi said Mr Thompson's murder "was an act of political violence" and that it "may have posed grave risk of death to additional persons" nearby.

A lawyer for Mr Mangione called the decision "barbaric", accused the government of "defending the broken, immoral, and murderous healthcare industry", and said Mr Mangione was caught in a tug-of-war between state and federal prosecutors.

"While claiming to protect against murder, the federal government moves to commit the pre-meditated, state-sponsored murder of Luigi," said Karen Friedman Agnifilo in a statement.

[These are highlights, for the full article, use link]

Summary

NOAA is facing turmoil as over 1,000 staff have been fired or resigned under Trump’s push to downsize the federal workforce, with 1,000 more cuts expected.

Elon Musk’s DOGE has disrupted weather operations, including halting weather balloon launches and briefly firing hurricane tracking staff.

A faulty, unsecured email server flooded employees with spam, symbolizing the chaos.

Critics warn the cuts threaten public safety, climate research, and marine oversight. Protests have emerged as staff face uncertainty and deteriorating agency operations.

Nearly half of US states sued the federal government and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today in a bid to halt the termination of $11 billion in public health grants. The lawsuit was filed by 23 states and the District of Columbia.

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On Friday, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles was fired without explanation in an terse email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office shortly after a right-wing activist posted about him on social media, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were concerned about potential retribution.

That followed the White House’s firing last week of a longtime career prosecutor who had been serving as acting U.S. attorney in Memphis, Tennessee.

The terminations marked an escalation of norm-shattering moves that have embroiled the Justice Department in turmoil and have raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the agency’s independence from the White House. That one of them was fired on the same day a conservative internet personality called for his removal adds to questions about how outside influences may be helping to shape government personnel decisions.

https://archive.ph/azp4H

Members of President Donald Trump’s National Security Council, including White House national security adviser Michael Waltz, have conducted government business over personal Gmail accounts, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post and interviews with three U.S. officials.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27985235

> Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. > > The fewer seats republicans have in the US house, the harder it is to get their stuff through. Moreover, if these seats flip or show a strong overperformance, Republicans will be way more weary about going along with Trump

Summary

Elon Musk sparked alarm among law enforcement by publicly revealing details of a planned Social Security fraud arrest during a livestream supporting a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate.

Musk claimed knowledge of a suspect accused of stealing 400,000 Social Security numbers, raising concerns from federal officials over breaching investigative confidentiality.

Musk's comments echoed unverified claims of undocumented immigrants defrauding benefits and voting.

DOJ declined to comment, while insiders worry Musk’s disclosures jeopardize sensitive operations.

Summary

Jeremy Lewin, a senior Doge appointee overseeing the shutdown of USAID, faces allegations of misogyny, racism, and violent behavior, according to a Rolling Stone investigation based on interviews with 10 acquaintances.

Claims include threatening a girl with a knife, physically assaulting a student, and making racist remarks, including support for the Great Replacement Theory.

Lewin signed USAID’s closure notice and previously worked with legal scholar Laurence Tribe.

The Trump administration and DOGE have not responded. The report follows previous scandals involving controversial Musk-backed hires.

I'm not sure if this is the correct community, but I found it interesting/terrifying and was circulating in a local discord. It's made in Tableau.

Summary

Elon Musk is finalizing the shutdown of USAID, firing over 10,000 foreign national staff and hundreds of U.S. diplomats and civil servants by September.

Congress was notified that USAID’s overseas offices will close, with some functions absorbed by the State Department.

The move follows Trump and Musk’s claims—without evidence—that USAID is corrupt.

The closure halts over 5,000 aid programs and disrupts services in 60+ countries, affecting recipients in Ukraine, Jordan, Gaza, and elsewhere who depend on U.S. humanitarian support.

> Today, Attorney General Pamela Bondi released the following statement: > > “Luigi Mangione’s murder of Brian Thompson — an innocent man and father of two young children — was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trump’s agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again.”

Summary

The Department of Health and Human Services began laying off 10,000 employees Tuesday as part of a major workforce reduction led by Elon Musk.

The cuts, affecting the CDC, FDA, NIH, and CMS, target divisions focused on HIV, minority health, drug approvals, and vaccine oversight.

Entire teams, like the FDA’s media office, were eliminated. Dr. Peter Marks, a key vaccine regulator, was also ousted.

Critics, including lawmakers, warn the layoffs threaten public health.

> Reporting Highlights > -- > - Unexpected Role: Flight attendants were told they would fly rock bands, sports teams and sun-seekers. Then Global Crossing Airlines started expanding into federal deportation flights. > - Human Struggles: Some flight attendants said they ignored orders not to interact with detainees. “I’d say ‘hola’ back,” said one flight attendant. “We’re not jerks.” > - Safety Concerns: Flight attendants received training in how to evacuate passengers but said they weren’t told how to usher out detainees whose hands and legs were bound by shackles.

> The administration froze $400 million in funding to Columbia last month over similar concerns

> The Department of Education announced Monday it's investigating 60 colleges and universities over allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination.

MBFC

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/41630293

> > She said her lecture was going to discuss humanitarian aid in a time of crises as well as the challenges aid workers have faced in Gaza and other war zones. > > > “[I was told] that discussing the USAID cuts could be perceived as an anti-governmental narrative,” Liu told Global in an interview on Friday. She added that NYU, her alma mater, also said her lecture risked being perceived as antisemitic.

Summary

Sen. Cory Booker spoke for 25 hours and 4 minutes on the Senate floor, breaking the 1957 record held by Strom Thurmond, to protest the Trump administration’s policies.

Starting at 7 p.m. Monday, Booker criticized Trump's actions on immigration, education, healthcare, and democracy.

Over a dozen Senate Democrats joined to support him. Unlike a filibuster, Booker’s speech wasn't tied to a specific bill.

His emotionally charged address drew over 115,000 livestream viewers and contrasted starkly with Thurmond’s segregationist stand decades ago.

> Three others also suffered lasting disabilities, according to FDA reports obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request

• Bloomberg.
• The Boston Globe.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27991220

> Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem, Malak A Tantesh in Gaza and Julian Borger > Tue 1 Apr 2025 14.17 EDT > > "Dr Ahmed al-Farra, a senior doctor at the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis, witnessed the arrival of some of the remains. > > “I was able to see three bodies when they were transferred to the Nasser hospital. They had bullets in their chest and head. They were executed. They had their hands tied,’’ Farra said. “They tied them so they were unable to move and then they killed them.”"

> The Center for Public Integrity, a thirty-six-year-old nonprofit newsroom in Washington, DC, that won acclaim for its investigations but has endured financial and organizational turmoil for much of the past decade, has ceased publishing and is in talks to turn over its archives to the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), an anti-corruption watchdog group.

Many communities marked their driest winters on record, snowpack was nearly nonexistent in some spots, and vegetation remains tinder dry -- all ingredients for elevated wildfire risks.

More than 1,000 firefighters and fire managers recently participated in an annual wildfire academy in Arizona, where training covered everything from air operations to cutting back brush with chain saws and building fire lines. Academy officials say there’s consensus that crews will be busy as forecasts call for more warm and dry weather, particularly for the Southwest.

Experts with NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information reported in early March that total winter precipitation in the U.S. was just shy of 6 inches (15.24 centimeters) — or nearly an inch (2.54 centimeters) below average. The period of December through the end of February — what forecasters consider the meteorological winter — ranked the third driest on record.

TLDR: SUVs cause traffic jams.

Actual study (full article): The rise of trucks and the fall of throughput by Yang Gao & David Levinson

Some fungal diseases in humans no longer respond to medicines, which increases the risk of severe illness and death as well disease spread, according to a new report.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) published what it calls its first-ever report on the lack of tests and treatments for fungal infections.

Yeasts, moulds and mushrooms are all examples of fungi. Common toenail infections or vaginal yeast infections are common and treatable, but that's not always the case.

"Fungal diseases are an increasing public health concern, with common infections — such as Candida, which causes oral and vaginal thrush — growing increasingly resistant to treatment," WHO said.