Category Archives: US News

Minnesota Republican charged with soliciting a minor resigns from state senate

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Justin Eichorn, 40, faces federal charge after allegedly trying to meet with underage girl found through sex ad

A Minnesota state lawmaker who is accused of trying to buy sex from an underage girl resigned from the state senate on Thursday before his colleagues were set to vote to expel him.

Justin Eichorn, a Republican, was charged with a felony in federal court Wednesday for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor after responding to online sex ads and trying to arrange a meetup with a 17-year-old.

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Trump to dramatically downsize education department but it will still handle student loans, says White House – live

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Press secretary Karoline Leavitt says DoE will be ‘much smaller’ due to executive order Trump will sign as critics say it is ‘dark day’ for US children

Another, perhaps more worrying sign, of the Trump administration’s approach to economic policy was revealed yesterday, when commerce secretary Howard Lutnick recommended in a Fox News interview that people buy Tesla stock.

That’s the electric car company led by Elon Musk, who is busy right now cutting down the US government at the behest of Lutnick’s boss, Donald Trump.

I think if you want to learn something on this show tonight, buy Tesla. It’s unbelievable that this guy’s stock is this cheap. It’ll never be this cheap again. When people understand the things he’s building, the robots he’s building, the technology he’s building, people are going to be dreaming of today, and … thinking gosh, I should have bought Elon Musk’s stock.

The Fed would be MUCH better off CUTTING RATES as U.S.Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing. April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!

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Oklahoma executes man by lethal injection amid spate of judicial killings

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Wendell Grissom, executed for fatally shooting a woman, will be one of four people put to death in US this week

Oklahoma executed a man on Thursday for fatally shooting a woman during a home invasion and robbery 20 years ago.

Wendell Grissom, 56, was declared dead by lethal injection at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester at 10.13am, a prison official told the Associated Press. It was Oklahoma’s first execution of 2025.

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White House says Trump is right to call for impeachment of ‘partisan judges’

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Chief justice issued rebuke after Trump called for removal of Judge James Boasberg over immigrant deportation case

Donald Trump is right to call for the impeachment and removal of a federal judge who ruled against his hardline immigration policy, a deputy White House chief of staff said, amid predictions of a constitutional crisis should the administration continue to defy the courts.

“I think the president is right we should impeach activist partisan judges,” James Blair told Politico. “The question is, will that happen. I think that remains to be seen. We’ll see.”

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‘Not for sale’: USPS workers hold day of action to warn of Trump’s ‘illegal takeover’

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Employees brace for president to transfer or privatize Postal Service, which they say will slash jobs and boost prices

US Postal Service workers and advocates are holding a day of action today in more than 150 cities as they brace for the Trump administration to launch an “illegal hostile takeover” which they warn will slash jobs, boost prices and shut down post offices.

Donald Trump’s officials are weighing plans to transfer the USPS to the Department of Commerce, stripping it of its independence. The president and his allies have also signaled they are willing to privatize the service.

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US man released after being held by Taliban for more than two years

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George Glezmann was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist

A US man who was abducted more than two years ago while traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist has been released by the Taliban in a deal brokered by Donald Trump’s hostage envoy, Adam Boehler, and Qatari negotiators.

George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, is the third American detainee to be released by the Taliban since January. He was seized by the Taliban’s intelligence services in December 2022 and was designated by the US government as wrongfully detained the following year.

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Fired FTC commissioner raises concern over Trump ties to tech billionaires

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Alvaro Bedoya points to ‘interesting coincidence’ that he was dismissed after criticizing Amazon’s Jeff Bezos

A day after his abrupt firing by Donald Trump from the Federal Trade Commission, Alvaro Bedoya raised questions about the US president’s relations with some of the country’s richest men.

Appearing at a hearing of the joint judiciary committee of the state legislature in Colorado on Wednesday, the ousted Democratic commissioner said it was an “interesting coincidence” his final public statement in post had blasted Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder.

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University of California imposes hiring freeze in response to Trump cuts

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President Michael Drake also directs campuses to cut costs, such as delaying maintenance and reducing business travel

The University of California has imposed a system-wide hiring freeze and made additional cuts, its president said on Wednesday, as part of efforts to mitigate the expected impact of sharp cuts in federal funding under the Trump administration.

In a letter to staff and students, the school’s president, Michael Drake, said he had also directed all UC locations to implement cost-saving measures, such as delaying maintenance and reducing business travel, to help conserve funds.

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First thing: Russia attacks Ukraine hours after partial ceasefire agreed in Putin-Trump call

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Zelenskyy says he will contact US president to discuss the call with Russian leader following the attack. Plus, dolphins welcome Nasa astronauts back to Earth

Good morning.

Russia attacked Ukraine with kamikaze drones and S-300 surface-to-air missiles overnight, Ukrainian authorities said, hours after Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he would sign up to a partial and temporary ceasefire.

What has Volodymyr Zelenskyy said? The Ukrainian president said he would reach out to Trump today to discuss the call with Putin, adding that the “next steps cannot be done without us”.

What could be repealed? One of the most consequential actions will see the EPA reconsider a landmark 2009 finding that greenhouse gases harm human health, which has been used to underpin laws aimed at addressing the climate crisis.

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Value of Elon Musk’s X ‘rebounds to $44bn purchase price’

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Dramatic reversal of fortune for platform since billionaire owner became key ally of Donald Trump

The value of Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has reportedly soared back to the $44bn he paid for it, in a dramatic reversal of fortunes since the billionaire became a key ally of Donald Trump.

Investors valued the site formerly known as Twitter at $44bn (£33.9bn) in a secondary deal earlier this month, in which they exchange existing stakes in the company, according to a Financial Times report.

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Pentagon reportedly planning to cut workforce by at least 50,000 – US politics live

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Cuts are expected to come from hire freezes, dismissing some probationary workers and by people taking up an offer to resign

The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration is planning additional tariffs on imports to the US running into “trillions” of dollars.

Speaking anonymously to the paper, a person described as familiar with the planning confirmed the sum involved would be in the “trillions” of dollars.

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Debunked myths that vaccines cause autism are increasing stigma

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As parents resist vaccines over vague potential harms, advocates call it a case of ‘morals more than science’

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to devote research dollars to the debunked myth that vaccines cause autism – legitimizing stigma not only around vaccines, but around autism itself.

Matthew Shallenberger, father to an 11-year-old autistic son in Tennessee, says this myth is harmful because “it treats autism as some dreadful disease to avoid at all costs.”

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Semisonic denounces White House use of ‘Closing Time’ in deportation video

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Grammy-nominated band says Trump administration ‘missed the point’ and song is about ‘joy, possibilities, hope’

The band Semisonic has said the Donald Trump White House “missed the point” of its hit Closing Time “entirely” when the administration used the Emmy-nominated song in a social media post showing a shackled person being deported.

A statement from Semisonic also said the White House did not have permission to use the song in that manner.

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Trump waging ‘sickening’ psychological war, deported Venezuelan’s lawyer says

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One detained man’s lawyer says he is gay artist who had fled persecution in his home country, not a gang member

A lawyer for one of the Venezuelan immigrants sent from the US to a notorious mega prison in El Salvador has accused the Trump administration of waging a “sickening” campaign of psychological warfare against asylum seekers and migrants.

“In my 15 years of representing people in removal proceedings in the United States, this is the most shocking thing that I’ve ever seen happen to one of our clients,” said Lindsay Toczylowski, a California-based lawyer for the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) group.

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Democrat vows to ‘stop Doge’s illegal power grab’ at non-profit peace institute

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Congressman Don Beyer refused entry to US Institute of Peace after independent body taken over by Musk group

A senior Democratic congressman vowed to “stop Doge’s illegal power grab” after operatives from Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency” gained entry to the US Institute of Peace in Washington – an independent organization established by Congress – and forced out its leaders.

“I was at USIP tonight to conduct congressional oversight over Doge’s break-in,” Don Beyer of Virginia said on Monday. “I spoke with [removed] acting president & CEO [George] Moose. USIP is an independent, non-profit entity and I will work to stop Doge’s illegal power grab.”

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Tesla stake is no longer Elon Musk’s most valuable asset amid stock market sell-off

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SpaceX, Musk’s private rockets and satellites business, is now largest asset for the first time in five years

Elon Musk’s vast stake in Tesla is no longer his most valuable asset as the electric car company continues to endure a sharp stock market sell-off.

Musk’s stake in SpaceX, his private rockets and satellites business, is now the billionaire tycoon’s largest asset for the first time in five years, according to Forbes, which still pegs his net worth at $323bn – more than anyone else in the world.

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German man with green card ‘violently interrogated’ by US border officials

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Berlin checking if US immigration policy has changed after Fabian Schmidt becomes third German to be detained

Berlin is investigating whether US immigration policy has changed, after a German national who is a permanent US resident was detained and “violently interrogated” by US border officials.

Fabian Schmidt, 34, is being held at a detention centre in Rhode Island after attempting to return to his home in New Hampshire after a trip to Luxembourg.

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Family of girl recovering from brain surgery describes ‘serious abuses’ while detained in US

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US citizen girl deported with mixed-status family, who filed complaint over denied healthcare and poor conditions

A family that was recently removed from the United States to Mexico has filed a complaint seeking an investigation into what they describe as “serious abuses” they say they faced during their detention in the US prior to their removal.

The mixed-status family includes two undocumented parents and six children, five of whom are US citizens. On 4 February, five of the children, including four who are US citizens, and the two parents were removed from Texas and sent to Mexico after they were stopped at an immigration checkpoint.

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Man charged in US Capitol attack announces run for Senate in Florida

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Jake Lang, charged with attacking police during riot and pardoned by Trump, seeks to fill seat Marco Rubio’s old seat

A man accused of battling police with a baseball bat and shield during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol announced a run for the US Senate in Florida.

“WE ARE TAKING OVER THE CAPITOL AGAIN,” Jake Lang, a prominent January 6 defendant, wrote on X, announcing he is seeking the seat vacated by now secretary of state Marco Rubio in 2026.

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Duterte’s arrest gives ‘a sense impunity ends’, says Nobel peace prize winner

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Maria Ressa says rules-based order ‘can perhaps still exist’ but social media is being used to undermine democracy around the world

The arrest of Rodrigo Duterte is a welcome sign that the rules-based order continues to hold, the Nobel laureate Maria Ressa has said, even as the global order has been marred by the US “descending into hell” at the hands of the same forces that consumed the Philippines.

Ressa’s remarks came after Duterte, the former president of the Philippines, made his first appearance before the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague, accused of committing crimes against humanity during his brutal “war on drugs”.

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