Author: Reporter

Assassination of a Minnesota Democratic leader deepens national alarm over political violence

Hundreds of law officers fanned out across a Minneapolis suburb on June 14 in pursuit of a man who authorities say posed as a police officer and fatally shot a Democratic state lawmaker in her home in what Governor Tim Walz called “a politically motivated assassination.” Authorities said the suspect also shot and wounded a second lawmaker and was believed to be trying to flee the area. Democratic former House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in their Brooklyn Park home. Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, were injured at their Champlin...

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Trump flip-flops on pauses to ICE raids in select industries after political allies warn of labor crisis

The Trump regime directed immigration officers to pause arrests at farms, restaurants, and hotels, after Donald Trump expressed alarm about the impact of aggressive enforcement, an official said on June 14. The move follows weeks of increased enforcement since Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and main architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would target at least 3,000 arrests a day, up from about 650 a day during the first five months of Trump’s second term. Tatum King, an official with ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, wrote regional leaders on June...

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How the military spectacle marking U.S. Army’s 250th birthday will unfold under Trump’s imperial gaze

The tanks are staged and ready to roll. Barriers are up. Protective metal plating has been laid out on Washington’s streets. And more than 6,000 troops are poised to march near the National Mall to honor the Army’s 250th anniversary on June 14, which happens to be Donald Trump’s 79th birthday. With preparations well in hand, one big unknown is the weather. Rain is in the forecast, so there is a chance the parade could be interrupted by thunderstorms. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said that rain or shine, the parade would go on. But it could be delayed...

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U.S. veterans divided over Trump’s militarized birthday spectacle seen as a patriotic loyalty test

A massive Soviet-style military parade planned in Washington DC has become a flashpoint for veterans and the public alike. Falsely promoted as a celebration of U.S. Army history, the event’s timing and structure have fueled accusations of politicization, deepening the divide over whether the orchestrated display honors service or exploits it. James McDonough served in the U.S. Army for 27 years, fighting in Vietnam and delivering humanitarian aid to Rwanda. For him, the June 14 military parade in Washington for the Army’s 250th anniversary, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s birthday, is about the resilience of a vital institution and...

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Military traditions of neutrality face strain as Trump drags U.S. military into his political agenda

Donald Trump took the extraordinary step of arbitrarily mobilizing the National Guard on June 7, and then the U.S. Marines, sending them into Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom quickly took Trump to court for unilaterally calling in the military to clamp down on peaceful protests against the administration’s draconian immigration policies. Trump followed that up with a campaign-style rally at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, where uniformed soldiers cheered as he disrespected former President Joe Biden, slammed Governor Newsom, and tried to humiliate other Democrats. While such toxic behavior is Trump’s signature brand,...

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Outrage after Senator Padilla tackled for opposing Noem’s coup threat against elected California leaders

“If this is how they respond to a senator with a question, imagine what they’re doing across the country … you can only imagine what they’re doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers, throughout the L.A. community and throughout California and throughout the country. We will hold this administration accountable. We’ll have more to say in the coming days.” – U.S. Senator Alex Padilla When videos first rocketed around the internet on June 12, showing security officers forcibly removing Democratic U.S. Senator Alex Padilla from a news conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in California, senators...

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