The Trump administration’s dismantling of U.S. foreign assistance institutions has left the country less prepared to respond to international health threats, such as the current Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, and has increased conflict in African countries that rely heavily on U.S. assistance.
Category: Uncategorized
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King Charles Takes Command of British Army Tank During Regiment Visit
King Charles is rolling heavy … climbing aboard a British Army tank and taking command during his first official visit to the Royal Tank Regiment. The 77-year-old monarch strapped on a helmet and headset Monday before riding in the commander’s…
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More than 1,000 arrested as part of global human trafficking crackdown
Interpol says the vast majority of the 2,070 victims or potential victims identified were women being trafficked for sex.
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Qualification questions haunt Trump’s new choice for ICE director
The Republicans’ domestic policy megabill, which President Donald Trump signed into law a year ago this week, was remarkable in a great many ways, but one of the arguably underappreciated elements of the far-right package was how much money it threw at Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The overall bill set aside $150 billion for immigration enforcement, with about $30 billion of that total going directly to ICE. To put that in context, Republicans nearly quadrupled the agency’s budget and ensured that ICE is far better funded than other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.
Nearly a year later, the GOP majority in Congress narrowly approved a spending package that will fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection for the remainder of Trump’s second term, agreeing to spend an additional $70 billion on immigration enforcement.
As ICE’s budget, powers and workforce grow in unprecedented ways, it is going to be a challenge to lead this rapidly expanding agency. That task will not fall on Todd Lyons, who recently stepped down after serving as ICE’s acting director for more than a year.
If the president has his way, the job will instead fall to someone with a surprisingly low public profile. The Wall Street Journal reported:
Before backing Lance Schroyer to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin got to know him in an unusual way: Schroyer led an Oklahoma Highway Patrol security detail at the home of the then-U.S. senator.
Mullin invited Schroyer in for dinner, and the two struck up a friendship, according to people familiar with their relationship.
The Journal’s report added that Schroyer’s personal connection to Mullin has catapulted him to one of the biggest jobs in the federal government, despite being “a relative unknown in national law-enforcement circles” and despite his inexperience in leading large departments or in a leadership role at the Department of Homeland Security.
The same article added that a variety of officials, including some at the White House, have raised concerns that the DHS secretary has put his trust in a personal friend “rather than someone with proven political acumen.”
It’s worth emphasizing that after Mullin left Capitol Hill to join the president’s cabinet, he brought Schroyer along and added him to the secretary’s DHS team. The Washington Examiner reported that Schroyer was “carrying [Mullin’s] briefcase” before Schroyer was “abruptly promoted” to senior adviser at DHS earlier this year. And now he’s Trump’s nominee to lead ICE.
The same report said, “Several current and former federal officials familiar with Schroyer’s background and ties to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told the Washington Examiner this week that his nomination was a ‘mistake’ that may do more to hurt Trump’s immigration agenda than help it.”
The nominee’s confirmation hearing has not yet been scheduled, though it’s likely to be a challenging process. Watch this space.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
The post Qualification questions haunt Trump’s new choice for ICE director appeared first on MS NOW.
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Job Cuts, Content Sharing, Exec Rejigs & Protracted Antitrust Scrutiny: Five Things You Need To Know About Sky’s “Historic” Takeover Of ITV
Sky’s planned £1.6 billion ($2.1 billion) takeover of ITV is an unprecedented coming together in British media, establishing the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster. The two companies aim to complete their union next year, creating what they described as a British “streaming champion,” even if their respective businesses are tied up in legacy linear television networks. […]
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Karoline Leavitt tries to quell MAGA fury after calling young people lazy
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried over the weekend to quell a firestorm of MAGA backlash after she depicted young people who struggle in Trump’s economy as lazy and entitled.
Poll after poll has shown that President Donald Trump’s support among young people has plummeted since he retook office, with his economic policies being a major reason. And Trump hasn’t helped his likability by describing the affordability crisis as a “hoax” and downplaying the need to lower housing costs.
As a 27-year-old member of the most corrupt and shamelessly self-enriching administration in modern U.S. history — and someone who has used her taxpayer-funded job to spread lies and launch childish insults on its behalf — Leavitt is arguably the epitome of entitlement.
But in an appearance on Fox News last week, she tried to cast that aspersion on other young people.
“My generation — I hate to say it, Gen Z and those younger than me —have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths, just getting everything handed to them,” she told Fox News host Jesse Watters.
She attributed this to “laziness and the liberal indoctrination,” while endorsing Watters’ proposal to make young people who “misbehave” join the Army.
“Or send them to Cuba, send them to Iran!” she said with glee.
Had the backlash to these comments been confined to liberals, Leavitt likely would have taken things in stride. But even conservatives were alarmed at how cruel and out of touch she sounded.
On Sunday, she posted on X that “bad faith actors” were taking her comments out of context, while doubling down on her contention that laziness is a scourge plaguing young people.
But the post did little to quiet her critics. And if the personal jabs from MAGA influencers citing Leavitt’s marriage to a wealthy real estate investor three decades her senior are any sign, she and the administration have a lot of work to do to improve their image in the eyes of young people — in the Republican Party and beyond.
The post Karoline Leavitt tries to quell MAGA fury after calling young people lazy appeared first on MS NOW.
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Even Michelle Obama’s LBD Is Deeply Intentional
Michelle Obama’s wardrobe has been defined by deep intentionality, and her recent Proenza Schouler look was no exception.
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Travis Kelce Pal Will Compton ‘Flabbergasted’ Over Taylor Swift Wedding Snub
It turns out being buddies with Travis Kelce didn’t guarantee an invite to the Taylor Swift wedding … ’cause ex-NFL player Will Compton is “flabbergasted” he didn’t make the cut. The “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast host hopped on a call with Dave…
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Anti-abortion leaders furious after Planned Parenthood defunding expires
Planned Parenthood has regained access to federal funding, enraging anti-abortion conservatives one year after Republicans were able to cut its clinics off from Medicaid. Beginning July 5, clinics were once again able to bill Medicaid for reimbursement for non-abortion care, like contraception and screenings for sexually-transmitted infections. The new funding will be a lifeline for…
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Tori Amos Saved My Life — And I’m Not The Only One
“Her songs spoke to me about my own life in a language I instantly understood. It was like every light in every gloomy room in my body suddenly came on.”
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Pogacar takes Tour yellow with sweltering stage three win
Defending Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar takes victory on stage three of the Tour de France with a late acceleration to the line.