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Thursday, April 23, 2026

Trump may send Afghan allies who were promised new lives in the U.S. to Congo instead, advocacy group says

Advocates for the refugees, many of whom fought the Taliban alongside U.S. forces, say the plan is intended to pressure them to return to Afghanistan at great personal risk.


Trump's portrayal of himself as Jesus, or anointed by Jesus, is typical of cult leaders.

Chris Hedges Apr 20, 2026


Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Palantir published a mini manifesto over the weekend based on a book by its CEO that made the company's position clear on a range of topics, from reinstating the military draft to Silicon Valley's moral duty to help the U.S. defend itself.


The redistricting war President Trump forced on his party appears to have backfired. With Virginia's vote Tuesday, Republicans are now favored in fewer House seats than if the war had never started.

Why it matters: Trump bet his slim House majority on a mid-decade redrawing frenzy. It's increasingly looking like a self-inflicted wound, leaving Republicans with long-shot hopes of any major rewards.


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Navy Secretary John Phelan. The Pentagon framed it Wednesday as an immediate departure.

Why it matters: The ouster of the service's top civilian caught many off-guard, and adds to the pile of military officials who either abruptly exited or were pushed out of their posts under Trump 2.0.

"Phelan didn't understand he wasn't the boss. His job is to follow orders given, not follow the orders he thinks should be given," a person familiar with the situation told Axios.

The same person said Phelan and Hegseth did not "get along."


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from the above link:

"It is very thin, (and) does not adequately allege in my judgment any violation of the mail or wire fraud statutes (which are the indictment's key allegations)," said John C. Coffee Jr., a professor at the Columbia University Law School, in a statement.

"SPLC was under no duty to disclose to the world that it was paying secret agents to advise it about the activities of violent organizations. That it paid agents to inform it does not imply that it was supporting these organizations, even if the agents (with mixed motives) gave some of the payments to the organization."

Robertson said that organizations, including the government, regularly use confidential informants because it is an important tool to collect information about groups that actively withhold information about their activities.

In the indictment, the DOJ alleged several instances of wire fraud. But Robertson said "it doesn't seem to me there was any criminal intent at all."

"When you are paying an informant who is deeply embedded in a group that is engaged in violent activity, whether it is terrorism or others, you don't want to risk their lives by making it clear they were receiving payments," she said.

Robertson said the indictment doesn't even go as far as to allege any criminal intent to defraud financial institutions. The allegations were that SPLC tried to hide its activity from its donors.

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"That seems really problematic to me," Robertson said. "I don't believe the donors were, in any way, misled."

In the end, Robertson said the government will likely have a difficult time proving its case.

"I would be surprised if this case made it very far in the process," she said. "I would be absolutely shocked if it went all the way to a conviction. I think it will get dismissed earlier in the process."

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