Standing on the steps of the state Capitol Friday morning, everyone from Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. Richard Blumenthal down to members of the local school board rallied to the cause of a Cheshire High School student detained by federal immigration officials earlier in the week. Meanwhile, 135 miles away, 19-year-old Rihan sat inside a county jail in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he's been held since Monday.
In early April, producers are eagerly awaiting or have already started their spring planting. Though other considerations like soil moisture, air temperature, and the weather forecast play important roles, the adage of waiting for morning 4-inch soil temperatures to hit the 50-degree-Fahrenheit mark is important, too. That line is currently crossing into the southern Corn Belt, and the coming forecast should bring that northward throughout the next week.
First, the good news: A ceasefire has been agreed upon in a war threatening a level of devastation unimaginable when President Donald Trump ordered five weeks of bombing and missile strikes in an effort to collapse the Islamic regime in Iran. But while critical questions remain ahead of talks set for Saturday on a longer-term deal -- not least, whether the truce fully takes hold -- the war has left Mr. Trump facing a sobering paradox.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Department launched a campaign Friday targeting video gamers for the job, which is crucial for keeping the U.S. skies safe. read more
The rate is down about 1% from 2024 and nearly 20% lower than it was two decades ago. read more
... The unannounced oversight visit ...
The Trump admin tried desperately to stop such unannounced visits, apparently wanting only pre-arranged visits.
Reps. Joe Neguse, Jason Crow sue Trump admin. for policy limiting congressional visits to detention centers (January 2026)
www.denver7.com
... Two Colorado congressmen have joined 10 other Democratic lawmakers in suing the Trump administration, claiming the federal government "secretly" reimposed a policy that blocks unannounced congressional visits to immigration detention centers.
The motion filed Monday by 12 Democrats, including Reps. Joe Neguse and Jason Crow of Colorado, asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to order the administration to explain "how this new policy is not a violation of federal law guaranteeing Members of Congress the ability to conduct oversight of ICE facilities."
The lawsuit comes nearly a month after a federal judge sided with the group of Democratic lawmakers who sued the administration last summer for blocking them from conducting unannounced visits. In her ruling, the judge said members of Congress could resume unannounced visits and tours of detention centers and field offices run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including the ICE facility in Aurora. ...
Tangentially related ...
Report: US demands Reddit unmask ICE critic, summons firm to grand jury
arstechnica.com
... The Trump administration has stepped up an effort to unmask a Reddit user who criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After failing to obtain information through a summons issued to Reddit, the government reportedly issued a subpoena demanding that Reddit provide the information and appear before a grand jury in Washington, DC.
The Intercept described the subpoena today. "According to a subpoena obtained by The Intercept, Reddit has until April 14 to provide a wide range of personal data on one of its users, whom US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been trying unsuccessfully to identify for more than a month," the article said.
The legal saga began in US District Court for the Northern District of California. On March 12, the anonymous Reddit user whose information is being sought filed a motion to quash a summons seeking a host of information from Reddit. The summons was issued by the Department of Homeland Security and directed Reddit to turn information over to an ICE senior special agent.
The summons cited authority under 19 U.S. Code 1509, which is part of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. The motion to quash said the summons is not authorized by the law, which deals with imports of boats, alcoholic drinks, and animals, among other things.
"J. Doe is a US citizen who has not traveled out of the country, is not engaged in any international commerce, has no business concerns outside the United States, and primarily uses their Reddit account to engage in political speech relevant to their local community," said the filing by the Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC), which represents the Reddit user. "Yet the government claims the right to obtain Doe's name, telephone number, home address, banking and credit card information, IP addresses, telephone model number(s), and the names of any other accounts associated with their Reddit account.
The information sought by the government in no way pertains to customs or importing or exporting merchandise, and is clearly intended to chill free speech." ...
Related ...
Still eyeing mass deportations, hard-liners push White House to expand targets
www.csmonitor.com
... The Trump administration is signaling a shift in immigration enforcement to more workplace arrests as hard-liners in the president's base push him to begin a second, broader phase of his promised mass deportations.[emphasis mine]
Some inside the White House have reportedly urged less talk of mass deportations ahead of the congressional midterms, as Americans express dissatisfaction with the high-profile immigration arrest tactics in the heartland. But a network of Trump allies says the administration will not achieve its deportation goals without pursuing a much larger pool of targets.
Following the confirmation of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin last month, the coalition is pitching a reset away from a stated goal of deporting the "worst of the worst" to "populations that are easier to remove," such as immigrants with final orders of removal and those who have overstayed their visas. Policies such as worksite enforcement will be key, the group's plan says, raising the risk of the pushback seen after earlier workplace raids. ...
@#2 ... JD Vance made it clear: lying to get attention among this crew is not just okay ... it's desirable. ...
Found this ...
JD Vance appears to admit tale about Haitian immigrants eating pets is made-up as he loses cool with CNN host (September 2024)
www.independent.co.uk
Luna moves to oust Swalwell from House over assault allegations
www.newsnationnow.com
... Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) on Saturday said she would file a motion to expel California Rep. Eric Swalwell from office, after the Democrat was hit with sexual assault allegations.
"I am filing a motion to expel Eric Swalwell from Congress," the Republican lawmaker wrote on social platform X. ...
Expulsion is the most serious consequence a member of Congress can face, and it requires a two-thirds majority vote in the House. Only 6 members of the House of Representatives have been expelled in U.S. history -- with former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) being the most recent, after an ethics review found he misused campaign funds and falsified his background. ...
How Orban benefits from Hungary's tailor-made election system
www.france24.com
... Peter Magyar's centre-right Tisza Party might be comfortably ahead in Hungary's parliamentary election polls but he is far from guaranteed victory in Sunday's vote. The country's electoral system has been designed to support ruling Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party -- and any institutions that are working in his favour " every step of the way. ...
But although the populist and nationalist leader, who has ruled Hungary unchallenged for the past 16 years, might appear to be struggling, he also has a number of assets up his sleeve.
The first of these is a mixed electoral system tailor-made to benefit his far-right Fidesz party. In 2011, backed by a two-thirds majority, Orban pushed through a controversial law reducing the number of seats in parliament, as well as redrawing electoral districts designed to maximise the conservative party's chances.
"This gerrymandering has become a bona fide national pastime," said Paul Gradvohl, a Central Europe history professor at Paris 1 Panthon-Sorbonne University, with a hint of irony.
"The aim is to use the results of previous elections to take from Peter to give to Paul. In constituencies where Fidesz won by a large margin, less supportive districts have been added, and in return, the opposition has been stripped of seats where it had a chance of winning." ...
Jeffries, Pelosi and other Democrats call on Eric Swalwell to end governor campaign
www.politico.com
... House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi headlined a growing list of Democratic lawmakers called on Rep. Eric Swalwell Friday to withdraw his campaign for California governor amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
"This extremely sensitive matter must be appropriately investigated with full transparency and accountability," Pelosi said in a statement. "As I discussed with Congressman Swalwell, it is clear that is best done outside of a gubernatorial campaign."
In a joint statement with other elected House Democratic leaders, Jeffries called for a "swift investigation" as well as the end of his pending campaign.
"This is unacceptable of anyone " certainly not an elected official -- and must be taken seriously," the leaders said. ...
Related ...
Orbn's Hungary drove a top university campus into exile. JD Vance said it should be a model for the U.S.
www.nbcnews.com
... Its limestone entrance rises above a grand 1820s mansion, its newer additions all hard modern lines and confidence. It has won architecture awards. It was built to suggest a certain kind of Hungary, too: outward-looking, liberal, at ease with the West.
Today it is eerily quiet. ...
Founded by George Soros after the fall of communism, the university says the authoritarian government of Viktor Orbn forced 90% of its teaching operations out of the country in 2019, leaving behind a stark symbol of how far the nation has moved during the prime minister's 16-year regime. ...
"The closest conservatives have ever gotten to successfully dealing with the left-wing domination of universities is Viktor Orbn's approach in Hungary," Vance said in 2024, then a Republican senator from Ohio. "I think his way has to be the model for us " not to eliminate universities, but to give the choice between survival or taking a much less biased approach to teaching." ...
More ...
Bessent, Powell warned bank CEOs about Anthropic model risks
www.reuters.com
... U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent meeting with bank CEOs this week to warn of cyber risks posed by Anthropic's latest AI model, two sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday.
Anthropic launched the powerful Mythos model earlier this week but stopped short of a broad release, citing concerns it could expose previously unknown cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The company has said the model is capable of identifying and exploiting weaknesses, opens new tab across "every major operating system and every major web browser".
Last week, Anthropic said it was in ongoing discussions with U.S. government officials about the model's "offensive and defensive cyber capabilities."
A third source close to the matter reiterated Anthropic's outreach, saying the company proactively briefed senior U.S. government officials and key industry stakeholders on Mythos's capabilities ahead of its release. ...
A yard sign in 2024 ...