On the campaign trail, President Trump promised to cut Americans' energy bills in half -- cheaper gasoline, cheaper electricity. He also said he'd "unleash" American energy production, often repeating the catchphrase "Drill, baby, drill."
President Donald Trump early Tuesday threatened to impose a 200% tariff on French wine and champagne in an effort to pressure France to join his intergovernmental Board of Peace organization.
The U.S. Geological Survey, the federal government's earth sciences arm, discovered new oil and gas reserves in the Permian Basin -- enough to supply the United States for 10 months. read more
Britain's so-called Brexit wars dominated parliament for years. Now the Labour government is bracing for new battles as it eyes legislation to move closer to the European Union. read more
The president has intensified his criticism of Canada in private conversations with aides in recent weeks over what he sees as the country's vulnerability to U.S. adversaries in the Arctic. read more
@#36 ... Marching as to war ...
Industry- State Of The Nation (1983)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics ...
...
[Verse 1]
I see them marching off to war
They're looking so heroic
I'm told they won't be gone for long
But that's a lie and they know it
Ten thousand gone they won't return
Never to be seen again
Strategic games is all we learn in the end
But they say
[Chorus]
Don't you worry about the situation
A message from the telephone
They out there fighting for the state of the nation
I'm waiting a chance to come home
They always have to fight the alienation
And realize I'm fighting alone
...
Bruce Springsteen condemns Trump over ICE actions in Minneapolis during surprise concert
www.kare11.com
... Bruce Springsteen slammed President Donald Trump and the federal crackdown on immigrants during a surprise performance Saturday in his home state of New Jersey.
During his comments at the Light of Day Winterfest Concert, Springsteen dedicated a song to the memory of Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.
The legendary rocker called on federal agents to leave Minneapolis and for fans of his music to tell Trump the same.
Springsteen then dedicated his 1978 song "The Promised Land" to Good's memory, according to cellphone video from the performance shared by NJ.com and other outlets.
"Right now, we are living through incredibly critical times. The United States, the ideals and the values for which it stood for the past 250 years is being tested as it has never been in modern times. Those values and those ideals have never been as in danger as they are right now," Springsteen said.
"If you stand against heavily armed masked federal troops invading an American city using gestapo tactics against our fellow citizens.
If you believe you don't deserve to be murdered for exercising your American right to protest, then send a message to this president because the mayor of that city has said ICE should get the f--k out of Minneapolis.
And this song is for you and in the memory of a mother of three, an American citizen, Renee Good," he added. ...
@#5 ... The last time Denmark sold an island to the US was in 1917 ...
People Just Discovering Last Land Denmark Sold to the US Was Epstein Island
www.newsweek.com
... As President Donald Trump continues to push to buy Greenland, some people are just finding out that the last major territory the United States bought from Denmark was in 1917 -- the Danish West Indies, now the U.S. Virgin Islands.
But a lot of social media users are jokingly pointing fingers at a much smaller, much more infamous island in the Virgin Islands that was part of the 1917 acquisition -- Little Saint James, more commonly known as Epstein Island.
Jeffrey Epstein's private Caribbean island was never sold to the United States -- but it is part of the U.S. Virgin Islands that was later purchased by Epstein himself. That has not stopped online jokes and shock from people making the connection for the first time. ...
@#2
imo, if Pres Trump is successful in getting data centers to pay for the additional costs they cause on our utility bills, then it might be the first thing Pres Trum has done that I agree with.
Trump unveils plan to shift power costs to AI data centers
www.washingtonexaminer.com
... Trump administration officials and a bipartisan group of governors announced a plan Friday to tackle high electricity prices by essentially having giant technology companies pay for the construction of new power supplies in the area managed by the largest United States grid operator. ...
Will he follow through and actually accomplish that?
Time will tell.
I'll judge the success of his plan by how much my electricity bill drops ...
... a draft version obtained by The Associated Press ...
A look at Trump's Board of Peace and who has been invited
apnews.com
... The board's charter has not yet been made public, but a draft version obtained by The Associated Press indicates much of the power will be concentrated Trump's hands. A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership, the draft says. ...
When asked by a reporter Tuesday if the board should replace the U.N., Trump said, "It might." ...
A draft charter for the board, obtained from a European diplomat and confirmed by a U.S. official as accurate as of Monday, uses expansive language to describe its ambitions.
It emphasizes "the need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body" and says "durable peace" requires "the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed." It adds an aim to "secure peace in places where it has for too long proven elusive."
Under the charter, the chairman -- which Trump says will be him -- has the power to invite member states, break any ties in a vote, decide how frequently it meets, and create or dissolve subsidiary entities.
The expenses of the Board of Peace will be funded by contributions from member states, which serve three-year terms. Members who pay "more than one billion United States dollars in cash" during their first year can have a permanent place on the board, the draft says.
The draft is under constant revision, is not finalized and may undergo significant changes, according to the U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. ...
Letters from an American
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
... At the ceremony, Trump looked over at the gifts laid out beside the podium at which he was speaking, and told the audience: "I heard they have a little surprise. Ooh, that looks nice. I hope it's the stick and not just the shirt. That stick looks beautiful. That looks beautiful. Maybe I get both, who the hell knows.
I'm president, I'll just take em."
And then, of course, Trump says he wants Greenland, a resource-rich autonomous island that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
In a January 8, 2026, piece in the New Yorker, Susan Glasser noted that Trump dumbfounded his advisors in 2018 by suggesting a trade of Puerto Rico for Greenland and, in the fall of 2021, told Glasser and her husband, journalist Peter Baker, that he wanted Greenland as a piece of real estate.
"I'm in real estate," he told them. "I look at a corner, I say, I gotta get that store for the building that I'm building,' et cetera.
You know, it's not that different.
I love maps. And I always said, Look at the size of this, it's massive, and that should be part of the United States.' "
He added, "It's not different from a real-estate deal. It's just a little bit larger, to put it mildly."
(Observers note that map projections often either minimize or exaggerate the true size of Greenland: it's about three times the size of Texas.) ...
@#14 ... Trump keeps this up he will bankrupt America ...
Possibly. Likely?
Too soon to tell.
... have his offspring eliminated eventually in retaliation by misguided people. ...
Huh?