Probationary staff at the Small Business Administration received a series of emails firing them, admitting a mistake, then terminating them once again. read more
All eyes are on Mayor Eric Adams as FEMA has pulled millions of dollars in funds for housing migrants. His critics are calling on him to do something and prove himself in light of optics that he has cozied up to President Donald Trump after the Justice Department instructed prosecutors to dismiss his bribery case. It comes as he is set to meet on Thursday with Border Czar Tom Homan about removing migrants in New York City. On Wednesday, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said that the Trump administration illegally revoked $80 million in FEMA funds from New York City bank accounts. ...
Can you skydive continuously without landing? Watch skydiver Max Manow pull off a never-before-seen feat over the Grand Canyon, showcasing gravity-defying teamwork with an airplane pilot. read more
The GOP's Hill leaders are signaling their eagerness to back up Elon Musk by turning DOGE spending cuts into real legislation. read more
The Department of Justice told federal prosecutors in New York to drop their corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams, citing his "restricted" ability to help the Trump administration enforce its immigration policies.
@#5 ... Pres Trump looks to be doing it from a starting position of surrender and weakness. ...
Putin Scored a Win With Trump. Now He May Want More on Ukraine
www.bloomberg.com
... "Putin believes that Trump should be seduced, that he should be flattered from head to toe," said Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the political consultancy R.Politik. "He is very invested in negotiations with Trump, but he's also preparing for the scenario to deal with Ukraine without Trump and continue to bomb it into capitulation."
Putin scored huge wins from the 90-minute phone call on Wednesday, the first publicly announced contact between the US and Russian leaders since he ordered the February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Trump abandoned his predecessor President Joe Biden's policy of refusing to engage with Russia without Kyiv's involvement, and reversed long-held US positions supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity and ambitions to join NATO. ...
... The dangerous co-optation of the Justice Department by the Trump White House continues in ways both substantive and symbolic. ...
From an article on the Back Page...
NYC Mayor Eric Adams to meet with border czar
abc7ny.com
... His critics are calling on him to do something and prove himself in light of optics that he has cozied up to President Donald Trump after the Justice Department instructed prosecutors to dismiss his bribery case. ...
Mayor Adams now seems beholden to the Trump administration after Pres Trump ordered the DoJ to drop the charges against him.
As I understand it, the charges were dropped "without prejudice," apparently meaning that the charges can be reinstated again, possibly if Mayor Adams doesn't do what the Trump administration instructs him to do.
To me, it looks like something a mob boss would do to keep Mayor Adams in check. ...
Related?
OpEd: Some Maga men seem to think women don't have rights " starting with their wives (November 2024)
www.theguardian.com
... This week, the fundamentalist Christian pastor Dale Partridge argued in a series of tweets that "in a Christian marriage, a wife should vote according to her husband's direction". In other words, he pits his version of the religion against the constitution, which, since the 19th amendment passed a century ago, guarantees adult citizens the right to vote regardless of sex. He argues that in marriage, the husband annexes and owns his wife's voice and rights, so that he in effect gets two votes and she gets none. The far-right preacher is not alone in this argument that women should not have the right to participate in public life and act on their views and values.
Jesse Watters, the Fox News personality, has argued that if he found out his wife "was going into the voting booth and pulling the lever for Harris, that's the same thing as having an affair". It violates "the sanctity of our marriage; what else is she keeping from me?" Rightwing agitator Charlie Kirk also got upset about the idea that women might vote according to their agenda and not their husband's.
These men are offering warnings about what awaits women who marry men like them. Maybe it's worth noting here that the rightwing opposition to marriage equality as same-sex marriage is in part because they're opposed to marriage equality within heterosexual marriage. They want marriage to be an inherently unequal relationship with a subordinate wife and an entitled husband, a cozy little authoritarian regime at home.
One of the things the 2024 US presidential election is about is whether or not women should be free and equal full citizens of this republic.
But there's another way that women are not free and equal which a few videos, a lot of tweets and reportedly some Post-It notes in women's bathrooms have addressed " when women are afraid to vote for their chosen candidate, when their husbands or boyfriends are Trump supporters and they are Harris supporters. I just wrote a Guardian piece about the fact that so many women apparently are bullied over their political beliefs, despite assurances that there are ways to vote without being tyrannized, is troubling. It suggests that there's a whole other kind of voting suppression and coercion that deserves investigation and raises questions about voting at home. ...
Trump says he has spoken to Putin and agreed to negotiate Ukraine ceasefire
www.theguardian.com
... Donald Trump has said that he and Vladimir Putin have spoken directly and agreed to begin negotiations to broker a ceasefire to the war in Ukraine.
In a social media post, Trump said that held a "lengthy and highly productive phone call" with Putin and that they agreed to "have our respective teams start negotiations immediately".
He also said that he and Putin had agreed to visit each other's nations.
"As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine," Trump wrote on TruthSocial. "President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, COMMON SENSE.' We both believe very strongly in it. We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other's Nations."
The US negotiating team would include the secretary of state, Marco Rubio; the director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe; the national security adviser, Michael Waltz, and the ambassador and special envoy Steve Witkoff. ...
- and -
US no longer primarily focused' on Europe's security, says Pete Hegseth
www.theguardian.com
Manhattan US attorney and top DOJ officials resign after order to drop Eric Adams case
www.reuters.com