Stop criticising Trump and sign $500bn mineral deal, US official advises Kyiv
Thu 20 Feb 2025 15.40 EST First published on Thu 20 Feb 2025 13.37 EST White House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to do so would be unacceptable. The US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should “tone down” his criticism of the US and take a “hard look” at the deal. It proposes giving Washington $500bn w ...
The private GOP panic over the slash-and-burn DOGE firings
02/20/2025 04:26 PM EST A growing number of congressional Republicans are desperately trying to back-channel with White House officials as President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency ramps up its slash-and-burn firings of federal workers. GOP lawmakers unleashed a frantic flurry of calls and texts after federal agencies undertook the latest firings this past weekend, with Republicans particularly worried about cuts affecting public safety and health roles. Trump’s legislativ ...
USDA suspends scholarship program at historically Black colleges, website shows
February 20, 2025 4:53 PM EST Updated 11 hours ago WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended a college scholarship program for students from rural and underserved backgrounds who attend historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), according to the program website. The 1890 scholars program aims to increase the number of agriculture students at the country's 19 historically Black land-grant universities, which are federally funded and tend to have ...
Trump administration takes aim at $4B in funding for California high-speed rail
Updated 6:44 PM EST, February 20, 2025 LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Trump administration is once again targeting California’s controversial high-speed rail project, with federal transportation officials on Thursday announcing an investigation and possible withdrawal of about $4 billion in federal funding. Voters first approved $10 billion in bond money in 2008 for a project designed to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours. It was slated to cost $33 billion a ...
Once off the table, bills to charge women who get abortions with murder get votes before failing
Updated 3:54 PM EST, February 20, 2025 Abortion rights advocates feared the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to state abortion bans would also lead to tracking women and charging women who get abortions with murder. No states have allowed either, but the ideas, once off the table, have gotten attention in legislatures this month. Oklahoma lawmakers killed a bill that would have allowed murder charges after a public hearing, and North Dakota did so after a floor debate. Sim ...
Trump will scrap federal income tax and abolish IRS, ally suggests
President Trump’s commerce secretary has suggested that the administration could scrap federal income taxes. Howard Lutnick, who was confirmed in his role on Wednesday, said the White House’s goal was to abolish the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and instead rely on Treasury coffers being filled by tariffs collected from other countries. In 2024 the US federal government collected $4.92 trillion. The biggest source of revenue — about 49 per cent — was from individual income taxes. “Think abou ...
These Republican senators have broken away from Trump after controversial Ukraine post
Thursday 20 February 2025 12:41 GMT Donald Trump has divided Republican senators after branding Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator” and blaming the Ukrainian president for starting the war with Russia. The U.S. president sent shockwaves across both sides of the aisle on Tuesday after an unhinged Truth Social tirade branding Zelensky a “modestly successful comedian” who manipulated the Biden administration for its funding and is doing a “terrible job.” “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy ...
Senate narrowly confirms Trump nominee Kash Patel for FBI director
Updated February 20, 2025 at 2:26 p.m. EST The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as the FBI's ninth director, installing a close ally of President Donald Trump and a staunch critic of the bureau to lead the country's premier law enforcement agency. Patel was approved 51-49, a remarkably tight margin for a position that historically has seen nominees win overwhelming bipartisan support. Each of the last three FBI directors garnered the votes of at least 92 senators. Whil ...
Trump weighing 25 percent lumber tariffs
02/20/25 11:07 AM ET President Trump is considering imposing a 25 percent tariff on international lumber and wood products, looking to add another item to an expanding list of products under duties. “I’m going to be announcing tariffs on cars and semiconductors and chips and pharmaceuticals, drugs and pharmaceuticals and lumber, probably, and some other things over the next month or sooner,” Trump said Wednesday at a Future Investment Initiative Institute summit. “It’s going to have a big ...
Mexico will not stand US 'invasion' in fight against cartels, president says
Thu 20 Feb 2025 11.42 EST Last modified on Thu 20 Feb 2025 12.18 EST Mexico will never tolerate an “invasion” of its national sovereignty by the United States, Claudia Sheinbaum has warned after Washington designated Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. “This cannot be an opportunity for the US to invade our sovereignty,” the Mexican president said. “With Mexico, it is collaboration and coordination, never subordination or interventionism, and even less invasion.” Sheinbaum said her go ...
- Israel/PalestineNow this is rich: Hamas says it is 'surprised by uproar' regarding Shiri Bibas, will carry out own investigation
- Environment & EnergyShocked, Shocked!! HSBC Pushes Out "Net-Zero" Goals To 2050 While Offering CEO Incentives Worth 6X His Vast Salary
- Environment & EnergyShitstain Targeting Scientific Grants That Mention Climate Because It's "Woke" - Even Fulbright Programs Hit
- Environment & EnergyA Case In Point In Exploring The Collapse Of Complex Systems: The United States In The Near Future
- Environment & EnergyPortugal-Sized Area Of Bolivia Burned In 2024 Displacing 10s Of Thousands; Now, "If Not Fire, We'll Be Killed By Hunger"
- Liberal YouTubersThey Don't Care- Lincoln Project
- Environment & EnergyBulk Of FEMA Terminations So Far Aimed At Climate, EJ Positions: "They're Trying To Systematically Erase Everything"
- Liberal YouTubersF*ck trump Back + Freeze the Line- Lincoln Project
- Liberal YouTubersHistorian Timothy Snyder on the future of American Democracy & the Rule of Law.
- Foreign AffairsU.S. Objects to Calling Russia 'Aggressor' in G7 Statement on Invasion
- Cooking & BakingThere are veggie burgers and there are veggie BURGERS!
- ScienceThis Strange Motion Keeps Appearing Everywhere - Even in High-Energy Collisions
- Personal Finance and InvestingIf SAVE act passes, or has passed
- TV ChatOn this day, February 21, 1933, film producer and Monkees co-creator Robert Rafelson was born.
- Music AppreciationOn this day, February 21, 2019, Peter Tork of The Monkees died.
- Music AppreciationOn this day, February 21, 1947, Johnny Echols, co-founder and lead guitar player of Love, was born.
- American HistoryOne hundred years ago today, February 21, 1925, The New Yorker published its first issue.
- American HistoryOn this day, February 21, 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated.
- Music AppreciationYoussou N'Dour
- Music AppreciationYoussou N'Dour featuring Neneh Cherry & Deep Forest
- Asian GroupRie a.k.a. Suzaku / Ice World 2022.6.19 Live Version
- Jewish Group(JEWISH GROUP) The media is not showing the extent of Hamas' barbarity -- is that a mistake?
- Jewish Group(JEWISH GROUP) Israeli family mourns 'man of peace' as body returned from Gaza
- Jewish GroupJust now from the IDF. The babies were brutally murdered and the mother's body was not returned.
- Jewish GroupI warched this clip, on mute, sobbing
- LGBTHHS issues new definitions of terms like 'sex,' 'man' and 'woman' that critics say ignore science
- Jewish GroupIsrael mourns as bodies of slain hostages enter Israeli territory
- Jewish GroupFYI: Ancestry.com has Holocaust files that are free and searchable.
- Jewish Group'Ensuring their story is remembered': Report highlights forgotten exodus of Iraqi Jews
- Jewish GroupWhy a 100-year-old film about a 'City Without Jews' seems disturbingly prescient today
- FloridaWSJ: DOJ Investigates Medicare Billing Practices at UnitedHealth
- Latin AmericaMomentary break: PALO! "Al Monte (Live)" Musica Cubana Salsa Jazz Funk (In Miami)
- CanadaAnnex these people? Get outta town!
- GeorgiaGeorgia congressman confronted by angry crowd over support for Trump's agenda
- Californiawoman killed her husband and served 9 years. This week, she killed her wife (A fire captain)
- CaliforniaOne Log House WanderLOST (If you ever drive up to Eureka from SF this is a cool place to stop)
- MarylandBlack History Month Highlight on The Wallville School
- WashingtonWA sheriffs respond to Trump's immigration enforcement plans
- WashingtonSeattle scientists protest Trump's NIH cuts to research funding
- CaliforniaI'm watching a live town hall on FB
Senate adopts budget resolution after marathon overnight vote-a-rama
16 min ago - 02/21/25 4:46 AM ET The Senate on Friday adopted a budget resolution intended to serve as a blueprint to deliver the first part of President Trump’s agenda. Senators voted 52-48 along party lines on the resolution after a marathon overnight vot ... (The Hill)
Fox News And Newsmax Sign Letter Urging Trump To Rescind Ban On The AP
53 min ago - Feb 21, 2025, 07:53 AM EST Conservative outlets Fox News and Newsmax have signed onto a letter backed by several news organizations calling on the Trump administration to stop excluding The Associated Press from official White House events. The Whit ... (Huff Post)
Hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants to lose protected status by August
58 min ago - By: Ariana Figueroa - February 20, 2025 8:32 pm WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday cut protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants, leaving them vulnerable to deportations by August. ... (Nebraska Examiner)
Texas attorney general asks court to require NCAA to begin gender testing as part of new transgender policy
1 hr ago - UPDATED: February 20, 2025 at 7:03 PM CST LUBBOCK, Texas — The Republican attorney general in Texas wants the NCAA to take its transgender policy a step further and require gender testing for athletes who compete in women’s sports. AG Ken ... (Chicago Tribune/AP)
Trump administration faces legal challenge over end of Venezuelan Temporary Protected Status
1 hr ago - February 20, 2025 / 8:13 PM EST The Trump administration's decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans is facing a legal challenge, as the National TPS Alliance along with Venezuelan plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit in a Californi ... (CBS News)
Steve Bannon Accused of Making 'Nazi Salute' During CPAC Speech
1 hr ago - Steve Bannon has been accused of making a "Nazi" salute while giving a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday. Newsweek has contacted Bannon for comment via email outside regular working hours. The incident occurred ... (Newsweek)
Trump administration takes aim at $4B in funding for California high-speed rail
2 hrs ago - Updated 6:44 PM EST, February 20, 2025 LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Trump administration is once again targeting California’s controversial high-speed rail project, with federal transportation officials on Thursday announcing an investigation and ... (AP)
Judge won't immediately block Trump administration's abrupt halt to Catholic refugee funding
2 hrs ago - Updated 6:08 PM EST, February 20, 2025 WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding of the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program in a setba ... (AP)
Astronauts vs. Musk: Public spat ensues over claims that politics delayed a flight to Earth
3 hrs ago - Feb. 20, 2025, 3:47 PM EST / Updated Feb. 20, 2025, 6:00 PM EST Elon Musk and European astronaut Andreas Mogensen exchanged barbs online after Musk suggested in a recent interview that two NASA astronauts were left on the International Space Station ... (NBC News)
FTC launches probe into 'Big Tech censorship
3 hrs ago - 02/20/25 5:31 PM ET The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is launching a probe into leading technology companies’ content policies and user bans, Chair Andrew Ferguson announced Thursday, suggesting their actions could amount to illegal censorship. ... (The Hill)
Dr. Mehmet Oz holds millions from companies that he'd wield power over if confirmed, report shows
3 hrs ago - Updated 5:18 PM EST, February 20, 2025 WASHINGTON (AP) — The wealth of Dr. Mehmet Oz, the celebrity heart surgeon nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has swelled in part from for-profit hea ... (Yahoo! News/AP)
Exclusive: Trump administration drops work on stronger building codes for disasters
4 hrs ago - February 20, 2025 5:05 PM ET For the past 25 years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has helped develop building codes, the construction standards that help houses survive hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes. Now, the Trump Administra ... (NPR)
USDA suspends scholarship program at historically Black colleges, website shows
4 hrs ago - February 20, 2025 4:53 PM EST Updated 11 hours ago WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended a college scholarship program for students from rural and underserved backgrounds who attend historically Black college ... (Reuters)
The private GOP panic over the slash-and-burn DOGE firings
5 hrs ago - 02/20/2025 04:26 PM EST A growing number of congressional Republicans are desperately trying to back-channel with White House officials as President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency ramps up its slash-and-burn firings of federa ... (Politico)
Stop criticising Trump and sign $500bn mineral deal, US official advises Kyiv
5 hrs ago - Thu 20 Feb 2025 15.40 EST First published on Thu 20 Feb 2025 13.37 EST White House officials have told Ukraine to stop badmouthing Donald Trump and to sign a deal handing over half of the country’s mineral wealth to the US, saying a failure to d ... (The Guardian)
Once off the table, bills to charge women who get abortions with murder get votes before failing
5 hrs ago - Updated 3:54 PM EST, February 20, 2025 Abortion rights advocates feared the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to state abortion bans would also lead to tracking women and charging women who get abortions with murder. No states have ... (AP)
Trump reveals he has removed the Resolute Desk used by Biden and Obama from the Oval Office
12 hrs ago - Thursday 20 February 2025 17:05 GMT Donald Trump has temporarily removed the iconic Resolute Desk used by his Democratic predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama from the Oval Office and replaced it with the C&O desk. Crafted from the once-abandon ... (The Independent)
Florida files suit against Target, claiming DEI initiatives 'misled investors'
12 hrs ago - Florida’s new attorney general filed a federal court lawsuit against Target on Thursday, claiming the discount store chain “misled investors” by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that prompted a backlash and hurt sa ... (AP News)
Florida Holds off Updating Population Projections Because of Uncertainties Over Immigration Policies
12 hrs ago - Feb. 20, 2025, at 1:50 p.m. ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida officials are holding off updating the state's population projections because of uncertainties about how the immigration policies of President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis are going ... (US News and World Report/AP)
Elon Musk's private security detail gets deputized by US Marshals Service
13 hrs ago - The US Marshals Service has deputized members of Elon Musk’s private security detail, giving them certain rights and protections of federal law enforcement agents, three law enforcement officials familiar with the matter told CNN. It was not imm ... (CNN)
