“Trump administration argues that its policy of arresting, detaining, and deporting international students for expressing anti-Israel opinions “does not exist.” The government’s lawyers also maintain that the supposedly nonexistent policy is perfectly consistent with the First Amendment—a less laughable argument that nevertheless is hard to reconcile with Supreme Court precedent, especially as applied by several lower courts.
President Donald Trump and his underlings, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Department of Homeland Security officials, have made it clear that they are determined to expel students, including legal permanent residents as well as visa holders, who have engaged in protests or other forms of advocacy that the government views as “pro-Hamas” or “anti-Semitic.” Rubio says those activities, even when “otherwise lawful,” justify removal from the United States because they threaten to undermine U.S. foreign policy interests.
The Trump administration claims it is targeting “aid or support” for “designated terrorist groups” and “unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence,” neither of which is constitutionally protected. That defense is hard to take seriously, since the government avers that even writing an anti-Israel op-ed piece or peacefully participating in pro-Palestinian protests falls into those categories.”
“A couple years ago, the Teamsters demanded more pay from UPS. It seemed like UPS could easily afford it. The company made almost $13 billion in 2021.
UPS used some of that money to hire more union workers. Then it offered them raises.
But Teamster boss Sean O’Brien wanted more. He threatened a strike.
UPS gave in…
Today, full-time drivers make $170,000 a year.
Good for them—for those who still have jobs.
But paying for the new Teamster contract meant UPS wasn’t as competitive as before. It raised some prices and lost business to other shippers.
Profit dropped.
In 2024, UPS laid off 12,000 workers. The next year, 20,000.
It wasn’t just the wage hikes; it’s also the work rules.
The Teamsters agreement includes hundreds of pages—limits on subcontracting, bans on employees working long hours, etc….many of which made it hard for a company to adapt and cut costs.
“These headline-grabbing union deals are delivering short-run sugar highs with long-run hangovers,” says Mercatus Center economist Liya Palagashvili. “UPS is just one example of this.”
Another was Yellow Corp—once one of the largest freight carriers in America.
Then the Teamsters threatened to strike, demanding faster payments of health care and pension benefits.
The company warned that a strike could bankrupt it.
But O’Brien kept pushing, saying, “The company has two more days to fulfill its obligations, or we will strike. Teamsters at Yellow are furious and ready to act!”
Yellow gave in. The strike was averted.
Days later, the trucking company shut down for good.
Thirty thousand people lost their jobs.
…” [Yellow Corp] was having a lot of financial issues. But if you’re on the verge of collapse, the last thing you need is a Teamsters Labor Union contract that says you have to increase labor costs.”
…
“The same year Yellow went bankrupt, United Auto Workers went on strike against Stellantis, the company that owns Chrysler. Stellantis gave in, giving the UAW a pay raise and promising to open a new plant.
But then Stellantis started laying off workers: 1,340 during the strike and 2,450 more the next year.
In 2024, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers walked off the job demanding better pay from Boeing. Boeing gave in.
One month later, Boeing announced a 10 percent work force cut.”
…
“Palagashvili says, “It wasn’t trade that killed the Rust Belt. It was labor unions. Unions in the Rust Belt were striking. Companies said, ‘Higher labor costs, tons of strikes, productivity isn’t going up, we’re going to relocate,’ and they did.”
Unions help some workers. But they hurt many more.”
A common Republican response to a school shooting is mental health is the problem. A few years ago, members of both parties passed a mental health bill and school therapists were paid for. The Trump administration cut that funding because of a line about diversity hiring; Republicans who voted for this funding are silent.
Former Iranian diplomat says Iran was not deeply enriching before Trump unilaterally left the Iran nuclear deal. They enriched to 60% recently as a bargaining chip with Trump.
Also says their nuclear program was damaged, but they can rebuild.
“During the hearings Friday, Moss repeatedly lamented the uncertainty left by the Supreme Court’s rulings on the issue and said the public was left to “read the tea leaves” in the high court’s decisions.
“I don’t know what to make of what the Supreme Court did because that is one of the downsides of the emergency docket,” the judge said. “We just don’t know which of those arguments the Supreme Court found convincing in ordering the relief it ordered.””
“When dealing with a potentially career-threatening political scandal, there is a standard playbook: Issue a broad denial. Attack the accuser. Then declare the controversy over and tell everyone to move on.
That’s what Emil Bove — Donald Trump’s criminal defense lawyer-turned-senior Justice Department official — is going for as he tries to secure a lifetime appointment as a federal judge. The scandal? A scathing whistleblower disclosure by a former Justice Department lawyer that alleges disturbing and unethical conduct on the part of Bove and other senior DOJ lawyers, including multiple efforts to defy the courts in service of Trump’s agenda.
The disclosure, released one day before Bove’s Senate confirmation hearing last week, has further complicated a nomination that had already opened an uncomfortable fissure within the conservative legal movement and which faces an uncertain future in the GOP-controlled Senate.
Immediately after the allegations were unveiled, a defense took shape among the Trump administration and its Republican allies.”