“It marks a win for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has personally driven efforts to attract U.S. researchers in a direct response to the Trump administration’s deep cuts to academic programs. Europe has positioned itself as a safe haven by emphasizing academic freedom and increasing the funds available for those who wish to relocate.”
“Trump’s overall job approval held steady at 43 percent, with 54 percent of voters saying they disapprove of the president’s job. That’s almost identical to Trump’s figures from April, when 42 percent of voters approved of his job and 54 percent disapproved.”
China has been trying to attract top intellectual talent for years. Trump is discouraging such talent from working in the U.S. and China is encouraging them to live in China. This is hugely dumb policy that could make China the clear leader in world technology.
“Despite the polls showing overwhelming public concern about climate change, another type of poll sends the wrong signal to politicians. When pollsters ask people to rank issues in order of importance, climate change typically finishes near the bottom. Yet global warming is not a freestanding issue. It has a significant impact on the issues that rank high, including the economy, cost of living, jobs, inflation and energy prices. ”
“President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics has drawn surprising opposition from conservative economists, and for good reason.
When Trump fired Erika McEntarfer, the former commissioner, he baselessly denounced her for publishing “rigged” job numbers to make him look bad. Her replacement, whom Trump capitalized as “Highly Respected Economist, Dr. E.J. Antoni,” would supposedly “ensure that the Numbers released are HONEST and ACCURATE.”
Don’t count on it.
Almost nobody bought Trump’s claim. Antoni has meager credentials and no relevant experience for leading an agency with over 2,000 employees, responsible for measuring all “labor market activity, working conditions, price changes and productivity in the U.S. economy.”
Antoni is just five years out of graduate school at Northern Illinois University. His only professional jobs have been with right-wing policy shops.
…
Economists from multiple conservative think tanks have weighed in against Antoni’s appointment, citing his inexperience and incompetence.
The American Enterprise Institute’s Stan Veuger warned that Antoni’s work “has frequently included elementary errors or nonsensical choices that all bias his findings in the same partisan direction.” His colleague Derek Scissors was even more dismissive, saying Antoni “writes drivel for political reasons.”
David Herbert, of the American Institute for Economic Research, called for the Senate to reject Antoni’s nomination, citing “his inability to understand basic economics.”
Likewise, Daniel DiMartino of the Manhattan Institute called Antoni “unqualified for the labor market data collection and analysis role” when he doesn’t know what he’s “talking about.” Jessica Riedl, another Manhattan Institute fellow, described Antoni’s publications as “probably the most error-filled of any think tank economist.”
Even the Wall Street Journal editorial board, ordinarily supportive of Trump’s nominees, was skeptical, noting that Antoni’s “commentary at Heritage has been highly partisan,” while the BLS job “demands nonpartisan professionalism.””
“Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that he is putting Hungary’s national interests first in rejecting a call by President Trump for all NATO allies to halt the purchase of Russian fossil fuels.
Orbán, in remarks to state radio and reported by The Associated Press, said he told Trump that ending Russian oil imports would be an economic “disaster” for Hungary that would put the Hungarian economy “on its knees.”
…
Trump seemed to cut Hungary and Slovakia some slack in continuing to purchase Russian oil.
“I just don’t want to have people go blaming them when, you know, we spoke to them at length today and it seems like that, for them it’s a little bit,” the president said from the Oval Office on Thursday, trailing off and turning to his pressure campaign on Turkey to stop buying Russian energy.”
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Monday for the Israeli strikes on Doha that killed a Qatari service member and violated Qatari sovereignty.
In a call organized by President Trump, Netanyahu also said such a strike would not happen again.”
Trump has a list of what indicates domestic terror. It includes anti-Christianity and other things that Americans are allowed to believe and voice. This is way overboard and is how you use “terrorism” to strip away people’s rights and arrest political opponents.
“Certain benefits will continue to be administered: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and assistance for Veterans. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will not be affected initially, but could be if the shutdown goes on for a long time. The federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program will not be able to accept any new applicants starting today. In the past, “inspections of chemical factories, power plants, oil refineries and water treatment plants were disrupted because the Environmental Protection Agency furloughed most of its employees in charge of monitoring pollution and compliance,” reports the Times. “Some routine food safety inspections also stopped.”
National parks have previously had their operations hobbled; open-air sites will probably stay open but visitors centers or other areas that need staffing will shut down. The Department of the Interior says that restrooms will be cleaned and garbage will be collected”