ICE Detains Canadian Woman and ‘Wraps Her in Chains’ for 24 Hours

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-detains-canadian-woman-jasmine-mooney-and-wraps-her-in-chains-for-24-hours/

A Canadian woman was put in chains and detained by ICE in an “inhumane” facility after trying to get her new visa, it was revealed Wednesday.

Jasmine Mooney, 35, was working in Los Angeles for the health tonic beverage company she co-founded. But her visa was revoked while she was visiting home in Vancouver, British Columbia. She learned that she had lost legal status when she attempted to board a flight in Vancouver and was refused entry to the U.S. Vancouver has U.S. border agents stationed at the airport.

“They told me I was unprofessional because I didn’t have a proper letterhead on my paperwork,” Mooney told KGTV. She was told to to go to a U.S. consulate to apply for legal status to work in the country again.

Musk Boosts Claim That Hitler Wasn’t to Blame for Holocaust

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/musk-boosts-claim-that-hitler-wasnt-to-blame-for-holocaust/

Elon Musk has reposted a tweet suggesting that Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong were not responsible for murdering millions of people.

The post amplified by Musk to his 219.6 million followers blamed “public sector workers” for the atrocities carried out in the name of some of the most barbarous tyrants in modern history.

The MAGA millionaire shared a post on his X platform by an account with the username @TheAlice Smith that read: “Stalin, Mao and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people. Their public sector workers did.”

Federal judge rules Trump must reinstate many fired federal employees

 https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5193117-judge-trump-reinstate-fired-employees/

A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration must reinstate probationary government employees fired unlawfully at several agencies, lambasting the Justice Department at a hearing for a “sham” gambit that enabled a key official to avoid testifying in the case. 

U.S. District Judge William Alsup’s ruling broadens his previous order to now require the government to reinstate probationary employees fired on Feb. 13 and 14 at the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior and Treasury departments. 

Kremlin Snubs Trump's Ukraine 'Mediator' Moments After He Lands in Moscow

 https://www.newsweek.com/moscow-kremlin-ukraine-steve-whitkoff-snub-2044089

The Kremlin has said it does not consider the United States envoy for the Middle East, who arrived in Moscow on Thursday, to be a mediator for the war in Ukraine.

Steve Witkoff landed in the Russian capital after flying in from Qatar, where he had been involved in indirect talks between Israel and Hamas.

President Donald Trump said U.S. representatives would go to Russia to discuss a proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine agreed this week, which Washington hoped would get a positive response from Moscow.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, told Russian media that Moscow did not consider Witkoff Washington's go-between for war discussions.

Democrat Erupts at Elon Musk During DOGE Hearing

 https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-elonmusk-john-larson-2044126

Democratic U.S. Representative John Larson slammed Elon Musk on Wednesday for skipping a House Ways and Means Committee hearing about DOGE, accusing him of attempting to privatize Social Security.

Elon Musk was notably absent from a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on Wednesday, where Democrats sought answers about Musk and DOGE's access to Americans' Social Security information and Treasury Department data during the group's cost-cutting reviews.

His absence sparked a fiery response from Democratic Representative John Larson, who angrily demanded, "Where is Elon Musk?" while gesturing toward the empty chairs.

Larson also argued that Musk's financial success does not exempt him from accountability before Congress, stating, "No one is above the law."

Outrage and exposure halts Trump's plans for Social Security service cuts

Trump's 'vile, antisemitic' attack on Schumer: Trump's mind is gone. It is shattered.

Judge says Trump penalties on law firm send ‘chills down my spine’

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/03/12/perkins-coie-trump-judge-restraining-order-tro/

A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to at least temporarily halt the unprecedented penalties it levied on a powerful law firm that has represented clients whom President Donald Trump considers his political enemies.

The judge said Trump’s executive order appeared to violate the First Amendment rights of Perkins Coie and noted that the firm was not granted any due process. She said the Trump administration wrote the order in such a broad manner that it was hard to determine any goal beyond retaliation.

“It sends little chills down my spine,” Howell said, describing the executive order as the president punishing a company he believes is not acting in the president’s interest. “Why shouldn’t we be chilled by this?”

Mahmoud Khalil and His Green Card

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/mahmoud-khalil-green-card-trump-administration-cuad-columbia-israel-hamas-ecdc4424?mod=hp_opin_pos_1

Terrorist support is cause for revocation, but not unpopular speech.

The deportation of green-card holders shouldn’t be taken lightly. They are permanent residents who sought legal approval and were vetted through official channels. Millions of people consider the green card a guarantee of secure U.S. residency and build their lives around it. The Khalil case has many green-card holders wondering if they could also be grabbed and deported for espousing controversial political views. That’s why the facts of his case and a day in court matter.

It’ll be tough for Trump to dig his way out of this one

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/12/economy/recession-tariff-trump/index.html

With his chaotic trade policy, President Donald Trump is digging himself into an economic and political hole so deep, it may prove impossible to climb out.

On Wednesday morning, just after markets spent a day reeling from Trump’s on-again-off-again threat to levy extraordinary energy, steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and to destroy the country’s auto industry, Trump placed tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported from every country around the world, a policy that could drive up prices on a broad range of consumer and industrial goods for Americans. Europe immediately retaliated, adding pressure on a variety of American industries.

Wall Street has grown nervous about the damage Trump’s policies could inflict on America’s still-strong but increasingly wobbly economy. Stocks have plunged, with the Nasdaq falling into correction (a decline of 10% from its recent high) and the S&P 500 flirting with that inauspicious territory.

Canadian PM demands Israel supply electricity to Gaza, Hamas celebrates Trump's Gaza backtrack

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/2025-03-13/live-updates-845843

US President Donald Trump said that no one would be "expelled" from Gaza ahead of his meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday at the White House.

"No one is expelling anyone from Gaza," Trump said in the statement alongside Martin.

Trump also called the minority leader of the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, "a Palestinian" during his meeting with Martin.

Court orders anti-Israel Columbia activist facing deportation to remain in detention

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/columbia-activist-facing-deportation-to-remain-in-detention-after-1st-court-hearing/

Hundreds protest in support of Mahmoud Khalil outside New York court amid furious backlash against Trump administration crackdown

Khalil has not been charged with a crime. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Khalil was detained for deportation due to support for the Hamas terror group. Khalil attended a protest last week at Barnard College, a Columbia affiliate, during which activists handed out pamphlets from the “Hamas media office.”

Gabbard reconsiders appointment of critic of Israel’s war in Gaza

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/405290

Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, decided against appointing a critic of Israel’s war in Gaza to a key position responsible for managing presidential briefings, after the proposed appointment caused concern within President Trump's coalition, The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Daniel Davis, a senior fellow at a Washington think tank known for his skepticism about US military intervention overseas, had been under consideration for the role of deputy director for mission integration. This influential position oversees the President’s Daily Brief, a critical collection of intelligence assessments provided to the White House and top policymakers.

The news of the potential appointment led to backlash from right-wing figures. A senior administration official confirmed to The New York Times that Gabbard reconsidered her decision after the criticism, a sentiment echoed by other officials.

Before the appointment was rescinded, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned it, calling Davis' potential role “extremely dangerous.” In a social media post, the ADL accused Davis of downplaying the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack and undermining American support for Israel.

‘She’s either tragically uniformed, or lying’: Nicolle on Karoline Leavitt’s responses to tariffs