Saturday, February 1, 2025

The News Roundup – Domestic and International (The 1A) 2025-01-31

Domestic

An American Airlines plane collided with a helicopter on Wednesday in Washington D.C., sending both crashing into the Potomac River. There are no survivors.

Donald Trump ordered a freeze of all federal grants, disrupting vital national processes. The stoppage was reversed, causing confusion for many agencies and Americans that rely on various types of funding.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, held the first press briefing of the new administration. She told the press this week that the Trump administration considers all the migrants targeted by ICE raids criminals, even if they have no criminal record.
Interview: Tens of thousands of Palestinians are making their way back into the northern parts of Gaza. Israel’s ban on working with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency goes into effect this week.

A new Chinese AI app, called DeepSeek, has upended the tech industry and Wall Street. Industry watchers note the country’s programmers can deliver a product on par with that of the West, for a fraction of the cost and without access to similar hardware.

Following Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on Colombia over the country’s refusal to accept a flight full of deported migrants, South American leaders are pondering how to deal with an administration that’s proving volatile in its diplomacy.
Interview: 

 

RFK Jr. Cites Flawed Paper Claiming Link Between Vaccines and Autism in HHS Confirmation Hearing - FactCheck.org

"You show me those scientific studies, and you and I can meet about it," Kennedy said. "There are other studies as well, and I'd love to show those to you. There's a study that came out last week of 47,000 9-year-olds in the Medicaid system in Florida — I think a Louisiana scientist called Mawson — that shows the opposite. There are other studies out there. I just want to follow the science." 

Contrary to Kennedy's claim that "there are other studies out there," the literature on vaccines and autism is not mixed, unlike many other scientific topics. As David Mandell, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, previously told us, "Every single rigorous study we have" shows "no association" between autism and vaccination. 

The specific paper Kennedy cited — which claims to have found that "[v]accinated children were significantly more likely than the unvaccinated to have been diagnosed" with autism and a variety of other neurodevelopmental disorders — is not rigorous...

JD Vance is already campaigning for Trump's ‘third term’

"Before our eyes, Vance is being strategically groomed and sent to battle the traditional media — positioning him to win Trump's "third term." 

It was a Republican-controlled House of Representatives that passed the 22nd Amendment in 1947, limiting future presidents to only two elected terms. This was a reaction to President Franklin Roosevelt's four consecutive election victories from 1932 to 1944. Over the next four years after House passage, three-quarters of the states ratified the amendment as required by law. This means Trump can never run again, barring an unlikely new amendment to or an egregious breach of the Constitution. 

The continuation of Trumpism without Trump — who turns 82 in 2028 — is among the highest priorities for his family and MAGA-world. Viewed through that lens, you can expect Vance to play a leading role in Trump's second term..."

By firing inspectors general, Trump is covering up pandemic-era fraud

"Our team did an intensive staff review to look for likely fraud with input from the lending community and tips from members of Congress. We shared that information with the inspector general, who then often partnered with other federal law enforcement agencies to investigate and advance justice. These investigations had bipartisan support, and former President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill to increase the statute of limitations for pandemic fraud from five years to 10 years — meaning that the inspector general could be investigating pandemic fraud throughout the next four years of the Trump administration. 

The inspector general's firing shows a shift in priorities for the new administration away from Republican talking points about getting tough on fraud. It will instead let fraudsters and criminals evade responsibility…"

Security Bite: Top macOS threat found riding the DeepSeek wave - 9to5Mac

"DeepSeek only offers iOS and Android apps. Any application that prompts you to drop files into Terminal is malicious. 

Further, as friendly advice, don't download or engage with DeepSeek at all. The LLM chatbot is located in China and, therefore, has to adhere to Chinese laws, which include heavy censorship and complete and total access to all data. It's a serious risk to your privacy and has the potential to fuel cyber-espionage campaigns against you in the future..."

Why Are There No Writings From Jesus?

Trump’s FCC chief orders investigation into NPR and PBS sponsorships - The Washington Post

"This appears to be yet another Administration effort to weaponize the power of the FCC," FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, said in an X post Thursday. "The FCC has no business intimidating and silencing broadcast media."…


"Random MAGA Troll" JD Vance's BIZARRE Statements on Catholicism & Mark Milley

Responding to the Vice President

Trans pilot Jo Ellis shares 'proof of life' video amid false claims she flew the helicopter involved in D.C. plane crash

Several right-wing social media accounts falsely claimed a transgender pilot in the Virginia National Guard was flying the helicopter that collided with a commercial jet Wednesday...

‘The Airport Said Don’t Do It. And They Did It.’ - POLITICO

For years, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority warned Congress that the region's airports were at capacity, DeFazio said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine. But their pleas for restraint fell short among lawmakers, who voted to add more flights to an airport already struggling with its heavy load and a shortage of air traffic controllers caused by previous government shutdowns and pandemic-era hits to its workforce...

Raphael Warnock Flips Qualification Questions Back On DEI-Obsessed Republicans | HuffPost Latest News

"It's Republicans who will have to decide if they're going to choose country over party, choose the people that they were sent to represent over partisan politics. They failed that test miserably when it came to Pete Hegseth, even as they're attacking diversity, equity and inclusion," Warnock said of President Donald Trump's defense secretary in an interview with MSNBC's Chris Hayes. 

"I want to know what qualifies Robert Kennedy to be the chief public health officer of the United States of America? What qualifies the likes of Pete Hegseth to be the leader at the Pentagon? This is a disturbing moment in our country," he added...

How Trump Could Snatch a Third Term — Despite the 22nd Amendment - POLITICO

He could generate a movement to repeal the 22nd Amendment directly. 

He could exploit a little-noticed loophole in the amendment that might allow him to run for vice president and then immediately ascend back to the presidency. 

He could run for president again on the bet that a pliant Supreme Court won't stop him. 

Or he could simply refuse to leave — and put a formal end to America's democratic experiment.

Federal agencies bar Black History Month and other 'special observances'

This week, the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered a pause of all activities and events related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Juneteenth, LGBTQ Pride Month, Holocaust Remembrance Day and other "special observances" to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order, according to a memo obtained by NBC News...

Democrats want answers on prescription payment models abandoned by Donald Trump

"The American people deserve answers: Have these programs have been cancelled? And if so, what is Trump's plan to lower, not raise drug prices?"…

Whoopi Goldberg Schools Trump Press Secretary With A Brutal Lesson On 'Wokeness' | HuffPost Entertainment

"Let me explain something to you, because without that wokeness, you might not have that job," said "The View" host of Leavitt...

5 key takeaways from Robert F Kennedy's combative second hearing

Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee once again hammered Kennedy for promoting misinformation about vaccines, and his refusal to back down from those positions seemed to bother even some Republicans on the panel. 

Kennedy was also asked about his stance on GLP-1 drugs and emergency abortion access, while again conveying a shaky grasp on the agencies he would oversee…

Trump Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid Still in Place, Despite Administration Claims — ProPublica

"A chaotic, unexplained and abrupt pause with no guidance has left all our partners around the world high and dry and America looking like a severely unreliable actor to do business with," a USAID official told ProPublica, adding that other countries will now have good reason to look to China or Russia for the help they're no longer getting from the U.S. 

"There's nothing that was left untouched."… The dire international situation has been exacerbated by upheaval in Washington. This week, the Trump administration furloughed 500 support staff contractors from USAID's humanitarian assistance bureau, about 40% of the unit, and fired 400 more from the global health bureau. Those workers were told to stop working and "please head home." 

The remaining officials in Washington are now attempting to navigate a confounding waiver process and get lifesaving programs back online. Officials and diplomats told ProPublica that Trump's new political appointees have not consulted USAID's longtime humanitarian experts when crafting the new policies. As a result, career civil servants said they are struggling to understand the policy or how to carry it out… 

"Like a Russian nesting doll of fuck-ups," said Jeremy Konyndyk, who ran some of USAID's largest programs under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. "It's just astonishing."


RFK Jr.'s Stunning Claim About Black People And Vaccines Sparks Concern From Medical Experts | HuffPost Life

In 2021, Kennedy had said, "We should not be giving Black people the same vaccine schedule that's given to whites, because their immune system is better than ours." 

Alsobrooks asked Kennedy to explain what he meant by that remark, and he went on to reference a "series of studies" while saying research shows that "Blacks need fewer antigens." (For the record, experts say that this is not true.)…

FBI agents being reviewed for possible mass firings, people familiar say - The Washington Post

"What this administration is doing is they are acting so recklessly and with disregard to any laws or norms, they are making a ton of errors in order to satisfy their outspoken base that seek retribution," Zaid said. "And they are creating a lot of legal claims." 

The ranks of those told this week to leave the FBI or be fired included several executive assistant directors as well as special agents in charge of some of the bureau's field offices across the country. It is highly unusual for senior staffing changes to be made while there is interim leadership in place at the FBI, a law enforcement agency that is supposed to be insulated from politics. 

But a mass purge of field agents, the front line investigators in FBI cases, would signal an even greater escalation — and would contradict recent pledges to avoid such action by Trump's nominees to lead both the FBI and the Department of Justice...

Air traffic controllers union responds to Trump’s DEI attacks

"Air traffic controllers earn the prestigious and elite status of being a fully certified professional controller after successfully completing a series of rigorous training milestones. The standards to achieve certifications are not based on race or gender," Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), said in a statement. 

"The proud men and women that comprise the national aviation safety professionals bear the immense responsibility of ensuring the safety and efficiency of the national airspace system, while working short-staffed, often 6 days a week, and in facilities long overdue for modernization."…

Trump says tariff may cause short-term disruption | Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday acknowledged that tariff costs are sometimes passed along to consumers, and said his plans to impose tariffs may cause a short-term disruption...




The Venezuelans Who Just Lost Their Legal Status in the U.S. - The Atlantic

This week, more than half a million Venezuelans who'd done things "the right way" discovered that the distinction might not matter. 

They'd filled out forms, paid up to $545 in fees, and waited anywhere from two to 12 months to secure Temporary Protected Status, which allows them to live and work in the United States. And yet, on Wednesday, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that these 600,000 Venezuelans would be stripped of that status and subject to deportation as of September 10...


Trump orders USDA to take down websites referencing climate crisis | Trump administration | The Guardian

But the sites featured important tools and information to help mitigate the effects of climate change and research. For now, the administration has effectively barred access to dozens of programs set up to help a wide range of communities – from farmers to firefighters – as they navigate changing conditions...

Maga FINDS OUT They Too Are DEI

"Nonsensical": As Trump Blames Crash on DEI, Aviation Expert Says It's Understaffing and Lax Regulation

Everyone's Wrong About Elon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuNkgDkzD8k

 

'I don't know': RFK Jr. stumped by procedural questions

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/56rg7rVmV0k


Trump Blames DEI for Crash Without Diversity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBSnWZrvdy8

 

New Orleans archbishop fires food bank leaders for refusing to fund abuse settlement

Because Second Harvest is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, donations it receives must be used for the organization's stated purpose, which is feeding the hungry. Several people who have been affiliated with Second Harvest tell Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana they are worried the archbishop's actions Thursday could jeopardize millions of dollars in funding for Second Harvest, including a recent $25m donation from the foundation run by novelist and billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott…

RFK Jr. won't say Covid vaccines saved lives

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ajFQPY7IAXk

 

You're Not Crazy, Trump Is | Noem Glams Up For Bronx Raid | ICE Is Detaining American citizens

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie_d9V2_190


10 Useful Mac Features You May Not Know About

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofJPRZcBhwA

The Top 10 Reasons Why Christianity is a CULT and Always Has Been

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyVtLB0F6Pk









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