Author: tophorse@gmail.com

In the battle over redistricting congressional maps, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has sounded the alarm on the “very survival of our democracy.”  It’s not the first time he has wrapped himself in the term. When President Trump deployed troops to quell unrest in Los Angeles, he declared, “democracy is under assault right before our eyes.” …
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has threatened to withhold millions in federal highway funding from states if they don’t require commercial truck drivers to know English before obtaining licenses. “This is not just us saying we have some obscure rule, this is about keeping people safe on the road — your families, your loved ones, your…
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday the Trump administration is “thinking about” taking stakes in defense contractors, potentially replicating its divisive move to purchase part of chip maker Intel. “Why shouldn’t the U.S. government say, ‘You know what? We use Palantir services, we would like a piece of Palantir. We use Boeing services, we would…
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The former national security adviser says the president’s attempt to end the war in Ukraine is “collapsing in confusion and haste.”

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), the non-voting member representing the nation’s capital in Congress, introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require National Guard troops to wear body cameras as they patrol Washington, D.C. Norton said in a statement that the bill aims to “promote transparency in the troops’ interactions with the public and protect the public…
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Surfing the Internet over the weekend, I was surprised to come across this headline: “President Trump is Right About the Smithsonian.”   That’s strange, I thought. I mean, really? Trump is right about interfering with the independence of one of America’s most respected institutions and giving leaders of the Smithsonian 120 days to eliminate any indication that…
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The lawsuit was an extraordinary legal maneuver, ratcheting up the administration’s fight with the federal judiciary.

President Trump signed executive orders Monday threatening to upend the fledgling “cashless bail” policies that major cities including Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago have embraced in recent years. “Cashless bail — we’re ending it, but we’re starting by ending it in D.C.,” Trump told reporters during a signing event in the…
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Fox News host Laura Ingraham criticized President Trump for saying he’ll allow hundreds of thousands of Chinese students into the U.S. “Why are you helping Harvard? That just helps Harvard and UCLA. You are all helping those schools, why? They are basically factories of anti-American propaganda, now getting a big influx of cash because of…
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First lady Melania Trump is urging students across the country to “unleash their imagination and showcase the spirit of American innovation” by participating in a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence (AI) competition. “Are you ready for an AI challenge? Take part in this nationwide initiative to discover, develop and expand AI’s potential,” she said in a video released Tuesday.…
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said his Monday meeting with President Trump exceeded expectations despite concerns that he could face a “Zelensky moment,” referring to the public blowup between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office earlier this year. “Before I met with President Trump today, he posted on Truth Social…
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President Trump and members of his Cabinet are meeting Tuesday morning as the administration steps up its crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C. while setting its sights on other Democratic-run cities. The meeting also comes amid pushback over Trump’s threat to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook amid allegations of mortgage fraud. The move has…
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President Trump is facing outcry from some of his supporters after saying he plans to allow 600,000 students from China into the U.S. “It’s a very important relationship. We’re going to get along good with China,” Trump told reporters Monday during a meeting with the president of South Korea. “I hear so many stories about,…
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A man was arrested for setting fire to an American flag in a federal park outside the White House on Monday, just hours after President Trump signed an executive order seeking to crack down on those who burn the flag. The U.S. Secret Service told The Hill they detained an individual at approximately 6:15 p.m.…
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President Trump on Monday doubled down on his pressure campaign against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, urging the board member to resign or be fired following allegations of mortgage fraud.  The effort to remove her from the position has exacerbated Trump’s feud with the Federal Reserve after months of tension between the president and Fed…
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Global investors were shell-shocked after Trump struck another blow at the Federal Reserve’s independence, caught between the concerns over politicisation of policy and the payoffs for markets.

The president met Monday with South Korean leader Lee Jae-myung before taking questions about his ongoing trade war in the Oval Office.

Here’s where I agree with a recent opinion piece in The Hill about antisemitism and teachers’ unions: Schools should be safe places for all students and all teachers. Antisemitism, like all forms of hate, should be opposed and educated against. It has no place in our schools.  Where I disagree is that teachers’ unions are harbingers of…
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President Trump in recent days has found himself at the center of several battles from redistricting efforts across the country to his federal takeover of Washington and threats to spread to other blue-led states to his move to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud claims. The president has pushed Cook to resign…
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The White House official resorted to what many saw as an exaggeration of the crime crackdown’s effects.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Tuesday will announce the Trump administration’s enforcement of English proficiency rules for commercial vehicle drivers. President Trump penned an executive order in April that requires all commercial truck drivers operating in the U.S. to be proficient in English. The president designated English as the country’s official language in a separate…
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) warned President Trump against sending National Guard troops to Chicago, after the president suggested last week that the Democratic-run city could be his next target. “Earlier today in the Oval Office, Donald Trump looked at the assembled cameras and asked for me personally to say, ‘Mr. President, can you do…
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Top Democrats pounced on President Trump Monday after he moved to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage fraud allegations. Cook, who was appointed by former President Biden in 2022, has pledged to remain in the position, saying Trump has “no authority” to remove her. “Any attempt to fire Lisa Cook from her position of…
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Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook doubled down on her vow not to resign from the Fed, after President Trump moved on Monday to fire the board member over mortgage fraud allegations. In a statement, Cook argued the president has “no authority” to remove her from her post. “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’…
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Tariff exemptions for packages shipped to the U.S. worth $800 or less are set to end this week. In July, President Trump signed an executive order to suspend the “de minimis” tax exemption rule, which has led an increasing number of postal carriers worldwide to suspend package deliveries to the U.S. On Friday, Aug. 29,…
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