State Dept. Layoffs Hit Russia and Ukraine Analysts

State Dept layoffs include senior analysts in the bureau of intelligence, including people who specialize in Russia and Ukraine

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/u...

What Will Become of the C.I.A.? The covert agency has long believed in the power of knowing one’s enemy. But these days the threats are coming from above.

“An organization devoted to secrecy ends up with a lot of secrets.” Keith Gessen looks back on the long, storied history of the C.I.A.—and considers what will become of the covert agency under Donald Trump.

New U.S. assessment finds American strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites President Donald Trump rejected a military plan for more comprehensive strikes on Iran’s nuclear program that would have lasted weeks, NBC News has also learned.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/nat...

We are paying dearly for the absence of civics education.

Trump Is Breaking American Intelligence “Speak plainly!” Russian President Vladimir Putin snapped at his foreign intelligence chief, Sergei Naryshkin, at a televised security council meeting on the eve of his shambolic full-scale invasion o...

www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

One Hundred Days of Ineptitude Now we know that Donald Trump’s first term, his initial attempt at authoritarian primacy, was amateur hour, a fitful rehearsal.

After 100 days of Donald Trump’s second term, we now know that Trump’s first term, his initial attempt at authoritarian primacy, was amateur hour, a fitful rehearsal, David Remnick writes.

"FLORIDA IS BACK ON TOP OF THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL WORLD! CHAMPIONSHIP MADNESS! IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A GATOR! THEY WIN THE NATIONAL TITLE! Houston did not get a shot off. Florida 65, Houston 63. And it's heartbreak once again for the Houston Cougars." - Ian Eagle 🏀🎙️

It's time to talk about how if people really want this American experiment aka "democracy" to survive, they will need to put bodies on the line to protect the vulnerable.

Otherwise, the United States will just become yet another nation ruled by kings, thugs, and cowards.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but “I was only following orders” was rejected as a defense at the Nuremberg Trials.

Trump’s Deportation Agenda Expands to Legal Immigrants and Tourists U.S. border officials are using more aggressive tactics at ports of entry as the administration scrutinizes green card and visa holders who have expressed opposition to its policies.

U.S. border officials are using more aggressive tactics at ports of entry as the Trump administration scrutinizes legal immigrants who have expressed opposition to its policies. It has prompted American allies to update their travel advisories.

Why a DOJ prosecutor resigned, telling coworkers and bosses 'you serve no man' Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Murphy resigned from the Department of Justice, telling NPR, 'It just was not a Department of Justice that I any longer wanted to associate with.'"

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Murphy resigned from the Department of Justice, telling NPR, 'It just was not a Department of Justice that I any longer wanted to associate with.'"

Trump wants states to handle disasters. States aren't prepared President Trump says he's thinking of getting rid of the country's disaster response agency, FEMA. States say they can't replicate what FEMA does on their own.

President Trump says he's thinking of getting rid of the country's disaster response agency, FEMA. States say they can't replicate what FEMA does on their own.

A photo of Section 43 of Arlington National Cemetery, Va., in 2017. The cemetery’s 651 acres is the final resting place for more than 400,000 service members, veterans and their families. (Arlington National Cemetery)

Arlington National Cemetery has purged its website of material focused on Black, Hispanic, and female troops buried there.

However, Arlington officials also said materials could be restored after review and possible revision.
www.stripes.com/theaters/us/... #Flashes

Statement from the director of the Voice of America (who has been placed on administrative leave).

From interview of Lee Bollinger, 1st Amendment scholar who served as dean of @UMichLaw, president of @UMich, and president of Columbia University.
www.chronicle.com/article/were...

Musk cuts the team finding Ukrainian children stolen by Russia Trump’s federal cost-cutting - led by Elon Musk's Doge – has now hit the unit helping rescue Ukrainian children taken by Russia

Russia has kidnapped tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. Putin was indicted for this crime. Yale has a unit searching for them. Musk eliminated the funding.
inews.co.uk/news/world/m...

Kelly: When I was flying in combat over Iraq during the first Gulf War, I didn’t expect that there was a 10-year-old kid sitting in South Africa who would one day become the richest guy in the world and call me a traitor for doing my job. Now, he kind of acts like a 12-year-old kid

As Trump Courts Putin, Russians Keep Trying to Kill Americans The “gray zone” war on America and its allies isn’t going to stop.

“It's hard to understand why President Trump is ready to make deals with Vladimir Putin, when it is clear Putin has given his blessing for these and other operations that have led to American deaths.”

open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...

E.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices An internal memo directs the closure of offices designed to ease the heavy pollution faced by poor and minority communities.

The Trump administration intends to eliminate EPA offices responsible for addressing pollution in poor communities, an internal memo said.

Removing US forces from Syria could jeopardize security of ISIS prisons, analysts say A withdrawal of American troops from Syria raises the risk of ISIS fighters escaping from prison camps guarded by Kurdish forces, experts say.

A withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria raises the risk of thousands of ISIS fighters escaping from sprawling prison camps guarded by Kurdish forces, analysts and former defense officials say as the White House reviews its security posture in the Middle East.

GOP senator blocks Democratic-led resolution to restore veterans’ jobs in federal workforce Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a resolution demanding the immediate reinstatement of the 6,000 veterans fired from federal government jobs in a sweeping workforce reduction, but Sen. Jer...

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., blocked a resolution introduced Tuesday by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., that demanded the immediate reinstatement of the 6,000 veterans fired from federal government jobs in a sweeping workforce reduction, including at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Trump and George W. Bush’s Common Cause The Republican Party’s anti-intellectualism dates back even further.

Anti-intellectualism is deeply embedded in American public culture. It is thus not surprising that for many decades Republicans have tapped into this rhetoric as an effective weapon against Democrats, Julian E. Zelizer writes.

UK prime minister unveils steps toward a Ukraine peace deal, urges US cooperation British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged more military aid, as well as the possibility of weapons and boots on the ground, to secure peace in Ukraine.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged more military aid, as well as the possibility of weapons and boots on the ground, to secure peace in Ukraine.

Trump falsely claims Ukraine started war with Russia | CNN Politics After top US and Russian officials began peace talks without Ukrainians at the negotiating table, President Donald Trump criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and continued to repeat Russi...

Next we'll hear the US fleet should never have attacked the Japanese on 7 December 1941 at Pearl Harbor. www.cnn.com/2025/02/18/p...

DOGE Raises Red Flags for National Security Elon Musk’s takeover of federal agencies is a counterintelligence crisis.

DOGE could blow American spies’ cover, @shaneharris.bsky.social writes. Counterintelligence is in crisis:

“Appeared”?

A Pulitzer winner quits 'Washington Post' after a cartoon on Bezos is killed Washington Post cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after an editor rejected her sketch satirizing tech chiefs, including the Post's owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Washington Post cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned after an editor rejected her sketch satirizing tech chiefs, including the Post's owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Washington Post Cartoonist Quits After Jeff Bezos Cartoon Is Killed The cartoon, by Ann Telnaes, depicted the owner of The Post, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires genuflecting toward a statue of President-elect Donald Trump.

Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist for The Washington Post, said on Friday evening that she was resigning after the newspaper’s opinions section rejected a cartoon depicting The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires genuflecting toward a statue of President-elect Trump.

Pretend to be on the phone and say your dog’s favorite words..

Watch until the end.. 😂