Michele Kelemen

Cuts to public media will smash budgets of some local radio stations Congress voted to claw back federal funding to public media. Some of those hit hardest include community radio stations in areas that voted for the president.

www.npr.org/2025/07/20/n...

A Kite Surfer, Navy SEAL and Makeup Artist: Freed in a U.S.-Venezuela Swap

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/19/w...

State Dept. layoffs led by team of outsiders willing to ‘break stuff’ Interviews with more than 60 people detail a frenetic, arbitrary process underpinning the Trump administration’s far-reaching overhaul of the State Department.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

How bipartisan support for public media unraveled in the Trump era "It will test every single shred of creativity we have to continue to try to serve our mission," says one public media executive, as Congress ends federal funding for public broadcasting.

Last week, President Trump ramped up pressure on wavering GOP lawmakers, posting, "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement."

Case 8:25-cv-00951-PX Document 211-3 Filed 07/02/25 Page 22 of 40 114. Inmates in CECOT are confined to their cells for 23.5 hours daily and cannot go outdoors. They are denied access to reading materials, including even letters from friends or family. Inmates are prohibited from receiving visits from family and friends. Meals are provided through the bars, and the facility enforces strict regulations to maintain order. See Ex. H. 115. In May 2023, Cristosal, a leading human rights organization in El Salvador, released a comprehensive report detailing severe human rights abuses within the country's prison system, especially CECOT. See Ex. I. The investigation documented the deaths of 153 inmates between March 27, 2022, and March 27, 2023, attributing many to torture, beatings, mechanical asphyxiation (strangulation), and lack of medical attention. Id. Autopsies revealed common patterns of lacerations, hematomas, sharp object wounds, and signs of choking or strangulation. Id. Survivors reported being forced to pick food off the floor with their mouths, subjected to electric shocks, and exposed to untreated skin fungus epidemics. Id. Cristosal's director has emphasized that these systemic violations have become state policy. Id. 116. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia reports that he was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation, inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture 117. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was the first name called to disembark the plane that transported him to El Salvador on March 15, 2025. As he exited the aircraft, still in chains, two officials grabbed his arms and pushed him down the stairs, forcing his head down. 118. There were strong lights illuminating the area despite it being nighttime, and cameras were filming the detainees' arrival. 119. Plaintiff Abrego Garcia was pushed toward a bus, forcibly seated, and fitted with a second set of chains and handcuffs. He was repe…

Here’s Abrego Garcia’s amended complaint.

It alleges that Abrego Garcia “was subjected to severe mistreatment upon arrival at CECOT, including but not limited to severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation,
inadequate nutrition, and psychological torture..”

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

A Dangerous Quest for Food in Gaza : State of the World from NPR An NPR journalist in Gaza describes his harrowing experience seeking food from a distribution site run by private American contractors. He found himself facing Israeli military fire, crowds fighting f...

Amazing reporting from my colleagues in Israel and Gaza. www.npr.org/2025/07/02/1...

Why didn’t George W. Bush say anything when there was a fight to be had over this? Ditto for Obama. Solidarity is better than condolences.

Bush, Obama and Bono Commend USAID Staff Members on Their Last Day

Bush, Obama and Bono Commend USAID Staff Members on Their Last Day www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/u...

Longtime State Department spokesman, diplomat Richard Boucher, dies at 73 Richard Boucher, who served for more than a decade as spokesman for the State Department and assistant secretary of state for public affairs, has died at age 73.

apnews.com/article/rich...

A consummate professional. Richard Boucher was spokesman when I first started covering the State Department. May his memory be a blessing.

Longtime State Department spokesman, diplomat Richard Boucher, dies at 73

Worldwide Caution

travel.state.gov/content/trav...

Learn About Your Destination

The State Dept is warning Americans of “the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad” in this new Worldwide Caution.

travel.state.gov/content/trav....

Alt text: A screenshot from Sean Hannity’s Instagram story shows a massive fiery explosion lighting up the night sky over a distant landscape, with a large white flash and rising smoke resembling a blast cloud. A dark silhouette of a rooftop and satellite dish is visible in the foreground.

Sean Hannity, and many others, are posting this video claiming it is the explosion at Fordow after the US military bombed it.

Its not.

This is from Syria in December 2024.

US has struck three Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign President Donald Trump says the U.S. military struck three sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort to decapitate the country’s nuclear program in a risky gambit to weaken a longtime foe amid Tehran’s threat of reprisals that could spark a wider regional conflict.

BREAKING: The U.S. attacked three Iranian nuclear sites, Trump says, joining Israeli air campaign as Tehran promises to retaliate.

U.S. strikes Iran's nuclear facilities Trump's direct intervention marks a historic escalation in the Middle East.

Well, there it is. I guess we'll all see what happens now. www.axios.com/2025/06/21/u...

Questions remain about the Minnesota rampage. Anti-abortion extremism may shed light The suspect in the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband texted, "Dad went to war last night,' evoking the language of the far right, Christian anti-abortion movement.

The suspect in the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband texted, "Dad went to war last night,' evoking the language of the far right, Christian anti-abortion movement.

Wonderful and surprising news out of Belarus, as Lukashenko sets free 14 political prisoners in a deal brokered by Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg.

Belarus pardons, frees opposition leader Tikhanovsky following visit from Trump envoy Belarus released opposition figure Sergei Tikhanovsky from jail after receiving a pardon following a meeting between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and US President Donald Trump's Ukraine…

Belarus frees opposition leader Sergei Tikhanovsky from jail after receiving a pardon following a meeting between Belarus president Alexander Lukachenko and Donald Trump's Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk

www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

Rep. Melissa Hortman, Sen. John Hoffman shot in 'targeted' shootings: Sources Two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot by someone impersonating a police officer, sources confirmed to FOX 9.

“Two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot by someone impersonating a police officer, sources confirmed to FOX 9. “

Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...

Incredible reporting by @propublica.org. We are actively losing so much it's difficult to wrap one's head around it.
projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...

Live updates: Israel attacks Iran’s capital with explosions booming across Tehran Israel attacked Iran’s capital early Friday, with explosions booming across Tehran. The attack comes as tensions have reached new heights over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Israel will face "severe punishment" after it launched strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and left the leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard dead.

The Israelis are calling this a "preemptive" strike. Whether you agree or disagree with this attack, these are not - from what we know tonight - "preemptive" strikes. The Israelis are using that word for a reason. Read on. /1

Public media funding up in the air as House prepares to vote on claw backs The U.S. House plans to vote Thursday on a rescission bill that would claw back two years of funding for the public media system.

www.npr.org/2025/06/12/g...

Greetings from Palmyra, Syria, with its once-grand hotel named for a warrior queen Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.

Check out this “postcard” from Syria, part of a new NPR series. www.npr.org/2025/06/11/g...

Opinion | Here’s What’s Happening in America, in Six (Mostly) Russian Terms (Gift Article) To help Americans name their new reality, we wrote a phrase book of authoritarianism.

An interesting read. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/09/o...

Chinese propaganda surges as the U.S. defunds Radio Free Asia Beijing expanded its state propaganda, including to the persecuted Tibetan and Uyghur minorities, as RFA pulled back.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Chinese propaganda surges as the U.S. defunds Radio Free Asia Beijing expanded its state propaganda, including to the persecuted Tibetan and Uyghur minorities, as RFA pulled back.

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Chinese propaganda surges as the U.S. defunds Radio Free Asia

Opinion | They are not good at this Nearly five months into Trump’s new reign of error, his administration’s mistakes are multiplying.

Latest from Milbank on the “reign of error” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...