Grant Smith

Trump administration moves to end veterans’ abortion access in cases of rape, incest and health The Trump Administration has taken its first step toward restricting access to abortions for veterans who are covered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical benefits, reversing a 2022 rul...

Veterans' access to abortion care is already limited. Now the Trump administration wants to ban nearly all abortions from being performed at VA medical centers, @kelciemmorris.bsky.social reports. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

Trust in US economic data on the line: Easy to lose, hard to restore Donald Trump's move to fire the head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has put trust in U.S. data reporting mechanisms on the line just as demand for reliable diagnoses of the health of the world's largest economy is bigger than ever.

"Imagine if one of your concerns is that there's a lackey in charge of the agency and the numbers are fake," said Michael Strain, dir. of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, of an appointment Trump has said to expect within days. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Trump's erratic tariff moves, repeated attacks on the U.S. central bank and Fed Chair Jerome Powell and rising debt levels have made investors rethink holding U.S. assets and raised the term premium - compensation demanded for holding long-term debt. www.reuters.com/business/tru...

American history museum removes Trump's name from impeachment exhibit The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History has removed explicit reference to President Donald Trump from an exhibit about impeachment, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

In Trump's first term he became the first president to be impeached twice - the first time over a request that Ukraine investigate former President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and the second over the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters. www.reuters.com/world/us/ame...

Confederate general statue toppled in 2020 to be reinstalled in DC The bronze statue depicting Confederate Gen. Albert Pike is being restored, the Park Service said in a statement Monday. Officials shared a photo of a worker removing corrosion and paint.

The National Park Service has been ordered to reinstall a statue of former Confederate general Albert Pike in Judiciary Square in Washington, DC. Pike's statue was pulled down and set on fire in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/c...

US economic data quality a worry, authorities not acting urgently enough, experts say- Reuters poll Risks to the quality of official U.S. economic data - long seen as the gold standard - are worrying 89 of 100 top policy experts polled by Reuters, with most also concerned that the authorities are not addressing the issue urgently enough.

Most economists in a July 11-24 Reuters poll, 89 of 100, said they were concerned about the quality of official U.S. economic data, including 41 who said they were "very concerned". www.reuters.com/business/us-...

US links $1.9 billion in state disaster funds to Israel boycott stance The Trump administration said states and cities will not receive funding to prepare for natural disasters if they choose to boycott Israeli companies, according to an agency statement.

FEMA separately said in July that U.S. states will be required to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the government arrest migrants, an administration priority. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

Europe is breaking its reliance on American science European governments are taking steps to break their dependence on critical scientific data the United States historically made freely available to the world, and are ramping up their own data collection systems to monitor climate change and weather extremes, according to Reuters interviews.

Trump has initiated sweeping budget cuts to the federal agencies, dismantling programs conducting climate, weather, geospatial and health research, and taking some public databases offline. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

the USA built a system of higher education so good that smart/rich people from across the world came here, spending billions to learn here, subsidizing education for Americans while spending money to live in our cities and towns. our government arbitrarily decided we should stop doing that

Virginia Giuffre's family expresses shock over Trump saying Epstein 'stole' her Her family's statement is the latest development involving Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges, and the Republican president.

Her family's statement is the latest development involving Epstein, who took his own life in a New York jail in 2019 while facing federal sex trafficking charges, and the Republican president.

Estonia shows off prison cells awaiting Swedish inmates Estonia showed off some of the many empty cells in its Tartus prison on Wednesday as officials outlined how they would implement a proposed agreement for Sweden to send up to 600 inmates to the facility from late next year.

Sweden, which had a prison occupancy rate of 141% in May, was increasing capacity and has considered options such as prison barges, but that idea was eventually dropped, said a spokesman. www.reuters.com/world/estoni...

Exclusive: US plans to fund deportations from Costa Rica, document shows The U.S. State Department is planning to spend up to $7.85 million to help Costa Rica deport immigrants, according to a document seen by Reuters, under an arrangement similar to a Biden-era program that drew criticism from migrant advocates.

Exclusive: US plans to fund deportations from Costa Rica, document shows reut.rs/46DHRRM

Bloodied Faces, Sobbing Children: Immigration Officers Smash Car Windows to Speed Up Arrests We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...

Citizens, crying kids, pregnant women, people who aren't the target...it doesn't seem to matter who's inside the car when immigration officers want to make an arrest. They smash the window anyway

@mckenziefunk.com & I tracked these arrests all over the U.S. projects.propublica.org/trump-ice-sm...

Trump’s war on Big Law leads firms to retreat from ’pro bono’ work for underdogs Major law firms are scaling back the free work they do for advocacy groups fighting the government in the wake of Donald Trump’s attacks on the profession. Interviews with over 60 lawyers and 30 nonprofits show legal aid groups now have fewer resources to defend the vulnerable.

Pro bono work is now being reshaped into a tool of political coercion under Trump, said Steven Banks, the former head of pro bono at Paul Weiss. Banks resigned after his firm reached a settlement that included a deal to provide pro bono services on issues for Trump. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

NJ panel says judge threatened to sic ICE on truant children and their mothers • New Jersey Monitor The judge, who was suspended in February, told one girl "there's a new sheriff in town" soon after President Trump's inauguration.

"You’re about to get plucked up by the ICE officials and sent back to El Salvador. Do you want to go there?” the judge told a 14-year-old girl. "You miss another day for school and I’m going to personally have ICE here to pick you up." newjerseymonitor.com/2025/07/30/n...

Trump approval rating sinks to 40%, the lowest of his term, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds U.S. President Donald Trump’s approval rating dropped one percentage point to 40%, the lowest level of his second term in office, as Americans remained concerned about his handling of the economy and immigration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

Spotify Is Forcing Users to Undergo Face Scanning to Access Explicit Content Submit to biometric face scanning or risk your account being deleted, Spotify says, following the enactment of the UK's Online Safety Act.

Spotify is now instituting face scans and ID checks ... to listen to music.

Porn was only ever the excuse. The only thing that surprises me is how quickly the government surveillance mandate has spread to absolutely every service we use.

www.404media.co/spotify-uk-a...

State police unions sue New Jersey attorney general to block racial profiling probe • New Jersey Monitor Unions representing the New Jersey state police want a judge to toss subpoenas in A.G. Matt Platkin's probe of racial profiling in car stops.

An academic researcher reviewed more than 6 million traffic stops from 2009 to 2021 and found state troopers stopped, searched, and used force against Black and Hispanic motorists far more than they did against white motorists. newjerseymonitor.com/2025/07/09/s...

The Biden admin imposed sanctions on the suspect, accusing him of violence against Palestinians. He also has worked with the Israeli military to bulldoze at least one Palestinian village in the West Bank.

Trump removed the penalties against him and other settlers accused of extremist violence.

How Tyler Childers Made the Most Visionary Country Album of the Year He’s an arena-filling Nashville outsider who wrote a Black Lives Matter anthem and put a gay love story in a music video. Now, fresh off a pilgrimage to India, he's releasing his spiritual and artisti...

After he wrote “Long Violent History” in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, he never played it live. That changed when he performed in Los Angeles, as people outside took to the streets to protest ICE forcefully removing immigrants from their communities. www.gq.com/story/tyler-...

Two rights groups are first Israeli voices to accuse Israel of genocide Two Israeli human rights organisations said on Monday Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the first major voices in Israeli society to level the strongest possible accusation against the state, which vehemently denies it.

Rights group B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel released their reports at a press conference in Jerusalem, saying Israel was carrying out "coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza strip". www.reuters.com/business/med...

Faculty Support of George Mason’s President Draws Federal Investigation

Faculty who wrote to defend their president and object to a DOJ investigation of their university...are now being investigated by the DOJ.
The most banal defense of free speech and academic freedom will trigger the full wrath of the US government now.
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/u...

if necessary to achieve their goals, they are prepared to accept a Protestant dictator.

“Privilege”

Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador Hacked data obtained by 404 Media reveals dozens more people on deportation flights to El Salvador who are unaccounted for. “We have not heard from these people’s families, so I think perhaps even they don’t know," one lawyer said.

"flight manifests for 3 legally contested deportation flights from Texas to El Salvador contain dozens of additional, unaccounted for passengers than a previously published Department of Homeland Security (DHS) list of people deported from the United States on those flights, 404 Media has learned."

Lawyers question legality of Alligator Alcatraz, ask federal judge to intervene “This is an unprecedented situation where hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, with no ability to access the courts, under legal authority that has never been explained and may not exist,” pl...

“‘This is an unprecedented situation where hundreds of detainees are held incommunicado, with no ability to access the courts, under legal authority that has never been explained and may not exist,’ they argued.”

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...

As lawmakers pass legislation targeting trans people, four West Virginians share their stories Facing legislation targeting their identities, a counselor, a daycare worker, a student and a professor talk about life in the state

“It’s just some weirdos in the Legislature have got a tizzy about the particular way that I live my life,” Cook said. “They’ve singled out me and other folks like me as a particular class of folks that offend them.” mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/07/22/t...

A Second Tea Breach Reveals Users’ DMs About Abortions and Cheating The more than one million messages obtained by 404 Media are as recent as last week, discuss incredibly sensitive topics, and make it trivial to unmask some anonymous Tea users.

NEW: a second breach at women's dating safety app Tea has exposed more than one million direct messages. The DMs includes discussions of abortions, cheating, etc. Hard to overstate how sensitive this data is, and it can be used to unmask anonymous Tea users. www.404media.co/a-second-tea...

The fastest-growing rural towns are surrounded by public lands that people use for hiking, skiing, biking, fishing and hunting. The $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation industry funnels money into rural towns that have few other options for growth.

Probe underway after reports of nude women on Oklahoma state superintendent’s office TV • Oklahoma Voice Oklahoma’s House Speaker urged State Superintendent Ryan Walters on Friday to “turn over all relevant devices” and cooperate with an investigation after two board members reported that they saw naked ...

Meanwhile, in Oklahoma:
oklahomavoice.com/2025/07/25/p...