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Voice of America and Radio Free Asia on the chopping block as executive order states grants will be ‘eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law’
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President Donald Trump promised to use “overwhelming lethal force” as he ordered strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Trump said the strikes would continue until the Houthis stop their attacks on shipping vessels off the coast.
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” the president said in a social media post on Saturday. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”
Trump also warned Iran to stop backing the group, saying that he would hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of the Houthis.
This comes as Trump indicated that the next agencies in the federal government to be cut down include the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which is in charge of Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, as well as the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
In an executive order signed late on Friday, Trump eviscerated a number of smaller offices and agencies that do everything from battling homelessness to funding libraries.
“Tesla: The Swasticar”, reads a poster at a bus stop opposite Sadler’s Well Theatre. “Autopilot for your car. Autocrat for your country.”
First appearing around Clerkenwell in February, London has since been plastered with guerrilla advertisements comparing Elon Musk to a Nazi over recent weeks.
It was a satirical swipe at the multi-billionaire Tesla owner and world’s richest man. “We are holding Elon to account,” the group behind the poster said.
Read more from Alexander Butler:
President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Saturday, promising to use “overwhelming lethal force” until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor.
“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”
He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy.
The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory Saturday evening. Images circulating online show plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility. The extent of the damage was not yet clear.
The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing in waters off Yemen in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza. There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.
The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen. Israel’s military declined to comment.
“These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump said.
Grimes has once again called on her former partner Elon Musk to keep their children out of the public eye.
“I have tried begging the public and my kids’ dad to keep them offline, and I’ve tried legal recourse,” she wrote in a post on X, adding that she feels it’s “insane to me that there’s no way to deal with this.”
The Canadian musician, 36, shares three children with the Tesla CEO, 53, who is reportedly a father of 14.
Grimes was responding to a viral fake tweet on Musk’s social media platform, X, when she was asked by another user what she was doing to “protect her children” from misinformation.
Here’s Kevin E G Perry:
The United States has expelled South Africa’s ambassador, after accusing him of being a “race-baiting politician” who hates America and President Donald Trump.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the envoy was “no longer welcome in our great country.”
“Ebrahim Rasool is a race-baiting politician who hates America and hates @POTUS. We have nothing to discuss with him and so he is considered PERSONA NON GRATA.”
Mr Rubio re-posted an article from the right-wing website Breitbart that quoted the envoy saying in a webinar that Trump was leading a white “supremacist” movement.
Bryony Gooch has the story:
Protesters gathered outside a Tesla dealership in London have called for people to boycott the Elon Musk owned electric car maker.
Organisers are encouraging Tesla owners to sell their cars and for people to dump stock.
The electric car giant has already seen shares plunge since the start of the year as the firm comes under pressure from Chinese rivals amid calls for a boycott over Musk’s close ties with US President Donald Trump and far-right causes.
George Lithgow has the story:
Donald Trump’s Oval Office attack on Ukraine’s president last month appeared to mark a very public realignment of America’s sympathies – away from Europe and towards Russia in a manner that few could have imagined during the Cold War years.
The Republican Party, now dominated by Trump’s “America First” MAGA movement, once considered the former Soviet Union “the evil empire” under Ronald Reagan and relished its collapse.
Today, the GOP stands accused of parroting Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric and some even refuse to admit the plain fact that Moscow began the war by invading its neighbor.
Joe Sommerlad has more:
An agent honored by Donald Trump during his address to Congress in 2019 was one of the officers who arrested Mahmoud Khalil in New York City, according to attorneys for the Columbia University student and lawful permanent resident who is now facing deportation for his role in pro-Palestine campus protests.
When Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took Khalil’s biometrics after his arrest, an agent said “the White House is requesting an update,” lawyers wrote in a court filing in Manhattan on Thursday.
More details from Khalil’s arrest and detention in the latest court filings:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is reportedly already $2 billion short to keep up its current pace of operations through the end of this fiscal year, as it races to keep up with the Trump administration’s promises to rapidly deport millions of undocumented migrants.
Josh Marcus reports:
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