Author: Robert Jones
The Trump administration in a memo to the Pentagon requested “military options” to ensure continued and absolute access to the Panama Canal, according to reports.Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon and the Embassy of Panama in Washington, D.C., for comment by email on Thursday evening.Why It MattersPresident Donald Trump has made the Panama Canal one of his chief pieces of foreign policy. He surprised the world when he suggested that the U.S. would look to “demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question,” and he reiterated the issue during his Congressional address, saying he…
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday that U.S. tariffs on Australian steel and aluminum were unjustified, but his government would not retaliate with its own tariffs.U.S. President Donald Trump said last month he was considering a tariff exemption for Australia, a free trade treaty partner that has traded with the United States at a deficit for decades.A former Australian government secured an exemption with the previous Trump administration in 2018 based on arguments including that Australian steelmaker BlueScope employs thousands of workers in the U.S.Albanese said he would continue to pursue an Australian exemption. The…
Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…
President Donald Trump’s polling numbers have been steadily declining, pollster Nate Silver said, a finding also backed by a new Quinnipiac poll.Newsweek previously reached out to the White House on Wednesday for comment regarding Trump’s polling numbers among Hispanic Americans.Why It MattersTrump has notably touted positive approval ratings in news conferences and campaign rallies throughout his political career.When he regained the Oval Office in January, Trump was coasting with positive numbers but in the last couple weeks has seen his approval ratings dropping across the polls.What To KnowIn a post to X, formerly Twitter, Silver posted about Trump’s approval numbers…
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Abortion rights and the influence of donations from billionaires Elon Musk and George Soros took center stage in a sometimes testy debate Wednesday between candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court less than three weeks before the election.The winner of the April 1 contest will determine whether conservative or liberal justices control Wisconsin’s highest court as it faces cases over abortion and reproductive rights, the strength of public sector unions, voting rules and congressional district boundaries.The race could be a litmus test early in President Donald Trump’s term in a key presidential swing state. The race pits…
These are the key developments on day 1,114 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.Here is the situation on Friday, March 14: Fighting Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces have trapped the remaining Ukrainian soldiers still in the country’s western Kursk region, where Kyiv’s troops have clung on for more than seven months in one of the key battles of the war after making a daring cross-border incursion. Putin told a news conference that the situation in Kursk was “completely under our control, and the group that invaded our territory is in isolation”. Ukraine’s military leadership has denied their forces are…
A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. CNN — Pinned to the top of Elon Musk’s X account is a six-minute clip of his recent three-hour interview with the podcaster Joe Rogan. “This is why the Democrats want to destroy me,” Musk says, previewing the clip, in which he explains a cynical view of the US political system where, he says, Democrats are plotting to use entitlement spending such as Social Security, Medicare and disability payments to lure undocumented immigrants – he calls them “illegals”…
Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The…
A federal judge on Thursday ordered six federal agencies to rehire thousands of workers with probationary status who had been fired as part of President Trump’s government-gutting initiative.Ruling from the bench, Judge William H. Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California went further than a previous ruling. He found that the Trump administration’s firing of probationary workers had essentially been done unlawfully by fiat from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources arm. Only agencies themselves have broad hiring and firing powers, he said.He directed the Treasury and the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Defense,…
Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York went off on members of her own party Thursday amid a looming government shutdown, saying, “American people, whether they are Republicans, independents, Democrats, are up in arms about Elon Musk and the actual gutting of federal agencies across the board.”Why It MattersThe House passed a continuing resolution (CR) this week in efforts to keep the government funded. President Donald Trump strongly encouraged GOP lawmakers to push it through.Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky defied Trump’s guidance and was the lone House Republican to oppose the bill. The CR now has to pass through…