Author: Robert Jones
All eyes were on the Senate Thursday, as Republicans and Democrats duke it out over a temporary measure to fund the government ahead of a Friday evening deadline.But left unsaid is how a government shutdown could help deliver on President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s key goal to drastically shrink the federal bureaucracy.The GOP-controlled House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution on Tuesday that would fund the government through the end of September, kicking the measure to the Senate. But Senate Democrats have since announced their intent to block it, ratcheting up the odds of a shutdown that could begin…
NEW YORK (AP) — The Trump administration’s recent changes to student loans are causing frustration and confusion for some borrowers. In response to a February court ruling that blocked some Biden-era programs, the Education Department has taken down online and paper applications for income-driven repayment plans. “This especially hurts anyone who’s lost their jobs, including federal workers,” said Natalia Abrams, founder and president of the Student Debt Crisis Center. “A few months ago, they would have been able to get on a zero-dollar income-driven repayment plan.”The removal of application materials also has caused confusion around the recertification process for borrowers…
Hamas said Friday that it had agreed to release Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the last living U.S. citizen held in Gaza, as well as the bodies of four more deceased dual-national captives.Nothing has been finalized, Hazem Qassem, a Hamas spokesman told NBC News. But he said that the militant group had agreed to a proposal put forward by mediators and was awaiting the results of further negotiations. The decision to free Alexander was first announced in a statement posted to Telegram on Friday. It said that Hamas is ready to begin negotiations to start the second phase of its ceasefire…
In the past week, Donald Trump announced that he would buy a Tesla and advertised the company’s vehicles at an event that turned the White House lawn into a showroom benefitting his ally, Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He also said that vandalizing Tesla cars — as some demonstrators have done to protest Musk — will be labeled an act of “domestic terrorism.” It’s the latest and perhaps most egregious example of the conflicts of interest that have ensnared both Trump and Musk, who is leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a role that has given the world’s richest…
President Donald Trump is expected to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law granting the president authority to detain or deport nationals of an enemy country, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter told ABC News.The reported move, which could happen by the end of this week, is part of the administration’s broader efforts to carry out mass deportations.Newsweek has reached out to the White House on Thursday afternoon for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House on March 13, 2025, in Washington,…
When a couple from Colombia who was planning their wedding showed up for a check-in with U.S. immigration authorities, one was given his next appointment date. The other was detained and deported.Jhojan doesn’t know why Felipe was detained at the Feb. 5 appointment with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But Jhojan was so worried after Felipe’s deportation that he didn’t show up for his next check-in a month later. Jhojan insisted The Associated Press withhold the couple’s last names, fearing retribution. He is among many people who now fear that once-routine immigration check-ins will be used as…
Montreal, Canada – It happened in early January. But for many Canadians, Justin Trudeau’s announcement that he planned to resign as Canada’s prime minister already feels like a lifetime ago. That’s because, in the weeks since, the country has been upended by a series of unprecedented shifts coming from south of the border. Canada is facing the prospect of a prolonged trade war with the United States, and US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex the country, fuelling widespread anger and uncertainty. Now, as Trudeau is set to formally step down on Friday – clearing the way for…
CNN — In President Donald Trump’s first White House term, public confidence in his handling of the economy was always among his greatest strengths. But in the early days of his second term, public views about his economic performance have quickly become his most conspicuous potential vulnerability. Even before Trump rattled the stock market this week by acknowledging his trade agenda could trigger a recession, several public polls had shown his job approval for managing the economy lagging below his overall job performance rating as president. That’s a dramatic reversal from Trump’s first term, when approval for his handling of…
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…
The US and Canada are meant to be the best of friends, but they’re in the midst of a pretty ugly fight. It began with President Donald Trump’s ascent to the White House, when he began referring to his outgoing Canadian counterpart as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” Things escalated from there, with heated meetings and calls leading to the US enacting (then retracting, then enacting, then retracting) tariffs on its northern neighbor, and Canada responding in kind.Province leaders got in on the action as well, perhaps most notably Ontario Premier Doug Ford: “If they want…