News

In Umpiem Mai camp in Thailand, which is home to more than 10,000 people who fled the brutal civil war in neighbouring Myanmar, a resident and a health worker told ABC that multiple patients who were reliant on oxygen have now died.

“The medical workers left without even taking the equipment and the patients had to return to their homes, including some who had to be carried out,” said Sulaiman Mawlawi, a camp resident. “It was a very tragic moment for us.”

Summary

Former Las Cruces police officer Brad Lunsford was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the 2022 fatal shooting of Presley Eze, a Black man, at a New Mexico gas station.

Prosecutors argued Lunsford used excessive force, shooting Eze in the back of the head during a scuffle over an alleged beer theft.

The case shows ongoing concerns over police brutality, with Attorney General Raúl Torrez calling it an “egregious abuse of power.”

Lunsford faces up to nine years in prison.

Besides getting your kids vaccinated, if you're older than 40, get tested go make sure you don't need a booster.

The New York City comptroller’s office, which first noticed the missing money, said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency had unilaterally taken the funds from the city’s accounts.

Summary

House Democrats are frustrated with progressive groups like MoveOn and Indivisible, which are pressuring them to oppose the Trump administration more aggressively.

In a closed-door meeting, lawmakers complained about grassroots activists driving constituent calls demanding obstructionist tactics.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer defended the party’s strategy, saying, “We are picking the most important fights and lying down on the train tracks on those fights.”

However, a CBS News/YouGov poll shows 65% of Democratic voters want all-out opposition to Trump’s agenda.

Summary

Despite promises to detain only high-risk criminals, the Trump administration is also sending nonviolent, low-risk migrants to Guantanamo Bay, internal documents and officials confirm.

While gang members and violent offenders are housed in maximum-security cells, low-risk detainees—many with no criminal records—are placed in a barrack-like facility.

The administration is expanding detention capacity at the base, aiming to hold up to 30,000 migrants.

Civil rights groups have criticized the move, arguing it isolates detainees and undermines legal protections for asylum-seekers and migrants.

source: official newsletter preview, archived 13 Feb 2025 01:18:24 UTC

Summary

A federal judge in Boston has lifted a temporary freeze on the Trump administration’s "fork in the road" program, which offers mass buyouts to millions of federal workers.

U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. ruled that labor unions challenging the plan lacked legal standing, as they were not directly impacted.

The unions argued the program could harm their membership and reputation, but the judge found these concerns insufficient.

With the ruling, the administration’s unprecedented resignation incentive can now proceed.

Summary

The State Department has ordered U.S. embassies worldwide to prepare for staff reductions, affecting both American and local employees.

The directive follows President Trump’s new executive order, "ONE VOICE FOR AMERICA'S FOREIGN RELATIONS," which aims to reshape the State Department by consolidating power under political appointees.

The order could lead to embassy closures, withdrawal from international agreements, and reduced diplomatic protections.

After questions, Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, sent another newsletter saying he’ll use official sources for research

Fremont, California

The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday because the news agency has not altered its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered renamed to the Gulf of America, the news agency said.

Grade school students in several Republican-led states may soon be required to watch a fetal development video produced by a prominent anti-abortion group as part of their curricula.

Summary

Eight former inspectors general fired by Trump have sued, arguing their dismissals violated federal laws protecting oversight officials.

The 2022 Securing Inspector General Independence Act requires presidents to give Congress 30 days’ notice and a detailed rationale before firing inspectors general, which Trump allegedly ignored.

The lawsuit seeks to void their removals, asserting the firings were illegal and hindered their duties.

The case is among more than four dozen that have been filed challenging Trump’s actions.

An advocacy group dedicated to fighting corporate agriculture monopolies on Wednesday urged federal antitrust enforcers to take action against egg producers that the group accuses of taking advantage of the bird flu crisis in order to raise prices, inflate their profits, and consolidate their market power.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/25935664

Gloria Oladipo
Wed 12 Feb 2025 08.50 EST

[gives reason to hope - not everyone is going to lie down and take it.]

"About two dozen adults who live at the military base chanted “DEI” and booed at Hegseth as he arrived to the US European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, NBC News reported.

Separately, a group of students attending the Patch middle school, also in Stuttgart, held a walkout, according to a letter from the school obtained by the Washington Post."

"Protests led by military families are generally uncommon. A spokesperson at the Department of Defense did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment about the protests."