US politics

US politics

Age has long been a point of debate in American politics, but it becomes especially controversial when lawmakers remain in office well beyond traditional retirement years. As the nation grapples with issues like healthcare, technology, and economic change, questions naturally arise about how age, generation status, and experience influence leadership at the highest levels of government. For some voters, longevity in office represents wisdom; for others, it raises concerns about representation and outdated reasoning.

U.S. border czar Tom Homan announced yesterday that 700 federal agents are leaving Minnesota. The move comes after federal agents fatally shot two Americans during the massive immigration operation in the state. Homan did not provide a timeline for when the operation in Minnesota would fully end. He said a further drawdown of federal agents would depend on state and local cooperation.

The Department of Homeland Security's Facebook account recently posted a recruiting notice for ICE under the banner "WE'LL HAVE OUR HOME AGAIN"-the title of a white-nationalist anthem by the Pine Tree Riots ("By blood or sweat, we'll get there yet"). The Department of Labor recently posted a video montage referencing American battle scenes under the tagline "One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American"-a slogan close to the Nazi-era Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer.

The gunman accused of shooting two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., killing one and seriously wounding the other, has pleaded not guilty to the nine charges against him including first-degree murder. Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who was also shot before he was taken into custody, made his brief court appearance on Wednesday in a wheelchair and an orange jumpsuit, CNN reported.

I was out of the country at the time, but shortly after I returned, I thought about Clem when Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti was shot dead by ICE agents at a protest in Minnesota. It wasn't long before the Trump administration's top officials took turns blaming the victim, lying about the circumstances and calling Pretti an assassin. Pretti's distraught parents responded with this: "The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting."

Manhattan Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who reserved decision, appeared unswayed by Trump's position, saying he'd sought two bites at the apple by first trying in state court to get his conviction tossed on account of the Supreme Court's July 2024 decision on presidential immunity and, when that didn't work, refocusing efforts in federal court. The judge said the strategy led Trump to miss the 30-day window to raise the matter federally, without a good cause excuse.

Cutting off one's nose to spite one's face. Shooting oneself in the foot. Tripping over your own feet. Sawing off the tree branch while sitting on it. Such acts of self-sabotage pale in comparison to the utter lunacy surrounding President Trump's decision to stymie federal funding for the Gateway Tunnel project, a vital and necessary construction of two new rail tunnels to replace the crumbling infrastructure that Amtrak and New Jersey Transit use every day to crisscross the Hudson River.

The treaty will still formally expire on Thursday, and the extension will not be legally formalized, a U.S. official said. But the parties have agreed to stick with its terms and negotiate toward a new agreement. "We agreed with Russia to operate in good faith and to start a discussion about ways it could be updated," a U.S. official said.

During Trump's first term, he treated China as a strategic rival and often talked of checking its rise. His administration complained that China was seeking to challenge American power and erode American security and prosperity. But during his first year back in the White House, Trump in governing by whim and impulse with little strategic vision - has done lots to Make China Great Again. His shortsighted policies have enabled China to gain on, and at times move ahead of, the US in numerous ways.

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.

On a cool winter night in Los Angeles, dozens gathered to protest the Trump administration's attacks on the arts and the recent federal immigration raids in southern California. But these protestors didn't carry signs or chant in front of a government building they recited poems such as Antifa Tea Party and Love in Times of Fascism. They performed anti-fascist improv to a small but lively crowd at The Glendale Room, a library-themed theater, as part of the monthly show Unquiet: A Night of Creative Resistance.

EEOC chair, Andrea Lucas, an ardent critic of racial diversity initiatives who was appointed last year by President Donald Trump, said US anti-discrimination law is colour-blind and protects employees of all races. Thanks to President Trump's commitment to enforcing our nation's civil rights laws, the EEOC has renewed its focus on even-handed enforcement of Title VII, Lucas said in a statement, referring to a section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, colour, religion or sex.

Lee's disclosure seems to indicate she's going to run for a full term. The mayor raised $31,863 in the second half of 2025, according to a report filed with the city on Monday. She spent just under $6,000, mostly on routine office and professional services. It's a small amount compared to her total haul in 2025 for the special election - $580,000 - but it's far more than any of the possible challengers already in the race have raised.

Marimar Martinez, a Chicago teacher's assistant who survived being shot five times in her car by a Border Patrol agent in October, only to be charged by federal prosecutors afterward with an attempt to "assault federal officers with a deadly weapon." That prosecution subsequently fell apart under examination, causing an embarrassed DHS to drop the case against Martinez, even as she went on the offensive, campaigning to get the court to allow body camera footage of the shooting to be released to the public.

The 15-member commission, which was created by the Oregon Legislature, has already awarded $125,000 in community grants to 38 eligible organizations for projects focusing on how the 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 has shaped the state. The funding, which was approved in two rounds, has flowed to both urban and rural parts of Oregon. Now the commission has announced that a third round of grants totaling $50,000 will be available starting on Wednesday, March 4. The maximum grant is $3,000 and no match is required. Fifty percent of the grants will be dedicated to rural communities.

In an eight-page order released on Tuesday, US District Judge Theodore Chuang rejected a request from Musk and officials linked to the Department of Government Efficiency to forgo a deposition. It ordered him, along with former acting USAID director Peter Marocco and Department of State official Jeremy Lewin, to be deposed. Musk's legal team had tried to use the "apex doctrine" to avoid the deposition, a rule that allows high-ranking government officials to avoid depositions in some situations.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang wrote that there was "no alternative" to the depositions, citing plaintiffs' inability to obtain information through documents or lower-ranking officials, whose deposition requests went unanswered. Chuang also pointed to earlier rulings finding that Musk made decisions to dismantle USAID despite lacking formal authority or official approval. Zoom in: USAID's former workforce of 10,000 managed some $43 billion in appropriations and assisted approximately 130 countries with disaster relief and economic development in fiscal year 2023.

A young French tennis coach who once lived the American dream describes being detained, shackled and expelled under the Trump administration's tightened border rules. JUANA SUMMERS, HOST: There was a sharp drop in the number of European tourists visiting the U.S. last year compared to 2024. Many said the volatile political climate was the reason. Frightening stories of Europeans getting caught in the Trump administration's reinforced border controls have also dampened desires to cross the Atlantic. NPR's Eleanor Beardsley brings us one French person's experience.

The Department of Veterans Affairs "has made tremendous advancements" in processing claims through its new digital GI Bill system, a VA official said on Wednesday, even as House lawmakers said issues with the project were symptomatic of the department's larger challenges with undertaking major IT modernization efforts. VA awarded a $453 million contract to Accenture Federal Services in March 2021 to develop and implement a new system that could enhance claims processing for its education benefits programs.

Gallego and Moreno cited Reuters reporting from November of internal documents that showed Meta failed to identify and stop ads that exposed its platforms' users to several fraudulent schemes, including illegal online casinos and illicit product sales. An internal document estimated that users are shown 15 billion scam ads a day, and the company projected in late 2024 that it would earn roughly $16 billion - about 10 percent of its annual revenue - from running scam ads.

That anti-woke message was featured prominently in Shlomi's first ad, which showcased his classic infomercial showmanship, a promise to slam chop the nuts out of woke, and a talking fetus. I'm going to soak up the swap, clean the house, and pick up those liberal tears at the same time, Schlomi vowed in the ad. I'm going to slap chop the nuts out of the woke, making less bluehead commies and more red-blooded Americans.

Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo are presumed dead after a U.S. missile hit the boat they were taking home to Trinidad last October. President Trump said the strike targeted narco terrorists when he posted the video online, but families of those men say they had no ties to the drug trade. Now Joseph's mother and Samaroo's sister are suing the U.S. government in federal court in Massachusetts.

Bad Bunny just made history at the Grammys and he's about to do it again with his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance. But as you might have guessed, MAGA is not thrilled about the Album of the Year winner taking the stage to sing in Spanish, call out ICE raids, and fight this authoritarian regime. So they've done the obvious thing and staged their own, super patriotic festival, courtesy of Turning Point USA and aging musician Kid Rock.

The park will "honor our greatest Americans, including black icons like Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Coretta Scott King, Muhammad Ali, and many others," the action reads.

Elizabeth and her mother were taken by federal agents on 6 January, the first of five students from the Columbia Heights district to be detained by ICE during the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown in the region, school leaders said. The family, originally from Ecuador, has an active asylum case, school officials said. The girl and her mother were at a Texas shelter as of Wednesday morning, a family attorney said, and would be heading back to Minnesota to reunite with her father.

Enrique Castillejos and his wife stopped at a Winchell's Donut House. It was part of their after-church routine on Friday nights. That evening's sermon had been about finding peace in God in turbulent times, and they felt it spoke directly to them. Enrique, 63, and his wife, Maria Elena Hernandez, 55, were undocumented immigrants. Like millions of others in Southern California, they had been looking over their shoulders as federal agents conducted immigration sweeps.