Page 50 - Donald Trump Administration

US labels Haitian gangs as terror groups as experts warn of impact on aid

The US on Friday officially designated a powerful gang coalition in Haiti as a foreign terrorist organisation, raising concerns the move could deepen the country's humanitarian crisis at a critical time. The Viv Ansanm coalition, which means Living Together, joins a list of eight Latin American criminal organisations under that category. Gran Grif, the biggest gang to operate in Haiti's central Artibonite region, also was added to the list, as reported by The Associated Press on Tuesday. The age of impunity for those supporting violence in Haiti is over, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Friday. The US Department of State warned that persons, including American citizens, that engage in certain transactions or activities with these entities, or these individuals may expose themselves to sanctions risk. But it's nearly impossible for aid groups and others to avoid dealing with gangs in Haiti. The Viv Ansanm coalition controls at least 85 per cent of the capital,

Trump plans door knocks, DNA tests to keep tabs on 450,000 migrant children

President Donald Trump's administration is conducting a nationwide, multi-agency review of 450,000 migrant children who crossed the US-Mexico border without their parents during President Joe Biden's term. Trump officials say they want to track down those children and ensure their safety. Many of the children came to the US during surges at the border in recent years and were later placed in homes with adult sponsors, typically parents, relatives or family friends. Migrant advocates are dubious of the Republican administration's tactics, which include dispatching Homeland Security and FBI agents to visit the children. Trump's zero-tolerance approach to immigrants in the US illegally which has resulted in small children being flown out of the country has raised deep suspicion his administration may use the review to deport any sponsors or children who are not living in the country legally. Trump officials say the adult sponsors who took in migrant children were not always properly

Trump signs executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS, NPR

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged bias in the broadcasters' reporting. The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS" and further requires that that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organisations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news.' The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump's election, as Republicans have long complained about them.

US judge blocks Trump's deportations of Venezuelans under 1798 wartime law

Venezuelan immigrants across the US who face potential deportation have been arguing since March that Trump's AEA proclamation was unlawful because the US isn't at war, the judge said

Army calls for 6,600 soldiers for potential parade on Trump's birthday

Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump's birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers, at least 150 vehicles, 50 helicopters, seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians, The Associated Press has learned. The planning documents, obtained by the AP, are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released. They represent the Army's most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th birthday festival on the National Mall and the newly added element a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed. While the slides do not include any price estimates, it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size. Costs would include the movement of military vehicles, equipment, aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members. High costs halted Trump's push for a parade in his first term, and the tanks and other

Trump plans record $1.01 trillion national security budget this year

The defense budget will fund the Golden Dome missile defense project, shipbuilding and nuclear modernization, border security among its top priorities

Vance heralds 'industrial renaissance' at South Carolina steel plant

Vice President JD Vance visited a steel plant in South Carolina on Thursday as he heralded the launch of an industrial renaissance in the US, in part due to President Donald Trump's moves to boost domestic industry. Vance made the trip to Nucor Steel in Huger as part of the administration's events marking Trump's first 100 days in office. I hope every single one of you, you guys in front me, feel a sense of pride, because these are the products that actually make America work, Vance told several hundred guests and Nucor steel workers gathered on a gravel lot outside one of the buildings at the company's sprawling facility. These are the products that make our citizens' lives better. Nucor's corporate leaders have cheered Trump's tariff policies, which have shaken the global economy and proved less popular with other business leaders. The company's stock rose 6% per cent when the Trump administration announced new tariffs on imported steel, though the price has fluctuated since. Af

Trump govt asks SC to strip legal protections from 350K Venezuelan migrants

The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported. The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal judge in San Francisco that kept in place Temporary Protected Status for the Venezuelans that would have otherwise expired last month. A federal appeals court had earlier rejected the administration's request. President Donald Trump's administration has moved aggressively to withdraw various protections that have allowed immigrants to remain in the country, including ending TPS for a total of 600,000 Venezuelans and 500,000 Haitians. TPS is granted in 18-month increments to people already in the US whose countries are deemed unsafe for return due to natural disaster or civil strife.

Evaluating trade talks with US, says China hinting at possible thaw

China's Commerce Ministry said in a Friday statement that it had noted senior US officials repeatedly expressing their willingness to talk to Beijing about tariffs

Donald Trump speaks to graduating students at Alabama amid protests

President Donald Trump was addressing graduating students at the University of Alabama on Thursday, a visit that drew hundreds of protesters to an off-campus rally. Trump's remarks in Tuscaloosa are the Republican president's first address to graduates in his second term and come as he has been celebrating the first 100 days of his administration. The previously scheduled visit came shortly after he announced a shake-up to his national security team, with Mike Waltz being tapped for United Nations ambassador and Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking over Waltz's national security adviser role on an interim basis. What a nice looking group this is, Trump said to open his speech. There's nowhere I'd rather be than Tuscaloosa. Alabama, where Trump won a commanding 64 per cent of the vote in 2024, is where he has staged a number of his trademark large rallies over the past decade. It is also where Trump showed early signs of strength in his first presidential campaign when he began ...

ICE, DeSantis tout record 1,120 illegal immigrant arrests in one week in US

A record 1,120 people accused of being in the US illegally were arrested in less than a week during sweep orchestrated by federal, state and local authorities in Florida. Officials Thursday credited the operation to the burgeoning number of local police departments and state agencies that have joined President Donald Trump's drive for mass deportations. That cooperation was on display Thursday when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined officials from the US Department of Homeland Security to tout the arrests. We will continue to engage in broad interior enforcement efforts, said DeSantis at a joint press conference with federal officials. This is just the beginning. Local police can make immigration arrests and detain people for immigration violations under specific agreements. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had 135 agreements across 21 states in December. That number has since jumped to 506 deals across 38 states, with an additional 74 agencies pending approval. As the Trump .

From Tokyo to LA, workers observe May Day, many voice concerns about Trump

Shouting banzai! or live long, thousands of people gathered in a Tokyo park on Thursday and marched through the streets to the banging of traditional drums, as Japan kicked off celebrations to mark May Day. The holiday, also known as International Workers' Day or Labour Day, marks the struggles and achievements of workers and the labour movement around the world. Thousands of people are expected to attend rallies and marches across the US, including in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. For our children to be able to live with hope, the rights of workers must be recognised, said Junko Kuramochi, a member of a mothers' group who marched in Japan's capital. US organisers say their message this year is focused on fighting back against President Donald Trump's policies targeting immigrants, federal workers and diversity initiatives. Even in Japan, some said Trump's policies hung over the day like a shadow. One truck in the Tokyo march featured a doll that looked like ...

Trump company signs deal for Qatari golf resort, continuing foreign ties

The Trump family company struck a deal Wednesday to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar in a sign it has no plans to hold back from foreign dealmaking during a second Trump administration, despite the danger of a president shaping US public policy for personal financial gain. The project, which features Trump-branded beachside villas and an 18-hole golf course to be built by a Saudi Arabian company, is the first foreign deal by the Trump Organisation since Donald Trump took office and unlike any done in his first term. Back then, he forswore foreign deals in an extraordinary press conference surrounded by stacks of legal documents as he pledged to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest. Noah Bookbinder, president of a watchdog group that has sued Trump for alleged ethics violations, blasted the Qatari deal. You want a president making decisions that are in the best interest of the United States, not his bottom line, said Bookbinder, who leads Citizens for Responsibility a

Kamala Harris accuses Trump of 'wholesale abandonment' of American ideals

Former Vice President Kamala Harris plans to use a high-profile speech Wednesday to sharply criticise President Donald Trump amid speculation about whether she will mount another presidential campaign or opt to run for California governor. Harris will address the 20th anniversary gala for Emerge America, an organisation that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office that grew in part from Harris' run for San Francisco district attorney in the early 2000s. Her speech comes the day after Trump reached 100 days in office. It is expected to be her most extensive public remarks since leaving office in January following her defeat to Trump, with planned critiques of the Republican president's handling of the economy, US institutions and foreign policy. Harris has barely mentioned Trump by name since she conceded defeat to him in November, but she recently addressed the anxiety and confusion that have gripped many of her supporters since Trump took office. Fear has a way of .

Yale weighs $850 mn bond sale amid Trump's attack on higher education

The sale would consist of two bond series: one offering $500 million of tax-exempt bonds and another selling $350 million of taxable bonds, both are expected to price the week of May 5

US court upholds restrictions on DOGE access to Social Security information

A federal appeals court says it won't lift restrictions on the access that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has to Social Security systems containing personal data on millions of Americans. The full panel of judges on the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted 9-6 to keep the ruling from US District Judge Ellen Hollander in place while DOGE pushes forward with an appeal. The appellate decision was released Wednesday. Earlier this month Hollander issued a preliminary injunction in the case, which was brought by a group of labour unions and retirees who allege DOGE's recent actions violate privacy laws and present massive information security risks. Hollander said DOGE staffers could access data that has been redacted or stripped of anything personally identifiable, but only if they undergo training and background checks. She also said DOGE and its staffers must purge any of the non-anonymised Social Security data they have already obtained, and barred them from making a

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck sues Meta over AI responses about him

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck has filed a defamation lawsuit against Meta alleging that the social media giant's artificial intelligence chatbot spread false statements about him, including that he participated in the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Starbuck, known for targeting corporate DEI programs, said he discovered the claims made by Meta's AI in August 2024, when he was going after woke DEI policies at motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson. One dealership was unhappy with me and they posted a screenshot from Meta's AI in an effort to attack me, he said in a post on X. This screenshot was filled with lies. I couldn't believe it was real so I checked myself. It was even worse when I checked. Since then, he said he has faced a steady stream of false accusations that are deeply damaging to my character and the safety of my family. The political commentator said he was in Tennessee during the January 6 riot. The suit, filed in Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday, seek

$6 bn funding crisis at US mass transit threatens commuters, travel

The Trump administration's spending cuts raise fears of job losses that could slash transit ridership, while tariffs may fuel inflation, making riders less able to afford potential fare hikes

Harvard vows reforms after internal reports on antisemitism, anti-Arab bias

Harvard University is promising to review its academic offerings and admissions policies in response to a pair of internal reports on antisemitism and anti-Arab prejudice at the Ivy League campus commissioned in the aftermath of last spring's pro-Palestinian protests. Harvard released the reports on Tuesday while the university simultaneously battles the Trump administration over demands to limit campus activism reforms the government says are necessary to root out campus antisemitism. The administration has frozen USD 2.2 billion in federal funding and Harvard responded with a lawsuit in a clash that is being watched closely across higher education. In a campus message, Harvard President Alan Garber said Harvard has made necessary changes and essential progress over the last year but promised further action. We will redouble our efforts to ensure that the University is a place where ideas are welcomed, entertained and contested in the spirit of seeking truth, Garber wrote. Garber

Judge orders Trump admin to restore $12 million for Radio Free Europe

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump administration to restore USD 12 million that Congress appropriated for Radio Free Europe, a pro-democracy media outlet at risk of going dark for the first time in 75 years. US District Judge Royce Lamberth granted the temporary restraining order for the US Agency for Global Media to disburse money for April 2025 for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty pending the outcome of a lawsuit seeking to keep the station on the air. Lamberth, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, found that the administration could not unilaterally revoke funding approved by by Congress. Attorneys for the media outlet say President Donald Trump's administration has terminated nearly all of its contracts with freelance journalists, missed payments on leases and furloughed 122 employees. They warn that more employees will be furloughed and more contracts will be cancelled on May 1 if funding isn't restored. By the end of May, RFE/RL will be forced to cancel the