WOW

To claim the authority to send any American, citizen or otherwise, to a distant prison beyond the reach of any legal remedy is to shatter the very foundations of constitutional government in the United States.

The White House has taken down some government websites providing COVID-19 information and replaced them with a new boldly styled page dedicated to the controversial theory that the pandemic was caused by the virus leaking from a Chinese government laboratory.

Where are the nationwide protests? The national strikes against the destruction of what is left of U.S. democracy? As for the eerie complacency of the Democrats, it is hardly surprising why there is such a huge loss of trust in the leadership of the Democratic Party.

When American politicians start talking about “liberation,” it is usually not a good sign, at least in recent decades. Prior to President Trump’s “liberation day” tariff announcements on April 2, many of my generation associated the term with the George W. Bush administration’s insistence that Americans would be “greeted as liberators” after the invasion of Iraq. The latter proved to be a catastrophic blunder. And while it is still too early to gauge the full effects of Trump’s tariffs, some of which have already been suspended, it is clear that the administration’s liberation day moves suffered from serious miscalculations.

Climate change has dropped in Canadians’ list of priorities this election — but that doesn’t mean climate issues are no longer relevant

As judges weigh the limits of medical exceptions, Idaho’s abortion ban is being tested — in courts, hospitals and patients’ lives

Veterans Guardian says it’s fighting to give veterans a choice. Critics say they’re guardians of greed.

A little-known firm with investors linked to JD Vance, Elon Musk and Trump could get a piece of the federal expense card system — and its hundreds of millions in fees. “This goes against all the normal contracting safeguards,” one expert said.

On Monday, federal immigration agents smashed the car window of Guatemalan immigrant Juan Francisco Méndez and arrested him on a street in New Bedford, Massachusetts, as his wife looked on.

Méndez, 29, has been taken to a detention facility in New Hampshire. He has been in the US lawfully for two years, and he and his wife have no criminal record. His wife, Marilú Domingo Ortiz, was granted asylum after fleeing persecution in Guatemala and, because the two are legally married, Méndez has received the same protection. They have a nine-year-old son who is in school.

A smartphone video taken from inside their car shows a group of police officers—apparently Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, at least one of whom was in plain clothes—demanding that Méndez and his wife, Marilú, open their door or roll down their window so they can “talk, just talk.”

Speaking in Spanish through the car window, Méndez says, “My lawyer is on her way,” and “I will only speak when my lawyer arrives.” The officer then says, “Tell the lawyer to hurry up.” Juan replies, “She says she’ll be here in half an hour,” and then carefully places both hands on the steering wheel.

Marilú, who is on the phone with an attorney, asks the officers through the window, “Excuse me, do you have a warrant?” and “Do you have an arrest warrant?” When the officers do not respond, Marilú asks, “Can I leave?” to which one officer responds quickly, “No.”

Also speaking in Spanish, the individual in plain clothes approaches the car door and says, “I can open the door. Do you understand me?” and Marilú says, “Yes.” The officer then threatens, “Do you want it hard or easy?” to which Marilú replies, “Yes, but when my lawyer is present.”

One of the officers then approaches the rear passenger side door with a large pick-axe and smashes the rear door window while the other officers open the front passenger door where Marilú is sitting. At this point, there is a break in the video.

When it resumes, Marilú appears saying in tears, “They pulled us out violently. They treated us very harshly.”

In a report by WPRI 12 News, which covers Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, their attorney Ondine Galvez Sniffin gave a statement. She said her clients were told the agents were looking for someone named “Antonio.”

The argument that the erosion of the dollar’s global status could benefit the US is gaining traction in Washington. That move would be a needless act of self-harm.