New Diseases Threaten Public Health as Trump’s Cuts Leave US Unprepared

As beachgoers flock to water during the busy July Fourth weekend, danger could be lurking in some areas. Researchers this spring discovered flesh-eating bacteria in water in several coastal locations across New York’s Long Island, and town officials in the Hamptons vacation destination posted an alert about the findings. Eight people in Florida have been infected this year…
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Half the Members of Trump’s New Pentagon Policy Board Work in Military Industry

On Monday, the Department of Defense announced a new slate of appointees to the Defense Policy Board, a committee tasked with providing strategic advice and making recommendations to the Pentagon. Media outlets were quick to highlight the Pentagon’s selection of Marc Andreessen, co-founder of a16z, as further evidence of Silicon Valley’s growing power in Washington. A16z, which claims to have…
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The “Board of Peace” Is Planning to Concentrate Gazans in “Hamas-Free” Enclaves

President Donald Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” met in Cyprus this week to revive the board after months of inaction. The board’s main decision out of the meetings has been to separate Palestinians into “humanitarian corridors” that enable Israel to continue its takeover of Gaza. Over two days of talks on Tuesday and Wednesday, representatives of the poorly-named “Board of Peace” created…
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Minnesota halts wrongful convictions unit after losing federal grant

A recent move by the Trump administration effectively killed an office in Minnesota responsible for investigating wrongful convictions.

The news comes as Donald Trump, the first convicted felon to assume the presidency, wages a campaign to persecute and prosecute his perceived enemies. Trump has made a mockery of the American justice system by pardoning scores of criminals aligned with him — including several who have gone on to be convicted of sexual abuse — while simultaneously using federal law enforcement to investigate people he doesn’t like.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday that the Trump administration has refused to renew a federal grant used by his office to address possible wrongful convictions, adding in a statement:

Following the Trump Administration’s refusal to renew federal grant funding that supported the program, my Office is suspending our Conviction Review Unit. Current budget constraints do not allow the program’s costs to be absorbed without compromising other core responsibilities.

Just last year, an independent auditor praised our CRU as a “model for how statewide conviction integrity work should be done.” It is disappointing that our federal government has decided to deprioritize identifying and correcting wrongful convictions.

This is just the latest example of how Trump’s campaign rhetoric is at odds with his actual behavior as president. You may remember that Trump, while falsely portraying himself as a martyr in the 2024 race, made the bigoted suggestion that “the Black people” were supporting him because they could supposedly relate to his multiple criminal indictments. (For the record, I debunked this mythical claim of Black support after the election.)

In other words, Trump framed himself as a spokesman, if not an

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FBI Report Describes Graffiti as a Tactic of “Anarchist Violent Extremists”

The FBI says that anti-capitalist graffiti can indicate a mobilization to violence and can be reported to the bureau, according to a counterterrorism report obtained by Prism through a public records request. The public safety awareness report, dated Jan. 30, states that “anarchist violent extremists,” dubbed AVEs by the FBI, “pose [a] persistent public safety threat.
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Israel and Lebanon Sign Framework Agreement That Marks Capitulation to Israel 

On Friday, Lebanon and Israel signed a framework agreement at the White House after months of direct negotiations coordinated by the Trump administration. Lebanese human rights experts and critics have condemned the agreement, saying that it does not mark a step forward for Lebanon, but rather, is a capitulation that continues Israel’s invasion and threatens to further endanger the country.
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