$7,500 The average amount American households pay extra every year on products with patent and copyright monopolies. The monopolies raise the cost of these items by more than $1 trillion annually.

Canadian Actress Recounts Her Terrifying Experience in ICE Custody

MSN

The Canadian actress who was shackled and detained for 12 days earlier this month by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration is speaking out about her traumatizing experience. “It felt like we had all been kidnapped, thrown into some sort of sick psychological experiment meant to strip us of every ounce of strength and dignity,” she wrote in a new Medium article called “You’re Not a Criminal, But You’re Going to Jail: My ICE Detention Story as a Canadian Citizen.” “I don’t know your case,” said one man. “Could be days. Could be weeks. But I’m telling you right now—you need to mentally prepare yourself for months.” “Women were picked up off the street, from outside their workplaces, from their homes—one woman’s daughter was outside the detention center protesting for her release.” “They don’t lobby for stricter immigration policies in the name of national security—they do it to protect their bottom line," she said. https://medium.com/@jasminemooney/youre-not-a-criminal-but-you-re-going-to-jail-my-ice-detention-story-as-a-canadian-citizen-08b4fa77a15c #Trump #ICE #kidnapping #immigration #rendition #authoritarian #autocracy

“You’re Here Because of Your Tattoos”

“You’re Here Because of Your Tattoos” – Mother Jones

The Trump administration sent Venezuelans to El Salvador’s most infamous prison. Their families are looking for answers. “Well, you’re here because of your tattoos,” the ICE agent replied, according to Hernández. “We’re finding and questioning everyone who has tattoos.” Like other men sent to El Salvador, Wuilliam has tattoos. Other reporting and court briefs further support the families’ suspicions that their loved ones were primarily targeted for deportation because of their tattoos. John Dutton, a Houston-based immigration attorney, said that he started noticing ICE officers detaining Venezuelans during check-ins due to their tattoos earlier this year. “If they notice they have a tattoo, they’re just taking them into custody,” he explained. “No more questions to ask.” Dutton estimated he now has about a dozen clients who have been arrested because of tattoos.

Venezuelan tattoo artist who agreed to go back home was sent to El Salvador prison, family says

NBC News

Venezuelan tattoo artist who agreed to go back home was sent to El Salvador prison, family says

Relatives and attorneys seek answers about the men sent to the high-security prison as the Venezuelan government calls for their return.

Relatives and attorneys seek answers about the men sent to the high-security prison as the Venezuelan government calls for their return. Were it not for bad weather, Jhon Chacin would have been aboard a flight to his native Venezuela on March 13, having volunteered to go home after giving up on an asylum request that was initially denied. Instead, his brother said, Jhon was among the nearly 300 Venezuelan men sent by U.S. immigration officials to El Salvador's notorious megaprison. #Trump #rendition #authoritarian #autocracy

The Associated Press, banned from White House press pool, renews request to court for reinstatemen

AP News

The Associated Press, banned from White House press pool, renews request to court for reinstatement

A lawyer for The Associated Press has asked a federal judge once again to reinstate the agency’s access to the White House press pool and some ot...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for The Associated Press asked a federal judge Thursday to reinstate the agency’s access to the White House press pool and other official events, saying the Trump administration’s ban is a fundamental attack on freedom of speech and should be overturned. The government insisted there was no evidence that AP had been harmed irreparably. “AP has now spent 44 days in the penalty box,” said Charles Tobin, speaking on behalf of the news agency. #freedom #freepress #autocracy #Trump

Bernie Sanders Issues Epic Takedown Of Trump, Musk, And 'The Greed Of The Oligarchy'

Lawsuit over Trump administration's Signal group chat assigned to judge in deportation case

ABC News

Lawsuit over Trump administration's Signal group chat assigned to judge in deportation case

Five Cabinet members are facing a federal lawsuit over the use of Signal to coordinate military strikes in Yemen.

Five Cabinet members are facing a federal lawsuit over the use of Signal to coordinate military strikes in Yemen, with the case presided over by the same judge handling the case against the Trump administration over its deportation flights under the Alien Enemies Act. Transparency nonprofit American Oversight filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday afternoon in Washington, D.C., alleging that the use of Signal violates the federal law that governs the preservation of government records, asking a federal judge to order the cabinet members to preserve the messages. The lawsuit – which names Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the National Archives as defendants – asked a federal judge to declare the use of Signal unlawful and order the cabinet members to preserve the records immediately.

Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal

The Atlantic

Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal

The administration has downplayed the importance of the text messages inadvertently sent to The Atlantic’s editor in chief.

The administration has downplayed the importance of the text messages inadvertently sent to The Atlantic’s editor in chief. So, about that Signal chat. On Monday, shortly after we published a story about a massive Trump-administration security breach, a reporter asked the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, why he had shared plans about a forthcoming attack on Yemen on the Signal messaging app. He answered, “Nobody was texting war plans. And that’s all I have to say about that.” At a Senate hearing yesterday, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, were both asked about the Signal chat, to which Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, was inadvertently invited by National Security Adviser Michael Waltz. “There was no classified material that was shared in that Signal group,” Gabbard told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Ratcliffe said much the same: “My communications, to be clear, in the Signal message group were entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information.” President Donald Trump, asked yesterday afternoon about the same matter, said, “It wasn’t classified information.”

Trump fires independent inspectors general in Friday night purge https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/25/donald-trump-inspectors-general-firing-00200611 The watchdogs say the removals may be invalid for failing to comply with a 2022 law requiring a 30-day notification to Congress before removals. President Donald Trump fired multiple independent federal watchdogs, known as inspectors general, in a Friday night purge, removing a significant layer of accountability as he asserts his control over the federal government in his second term, according to two people with knowledge of the dismissals, granted anonymity to share details they were not authorized to speak about publicly.

Trump has the least qualified people on National Security in American history.

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

The Atlantic

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bo...

U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling. The world found out shortly before 2 p.m. eastern time on March 15 that the United States was bombing Houthi targets across Yemen. I, however, knew two hours before the first bombs exploded that the attack might be coming. The reason I knew this is that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, had texted me the war plan at 11:44 a.m. The plan included precise information about weapons packages, targets, and timing.

Trump targets prominent Democratic-linked law firm https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/06/trump-security-clearance-steele-dossier-025203 One of the firm’s then-attorneys was central to the creation of the Steele dossier. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order targeting Perkins Coie, a prominent Seattle-based law firm that regularly represents Democratic and liberal groups. The executive order suspends security clearances for employees of the law firm, which has long provided legal work for the Democratic National Committee, other Democratic entities and Democratic campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump’s latest executive orders reveal lingering anger over Russia investigation https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/25/donald-trump-eo-jenner-crossfire-hurricane-russia-fbi-027712 By targeting another law firm and declassifying files about Crossfire Hurricane, Trump is continuing to exact revenge for the Russia investigation in his first term. President Donald Trump revived an old grudge against the FBI on Tuesday, declassifying materials related to the bureau’s previous investigation of alleged collusion between his 2016 campaign and Russia and sanctioning a law firm tied to one of the key figures from that investigation. Trump also signed an executive order sanctioning the law firm Jenner & Block, the fourth time the president has directly targeted a major law firm in recent weeks. Similar to previous orders, Tuesday’s action strips security clearances from lawyers at the firm, cuts the firm off from government contracts and restricts firm employees from entering government buildings.

Trump family crypto venture to launch a stablecoin https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/25/trump-family-crypto-venture-to-launch-a-stablecoin-00247455 The move comes as the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are working to enact regulatory changes that could benefit the crypto industry. The cryptocurrency venture run by President Donald Trump’s sons announced Tuesday it will launch a digital token known as a stablecoin that is pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar, expanding the first family’s ties to the crypto industry. The crypto company, World Liberty Financial, was launched by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump last fall during the home stretch of their father’s presidential campaign, the first of several moves by the Trump family to get into the digital assets business.

Trump picks his next Big Law target https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/15/donald-trump-law-firm-attack-025949 The expanded attack on major firms comes just days after a judge ruled that a similar order was unconstitutional. President Donald Trump continued his retaliatory spree against major law firms on Friday, signing an executive order targeting New York firm Paul, Weiss days after a judge ruled that major parts of a similar order were unconstitutional. Trump’s new order seeks to suspend the security clearances of attorneys with the firm and limit their access to government buildings, ability to get federal jobs and receive money from federal contracts.

Trump hangs sword of Damocles over the American legal system https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/22/donald-trump-law-firms-threat-027250 Trump is directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to target lawyers and law firms “who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States.” President Donald Trump is doubling down on his threats against the American legal system, directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against lawyers and law firms that go against him. Trump’s administration has taken an increasingly adversarial stance toward the legal system, including both judges who have ruled against his policies and lawyers and firms that he has viewed as wronging him.

Universities are caving to Trump with a stunning speed and scope https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/20/universities-cave-conservatives-trump-00241765 Some of the nation’s oldest and wealthiest institutions are swiftly bending to President Donald Trump, who is acting on longstanding conservative criticisms of universities as elitist and progressive. Colleges and universities across the country are capitulating to President Donald Trump with staggering speed, moving to slash progressive policies and crack down on student activism as they face compounding threats from an administration hellbent on reshaping higher education.

US to limit Canadian access to beloved cross-border library where Kristi Noem taunted hosts https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/03/20/metro/us-to-limit-canadian-access-to-cross-border-library-where-kristi-noem-taunted-hosts/ Nearly two months after Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem made provocative comments at a library straddling the northern border that once symbolized the enduring friendship between the United States and Canada, the US government has said it will restrict Canadian access to the beloved institution.

Everyone’s getting rich off Trump’s war. Leaked Pentagon planning documents obtained by journalist Ken Klippenstein reveal the Trump administration is refining the next generation of plans for a “major regional conflict” with Iran. Meanwhile, lawmakers looking to cash in on more war are dumping money into Palantir, a cybersecurity firm founded by Trump and Vance ally Peter Thiel that sells its software to the Defense Department. Taxpayer-funded government contracts account for half of Palantir’s revenue.

The Lever

How Elon Musk Helped Close Your Local Pharmacy

The billionaire’s rage-tweets protected the corporate middlemen inflating your medicine prices and killing your community’s economy.