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Showing posts from February 11, 2025

GOP-led states quickly mirror Trump’s policy agenda.

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In his nearly four weeks in office, President Donald Trump has unveiled a constant stream of policy priorities in quick succession, from shrinking government, to cutting taxes, to waging a war on diversity initiatives, illegal immigration and transgender rights. His allies in the states are rushing to keep up.   The Florida and Tennessee legislatures have passed sweeping immigration packages that will make it easier for state law enforcement and federal immigration officials to coordinate during recent special sessions. Leaders in Ohio and Arkansas are renewing efforts to place work requirements on Medicaid recipients. And Republicans in at least nine states have moved to create government efficiency task forces inspired by the initiative helmed by billionaire Elon Musk.  Across the country, Republican governors and legislatures are taking advantage of the national spotlight – and friendlier regulatory environment – the Trump administration has created to advance lo...
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Wrongfully detained American teacher Marc Fogel meets with Trump after being released from Russia in an ‘exchange’.

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Marc Fogel, an American teacher detained for more than three years in Russia, was welcomed back to the US by President Donald Trump on Tuesday night after the White House secured his release in an “exchange.” Fogel arrived at the White House late Tuesday draped in an American flag and was greeted by Trump, who said it was “an honor to have played a small role” in his release. “Thank you all, and I love our country, and I’m so happy to be back here. And I wish I could articulate it better,” said Fogel, who appeared overwhelmed with emotion as he spoke in the Diplomatic Reception Room.   The deal to release Fogel, who was designated as wrongfully detained by the US State Department, was negotiated by Trump, Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, “and the President’s advisers,” according to a statement from national security adviser Mike Waltz. The statement did not provide any details about the “exchange,” other than to say it was “a show of good faith from ...
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Trump warns ‘all hell’ will break loose if Gaza hostages not returned

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US President Donald Trump warned Monday that “all hell” would break loose if every Israeli hostage was not released from Gaza within days, after Hamas threatened to postpone further exchanges under a fragile ceasefire deal it said Israel was violating. The truce that went into effect on January 19 largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip and saw five groups of Israeli hostages freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody.   But tensions have been running high since a shock proposal by Trump to take over the Gaza Strip and remove its more than 2 million inhabitants. Trump said Monday he would call for the end of the ceasefire if every Israeli hostage was not released by noon on Saturday.   “But as far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock – I think it’s an appropriate time – I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told reporters at the White Ho...
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Trump warns ‘all hell’ will break loose if Gaza hostages not returned.

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US President Donald Trump warned Monday that “all hell” would break loose if every Israeli hostage is not released from Gaza within days, after Hamas threatened to postpone further exchanges under a fragile ceasefire deal it said Israel was violating. The truce that went into effect on 19 January largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip and saw five groups of Israeli hostages freed in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians in Israeli custody.  But tensions have been running high since a shock proposal by Trump to take over the Gaza Strip and remove its more than two million inhabitants. Trump said Monday he would call for the end of the ceasefire if every Israeli hostage was not released by noon on Saturday.  “But as far as I’m concerned, if all of the hostages aren’t returned by Saturday 12 o’clock—I think it’s an appropriate time—I would say cancel it and all bets are off and let hell break out,” Trump told reporters at the White House. The cea...
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Trump says India 'will do what's right' on illegal immigration.

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  US President Donald Trump has said India "will do what's right" on the deportation of  illegal migrants following a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders spoke on Monday, their first conversation since Trump's inauguration last  week. They discussed immigration, security issues and trade in what the White House  described as a "productive call". Trump told reporters after the call that Modi was likely to visit the United States  "sometime in February". Since taking office on 20 January, Trump has announced a number of  immigration-related executive orders, paving the way for a widespread effort to crack  down on undocumented migrants in the US. According to the Pew Research Center, there are an estimated 725,000 undocumented  Indian immigrants in the US as of 2024. Last week, India's foreign ministry said Delhi would take in Indians overstaying  "anywhere in the world" as long as their documents were shared and n...
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OpenAI says Chinese rivals using its work for their AI apps

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  The maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, has complained that rivals, including those in China, are using its work to make rapid advances in developing their own artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The status of OpenAI - and other US firms - as the world leaders in AI  has been dramatically undermined this week  by the sudden emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese app that can emulate the performance of ChatGPT, apparently at a fraction of the cost. Bloomberg has reported that Microsoft is investigating whether data belonging to OpenAI - which it is a major investor in - has been used in an unauthorised way. The BBC has contacted Microsoft and DeepSeek for comment. OpenAI's concerns have been echoed by the recently appointed White House "AI and crypto czar", David Sacks. Speaking on Fox News, he suggested that DeepSeek may have used the models developed by OpenAI to get better, a process called knowledge distillation. "There's substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is ...
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Australian police find explosives for possible antisemitic attack

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  Authorities in Sydney are investigating whether explosives discovered in a caravan were intended for an antisemitic attack. The explosives could have caused a 40-metre-wide blast and "significant damage,"  police said on Wednesday, adding that the threat was contained. A note was found in the caravan that displayed antisemitic messages, investigators said. "This is the discovery of a potential mass casualty event," New South Wales Premier  Chris Minns said. New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told a news conference  that the caravan was discovered on 19 January in Dural, a suburb of north-west Sydney. The investigation became public on Wednesday after details of it were leaked to the  media. There was "some indication that the explosives might be used in some form of  antisemitic attack," Mr Hudson said, but he wouldn't be drawn on the possible target. He said officers had "mitigated the risk as much as possible" but str...
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