Trump declares pardons issued by Biden ‘void’ and issues new threat to Jan 6 investigators: Live
Donald Trump has declared that presidential pardons issued by his predecessor Joe Biden are “void, vacant, and of no further force or effect” on the grounds that the Democrat allegedly signed off on them using an autopen, rather than his real signature.
Writing on Truth Social, the president goes on to insist, without evidence, that Biden was not even aware of the pardons and further issued a threat against the members of the House select committee that probed the events of January 6 2021, warning them that they are no longer shielded from investigation and can expect to be pursued.
On Sunday, his administration revealed that it had deported hundreds of people from the U.S. after invoking a wartime law to speed up the deportations of individuals connected to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The announcement was made in the face of a court order from a federal judge temporarily blocking the administration’s ability to use the law, the Alien Enemies Act 1798, and ordered any planes flying migrants out of the country to turn around.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has launched military strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen for targeting Red Sea shipping routes.
Key Points
Donald Trump declares Joe Biden’s pardons ‘void’ and threatens Jan 6 committee
Trump deports hundreds linked to Venezuelan gang despite judge’s block
U.S. strikes on Yemen kill 31 after Houthis vow to renew Red Sea attacks
Trump and Vladimir Putin to discuss ‘splitting Kyiv’s assets’ in Tuesday call
President drafts new three-tier U.S. travel ban targeting 43 countries
Watch: McGregor rails against Irish government in White House briefing room
14:19 , Oliver O'Connell
Jasmine Crockett fires back at John Fetterman over senator’s criticism
14:10 , Joe Sommerlad
The Texas Representative did not mince her words when asked about Senator John Fetterman’s ongoing criticism of his fellow Democratic lawmakers on Sunday.
Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, has been critical of the more left-leaning members of his party, condemning their push for a government shutdown.
He also joined in with the chorus of people who mocked the “Choose Your Fighter” TikTok video, in which some members of the House Democratic caucus participated in a social media campaign that highlighted their backgrounds.
Here’s John Bowden on how Crockett hit back.
Jasmine Crockett fires back at John Fetterman over senator’s criticism of Democrats
Canadian PM Carney makes first foreign trip to ‘reliable allies’ in Europe, not Washington
14:02 , Oliver O'Connell
Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized the importance of strengthening ties with “reliable allies” in Europe during his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday, marking his first overseas visit amid tensions with the U.S.
Carney's decision to visit Paris instead of Washington, as is customary for Canadian leaders, follows President Donald Trump's escalation of trade tensions with both Canada and Europe, along with his threats of annexing Canada.
“[It] is more important than ever for Canada to strengthen its ties with reliable allies like France,” said Carney, ahead of a working lunch with Macron at the Elysee Palace, describing Canada as “the most European of non-European countries.”
Carney visits London later today.
In a veiled reference to Trump, Macron noted that Canada exemplifies a country that protects its national interests while also cooperating on the global stage.
“I think we both believe that fair trade that respects international rules is good for everyone's prosperity, and is certainly more effective than tariffs,” Macron said.
As the two men were leaving, a Canadian reporter in the room asked whether they wanted to tell Trump to “back off,” but neither Carney nor Macron took questions from the media.
With reporting from Reuters
Watch: NEC director says 'uncertainty' between now and implementation of reciprocal tariffs
13:57 , Oliver O'Connell
Fox News presses car salesman senator on Trump’s White House auto show
13:50 , Joe Sommerlad
A Fox correspondent grilled Ohio’s newest Republican senator on Sunday over whether Trump’s White House Tesla photo opp was an appropriate use of the presidency.
Bernie Moreno, a car dealership mogul who defeated former Senator Sherrod Brown for the latter’s seat in the 2024 election, was asked by Fox senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich on Fox News Sunday over the ethics of the president turning the White House lawn into an auto showroom promoting Tesla, which is owned by his special adviser Elon Musk.
Moreno sidestepped the question of Musk’s obvious conflict of interest and told Heinrich he thought it was good for the president to be celebrating an American brand at a time when the Trump administration is threatening a full-scale trade war with a number of US allies, including Canada.
John Bowden reports.
Fox News presses car saleman senator about Trump’s White House auto show
Conor McGregor visits White House
13:43 , Oliver O'Connell
Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor is at the White House today and will meet with President Donald Trump, according to press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Speaking in the briefing room on St.Patrick’s Day, McGregor said that “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irish-ness,” and he’s here today to highlight that.
McGregor was also at Trump’s inauguration.
ACLU demands Trump administration explain decision to ignore court order on deportations
13:30 , Joe Sommerlad
In a new filing overnight, the plaintiffs insist that the administration explain, in sworn statements, why it violated a court order blocking the deportation of two planes ferrying alleged Venezuelan gang members to jail in El Salvador.
They go on to list a timeline of Saturday’s chain of events, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio retweeting El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s crying emoji tweet, mocking the order as “too late”.
Here’s White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s indignant response:
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan was equally defiant on Fox and Friends this morning:
Project 2025 author says Trump’s moves are beyond ‘wildest dreams’
13:10 , Joe Sommerlad
Eight months after then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from Project 2025, the conservative blueprint appears to have had a huge influence over his early decision-making in the White House.
So much so, in fact, that one of the authors of the 900-page manifesto now says that the reality is “beyond his wildest dreams.”
Kelly Rissman reports.
Project 2025 author says Trump’s adoption of his ideas are beyond ‘wildest dreams’
Recap: Trump says Biden’s pardons are now ‘void and vacant’ after autopen controversy
12:50 , Joe Sommerlad
If you missed this one earlier, the president has claimed that presidential pardons are illegitimate because they were allegedly signed with an autopen and he is therefore entitled to investigate those the pardons were intended to protect, notably members of the House select committee on January 6.
Here’s Trump saying as much on Air Force One, prior to posting about it on social media:
Here’s a full report from James Liddell.
Trump says Biden’s pardons are now ‘void and vacant’ after autopen controversy
Inside MAGA’s obsession with the Jeffrey Epstein files
12:30 , Joe Sommerlad
As U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi finds herself in the middle of a storm over the Epstein files, Rhian Lubin looks at why the movement is so focused on the documents.
Inside the MAGA’s obsession with the Jeffery Epstein files
Trump officials ordered to court to explain deportation of Ivy League doctor to Lebanon
12:10 , Joe Sommerlad
A judge has ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials to court on Monday morning to explain why Ivy League doctor Rasha Alawieh was deported to Lebanon on Friday, defying a previous court order.
Alawieh was detained at Boston’s Logan Airport on Thursday after returning from a trip visiting family in Lebanon.
U.S. District Judge Leo T Sorokin ordered that Alawieh, a Lebanese citizen, not be deported without giving the court 48 hours’ notice but, despite the order, the medic arrived back in Lebanonon Sunday morning, The Providence Journal reports.
Alawieh was reportedly on a valid H-1B visa she acquired from the American consulate in Lebanon, according to Thomas S Brown, a lawyer who works on immigration and visa applications and cases for medics attached to Brown Medicine.
The doctor has studied and worked in the U.S. for six years.
She has been working at Rhode Island Hospital for the last year caring for kidney transplant recipients, the transplant division’s medical director Dr George Bayliss said.
Rhian Lubin has more.
Trump officials ordered to court to explain deportation of doctor Rasha Alawieh
Marco Rubio doubles down on Trump’s visa cancellations
12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Trump’s secretary of state yesterday defended the administration’s push to target and cancel the visas of individual students living in America for participation in protests against the government of Israel.
Rubio deflected questions from CBS’s Margaret Brennan about Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal U.S. permanent resident who was arrested and immediately targeted for deportation last weekend after the Trump administration canceled his visa and arrested him.
Khalil was a leader in the student protests that developed around campus but was also outspoken against antisemitism.
His arrest has outraged Democrats and civil rights advocates because Khalil is not charged with a crime and did not enter the U.S. illegally. His removal has been temporarily blocked by a judge.
Rubio would not say, when pressed by Brennan, whether the government would attempt to accuse Khalil with a crime.
Instead, he offered a defense of the effort that conceded that visa holders did not have a right to free speech at all.
John Bowden has more.
Rubio doubles down on Trump’s visa cancelations as he goes after dissenters
Republicans want to officially classify ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ as a real mental illness
11:40 , Joe Sommerlad
GOP state lawmakers are set to introduce a new bill proposing that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” (TDS) is officially defined as a mental illness.
Five Minnesota Senators are due to propose the legislation to the Health and Human Services committee on Monday, according to Fox 9.
The bill’s authors Eric Lucero, Steve Drazkowski, Nathan Wesenberg, Justin Eichorn and Glenn H Gruenhagen, described the faux “syndrome” as the “acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J Trump.”
Symptoms include “Trump-induced general hysteria” where a person struggles to distinguish between “legitimate policy” and “psychic pathology,” which is expressed with verbal hostility or acts of aggression against Trump and his MAGA supporters, according to the proposed legislation.
If passed, TDS could be added to a lengthy list of mental-health-related definitions in Minnesota.
The “syndrome” is not currently recognized as a mental illness in any U.S. state.
Republicans want to classify ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ as a mental illness
Democratic Party’s popularity hits record low, according to new polls
11:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Just days after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer endorsed a Republican bill to avert a government shutdown, his party’s popularity has hit a new record low in the polls.
The decline was represented in a pair of damning new polls on Sunday – suggesting that things have only gotten worse for the party that suffered a brutal defeat in last November’s presidential election.
An NBC News survey found that just 27 percent of people viewed the party positively, while a CNN/SSRS poll showed only a slight uptick on that, with 29 percent reporting a positive perspective.
Here’s more from Madeline Sherratt.
Democratic Party’s popularity hits record low, according to new polls
‘I assume I’ll be driven out the country': Workers fear Trump is leading a purge of LGBTQ+ federal employees
11:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Government workers who are part of the LBGTQ+ community say they are operating under a cloud of suspicion and uncertainty as the Trump administration purges trans people and “diversity hires” from the machinery of state.
Josh Marcus reports.
Workers fear Trump is leading new Lavender Scare purge of LGBTQ+ federal employees
Trump drafts three-tier U.S. travel ban targeting 43 countries
10:40 , Joe Sommerlad
The president appears to be considering reintroducing the travel ban from his first term, now expanded to include as many as 43 countries.
Although Trump failed to reintroduce the “travel ban” on “day one” of his second term as he had promised his supporters on the campaign trail, he did issue an executive order on January 20 directing cabinet members to draft a list of countries that should face full or partial travel restrictions because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient” within 60 days.
Now, with that deadline approaching, a draft list of proposed countries banned from traveling to the U.S. is circulating.
Kelly Rissman reports.
Trump drafts three-tier US travel ban targeting 43 countries
Comment: Keith Kellogg’s return to Ukraine envoy shows Trump’s unpredictability
10:20 , Joe Sommerlad
The retired general’s path from discarded envoy to Ukraine tsar highlights the U.S. president’s volatile approach to international relations, writes Mark Almond.
But what does it mean for America’s relationship with Kyiv?
Keith Kellogg’s return to Ukraine diplomacy shows Trump’s unpredictability
Trump and Putin to discuss ‘splitting Kyiv’s assets’ in Tuesday call
10:00 , Joe Sommerlad
The president said yesterday as he returned to Washington from Florida aboard Air Force One that he and Vladimir Putin will discuss “dividing up certain assets” in Ukraine as part of peace talks this week that will include “land [and] power plants”.
Trump and his Russian counterpart are due to talk by phone on Tuesday.
“A lot of work’s been done over the weekend,” the American said.
“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end. We’re already talking about that, dividing up certain assets.”
You can follow all the latest updates on the U.S.-led peace talks live with Tom Watling below.
Ukraine war latest: Trump says he and Putin will discuss ‘dividing up assets’ in Kyiv
U.S. strikes on Yemen kill 31 after Houthis vow to renew Red Sea attacks
09:40 , Joe Sommerlad
The U.S. military launched ari strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday night for targeting Red Sea shipping routes.
The attacks are understood to have killed at least 31 people, most of them women and children, at the start of a campaign expected to last many days.
Here’s the latest.
US airstrikes on Yemen kill 31 after Houthis vow to target Red Sea shipping
Trump deports hundreds linked to Venezuelan gang despite judge’s block
09:20 , Joe Sommerlad
Trump’sadministration revealed over the weekend that it has deported hundreds of people from the U.S. after invoking a wartime law to speed up the deportations of individuals connected to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The announcement was made in the face of a court order from a federal judge temporarily blocking the administration’s ability to use the law, the Alien Enemies Act 1798, and ordered any planes flying migrants out of the country to turn around.
Here’s Katie Hawkinson and Kelly Rissman with the full story.
Trump administration deports hundreds linked to Venezuelan gang despite judge’s block
Truth Social: Tornadoes, deporting ‘monsters’ and golf on Trump’s radar
09:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Elsewhere on the president’s social media platform, he has been expressing sympathy over those impacted by terrible storms over the weekend and blaming Democrats for allowing “monsters” from Central America to enter the U.S. and engage in violent crime.
Characteristically, he has also had plenty to say about his latest golfing exploits and has been paying tribute to a celebrity you might not have thought about in years ( if ever), in this case veteran crooner Paul Anka.
Donald Trump declares Joe Biden’s pardons ‘void’ and threatens Jan 6 committee
08:35 , Joe Sommerlad
Good morning!
Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social to declared that presidential pardons issued by his predecessor Joe Biden are “VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT” on the grounds that the Democrat allegedly signed off on them using an autopen, rather than his real signature.
Whether or not that claim is accurate, Trump goes on to insist, without evidence, that Biden was not even aware of the pardons and further issues a threat against the members of the House select committee that investigated the events of January 6 2021, warning them that they are no longer shielded from investigation and should expect to be pursued.
“Those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me, and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,” the president writes.
He also trolled Biden with a meme in which the 46th president’s official portrait is replaced by an image of an autopen mimicking his signature.
Here’s James Liddell’s earlier reporting on the allegations.
Biden accused of using autosignature on official White House documents
Republican says he wishes Trump's executive orders were legislation
08:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Rubio doubles down on Trump’s visa cancelations as he goes after dissenters
06:30 , Gustaf Kilander
John Bowden writes:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s push to target and cancel the visas of individual students living in America for participation in protests against the government of Israel.
Rubio deflected questions from CBS’s Margaret Brennan about Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate and legal US permanent resident (green card holder) who was arrested and immediately targeted for deportation last weekend after the Trump administration canceled his visa and arrested him with plainclothes officers at Columbia.
Khalil was a leader in the student protests that developed around campus but was also outspoken against antisemitism.
His arrest has outraged Democrats and civil rights advocates; Khalil is not charged with a crime and did not enter the US illegally. His removal has been temporarily blocked by a judge.
Read more:
Rubio doubles down on Trump’s visa cancelations as he goes after dissenters
Milwaukee mother deported to Laos, a country she has never been to, where she doesn’t know anyone and doesn’t speak the language
06:00 , Gustaf Kilander
A Hmong American woman who is a mother of five has been deported from the Milwaukee area to Laos, a country she has never set foot in, according to a new report.
Ma Yang, 37, is being held in a rooming house in Laos, surrounded by military guards, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. She does not speak the language, knows no one, and says the military is holding all of her documents.
"The United States sent me back to die," Yang told the outlet. "I don't even know where to go. I don't even know what to do."
"How do I rent, or buy, or anything, with no papers?" she added. "I'm a nobody right now."
Read more from Katie Hawkinson:
Milwaukee mother deported to Laos, a country she has never been to
Young scientists see career pathways vanish as schools adapt to federal funding cuts
05:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Carolyn Thompson, Heather Hollingsworth, and Makiya Seminera write:
As an infant, Connor Phillips was born three months premature with cerebral palsy. The science that saved his life was the inspiration that led to his role studying brain processes as a research fellow at the National Institute of Health.
He had hopes of continuing his work at NIH through a partnership with Brown University, where he was invited to interview for a program that would lead to a doctorate in neuroscience. But training programs at the NIH have been suspended, a casualty of funding cuts by the Trump administration.
He is applying to other programs — and hoping policies putting strains on science might be reversed.
“You don’t take these jobs that pay worse and have insane hours and are really stressful unless you care about helping others and taking our love for science and translating that into something that can improve people’s lives,” Phillips said.
Read more:
Young scientists see career pathways vanish as schools adapt to federal funding cuts
‘I assume I’ll be driven out the country’: Workers fear Trump is leading a purge of LGBTQ+ federal employees
04:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Josh Marcus writes:
When Wylie joined the Postal Service in December, they had two very contradictory thoughts about the coming return of Donald Trump.
They knew, as a nonbinary transgender person, that the next four years would be hell. Trump, after all, had made attacking what he called “transgender insanity” a central part of his 2024 campaign and his first administration. But Wylie didn’t want to hide who they are, either.
Instead, working with the public each day would be a quiet way of resisting the demonization from the White House, while also keeping an ear to the ground in case the public mood grew too violent.
“I wanted to be out in the streets, be where people can see me, and also see the day-to-day on the streets so that if anything starts changing I perhaps have time to respond,” said Wylie, who asked not to use their full name for their safety.
Read more:
Workers fear Trump is leading new Lavender Scare purge of LGBTQ+ federal employees
Education Department staff cuts could limit options for families of kids with disabilities
04:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Annie Ma writes:
For parents of kids with disabilities, advocating for their child can be complicated, time-consuming — and expensive.
Changes at the Education Department are likely to make the process even more difficult, advocates for kids with disabilities say.
When a parent believes their child is not receiving proper services or school accommodations for a disability, they can seek remedies from their district. They can file complaints with their state, arguing the child's rights have been taken away without due process of law, or even pursue litigation in state or federal courts.
Those processes often involve multiple sessions with hearing officers who are not required to be experts in disability law. Legal fees can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single case. Legal aid and other advocacy organizations that can provide free assistance often have more demand for their services than they can meet.
Read more:
Education Department staff cuts could limit options for families of kids with disabilities
Jasmine Crockett fires back at John Fetterman over senator’s criticism of Democrats
03:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Jasmine Crockett did not mince her words when asked about John Fetterman’s ongoing criticism of his fellow Democratic lawmakers on Sunday.
Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, has been critical of the more left-leaning members of his party, condemning their push for a government shutdown. He also joined in with the chorus of people who mocked the “Choose Your Fighter” TikTok video, in which some members of the House Democratic caucus participated in a social media campaign that highlighted their backgrounds.
John Bowden has the story:
Jasmine Crockett fires back at John Fetterman over senator’s criticism of Democrats
Project 2025 author says Trump’s adoption of his ideas are beyond his ‘wildest dreams’
03:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Eight months after Donald Trump publicly distanced himself from Project 2025, the conservative blueprint appears to have influenced Trump’s early decisions — a reality that one of the authors says was “beyond his wildest dreams.”
The 900-plus-page policy book details how a second Trump administration could overhaul the federal government as America knew it, like dismantling departments, expanding his executive authority, putting an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, and purging the federal workforce and replacing them with political appointees.
On the campaign trail, Democrats warned about the dangers of Project 2025 while Trump repeatedly distanced himself from it. “I know nothing about Project 2025. I have no idea who is behind it,” he wrote on Truth Social last July.
Later that month, Paul Dans, a lawyer and chief architect of Project 2025, resigned. Now, he says he has no hard feelings and is thrilled that the second Trump administration appears to be following the controversial blueprint.
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
Project 2025 author says Trump’s adoption of his ideas are beyond ‘wildest dreams’
‘No ceasefire will work’: Medics on Ukraine’s frontline scorn Trump’s peace talks
02:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Sam Kiley writes:
Stunned, bleeding, disorientated and amazed at surviving a double land mine blast inside their armoured ambulance, the Ukrainian medical team had lost their radio and their bearings.
They knew a Russian ambush team was close and they had to get out of Niu York, near Donetsk, fast.
Their leader, Rebekah Maciorowski, a volunteer from Colorado, didn’t see the Ukrainian drones overhead that were flashing their beacons to lead her to safety. It was broad daylight.
Russian drones could also see them, they knew as they scuttled into an abandoned building. They were in the worst of military predicaments – a total loss of control.
“Getting blown up was not so traumatic compared to the situation that we were in with no comms. No comms, you know, in a grey zone, no communications, no navigational reference,” says Rebekah, 31, a permanent frontline medic in Ukraine since March 2022.
Read more:
‘No ceasefire will work’: Medics on Ukraine’s frontline scorn Trump’s peace talks
Ivory Coast is losing US aid as al-Qaida and other extremist groups are approaching
02:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Monika Pronczuk writes:
With its tomato patches and grazing cattle, the Ivory Coast village of Kimbirila-Nord hardly looks like a front line of the global fight against extremism. But after jihadis attacked a nearby community in Mali five years ago and set up a base in a forest straddling the border, the U.S. committed to spending $20 million to counter the spread of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group here and in dozens of other villages.
The Trump administration's sweeping foreign aid cuts mean that support is now gone, even as violence in Mali and other countries in the Sahel region south of the Sahara has reached record levels and sent tens of thousands refugees streaming into northern Ivory Coast.
Locals worry they have been abandoned. Diplomats and aid officials said the termination of aid jeopardizes counterterrorism efforts and weakens U.S. influence in a part of the world where some countries have turned to Russian mercenaries for help.
Read more:
Ivory Coast is losing US aid as al-Qaida and other extremist groups are approaching
Tourists cancel their U.S. plans as Trump rocks international allies with policies and tariffs
01:30 , Gustaf Kilander
President Donald Trump’s policies and rhetoric have driven some international tourists to cancel their trips to the United States.
International travel is expected to dip by 5 percent this year as Trump’s trade policies, proposed handling of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and threats to absorb both Canada and Greenland into the U.S. have stoked tensions abroad.
Combined with an anticipated slide in domestic travel spending, these factors could contribute to a predicted $64 billion in losses for the U.S. travel industry in 2025, according to travel research firm Tourism Economics.
In a report published late last month, Tourism Economics predicted that “domestic travel will be negatively affected by slower income growth and higher prices” while international travel to the U.S. “will be hit by a trifecta of slower economies, a stronger dollar, and antipathy towards the US.”
Read more from Kelly Rissman:
Tourists cancel their U.S. plans over Trump’s policies and tariffs
VOICES: Trump’s 200% tariff on EU wine could pop the champagne bubble… and that’s a massive problem
01:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Rosamund Hall writes:
The news cycle regarding tariffs is giving me flashbacks to my teenage history lessons, stirring memories about the repeal of the Corn Law and WE Gladstone’s subsequent budgets that removed nearly all protectionist regulations – Mr Bromfield, if you’re reading this, I hope you’re impressed.
Whilst economics is not my strength, I am aware that most economists assert that free trade is generally regarded as a good thing: more choice for consumers, competitive pricing and greater economic growth. Donald Trump obviously hasn’t got that memo.
You might be wondering what a wine writer is doing wading into this murky water of tariffs – well, so am I, but it’s because of one thing: the threat of tariffs on booze from the EU. Normally I’m writing about my despair at our own country's approach to alcohol taxation, but Trump is rather stealing the headline on pretty much everything, so it might as well include this too.
Read more:
Trump’s 200% tariff on EU wine could pop the champagne bubble… and that’s a problem
Keith Kellogg’s return to Ukraine diplomacy shows Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy
00:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Mark Almond writes:
Donald Trump’s whirligig presidency continues with sudden reversals of foreign policy and key diplomatic appointments.
Retired lieutenant general, Keith Kellogg, had appeared “out” of Ukrainian affairs only a few days ago.
Eight weeks ago, the government in Kyiv and many friends of Ukraine abroad had celebrated his appointment as the president’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia as a victory for a hard-line stance against Putin’s aggression.
Kellogg’s own public statements on Russian war guilt and his daughter, Meaghan Mobbs’ very public role as a fundraiser for Ukraine led people to assume that fears that Trump would “sell out” the country were misplaced.
But Keith Kellogg was briefed against by the White House media team immediately after the Trump-Zelensky bust-up in the Oval Office. He had failed to join in the pile-on against the Ukrainian President. Kellogg was removed from his post. With the Kremlin against him too, it looked like the 81-year-old had reached the end of his long road of service to the USA.
Read more:
Keith Kellogg’s return to Ukraine diplomacy shows Trump’s unpredictability
Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could see ‘more damage and more loss of life’ with NOAA layoffs
00:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Dr. Andrew Hazelton is one of the nation’s Hurricane Hunters.
He was part of the crews that would fly deep into powerful hurricanes as they churned in the ocean, all to collect data to help forecasters improve predictions on the storm’s power and direction. But, he was among the first rounds of layoffs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
He said his job loss - and the thousands that have followed - are making Americans less safe.
“Because you could see the forecast improvements that we’ve come to count on or rely on could be reversed,” he told The Independent. “And, that would lead to more damage, potentially, and more loss of life. And, that’s not what we want to see.”
Julia Musto has the story:
Fired hurricane hunter says Americans could be less safe after NOAA layoffs
What to know about El Salvador's mega-prison after Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there
Sunday 16 March 2025 23:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Marcos Alemn and Regina Garcia Cano write:
The crown jewel of El Salvador's aggressive anti-crime strategy — a mega-prison where visitation, recreation and education are not allowed — became the latest tool in U.S. President Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration on Sunday, when hundreds of immigrants facing deportation were transferred there.
The arrival of the immigrants, alleged by the U.S. to be members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, took place under an agreement for which the Trump administration will pay the government of President Nayib Bukele $6 million for one year of services.
Bukele has made the Central American country’s stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his fight against crime. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where the immigrants were sent over the weekend despite a federal judge’s order temporarily barring their deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members.
What is the CECOT?
What to know about El Salvador's mega-prison after Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there
Why MAGA is so obsessed with the Jeffery Epstein files – and so angry at Trump’s attorney general
Sunday 16 March 2025 23:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Proudly holding their shiny binders titled “the Epstein files Phase 1” outside the White House, MAGA influencers believed they had the real deal.
Donald Trump’s new Attorney General, Pam Bondi, had vowed to release the Epstein files after taking over the Justice Department, but the process has been hit with delays and excuses, including claims that she was “misled.”
In a possible bid to get MAGA off her back, Bondi invited right-wing personalities – including commentator Liz Wheeler, Chaya Raichik, who is the person behind the prolific “Libs of TikTok” X account, Republican activist Scott Presler and conservative commentator Rogan O’Hanley to name a few – down to the White House on February 27 to see the files for themselves.
Rhian Lubin has the story:
Inside the MAGA’s obsession with the Jeffery Epstein files
Democrats says Republicans are planning to hand tax cuts to the wealthy and paying for it by 'taking away healthcare'
Sunday 16 March 2025 22:30 , Gustaf Kilander
‘Honk if you hate Elon’: Protests against Musk’s Tesla spread to London
Sunday 16 March 2025 22:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Alexander Butler writes:
Protests against Elon Musk’s Tesla spread to London this week, calling for people to boycott the company.
Demonstrators gathered outside the Tesla centre in Park Royal, west London, on Saturday (15 March), holding up banners that read “Honk if you hate Elon.”
It followed a Just Stop Oil protest on Wednesday. Two protesters were arrested after pouring orange powdered paint over a robot at a shop in Shepherd's Bush, the Metropolitan Police said.
Organisers are encouraging Tesla owners to sell their cars and for people to dump stock amid calls for a boycott over Musk’s close ties with US president Donald Trump.
Tesla has been a target of protests and vandalism in America in recent weeks.
Democrats 'divided' over Schumer's handling of funding fight
Sunday 16 March 2025 21:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Trump drafts three-tier US travel ban targeting 43 countries
Sunday 16 March 2025 21:00 , Gustaf Kilander
President Donald Trump appears to have expanded the scope of the travel ban from his first term to include 43 countries, according to a report.
Although Trump failed to reintroduce the “travel ban” on “day one” of his second term, as he promised, he did issue an executive order on January 20 directing cabinet members to draft a list of countries that should face full or partial travel restrictions because their "vetting and screening information is so deficient" within 60 days.
Now, with that deadline approaching, a draft list of proposed countries banned from traveling to the US is circulating, the New York Times reported.
A White House official told The Independent no decision has been made.
It was developed by the State Department weeks ago, officials familiar with the matter told the outlet, who cautioned it will likely undergo changes by the time the White House gets ahold of it.
Read more from Kelly Rissman here:
Trump drafts three-tier US travel ban targeting 43 countries
Walz: 'Congress needs to serve as a check on Musk and Trump'
Sunday 16 March 2025 20:30 , Gustaf Kilander
US airstrikes on Yemen kill 31 after Houthis vow to target Red Sea shipping over Israel’s blockade of Gaza
Sunday 16 March 2025 20:00 , Agencies
The US military conducted overnight airstrikes on Yemen in what President Donald Trump claimed was a response to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, killing at least 31 people, most of them women and children, at the start of a campaign expected to last many days.
The airstrikes came after the Houthis threatened to resume attacks on ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea over its blockade of Gaza.
Israel cut off power, halted all international aid supplies to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory earlier this month and renewed deadly attacks, imperiling the fragile ceasefire.
The Houthis targeted around 100 military and civilian ships with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, between October 2023, when Israel launched its war on Gaza, and January 2025, when the ceasefire took effect.
Read more:
US airstrikes on Yemen kill 31 after Houthis vow to target Red Sea shipping
Trump administration deports hundreds linked to Venezuelan gang despite federal judge’s block
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:49 , Gustaf Kilander
The Trump administration announced it had deported hundreds of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, even after a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration from carrying out deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the president invoked on Saturday.
“This weekend, at the President’s direction, the Department of Homeland Security successfully arrested nearly 300 Tren De Aragua terrorists, saving countless American lives,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Sunday. “Thanks to the great work of the Department of State, these heinous monsters were extracted and removed to El Salvador where they will no longer be able to pose any threat to the American People.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also remarked on the deportations Sunday, writing in a statement on X that “El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars.” He added that the U.S. also sent two “dangerous” top MS-13 gang leaders as well as 21 Salvadorans “to face justice” in the country.
Read more from Katie Hawkinson and Kelly Rissman:
Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s deportations under Alien Enemies Act
'This is an all-out constitutional crisis'
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:39 , Gustaf Kilander
The Vice President for Government Affairs at the Center for International Policy, Dylan Williams, reacted to the news that the Trump administration has deported hundreds of Venezuelans even as a court order from a federal judge ordered a pause on the use of the wartime authority the Alien Enemies Act.
“The Trump Administration has undeniably crossed the Rubicon of openly defying court orders,” Williams wrote on X. “It is not only acting in an unlawful manner — it is declaring itself the enemy of the rule of law in the United States. This is an all-out constitutional crisis.”
WATCH: Rubio questioned over arrest of Columbia student
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:30 , Gustaf Kilander
Jeffries: 'Trump administration appears to be violating' the law
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:29 , Gustaf Kilander
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime authority the Trump White House is using to speed up deportations.
Democrats are “going to stand strongly in support of the rule of law and its application, which the Trump administration appears to be violating in this particular instance,” Jeffries said Sunday.
On Saturday night, a court order from a federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s ability to use the law, and ordered any planes currently flying migrants out of the country to turn around. The judge stated that the restraining order would remain in effect for two weeks “or until further order of the court.”
Trump administration deports hundreds of migrants even as judge orders that removals be stopped
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:16 , AP
The Trump administration has transferred hundreds of immigrants to El Salvador even as a federal judge issued an order temporarily barring the deportations under an 18th century wartime declaration targeting Venezuelan gang members, officials said Sunday. Flights were in the air at the time of the ruling.
U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg issued an order Saturday blocking the deportations but lawyers told him there were already two planes with migrants in the air — one headed for El Salvador, the other for Honduras. Boasberg verbally ordered the planes be turned around, but they apparently were not and he did not include the directive in his written order.
“Oopsie…Too late,” Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, a Trump ally who agreed to house about 300 migrants for a year at a cost of $6 million in his country’s prisons, wrote on the social media site X above an article about Boasberg’s ruling. That post was recirculated by White House communications director Steven Cheung.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who negotiated an earlier deal with Bukele to house migrants, posted on the site: “We sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars.”
The migrants were deported after Trump’s declaration of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which has been used only three times in U.S. history.
The law, invoked during World Wars I and II and the War of 1812, requires a president to declare the United States is at war, giving him extraordinary powers to detain or remove foreigners who otherwise would have protections under immigration or criminal laws. It was last used to justify the detention of Japanese-American civilians during World War II.
The ACLU, which filed the lawsuit that led to Boasberg’s temporary restraining order on deportations, said it was asking the government whether the removals to El Salvador were in defiance of the court.
Rubio says U.S. has sent two MS-13 leaders to El Salvador
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:13 , Gustaf Kilander
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X on Sunday morning that “We have sent 2 dangerous top MS-13 leaders plus 21 of its most wanted back to face justice in El Salvador.”
“Also, as promised by @POTUS, we sent over 250 alien enemy members of Tren de Aragua which El Salvador has agreed to hold in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars,” he added. “President @nayibbukele is not only the strongest security leader in our region, he’s also a great friend of the U.S. Thank you!”
White House Press Secretary says DHS 'arrested nearly 300 Tren De Aragua terrorists'
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:10 , Gustaf Kilander
President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation Invoking the Alien Enemies Act regarding the Invasion of the United States by the Foreign Terrorist Organization Tren De Aragua, using his core powers as President and Commander-in-Chief to defend the American People from an urgent threat.
TDA is one of the most violent and ruthless terrorist gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim and murder for sport. TDA is responsible for some of the most heinous crimes that have occurred on US soil in recent years, including the murders of Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray.
TDA is a direct threat to the national security of the United States.
This weekend, at the President’s direction, the Department of Homeland Security successfully arrested nearly 300 Tren De Aragua terrorists, saving countless American lives. Thanks to the great work of the Department of State, these heinous monsters were extracted and removed to El Salvador where they will no longer be able to pose any threat to the American People.
President Trump will always put the safety of the American People first — and he will never allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate on American soil and endanger our people. They will be found, restrained and removed — and their networks will be destroyed.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on X
Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s deportations under Alien Enemies Act after he invoked it against Venezuelan gang
Sunday 16 March 2025 19:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Kate Hawkinson writes:
A federal judge has temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s administration from carrying out deportations under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the president invoked against members of a Venezuelan gang earlier Saturday.
Chief Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order on deportations under wartime law on Saturday night. This order blocks the deportation of any non-citizens in custody and facing removal under the Alien Enemies Act for at least 14 days.
The decision comes in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Democracy Forward challenging Trump’s order hours before he signed it.
“I think there’s clearly irreparable harm here given these folks will be deported,” Boasberg said. “A brief delay in their removal does not cause the government any harm.”
Read more:
Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s deportations under Alien Enemies Act
Fox News host grills GOP Senator over Trump’s Tesla photo-op: ‘Was it sensitive to the moment’
Sunday 16 March 2025 18:30 , Gustaf Kilander
John Bowden writes:
A Fox News correspondent grilled Ohio’s newest Republican senator on Sunday over whether Donald Trump’s White House Tesla photo opp was an appropriate use of the presidency.
Bernie Moreno, a car dealership mogul who defeated former Senator Sherrod Brown for the latter’s seat in the 2024 election, was asked by Fox senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich over the ethics of the president turning the White House lawn into an auto showroom promoting Tesla, which is owned by his chief adviser and DOGE executive, Elon Musk.
Moreno sidestepped the question of Musk’s obvious conflict of interest and told Heinrich he thought it was good for the president to be celebrating an American brand at a time when the Trump administration is threatening a full-scale trade war with a number of US allies, including Canada.
“He’s not the first president to do that. Most presidents have done something like that in the past,” Moreno claimed.
Read more:
Fox News presses car saleman senator about Trump’s White House auto show
Canada reconsidering multi-billion dollar defense deal with the US
Sunday 16 March 2025 18:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Amid heightening tensions with its neighbor to the south, Canada is reconsidering a multi-billion dollar defense deal with the U.S.
Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair said late on Friday that the government is looking at possible alternatives to the American-made F-35 stealth fighter and that they will speak to other aircraft manufacturers.
Blair’s comments came just hours after he was reappointed as defense minister by new Prime Minister Mark Carney. One day previously, Portugal indicated that it was planning on backtracking on its acquisition of the fighter jet.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada by economic force, and frequently referred to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” as he argued that Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.
Canadians are now increasingly supportive of ditching the $19 billion deal with the U.S. and find alternative aircraft to those made and maintained across its southern border.
Read more:
Canada reconsidering multi-billion dollar defense deal with the US
Treasury Secretary says the 'American dream is not contingent on cheap baubles from China'
Sunday 16 March 2025 17:31 , Gustaf Kilander
Republican says he wishes Trump's executive orders were legislation
Sunday 16 March 2025 17:26 , Gustaf Kilander
How Trump could ‘dismantle’ decades of work to fix discrimination against Black farmers
Sunday 16 March 2025 17:00 , Gustaf Kilander
For John Boyd, Jr., a farmer and civil rights activist, the first months of the Trump administration have felt like déjà vu of the worst kind.
“It’s just like going back in time,” Boyd, founder of the National Black Farmers Association, told The Independent.
Boyd is a fourth-generation farmer who raises corn, soybeans, wheat, and livestock in Virginia. He has spent years lobbying Congress and fighting in the courts to correct the federal government’s well-documented, longstanding exclusion of Black farmers from loans, subsidies, and other forms of support.
“He's totally dismantled the work I've been doing for the last 40 years,” Boyd said of Trump. “I don’t think people understand the magnitude.”
Through changes large and small, the Trump administration looks set to drastically alter the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), a federal agency that has in recent years dispersed billions trying to make up for a long legacy of racial discrimination in farming.
Josh Marcus has the story:
Trump could ‘dismantle’ decades of work to fix discrimination against Black farmers
Trump envoy says there'll likely be a call between Trump and Putin this week
Sunday 16 March 2025 16:14 , Gustaf Kilander
Canada to review the purchase of F-35 fighter planes in light of Trump trade war
Sunday 16 March 2025 16:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Rob Gillies writes:
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked his defense minister to review the purchase of America’s F-35 fighter jet to see if there are other options “given the changing environment," a spokesman for the minister said Saturday.
Laurent de Casanove, Defense Minister Bill Blair’s press secretary, said the contract to purchase U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin's F-35 currently remains in place and Canada has made a legal commitment of funds for the first 16 aircraft.
But Canada agreed to buy 88 F-35’s two years ago. Carney, who was sworn in on Friday, has asked Blair to work with the military “to determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada’s needs," he said.
Read more:
Canada to review the purchase of F-35 fighter planes in light of Trump trade war
White House releases pictures of Trump watching Yemen strikes
Sunday 16 March 2025 03:15 , Graeme Massie
“President Trump is taking action against the Houthis to defend US shipping assets and deter terrorist threats,” the White House posted on X.
“For too long American economic & national threats have been under assault by the Houthis. Not under this presidency.”
COMMENT: How a Meta exposé reveals a disturbing truth about Mark Zuckerberg
Sunday 16 March 2025 03:00 , Gustaf Kilander
Chris Blackhurst writes:
There is no greater proponent of freedom of expression than Mark Zuckerberg. The Meta boss sits atop a digital empire used by 3 billion worldwide or, as the company likes to say, “empowers them to share ideas and offer support”. His domain covers Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. Truly, he is a king of the age.
Enabling folk to say what they want is at the heart of his success. It’s how he has amassed his fortune, providing platforms and networks for the exchange of views, thoughts, experiences, opinions. They’re monitored, but he tries to keep the checks and balances down – otherwise users would look elsewhere. Every time regulators try to impose something heavier, there is kickback. Increasingly, thanks to his new pal, Donald Trump – Zuckerberg was given star billing at the inauguration along with the other tech bros and he was co-host at that evening’s presidential ball – he is in his pomp, an untouchable global master.
Read more:
How a Meta exposé reveals a disturbing truth about Mark Zuckerberg