Tue, March 18, 2025

by: Euronews

Baltics and Poland announce planned withdrawal from landmine treaty

The Ottawa Convention prohibits the production, possession, and transfer of anti-personnel mines. View on euronews

by: dw

No quotas: How can new Syrian government ensure inclusivity?

The new Syrian government should be representative of all ethnic and sectarian groups if it wants international support. But many Syrians say quotas are a bad idea. So how to ensure the new Syria is inclusive for all?

by: Reuters

Explainer-What happens if the Trump administration doesn't comply with a court order?

Several federal judges have claimed the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has failed to comply with court orders regarding foreign aid, federal spending and the firing of government workers,

by: RealClearPolitics

Schumer: The Republican Attitude Is "I Made My Money All By Myself, How Dare Your Government Take My Money From Me"

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in a contentious interview on 'The View' said Republicans are "controlled by a small group of wealthy, greedy people" that hate government and believe it is a barrier to people.

by: Slate

Democrats Had a Chance to Take a Stand Here. What Went Wrong?

His answer was no—that Senate Democrats should have taken a stand against Donald Trump's lawlessness and withheld the votes Republicans needed to keep the government from shutting down. Even one single Democrat could have made more of a stink and slowed things down.

by: Mediaite

JUST IN: Elon Musk and DOGE Found By Federal Judge to Have Violated the Constitution 'In Multiple Ways'

A federal judge found that Elon Musk and DOGE may have violated the constitution by moving to shut down USAID. The post JUST IN: Elon Musk and DOGE Found By Federal Judge to Have Violated the Constitution 'In Multiple Ways' first appeared on Mediaite.

by: Them

82 House Democrats "Demand" the Government Reject Trump's Anti-Trans Passport Policies

House of Representatives, all Democrats, have submitted a letter opposing the implementation of the Trump administration's anti-trans passport restrictions. After Trump signed a January executive order legally defining gender as male or female as assigned at birth,

by: MLive

Tractor parade at Michigan Capitol: Farmers rally to fight 'burdensome regulations'

Tractors began arriving two miles south of the Capitol building as the sun rose Tuesday morning. State Rep. Jennifer Wortz, bundled up on a brisk morning, hopped on her grandmother's orange Allis-Chalmers tractor to lead a parade of tractors down Washington Avenue toward the Capitol.

by: Newsweek

DOGE Announces 'Major Cleanup' for Social Security

"For the past two weeks, @SocialSecurity has begun a major cleanup of their records. Approximately 3.2 million numberholders, all listed age 120+, have now been marked as deceased. More work still to be done," DOGE said on X early on Tuesday.

by: LAist

4 things to know about the Alien Enemies Act and Trump's efforts to use it

by: CounterPunch

Conservatives and Liberals Have a Common Enemy

Don't let the billionaires behind the curtain distract you while they steal your money and your freedom. George W. Bush believed that replacing theocratic

by: Gizmodo

MAGA's Tesla Embrace Means EV Politics Will Never Be the Same Again

President Donald Trump, the same man who once said that people promoting electric vehicles should "ROT IN HELL," bought his own EV this week. He showed off his new Tesla Model S — red, like the Make America Great Again hats — outside the White House on Tuesday,

by: Forbes

The Polls And Politics Of Inequality

Is inequality back as a political issue? Senator Bernie Sanders seems to think so. He is leading a "Fighting Oligarchy" tour that has drawn thousands of people.

by: Insider

I left my job at the White House and landed a role in the private sector. Here's my advice for federal workers making the switch.

After working in government for years, including as press secretary to the former First Lady, Hannah August pivoted to private sector work.

by: BBC

What does UK benefits overhaul mean for Scotland?

Significant reforms restricting some sickness and disability benefits will be announced at Westminster.

by: Snopes

Social Security falsely declared 82-year-old man dead, stopped benefits

Ned Johnson and his wife Pam confirmed the details of the story in a telephone interview and provided an update.

by: Newspoint

8th Pay Commission: Big Salary Boost for 1 Crore Government Employees and Pensioners!

Government Begins Preparations for 8th Pay Commission, Salary Hike Expected by 2026 There's great news for nearly 1 crore government employees and pensioners in India! The government has kickstarted the process for the 8th Central Pay Commission (CPC),

by: CNN

Getting paid not to work: Federal probationary workers put on paid leave

Days after a Maryland federal judge ruled that terminated probationary workers must be temporarily reinstated, multiple federal agencies have told their staffers that they are complying with the decis
Mon, March 17, 2025

by: KGW

Federal workers plead for protection after Trump-era firings in Oregon town hall

Federal employees fired under President Donald Trump's administration called on Oregon's federal lawmakers to protect them during a town hall meeting.

by: MassLive

Mass. lawmakers plan to extend remote meeting rules

The latest extension, originally put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, could reach Gov. Maura Healey's desk by Thursday.

by: KSAT

Going for gold: A look at the political and sporting challenges facing the next IOC president

An in tray of Olympic challenges spanning political, social, sporting and operational issues awaits the next International Olympic Committee president.

by: ArtNews

Trump Moves to Axe 7 Federal Agencies, Including Key Library and Media Funds

President Trump signed an executive order Friday to dismantle seven federal agencies, including the one overseeing Voice of America (VOA) and other government-funded media outlets. The order demands that agency heads eliminate all non-mandatory functions and scale back required ones to the legal minimum.

by: WVXU

Kentucky GOP pushes through anti-trans bills and Medicaid changes in 11th hour

As midnight and the governor's veto period approached Friday night, the Kentucky General Assembly pushed through several highly controversial bills, including one that cuts gender-affirming hormone treatments from Medicaid.

by: Yahoo

'Nothing to do with politics': How Hezbollah photos led to RI doctor's controversial deportation

Alawieh reportedly told customs officials that she followed the religious teachings, but not politics, of late Hezbollah leader.

by: WUNC

Why are North Carolina's judicial races partisan? Disputed high court race raises questions

Bitzer, author of Redistricting and Gerrymandering in North Carolina: Battlelines in the Tar Heel State, bolstered Gerry Cohen's contention that Democratic lawmakers in the 1990s wanted to stem the tide of GOP gains in judicial elections.

by: Newsweek

Chuck Schumer Cancels Book Tour Events Amid Funding Vote Backlash

Chuck Schumer has canceled book tour events this week because of security concerns amid a backlash over his support for Republicans in preventing a government shutdown last week. "Due to security concerns, Senator Schumer's book events are being rescheduled," a statement said.

by: RealClearPolitics

Democrats Should Have Shut Down the Government

I've been working hard getting our NCAA Tournament forecasts ready for Selection Sunday. So I'd barely been paying attention to the drama in the Senate, where Republicans were trying to gather votes for a budget resolution to avert a government shutdown by midnight tonight.

by: KOMO

Trump is fired up about the economy, immigration and the Russia/Ukraine war: Exclusive

President Donald Trump ran through his top priorities for the country, including immigration, the economy and the war in Russia and Ukraine, during a half hour

by: WBEZ

Amid backlash against Elon Musk and DOGE, Tesla owners say they're caught in the middle

Tesla owners have been victims of vandalism, rude behavior and assumptions about their politics since CEO Elon Musk joined the Trump administration and began slashing jobs.

by: Politico

Baraka taps into Dem dissatisfaction

Look at this CNN poll from Sunday. The Democratic Party's favorability rating is 29 percent. That's in part because just 63 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents give it positive ratings — down from 81 percent four years ago. Baraka has been successful at tapping into that sentiment, as has Steve Fulop.

by: PennLive

Trump signs order to gut staff at Voice of America, other US-funded media organizations

On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. That included the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia and Radio Marti, which beams Spanish-language news into Cuba.

by: KOSU

Gov. Kevin Stitt boasts about DOGE OK savings, lawmakers worry about staff cuts and redundancy

Gov. Kevin Stitt says action to reduce wasteful government spending is officially underway. Total savings are just shy of $1.2 million, per the new DOGE-OK website.

by: WXPR

WI's 'nonpartisan' Supreme Court race is anything but

University of Wisconsin-Madison mass communications professor Michael Wagner said the state's rule about justices making their own decisions about when to recuse themselves from cases makes the electi

by: dw

A look back: East Germany's first freely elected parliament

Germany's reunification.On March 18, 1990, the Christian Democratic Union emerged as the strongest party after the election for the East German parliament, the People's Chamber. Germany's reunification central to campaign.

by: IOL

Ideological Enforcement and the Rise and Fall of Trans Autocracy

Exploring the complex dynamics of LGBTQI+ rights, Gillian Schutte delves into how elite interests can co-opt social movements, transforming genuine struggles into tools for control.

by: Reuters

Trump says no exemptions on US steel and aluminum tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump said he has no intention of creating exemptions on steel and aluminum tariffs and said reciprocal and sectoral tariffs will be imposed on April 2. Last month, Trump raised tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum to a flat 25%,

by: Euronews

Brussels hosts Syrian foreign minister for talks on country's political and economic transition

The EU is hoping to rally further support for Syria's fragile transition, days after sectarian violence erupted in the country's coastal regions. View on euronews

by: Slate

How American Bureaucrats Became Public Enemy No. 1

Condon took the lectern at a meeting of the American Physical Society in Washington. If not as famous as his former boss at the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Condon was held in nearly equal esteem by his scientific colleagues: A pioneering figure in nuclear physics,

by: KCUR

Kansas City is voting on a sales tax to fund a new jail. Here's what to know about Question 1

Kansas City's public safety sales tax has been used to support the police department and emergency and medical services. Mayor Quinton Lucas and other officials want voters to renew it so the city can use the money to build a new jail and rehabilitation center.

by: LBC

Council tax to rise for most people in England - see the full list of increases

Council tax is set to increase for a majority of households in England after all councils confirmed their plans.

by: KLCC

City of Bend sees surge of interest in Human Rights and Equity Commission

Central Oregon elected officials are taking opposite approaches to the Trump administration's targeting of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

by: BBC

No-one mentions Reform UK spat, says councillor

The public spat between Nigel Farage and one of his sidelined MPs is a "Westminster bubble story" and no-one mentions it on the street, a Reform UK councillor has said. Rupert Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, was suspended from the party over allegations of making verbal threats and workplace bullying.

by: CNN

White House denies ignoring court order halting Venezuelan deportations

The White House is denying that it violated a judge's order Saturday to halt the deportations of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which, if it did occur, would take legal showdowns over the administration's claims of vast presidential power closer to the edge of a constitutional crisis.

by: briefly

What Julius Malema said about the budget speech and joining the GNU

The president of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, said he was willing to engage the African National Congress on the budget speech and GNU.
Sun, March 16, 2025

by: Newsweek

French Lawmaker Demands US Return Statue of Liberty

Center-left French lawmaker Raphael Glucksmann accused the U.S. of abandoning the values that made it a strong ally to Europe.

by: CNN

Flags, figurines and gold everywhere: Trump transforms the Oval Office into a gilded gallery

As President Donald Trump works to dramatically reshape the federal government, he is also in the middle of transforming another historic aspect of the presidency: the Oval Office.

by: Reuters

Protesters flood Belgrade in one of biggest anti-government rallies

More than 100,000 protesters descended on Serbia's capital Belgrade on Saturday in one of the largest rallies in decades, with students and workers facing riot police and supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic.

by: BBC

Call for dedicated minister as tourism costs rise

The head of a regional tourism industry body is calling for a dedicated minister to help the sector to grow and raise its profile within government. Pete Waters, executive director of Visit East of England, says tourism is worth £12bn pounds a year to the local economy and could grow very quickly with the right encouragement.

Democrats Should Have Shut Down the Government

I've been working hard getting our NCAA Tournament forecasts ready for Selection Sunday. So I'd barely been paying attention to the drama in the Senate, where Republicans were trying to gather votes for a budget resolution to avert a government shutdown by midnight tonight.

The article from RealClearPolitics, published on March 17, 2025, titled "Democrats Should Have Shut Down the Government," argues that Democrats missed a strategic opportunity by not allowing a government shutdown. The author posits that a shutdown could have been politically advantageous for Democrats, as it would have highlighted Republican disarray and potentially swayed public opinion against the GOP. The piece suggests that by keeping the government open, Democrats inadvertently allowed Republicans to regroup and pass legislation that was not in their favor. It critiques the Democratic leadership for lacking the foresight to use the shutdown as leverage, especially given the internal conflicts within the Republican party at the time. The author believes that this decision might have long-term negative implications for Democratic policy goals and their image as effective negotiators.

Read the Full RealClearPolitics Article at:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2025/03/17/democrats_should_have_shut_down_the_government_643051.html