|
Sir John says US policy will embolden Russia and China, with gains since the fall of the Soviet Union being reversed.
|
|
(Third column, 14th story, link)
Related stories: GERMANY REBUKES VANCE... ZELENSKY CALLS FOR ARMY OF EUROPE... HEGSETH'S BRUISING DEBUT OVERSEAS... New Spy Unit Leading Russia's Shadow War Against West...
|
|
According to the White House, Russia's Vladimir Putin has agreed to meet with President Trump to negotiate ending the war in Ukraine. Trump opposed the United States' financial involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war during his campaign, distinguishing himself from the Biden administration's funding of Ukraine's military. Trump's Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth broke with years of U.S. foreign policy precedent in a recent statement asserting that Ukraine would not join NATO, a key provision for Putin. Trump has also been pushing for U.S. access to Ukraine's mineral resources in any potential deal. We speak to The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel about these latest developments. "There is an importance of what [Trump] is beginning to do, which is open up a process to end a war" that is "impoverishing Ukraine," she says. "Both countries are war-weary" three years after the Russian invasion.
|
|
A lawsuit by a coalition of labor unions Thursday prompted the Labor Department to agree not to release any sensitive economic and privacy data to DOGE, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk. Musk's group has already gained access to sensitive files and computer systems across other key agencies as part of a push to restructure much of the federal government. "There are huge problems with what Elon Musk and his team are doing to access the most critical personal data that this country owns," says Rob Shriver, senior adviser to the accountability group Democracy Forward, which filed the lawsuit over Labor Department data, and a former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management. Legal challenges have also reversed the Trump administration's executive order to freeze trillions in federal funding, delayed a buyout offer sent to most of the federal workforce to encourage mass resignations, and at least partially blocked Musk from accessing the Treasury Department's payment system. We also speak with Public Citizen's Robert Weissman, who calls Musk's actions "an authoritarian rampage through the government … designed to access information, surveil the country, destroy the institutions of government and advance corporate interests without restraint."
|
|
WASHINGTON - Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas released the following statement on National Human Trafficking Prevention Month:
"Human trafficking is an abhorrent crime that impacts an estimated 25 million people, here in the United States and abroad. Victims too often suffer in silence and perpetrators are too seldom brought to justice. National Human Trafficking Prevention Month is a time to reaffirm the Department's commitment to seeing those victims, hearing their stories, and preventing the horrific acts of human trafficking before they occur. We will bring the full weight of the Department of Homeland Security - our resources and our dedicated personnel - to identify and protect victims and to investigate and arrest perpetrators.
"Across DHS, our tremendous professionals lead this work each day.
The DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking leverages the resources of 16 DHS Agencies and Offices to combat both sex trafficking and forced labor. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents investigate these crimes and help prosecute the perpetrators. The HSI Victim Assistance Program supports victims with critical emergency assistance and connects victims with non-governmental organizations that provide short- and long-term direct services. U.S. Customs and Border Protection investigates allegations of forced labor in U.S. supply chains and bars goods made with forced labor from entering the country. The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers educates law enforcement about the indicators of trafficking and best practices for supporting victims and bringing perpetrators to justice. We raise awareness about these heinous crimes through our signature public awareness and education campaign, the DHS Blue Campaign, and our partnerships with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, businesses, airlines
|
|