NuseReal

President Trump says non-US movies to be hit with 100% levies (LINK) 5 May 2025.

— US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded to the latest announcement, saying "We're on it". BBC: "The details of the move are unclear. Trump's statement did not say whether the tariff would apply to American production companies producing films abroad."

Trump's call to 'reopen Alcatraz': "it was closed in the 1960s because it was three times more expensive to operate than other prisons" (LINK) 4 May 2025.

DOE to cut off billions of dollars' worth of Biden-era green energy projects (LINK) 4 May 2025.

Slate: Trump just issued an Executive Order aimed at decimating the Civil Rights Act of 1964: "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy" executive order, published last month. (LINK) 4 May 2025.

— Thomas Silverstein: "If a policy harms members of one group much more than others and if there is no good reason for the policy, it violates the law."

— "The executive order calls for the repeal of agencies' disparate impact regulations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and demands vague 'appropriate action' (presumably dismissal) with respect to pending enforcement proceedings under other laws like the Fair Housing Act. The order proceeds from the baseless assumption that compliance with civil rights laws that allow for disparate impact claims is achieved by taking something away from members of another group."

Mexico's president says she rejected Trump's plan to send US troops across the border (LINK) 3 May 2025.

US federal court halts ruling ordering Voice of America to allow employees back to work and restore funding for Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks (LINK) 3 May 2025.

— The appeals court in a 2-1 decision suggested earlier judge lacked jurisdiction to order the employees to return to work and to require the restoration of $15 million in grants for Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

2 major U.S. scientific societies to do own climate assessment after Trump administration dismissed authors (LINK) 3 May 2025.

Elon Musk's DOGE removes IRS crypto policy officers (LINK) 3 May 2025.

Worker safety agency NIOSH lays off most remaining staff: gutting programmes ranging from approvals of new safety equipment to firefighter health (LINK) 4 May 2025.

Judge permanently blocks Trump's executive order targeting Democratic-tied law firm Perkins Coie (LINK) 2 May 2025.

Trump family's net worth has increased by $2.9 billion thanks to crypto investments, new report says (LINK) 2 May 2025.

National Science Foundation cut off all funding to scientists in 30 April order (LINK) 2 May 2025.

Oil spill off Louisiana's Gulf Coast raises alarm as DOGE cuts may threaten response efforts: a report from the U.S. Coast Guard's National Response Center said "the amount discharged could potentially reach the threshold of a major spill for coastal waters (over 100,000 gallons)". The leak is occurring near the Garden Island Bay area of the Pass-a-Loutre Wildlife Management Area, a sensitive ecological zone in southeastern Louisiana (LINK) 2 May 2025.

— A study in 2023 identified 14,000 unplugged, abandoned wells in the Gulf.

The Trump administration says it will cut EPA staffing to Reagan-era levels (LINK) 2 May 2025.

Donald Trump's budget "breaks his promise to protect social security" (LINK) 2 May 2025.

— Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works: "It keeps funding for the Social Security Administration (SSA) flat, which is a de-facto cut since SSA's fixed costs, such as field office rents, go up every year by over $600 million. Furthermore, it forces SSA to spend more money on so-called "program integrity" — clawing back money from Americans who have been overpaid through no fault of their own — which creates extreme hardship, including homelessness. The truth is that Social Security is extremely understaffed, which is increasing backlogs and wait times. This budget will make those backlogs and delays worse. It will make mistakes — including the Orwellian nightmare of being inadvertently declared dead when you are not — harder to fix."

President Trump orders Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end federal funding for NPR and PBS (LINK) 1 May 2025.

whitehouse.gov: "Ending Taxpayer Subsidization Of Biased Media" (LINK) — 1 May 2025.

Waltz out as national security adviser and tapped for UN ambassador in the first major staff shakeup since the president took office in January (LINK) — 1 May 2025.

Trump-appointed judge says president's use of Alien Enemies Act is unlawful in first-of-its-kind ruling (LINK) — 1 May 2025.

Mike Waltz, other National Security Council staffers out in latest Trump purge following Signal chat leak (LINK)