"Feel Alive Again": Gazans Cheer As Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Kicks Off

01/19/25 5:46 PM

Thousands of Palestinians burst into the streets across Gaza as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Sunday, some in celebration, others to visit the graves of relatives, while many rushed back to their homes.

"Thanks For Forgiving": Coldplay's Chris Martin Apologises For Colonialism

01/19/25 7:12 PM

During their concert at DY Patil Stadium, lead singer Chris Martin expressed gratitude to the audience for warmly welcoming the British band.

'Chaos': Frantic scenes as immigrants rush ICE office before Trump takes office

01/16/25 8:30 PM

A news station in Charlotte, NC, reported "extraordinarily long lines" at the city’s Homeland Security Office as migrants desperately tried to have their cases heard before Donald Trump takes office on Monday. Trump has vowed to begin deporting undocumented migrants immediately, claiming at one campaign rally, "On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.” The Washington Post reported Thursday that while ICE "has long prioritized immigrants with criminal records, there are other subgroups that could be at a higher risk of deportation. They include millions of newcomers who arrived during the record border influx under President Joe Biden, as well as those who have exhausted their legal appeals but haven’t left the United States." Reporter Joe Bruno with WSOC-TV posted a photo of the long lines to social media, writing, "Chaos in southwest Charlotte as hundreds of people try to get into the ICE office to have their cases heard ahead of President Donald Trump taking office on Monday. Some people have been sleeping in the parking lot trying to get a walk-in appointment." Video on the news station's website showed people covering up with blankets as they waited in the 22-degree weather. ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knife "A few of the people we spoke with said they’ve tried for the past few days to get in to have their hearings and were turned away," said reporter Eli Brand. "One man told Channel 9 this is his third try since his original hearing date of Jan. 9. He got to the building at 3 a.m. Thursday to make sure he was near the front of the line. Even then, he was behind a few dozen people." U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told WSOC in a statement, "they believe there’s a longer backlog after office closures for the holidays and the National Day of Mourning for the death of former President Jimmy Carter. They also said they’ve seen multiple people from other states showing up to try and get hearings." Brand spoke to one man who said, “It says on my paperwork, if they tell me to surrender for removal, I have to surrender. There would be no one standing and fighting for my case saying, ‘no he was here!’ There’s no one here who can vouch for me other than these people standing in line.” Read and watch the WSCO report here.

'Crisis': Insider says Trump threw 'unswerving ally' into 'complete flux' with a call

01/19/25 12:15 AM

Donald Trump threw an "unswerving American ally" into "complete flux" with a mere phone call, according to someone who was viewing the events from inside the foreign nation.Trump's proposals related to the attempted acquisition of Greenland came to a head recently, when Trump reportedly held a call with Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister.Anne Applebaum, a staff writer at The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where she co-leads a project on 21st-century disinformation, had an inside view of the results.ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration"What did Donald Trump say over the phone to Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, on Wednesday? I don’t know which precise words he used, but I witnessed their impact. I arrived in Copenhagen the day after the call—the subject, of course, was the future of Greenland, which Denmark owns and which Trump wants—and discovered that appointments I had with Danish politicians were suddenly in danger of being canceled," the writer reported. "Amid Frederiksen’s emergency meeting with business leaders, her foreign minister’s emergency meeting with party leaders, and an additional emergency meeting of the foreign-affairs committee in Parliament, everything, all of a sudden, was in complete flux."Applebaum went on to say the "result" was that, "Mid-morning, I found myself standing on the Knippel Bridge between the Danish foreign ministry and the Danish Parliament, holding a phone, waiting to be told which direction to walk.""Denmark in January is not warm; I went to the Parliament and waited there. The meeting was canceled anyway," she added. "After that, nobody wanted to say anything on the record at all. Thus have Americans who voted for Trump because of the putatively high price of eggs now precipitated a political crisis in Scandinavia."She further notes that, "In private discussions, the adjective that was most frequently used to describe the Trump phone call was rough.""The verb most frequently used was threaten. The reaction most frequently expressed was confusion. Trump made it clear to Frederiksen that he is serious about Greenland: He sees it, apparently, as a real-estate deal. But Greenland is not a beachfront property," the report states. "The world’s largest island is an autonomous territory of Denmark, inhabited by people who are Danish citizens, vote in Danish elections, and have representatives in the Danish Parliament. Denmark also has politics, and a Danish prime minister cannot sell Greenland any more than an American president can sell Florida."Read the full report here (Atlantic subscription required).

'He was a total failure': Conservative expert blasts Trump's record on key issue

01/19/25 2:03 AM

Donald Trump's record on immigration is that of "failure," according to Cato Institute immigration expert David Bier. Bier, who has previously commented on Trump's family separation policy during the first Trump administration, took to social media on Saturday to make a prediction about Trump's deportation scheme roll-out. "Trump will lie about who he is deporting," Bier wrote. "Week 1, we expect a big televised series of arrests. We know that ICE was *already* planning to arrest the criminal targets of this raid. But Trump will also tell ICE to go ahead and arrest noncriminals in the area as well." ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration Bier goes on to say that, "Trump will sign an order Day 1 allowing ICE to arrest anyone without legal status." "He will then slander everyone arrested as a criminal or gang member when, in reality, he will have deprioritize criminals and diverted resources away from serious threats," he added. "When sympathetic cases come to light, Trump's admin will lie about those people as well. Perla Morales-Luna lived without a criminal record for decades. Trump admin grabbed her in front of her 3 US citizen kids. In response to the outrage, Trump's team claimed this single mother of three was a 'human smuggling facilitator.' This was a totally unsubstantiated LIE. They quietly released her days later without any charges." The libertarian included some additional citations, as well. "Rosenda Perez-Pelcastre and Francisco Duarte-Tineo were two parents who experienced the same thing. When their arrests came to light, Trump's admin said they were running a 'stash house' with their 4 young kids. It was another LIE. They were released. No charges again," he wrote. "Daniel Ramirez, a DACA recipient, never had any criminal charges against him. And Trump couldn't even make up a crime for him, but they labeled him a 'gang member' without evidence. Once gain... They terminated his DACA status, but once again... they quietly released him." Bier elaborates on another way in which Trump's administration failed on this issue. "In 2017, as ICE began arresting noncriminals across the country, DC bureaucrats ordered field offices to come up with 'egregious cases' to justify the arrests. But Trump ICE officials failed in this task too!" he wrote. "Trump's actual security record consists of releasing criminals with serious offenses into the US and gutting enforcement against criminals. He reversed a decade of progress on deterring criminal illegal entries. He was a total failure." He then concluded, "Trump will no doubt arrest criminals, but they are already targets under this admin. He will use those arrests to divert attention away from and smear peaceful people caught up in his mass deportation fantasy."

'I don't get it': Top Dems baffled over report Trump invited TikTok CEO to inauguration

01/16/25 9:38 PM

Some Senate members are having trouble wrapping their heads around reports that President-elect Donald Trump has invited TikTok's CEO to join him on the dais during his inauguration as the 47th president, according to CNN anchor Jim Sciutto.Sciutto posted to social media Thursday, "Senators say they are baffled by the announcement that TikTok’s CEO will be attending President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week. 'I don’t get it,' said Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, noting that Trump had raised concerns with Chinese government influence with TikTok. '80% of the Congress, Democrats and Republicans, agreed that TikTok is a huge national security concern. I can't think of a potentially more powerful propaganda tool,' he said."The New York Times reported that chief executive "Shou Chew plans to attend President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inauguration and has been invited to sit in a position of honor on the dais, where former presidents, family members and other important guests traditionally are seated, two people familiar with the plans said on Wednesday."ALSO READ: Fox News has blood on its hands as Trump twists the knifeAnonymous sources told reporters Maggie Haberman and Sapna Maheshwari that the invitation was sent from the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee. Chew is expected to sit at a place of honor with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the dais.Senators may be confused at Trump's magnanimity because TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, which has been ordered to divest by Jan. 19 or be banned from operating in the U.S. A new report Thursday claimed that TikTok is planning to completely shut down its U.S. operations by Sunday if the Supreme Court upholds the ban at the end of the week."Trump has increasingly signaled a desire to save the social media platform TikTok, despite overwhelming bipartisan concerns — once espoused by Trump himself — that it serves as a potential espionage tool for China," The Washington Post reported.While in office in 2020, Trump signed an executive order that effectively banned the use of the social media platform in the United States. He's had a change of heart, since, however, and in March 2024, Trump reversed his position. Trump now says that despite concerns over privacy and alleged Chinese spying, the First Amendment issues involved with banning the platform are "sweeping and troubling."

'Maybe they shouldn't be': Jordan cornered on CNN over pardons for violent J6 rioters

01/19/25 3:18 PM

MAGA Republican Rep. Jim Jordan (OH) was forced to scramble Sunday when CNN's Dana Bash pressed him about whether violent January 6th rioters should be pardoned by incoming President Donald Trump. Bash began, "One of the many things that the president-elect promised that he would do what was, and is, to pardon many of the January 6th rioters. We heard Vice President-elect J.D. Vance say last week that if anyone committed violence on that day, they should not be pardoned. He added, there's a little bit of a gray area there." Bash stated that the Department of Justice reports 608 people have been charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing officers, and 174 of those defendants have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon against police officers. "So, do you agree with Vice President-elect Vance that those people should not be pardoned?" Bash asked. "I think all along, whether it's President Trump, Vice President Vance, people who didn't engage in violence should be should be pardoned. I think that's where the American people are. I think that's where the president — Bash interrupted, "What about those who did engage in violence?" ALSO READ: Inside the parade of right-wing world leaders flocking to D.C. for Trump's inauguration "I think that's when you go case by case," Jordan answered. "And if they if they've done some violent activity against some police officer, maybe not. Maybe they shouldn't be." Vance received major push-back from MAGA activists who vowed to "raise hell" if Trump didn't keep his campaign promise to pardon all J6 rioters. Jordan went on to say that the pardon power lays solely with the president, and it wasn't up to him to comment. "I think he's going to focus on those, anyone who didn't commit any violence, I think certainly warrant a pardon. But I think on that 174 number you pointed out, I think he goes case by case and looks at those." Bash pushed him, "But you will be okay if even one of those 174 is pardoned?" "The way our Constitution works, it's the power of the president." "I know, but what's your opinion?" Bash insisted. "That's up to the president. If the president thinks that that's warranted. He's the one who will look at the facts along with his counsel...they will look at all the facts, but then he will make the decision. And that's how it works in America." Watch the clip below via CNN or at the link..

'Mini-Musks' channel tech titan in EU Parliament

01/17/25 11:34 AM

by Adrien DE CALANFidias Panayiotou, a Cypriot YouTuber-turned-lawmaker who snatched his 15 minutes of fame by hugging Elon Musk, is doubtless the tech titan's biggest fan in the European Parliament -- but far from the only one.Lawmakers across the EU spectrum have voiced outrage at Musk's stance towards the bloc -- from his incendiary backing for the German far right, to his outbursts over alleged censorship by Brussels regulators.The X owner and Donald Trump ally is the unspoken target of a headline parliament debate next week on enforcing EU rules to "protect democracy on social media" against "foreign interference".But at the same time dozens of EU lawmakers, most but not all from the hard right, are cheering on the billionaire even as he trains his fire on Brussels.Among his fans are a handful of "mini-Musks", as one insider dubs them: anti-establishment lawmakers prone to racking up followers, and stirring controversy, on social media.The hoodie-wearing prankster Panayiotou made a name online by collecting hugs with celebrities, including one with Musk -- snagged after spending months camped outside his offices in Texas."I agree with him on free speech 100 percent," the 24-year-old told AFP, though he said he finds the SpaceX and Tesla boss to be "sometimes aggressive" in his stances.Panayiotou readily admits to having no political experience prior to being elected last June -- and has resorted to asking his 2.7 million YouTube followers which way to vote, in between videos upbraiding Brussels bureaucrats, 80 percent of whom he would "fire".Another Musk cheerleader, the controversial Spanish YouTuber Alvise Perez, cuts a "more aggressive" figure in the chamber according to one parliament official, who asked not to be named.- 'The rot has set in' -Perez -- who heads a new faction called "Se Acabo la Fiesta" (SALF), Spanish for "The Party's Over" -- declined to respond to an AFP request for comment.A social media provocateur, he routinely rails against the Spanish government, vaccines or immigration -- and has reposted Musk's inflammatory attacks on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.Influencers aside, Musk has found a sympathetic audience in the ranks of the parliament's three hard-right groups: the ECR, the Patriots and the Sovereignists.EU hard-right groups made a joint push last autumn for Musk to be awarded the bloc's top rights Sakharov prize as a champion of "free speech".But an official of France's National Rally, which is part of the Patriots group, downplayed the message of support -- voiced before Musk backed Trump's bid to reclaim the White House."That was before Donald Trump's election," they said. "And Musk had not yet intervened in national politics" in Germany.In Patriot ranks, support for the Musk-Trump tandem varies from country to country, the official said -- with the Hungarians, Dutch and Austrians the most enthusiastic.France's RN by contrast is "under no illusions" about the intentions of the new US administration, the official said."We may like their positions against immigration and wokeness," they said, but beyond that "we know it will be America First and they won't hesitate to trample on Europe to defend American interests."That said, the Patriots came together this month to ask Parliament President Roberta Metsola to take a public stance on Britain's "grooming gangs" scandal -- which Musk has seized on to attack Starmer, a former chief state prosecutor."They are amplifying Elon Musk's harassment of Keir Starmer," charged French socialist lawmaker Chloe Ridel. "There is a fascination for Musk around the idea of the self-made success story," said Ridel, who believes that when it comes to Musk-style antics "the rot has set in" in the European Parliament.Among the European Conservatives and Reformists group, which includes Italian leader Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, admiration for the SpaceX boss is widespread.Meloni herself boasts of her "excellent relations" with Musk, whom she has described as "a genius" -- dismissing complaints he is meddling with European politics as left-wing bias.Echoing the accusations made by Musk and Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg against EU regulators, a group of right-wing lawmakers have requested a parliamentary investigation into "social media censorship".And an open letter gathering support among right-wing groups calls for Musk to be invited to address the EU parliament.But why stop there: the Slovenian Branko Grims, a maverick member of the centre-right European People's Party, has set his sights higher by nominating Musk and his efforts to uphold "freedom of speech" for the Nobel Peace Prize.© Agence France-Presse

'Not good for the Jews': Onlookers gobsmacked as Mel Gibson becomes 'Hollywood ambassador'

01/16/25 7:32 PM

Ambassadors are usually appointed to serve as representatives to strengthen relationships between their nation and other countries. Donald Trump has come up with the unique idea of appointing right-wing actors to be his "ambassadors to Hollywood." Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight will serve in the newly-created positions which Trump linked to a claim that Hollywood "has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries."One of the picks, in particular, triggered reaction.Gibson was caught in a drunk-driving incident in 2006 in which he was recorded going off on a rant, blaming Jewish people "for all the wars in the world." As one critic said on Blue Sky Friday, it made him a pariah in Hollywood — the area he is now representing.Since the 2006 incident, he has continued working in lower-budget films, a mini-series and at least one film that earned 7.2 stars on IMDB in 2019. While he was once a high-billed leading man, his most successful work since the 2006 incident has been behind the camera, Rotten Tomatoes rankings show. "Mel Gibson as Special Ambassador to Hollywood is like making Jared Fogle Special Ambassador to Candyland," joked criminal defense lawyer Ken White.The Daily Show responded to the news saying, "Trump: Okay, day one, no bad ideas. What are your ideas to -- Mel Gibson: NO MORE JEWS."The Bulwark's Sam Stein noted, "Mel Gibson, having a moment. Not good for the Jews.""At last check Mel Gibson, one of Trump’s three new “Special Ambassadors to Hollywood,” was teasing conspiracy theories about the LA fires. One can guess which group he wants to blame," pointed out former Obama appointee Eric Columbus on Blue Sky. Some who responded to journalist Aaron Rupar noted that other names, such as James Woods, Scott Baio, and Kevin Sorbo, were clearly being snubbed.Former Hollywood executive Katie Whittemore called the announcement "f--king laughable. He is going to try and destroy everything we love."MSNBC's Garrett Haake agreed, noting that these appointments, while made up indicate that Trump is aiming to reignite the culture war. "Republicans: basketball players should shut up and dribble. Also Republicans: next up is our chief natural disaster correspondent Mel Gibson," said political commentator Brian Tayler Cohen after seeing Gibson on Fox News commenting on the California wildfires.

'PM Modi, Biden Raised US-India Relations To New Heights': US Envoy

01/19/25 2:52 PM

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti on Sunday highlighted that US-India relations have reached new heights, due to the efforts of PrM Modi and Joe Biden.