Trump

Two 'Big Law' firms targeted by Trump file suit

  • In both cases, Trump suspended security clearances, ordered the termination of government contracts and limited access to federal government buildings for employees of the firms.
  • Two leading US law firms sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Friday after he stripped security clearances from their attorneys and blocked them from doing business with the government.
  • In both cases, Trump suspended security clearances, ordered the termination of government contracts and limited access to federal government buildings for employees of the firms.
Two leading US law firms sued the administration of President Donald Trump on Friday after he stripped security clearances from their attorneys and blocked them from doing business with the government.
Jenner & Block and WilmerHale filed separate lawsuits after Trump signed executive orders this week sanctioning the firms.
In two discrete rulings by US federal judges Friday evening, both were awarded temporary restraining orders blocking Trump's executive orders from taking effect pending further review.
Since taking office, the Republican president has moved to settle scores with the law firms that had represented his political foes in the past or helped bring him to court on civil or criminal charges.
Trump has signed executive orders targeting five so-called "Big Law" firms so far. Two other firms have cut deals with the president.
Trump signed an executive order on Thursday sanctioning WilmerHale, the former law firm of Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.
On Tuesday, Trump targeted Jenner & Block, which once employed a prosecutor who was a key member of Mueller's investigative team.
In both cases, Trump suspended security clearances, ordered the termination of government contracts and limited access to federal government buildings for employees of the firms.
Mueller worked at WilmerHale before being appointed special counsel and rejoined after the probe's conclusion until his retirement in 2021.
In its complaint, Jenner & Block called Trump's executive order "an unconstitutional abuse of power against lawyers, their clients and the legal system.
"It is intended to hamper the ability of individuals and businesses to have the lawyers of their choice zealously represent them," it said.
"And it is intended to coerce law firms and lawyers into renouncing the Administration's critics and ceasing certain representations adverse to the government."
Another firm targeted by Trump, Perkins Coie, has also filed suit against the administration and obtained a restraining order from a judge temporarily blocking the sanctions.
Two more firms -- Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps -- have entered into agreements with Trump to avoid sanctions.
Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps both agreed to provide pro bono legal services to "support the administration's initiatives" -- $40 million in Paul Weiss's case and $100 million for Skadden Arps.
Announcing the Skadden Arps agreement on Truth Social on Friday, Trump said the firm will provide pro bono services to assist veterans and members of law enforcement, ensure "fairness in our Justice System" and combat anti-Semitism.
cl/jgc/dc

Trump

Performance, museums, history: Trump's cultural power grab

BY MAGGY DONALDSON, WITH ELODIE SOINARD IN WASHINGTON

  • The executive crusade is part of a broader effort to strip American society of efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion that institutions nationwide have vied to incorporate in recent years, purging culture of anti-racism and LGBTQ+ support.
  • Washington's Smithsonian is a sprawling chain of museums dedicated to both celebrating and scrutinizing the American story -- and the latest cultural institution targeted by President Donald Trump's bid to quash diversity efforts.
  • The executive crusade is part of a broader effort to strip American society of efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion that institutions nationwide have vied to incorporate in recent years, purging culture of anti-racism and LGBTQ+ support.
Washington's Smithsonian is a sprawling chain of museums dedicated to both celebrating and scrutinizing the American story -- and the latest cultural institution targeted by President Donald Trump's bid to quash diversity efforts.
His recent executive order to excavate "divisive ideology" from the famed visitor attraction and research complex follows a wave of efforts to keep culture and history defined on his terms, including his takeover of the national capital's prestigious performing arts venue, the Kennedy Center.
And it's got critics up in arms.
"It's a declaration of war," said David Blight of Yale University, who leads the Organization of American Historians.
"It is arrogant and appalling for them to claim they have the power and the right to say what history actually is and how it should be exhibited, written, and taught," Blight told AFP.
Trump's latest order also says monuments to the historic Confederate rebellion, many of which were removed in recent years in the wake of anti-racism protests, might soon be restored.
His order even mentioned the National Zoo -- which is operated by the Smithsonian and recently welcomed two pandas from China -- as potentially needing a cleanse from "improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology." 
And Trump says a number of Smithsonian museums, including the distinguished National Museum of African American History and Culture, espouse "corrosive ideology," and are trying to rewrite American history in relation to issues of race and gender.
Critical observers say the exact opposite is true.
Margaret Huang -- president of the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate -- called Trump's order "the latest attempt to erase our history" and "a blatant attempt to mask racism and white supremacy as patriotism."
"Black history is US history. Women's history is US history. This country's history is ugly and beautiful," Huang said.
For critics like Huang and Blight, Trump's push to tell a rose-tinted history of "American greatness" is a disservice to museum-goers in a complicated country built on values including freedom of speech -- but whose history is rife with war, slavery and civil rights struggles.
"What's at stake is the way the United States officially portrays its own past, to itself, and to the world," Blight said.

'Stories about ourselves'

Trump is a 78-year-old Frank Sinatra fan with a penchant for Broadway -- he's spoken particularly fondly of the 1980s-era musical "Cats," the fantastical tale of a dancing tribe of felines.
But his brand of culture war is much bigger than personal taste: in his second term, the president appears intent on rooting out what he deems too "woke."
The executive crusade is part of a broader effort to strip American society of efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion that institutions nationwide have vied to incorporate in recent years, purging culture of anti-racism and LGBTQ+ support.
Critics say Trump's extension of his grip to the Smithsonian represents an eyebrow-raising incursion into the programming independence of the more than 175-year-old institution.
Founded in the mid-19th century, the Smithsonian "has transformed along with our culture and our society," said Robert McCoy, a history professor at Washington State University.
The complex -- including the zoo, 21 museums and 14 education and research centers -- is approximately two-thirds federally funded, with the rest of its approximately billion-dollar-budget stemming from sources including endowments, memberships and donations.
Its Board of Regents includes the vice president. But, similarly to the Kennedy Center, until now it operated largely above political lines, especially when it came to programming.

'Meaning and belonging'

"It's become more diverse. The stories it tells are more complicated. These are people who are attempting to help us broaden what it means to be an American -- what it means to tell us stories about ourselves that are more accurate and include more people," McCoy told AFP.
"When you lose that, you begin to marginalize a lot of different groups."
McCoy fears the White House's bid to clamp down on the Smithsonian's work could prompt resignations, a concern Blight echoed: "If they stay in their jobs, they're in effect working for an authoritarian takeover of what they do. That will not be acceptable."
Trump's attempts at cultural dominance in federal institutions are part of a broader package of control, McCoy said, a pattern that echoes research on how authoritarian regimes seize power.
"It's not just political and economic institutions," he said. "It's also the institutions that provide people with a sense of meaning and belonging -- that they're American."
mdo-es/dc/

court

Trump lawyers try to shift Palestinian activist's case to Louisiana

BY GREGORY WALTON, WITH ANA FERNANDEZ IN NEW YORK

  • But Khalil's lawyer Baher Azmy accused the government of seeking to move the case to bolster its "retaliation."
  • US government lawyers pushed Friday for the case of a pro-Palestinian protest leader slated for deportation to be moved to a Louisiana court thought to be sympathetic to President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
  • But Khalil's lawyer Baher Azmy accused the government of seeking to move the case to bolster its "retaliation."
US government lawyers pushed Friday for the case of a pro-Palestinian protest leader slated for deportation to be moved to a Louisiana court thought to be sympathetic to President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil -- a prominent face of the protest movement that erupted in response to Israel's war in Gaza -- was arrested and taken to Louisiana earlier this month, sparking protests. 
Several other foreign student protesters have been similarly targeted.
Also Friday, Columbia University's interim president stepped down, one week after the Ivy League school announced a package of measures to placate Trump and his criticisms over student protests and alleged campus anti-Semitism. He has targeted the school with hundreds of millions in funding cuts. 
Katrina Armstrong will be replaced by Board of Trustees co-chair Claire Shipman, who will serve until a permanent replacement is hired, Columbia said in a statement.
"Dr Armstrong accepted the role of interim president at a time of great uncertainty for the University and worked tirelessly to promote the interests of our community," Board of Trustees chair David Greenwald said.
Shipman noted her "clear understanding of the serious challenges before us."
The government has not accused Khalil of any crime, but instead ordered his deportation and canceled his resident's permit, alleging he was undermining US foreign policy.
At a hearing in New Jersey, government lawyer August Flentje said that "for jurisdictional certainty, the case belongs in Louisiana."
But Khalil's lawyer Baher Azmy accused the government of seeking to move the case to bolster its "retaliation."
The judge said he would not rule immediately on shifting the case to the Western District of Louisiana, a more conservative bench that has previously leaned towards Trump's policies.
Khalil was not present at the hearing, but his wife Noor attended with several supporters.

'Witch hunt'?

Khalil's arrest has outraged Trump opponents, free speech advocates and some on the political right, who say the case will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
Immigration officers have similarly detained and sought to deport a Tufts University student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Columbia student Yunseo Chung, a US permanent resident originally from South Korea.
Like Khalil, Ozturk has been detained in Louisiana despite her initial arrest in the northeastern state of Massachusetts.
Ozturk's lawyer said Thursday that "we should all be horrified at the way (officers) abducted Rumeysa in broad daylight" after footage of masked, plainclothes officers surrounding the veiled student circulated online.
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Friday issued a court order saying "Ozturk shall not be removed from the United States until further Order of this Court," while the jurisdiction of her case is reviewed.
Students at Columbia have described a culture of fear in the wake of the action against the college and its students.

'Retaliation'

"Nothing can protect you," said a Hispanic-American student who participated in last year's protests calling for a Gaza ceasefire and for Columbia to divest from Israel.
"I take precautions, I check if someone is following me. Before, I wasn't afraid to leave my apartment door unlocked; now I lock it in case an agent comes in to check my stuff."
Nadia Urbinati, a professor of political theory at Columbia, told AFP that "writing papers, teaching, having new research, researchers or fellows becomes more restricted, controlled and monitored."
A foreign student, who declined to be named for fear of retaliation, said Trump had sought to "isolate" activists. 
"We try to laugh," said another, but "the feeling of fear and paranoia is widespread."
Dozens protested in support of Khalil outside the New Jersey courthouse, holding Palestinian flags and banners.
As well as targeting foreign students at Columbia University, the Trump administration has sought to slash $400 million of federal funding and grants over alleged anti-Semitism on campus.
Last week the university announced a package of measures to placate Trump, including "improvements to our disciplinary processes." 
Columbia said it would require protesters to identify themselves when challenged, even if they wear masks, as many did during the height of the pro-Palestinian protests.
It also announced the expansion of its security team, including hiring 36 officers empowered to remove or arrest those that break university rules.
The Trump administration had demanded that the university deploy external oversight, but the school stopped short of that, instead vowing to engage with outside academics on the issue.
gw/jgc/acb/dc

television

US regulators to investigate Disney diversity efforts

  • Disney and its subsidiary ABC are being targeted as part of the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at government agencies and private companies, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a letter to the entertainment giant.
  • The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will investigate diversity efforts at the Walt Disney Company, the head of the US agency said on Friday.
  • Disney and its subsidiary ABC are being targeted as part of the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at government agencies and private companies, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a letter to the entertainment giant.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will investigate diversity efforts at the Walt Disney Company, the head of the US agency said on Friday.
Disney and its subsidiary ABC are being targeted as part of the Trump administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at government agencies and private companies, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a letter to the entertainment giant.
US President Donald Trump picked Carr to head the FCC.
"I am concerned that ABC and its parent company have been and may still be promoting invidious forms of DEI in a manner that does not comply with FCC regulations," Carr wrote in the letter, a copy of which he shared on X, formerly Twitter.
Disney made a priority of promoting race and gender diversity across its operations in recent years, and "apparently did so in a manner that infected many aspects of your company's decisions," Carr wrote in a letter addressed to chief executive Robert Iger.
Carr notified Comcast and NBCUniversal in February that they were targets of an investigation into their diversity and equality efforts, thanking Trump at the time for efforts to "root out the scourge of DEI."
Trump's assault on diversity across the United States government is dismantling decades of racial justice programs.
Delivering on a campaign promise, the Republican billionaire made it one of his first acts in office to terminate all federal government DEI programs, which he said led to "illegal and immoral discrimination."
Earlier this month, Civil War historian Kevin M. Levin reported that Arlington National Cemetery had begun to wipe its website of the histories of Black, Hispanic and women war veterans. 
Descendants of the Native Americans who played a vital role for US forces in World War II said they had been shocked to discover their ancestors' heroic contributions had been effectively deleted from the public record.
The president's move to end DEI programs has also affected more than just the federal government.
Since Trump won last year's election, several major US corporations -- including Google, Meta, Amazon and McDonalds -- have either entirely scrapped or dramatically scaled back their DEI programs. 
The American Civil Liberties Union says Trump's policies have taken a "'shock and awe' approach that upends longstanding, bipartisan federal policy meant to open doors that had been unfairly closed."
US federal anti-discrimination programs were born of the 1960s civil rights struggle, mainly led by Black Americans, to promote equality and justice after hundreds of years of slavery. 
After the United States abolished slavery in 1865, the country continued to see other institutional forms of racism enforced.
Today, Black Americans and other minorities continue to disproportionately face police violence, incarceration, poverty, homelessness and hate crimes, according to official data.
gc/jgc

politics

Trump, Canada PM strike positive note after call

BY DANNY KEMP

  • His post on Friday was notable for its diplomacy, as Trump gave Carney his official title of prime minister and made no reference to his annexation drive.
  • US President Donald Trump said he had an "extremely productive" first call Friday with Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney, after soaring tensions over tariffs and Trump's wish to annex his northern neighbor.
  • His post on Friday was notable for its diplomacy, as Trump gave Carney his official title of prime minister and made no reference to his annexation drive.
US President Donald Trump said he had an "extremely productive" first call Friday with Canada's new Prime Minister Mark Carney, after soaring tensions over tariffs and Trump's wish to annex his northern neighbor.
Trump added that the two planned to meet soon after Canada's April 28 general election in which Carney -- who took office two weeks ago -- has made standing up to the US president the focus of his campaign.
"I just finished speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, of Canada. It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things," Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Trump said they would be "meeting immediately after Canada's upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors, that will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada."
Typically, a new Canadian leader makes a phone call with the US president an immediate priority, but this was Trump and Carney's first contact since the Canadian was sworn in on March 14.
Carney's office said the pair had a "very constructive conversation" and agreed to begin "comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately following the election."
It added, however, that Carney told Trump his government will impose retaliatory tariffs on American goods from April 2, when sweeping US levies are set to come into place.
"We're not going to back down, we're going to respond with force," Carney said at an afternoon press conference.
"What is clear is that the relationship between Canada and the United States has changed. And we're not the one's who changed," he added, confirming that Canada needed to look to Europe "to strengthen ties with reliable partners."
"Over the coming weeks, months and years, we must fundamentally reimagine our economy."
Trump's glowing post was still a dramatic change in tone from recent rhetoric between Washington and Ottawa, who are NATO allies and long-standing economic partners.
The US president has sparked fury in Canada by repeatedly insisting that it should become the 51st US state and by slapping or threatening tariffs on the country.
His post on Friday was notable for its diplomacy, as Trump gave Carney his official title of prime minister and made no reference to his annexation drive.
In contrast, Trump would often belittle Carney's predecessor Justin Trudeau, with whom he had a long-standing rivalry, as "governor" in a reference to his calls for Canada to join the United States.

'Just don't have the cards'

Canada's new prime minister -- who is in a tight election race to stay in the job -- was chosen by Canada's centrist Liberal Party to replace Trudeau but has never faced the country's electorate.
Just a day before the call, Carney said he would not participate in substantive trade negotiations with Washington until the president shows Canada "respect," particularly by ending his repeated annexation threats.
US Vice President JD Vance maintained a combative stance on Friday, repeating Trump's past comment that Canadians "just don't have the cards" on tariffs.
"There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the United States," he said during a visit to Greenland.
Trump's planned 25 percent levy on vehicle imports to the United States is to come into force next week and could be devastating for a Canadian auto industry that supports an estimated 500,000 jobs. 
The 78-year-old Republican is also set to impose reciprocal tariffs on all countries that put levies on US exports, and Canada is to be in the firing line for those too.
Trump has warned Canada against working with the European Union to counter upcoming reciprocal tariffs on all imports.
If they did so, they would face "large-scale tariffs, far larger than currently planned," Trump has said.
Trump's threats have impacted Canadian polls, with Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives seen as election favorites before Trudeau dropped out.
Since Trump's threats to Canada, the polls have spectacularly narrowed in favor of Carney's Liberals, who hold a minority in parliament.
dk/jgc/bgs

CostaRica

'Jail or death': migrants expelled by Trump fear for their fate

BY MARíA ISABEL SáNCHEZ

  • Marwa, 27, said she was terrified at the thought that she, her husband and two-year-old daughter could be sent back to Afghanistan.
  • Marwa fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan because she wanted to study, work, wear jeans and go to the park without a male chaperone. 
  • Marwa, 27, said she was terrified at the thought that she, her husband and two-year-old daughter could be sent back to Afghanistan.
Marwa fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan because she wanted to study, work, wear jeans and go to the park without a male chaperone. 
Now she is under lock and key in Costa Rica, along with hundreds of other migrants expelled by the United States to third countries in Central America.
Costa Rica is one of three Central American countries, along with Panama and Guatemala, that have agreed to receive migrants from other countries and to detain them until they are sent to their home nations or other host countries. 
A fourth country -- El Salvador -- took a group of Venezuelans and jailed them in a maximum-security prison after the United States claimed, without providing evidence, that they are gang members.
AFP spoke to several migrants from a group of about 200 people, including around 80 children, detained at a facility near Costa Rica's border with Panama.
All said they feared for their lives in their homeland. 
Marwa, 27, said she was terrified at the thought that she, her husband and two-year-old daughter could be sent back to Afghanistan.
Her husband Mohammad Asadi, 31, who ran a construction company back home, was threatened by the Taliban for selling materials to American companies.
"I know if I go back I will die there. I will be killed by the Taliban," Marwa told AFP in English, in an interview conducted through the center's perimeter fence.
Alireza Salimivir, a 35-year-old Iranian Christian, said he and his wife face a similar fate.
"Due to our conversion from Islam to Christianity... it's jail or the death penalty for us," he said.

Tropical limbo

On his return to office in January, US President Donald Trump launched what he vowed would be the biggest migrant deportation wave in American history and signed an order suspending asylum claims at the southern border.
Citing pressure from "our economically powerful brother to the north," Costa Rica said it had agreed to collaborate in the "repatriation of 200 illegal immigrants to their country."
But only 74 of the migrants have been repatriated so far, with another 10 set to follow, according to the authorities.
The rest are in limbo.
They refuse to be deported to their homelands, but no other country -- including Costa Rica itself, which has a long tradition of offering asylum -- has offered to take them in.
"We can't go back, nor can we stay here. We don't know the culture and don't speak Spanish," said Marwa, who said she wanted to be close to relatives "in Canada, the United States or Europe."

Prison or war

German Smirnov, a 36-year-old Russian former election official, said he fled to the United States with his wife and six-year-old son after flagging up fraud in last year's presidential election.
He said his request for asylum in the United States was "totally ignored, like it had never existed."
If returned to Vladimir Putin's Russia, he said: "They will give me two options, sit in prison or go to war (in Ukraine)."
Marwa and her husband also said they wanted to seek asylum in the United States when they arrived at the US-Mexican border earlier this year after a grueling overland journey through 10 countries, starting in Brazil.
But they were never given the chance to file an asylum claim. Instead, they were detained and flown to Costa Rica 18 days later.
Asadi said an immigration official verbally abused Marwa for wearing a hijab and singled her out to pick up trash, alone.
Smirnov said they treated the migrants, including women and children, "like scum."

Costa Rica policy change

At the Costa Rican facility, the group said they were well fed and allowed to use their cell phones, but their passports had been seized by the police.
"There is a systematic pattern of human rights violations in a country that has always prided itself on defending them," said former Costa Rican diplomat Mauricio Herrera, who has filed a legal challenge to the migrants' detention.
"This is a very serious setback for Costa Rica," he told AFP.
Michael Garcia Bochenek, children's rights counsel at Human Rights Watch, warned Costa Rica in a statement against being "complicit in flagrant US abuses."
mis/cb/acb

US

Vance says Denmark has 'under-invested' in Greenland

BY JIM WATSON WITH CAMILLE BAS-WOHLERT IN COPENHAGEN

  • "We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style, to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America," Vance said.
  • US Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark on Friday of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.
  • "We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style, to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America," Vance said.
US Vice President JD Vance accused Denmark on Friday of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.
Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation.
"Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," Vance told a press conference.
"You have under-invested in the people of Greenland and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass," he added.
Trump argues that the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it. 
"We are not talking about peace for the United States. We are talking about world peace. We are talking about international security," Trump claimed to reporters at the White House on Friday.
Asked about the potential use of force, Vance stressed the US administration did not think that "is ever going to be necessary".
"We think this makes sense and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we're going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style, to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America," Vance said.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hit back at Vance in a statement to Danish media.
"For many years, we have stood by the Americans in very difficult situations," she said, referring to Danish combat deployments alongside American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The Vice President's reference to Denmark is not accurate," she said, expressing her readiness to "cooperate day and night with the Americans" on Arctic security.
Vance was accompanied by his wife Usha, National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife.
The US delegation boarded Air Force Two to leave Greenland just before 4:00 pm (1800 GMT), with the Vances waving at the top of the aircraft stairs.

'Unacceptable pressure'

Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted that the United States will not obtain Greenland.
Frederiksen has condemned the US decision to visit the Arctic island uninvited -- for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society -- as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark.
A majority of Greenlanders opposes US annexation, according to a January poll.
The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States.
Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. 
It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere.
In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost two billion dollars to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland "serious".
He voiced concern that "NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts".
Greenland is home to 57,000 people, most of them Inuits.
It is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, although oil and uranium exploration are banned.

'Not showing respect'

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday that he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to "bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States".
Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials.
While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of becoming part of the United States.
A new broad four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month.
Incoming prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the territory needed unity at this time. 
"It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside," he said when he unveiled his government.
Nielsen said that by visiting Greenland when there was no government in office there, the US administration was "not showing respect to an ally".
Usha Vance had initially been due to travel to Greenland just with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut.
Locals said they had planned to give her a frosty reception, with several protests scheduled. 
The visit to Sisimiut was then cancelled and replaced with the visit to the military base.
bur-cbw/jll/bc

court

Musk's million-dollar voter prizes in US election face legal challenge

  • Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul wrote on Instagram that his office was "aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk" and said he plans to "take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening."
  • Billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk faced an immediate legal challenge Friday to his promise to give $1 million to two voters in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race in his latest attempt to use his vast fortune to sway the results of crucial US votes.
  • Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul wrote on Instagram that his office was "aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk" and said he plans to "take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening."
Billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk faced an immediate legal challenge Friday to his promise to give $1 million to two voters in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race in his latest attempt to use his vast fortune to sway the results of crucial US votes.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul wrote on Instagram that his office was "aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk" and said he plans to "take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening."
Musk, the world's richest person and one of President Donald Trump's top advisors, has already spent millions trying to boost support for Republican Brad Schimel, who would tilt the swing-state's top court to a conservative majority if elected.
The Tesla and SpaceX tycoon announced on X, which he also owns, that he would "hand over checks for a million dollars" to two people who sign a petition opposing "activist judges" -- a term used by Republicans for judges who rule against some of Trump's policies.
He has also offered $100 to anyone signing the petition.
Serious national issues are on the docket for the Wisconsin court's next term, including abortion access and rules for voting in the crucial 2026 midterm nationwide congressional elections. 
Schimel is also openly backed by Trump, who wrote on his Truth Social platform this week that the race is "really big and important."
The latest stunt was a redux of Musk's earlier million-dollar prizes in battleground states during the presidential election.
The entrepreneur has rapidly emerged as one of the most powerful people in the country, with huge government contracts for his companies and a free-ranging role in Trump's administration to slash spending on everything from foreign policy to domestic programs.
In January, Tesla -- currently facing tumbling stock prices amid consumer anger at Musk -- took Wisconsin to court over the state's denial of dealer licenses for the auto company.
sla/ sms/

trade

Trump auto tariffs strike at heart of North American trade

BY YUSSEL GONZALEZ AND JEAN ARCE

  • - More expensive cars - Analysts and US trading partners warn that the tariffs will raise prices for American consumers.
  • US President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported cars strike at the heart of a North American free trade agreement, threatening to disrupt supply chains and raise prices, experts say.
  • - More expensive cars - Analysts and US trading partners warn that the tariffs will raise prices for American consumers.
US President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported cars strike at the heart of a North American free trade agreement, threatening to disrupt supply chains and raise prices, experts say.
Thanks to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that came into effect in 2020 -- and its predecessor NAFTA -- the region became an assembly line spanning the three countries.
"We've been making this supply chain more sophisticated for 30 years," said Juan Francisco Torres Landa, a partner at business consulting firm Hogan Lovells in Mexico.
"There is regional integration based on inputs, raw materials, and processes in all three countries," he told AFP.
Trump said the tariffs were in response to America's trade partners "taking our jobs, taking our wealth," but the duties promise to be a headache due to the deep integration of production chains.
Here are some of the expected impacts of the tariffs, according to experts.

 Snarled supply chains

During the assembly of a car or truck, parts often cross the borders of the three countries multiple times before the vehicle is finished.
Extensive supply chains have been built involving hundreds of suppliers from different countries.
A car key alone can have more than 50 components from 22 different suppliers in Asia, North America and Europe.
The White House said vehicles assembled in Mexico and Canada could qualify for lower tariffs under the USMCA deal depending on how many of their components are made in the United States.
"Given the complexity of regional supply chains -- where parts often cross borders multiple times -- verifying compliance may require time-consuming adjustments, increasing operational costs," the political risk consultancy firm EMPRA told clients.
"US automakers with production in Mexico could face rising costs and logistical complications, which may lead some to reassess their manufacturing strategies," it added.

Growth constrained

Mexico's economy is considered one of the most vulnerable to Trump's planned tariffs due to its close trade relations with the United States.
The Latin American nation is home to many foreign-owned vehicle plants operated by companies including Ford, General Motors, BMW, Volkswagen and Toyota.
More than 80 percent of Mexican exports go to the United States, including around three million vehicles a year.
The auto tariff announcement comes at a difficult time for Mexico's economy, the second largest in Latin America. 
Experts surveyed monthly by the Mexican central bank expect economic growth of only 0.81 percent in 2025, worse than the 1.0 percent they predicted in February.
The trade tensions "generate uncertainty and affect private investment and production decisions in key export sectors," Geronimo Ugarte, chief economist at the financial firm Valmex, told AFP.

Trade deal in limbo

Mexico and Canada consider Trump's tariffs to be in violation of the USMCA.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday "there should be no tariffs" between Mexico, the United States and Canada as "that is the essence of the trade agreement."
Washington's announcements have left the agreement in limbo.
"We need to analyze whether... for Trump, the USMCA should be replaced, substituted or simply extinguished by starvation," Torres Landa said.
Although a review of the treaty is due by 2026, Jesus Carrillo, an expert at the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, believes trade policy "is being negotiated directly and progressively between governments."
"We're moving from having a treaty to having deals," Carrillo said.
He believes that "the USMCA will remain in effect, but with Band-Aids."

More expensive cars

Analysts and US trading partners warn that the tariffs will raise prices for American consumers.
Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Ostrum Asset Management in Paris, thinks the price of a car could increase by $3,000.
There is a risk that consumers will buy fewer new cars, according to the British-based consultancy firm Capital Economics.
"Assuming that domestic producers respond by substantially increasing their own prices, (the tariffs) could make new vehicles something of a luxury item," it said.
yug-jla/axm/dr/acb

Trump

Musk's DOGE team emerges from the shadows

BY DANNY KEMP

  • DOGE has so far kept a low public profile, amid reports of teenage computer wizards sleeping in a huge building adjoining the White House, and demanding access to government departments.
  • It has worked in the shadows for months, but Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has now offered the first peek behind the curtain of the government cost-cutting drive it launched on behalf of US President Donald Trump.
  • DOGE has so far kept a low public profile, amid reports of teenage computer wizards sleeping in a huge building adjoining the White House, and demanding access to government departments.
It has worked in the shadows for months, but Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has now offered the first peek behind the curtain of the government cost-cutting drive it launched on behalf of US President Donald Trump.
Musk, the Space X and Tesla tycoon, was accompanied by seven top aides in a joint interview to Fox News Channel's Bret Baier late Thursday. They rejected criticism of their disruptive foray through the administration.
Despite mass layoffs in the US federal government, which have sparked an outcry, they said they wanted to offer an "Apple Store-like" consumer experience to Americans.
"This is a revolution," declared Musk, the world's richest man.
DOGE has so far kept a low public profile, amid reports of teenage computer wizards sleeping in a huge building adjoining the White House, and demanding access to government departments.
What emerged on television was a slightly different picture -- a group comprised almost entirely of middle aged tech CEOs and Musk aides defending methods that have drawn widespread opposition.
They perched on chairs in two rows, with Musk flanked by two DOGE members in the front, and five on a raised platform behind.
The scene was a room in the White House complex designed for remote meetings -- one that a senior Trump aide had recently dismissed as former President Biden's "fake Oval Office" because he used it in a number of events.
Musk opened the interview, saying that DOGE aimed to finish its work by the end of May and that its goal was to be able to reduce federal spending by 15 percent, or from $7 trillion to $6 trillion.

'Great user experience'

Then the others got their turn in the spotlight. 
First up was Steve Davis, one of Musk's top lieutenants who is effectively the chief operating officer at DOGE.
A former aeronautics engineer who has followed Musk through several companies including Space X and the social media platform X, he has long kept a low profile.
"Some people say this shouldn't take a rocket scientist -- but you are a rocket scientist," Baier asked him. 
"Used to be," replied Davis.
The next was Joe Gebbia, co-founder of flat-sharing app Airbnb.
Gebbia who said he had been tasked to overhaul a system in which government retirement documents were kept on paper in abandoned mine in Pennsylvania.
"We really believe that the government can have an Apple store-like experience," he said, referring to the sleek shops where the tech giant sells iPhones and other tech.
"Beautifully designed, great user experience, modern systems."
The DOGE experience has been very different for many federal workers. 
At least 113,000 federal workers have been fired so far under DOGE's drive, according to a CNN tracker.
Musk's team has also been tasked with slashing federal spending -- and has effectively shut down the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
There have also been widespread criticisms about the process, including demands from DOGE that federal employees account for the work they have been doing in a bullet pointed memo or face the sack.
And DOGE has faced claims of causing disruption to the US social security system, and of overstating its savings.
Several recent polls indicate that most Americans disapprove of the disruption to the nationwide federal workforce.
Musk however was unrepentant, saying that the biggest complaints were coming from "fraudsters", without giving evidence. 
The tycoon also used the interview to say that Trump's administration would crack down on people spreading "propaganda" about Tesla, after a number of incidents in which the electric vehicles have been vandalized in protest against Musk.
"Those are the real villains here, and we're going to go after them," said Musk, making a two-fingered shooting gesture with his hand.
dk/dc

gangs

Trump asks Supreme Court to lift ban on deportations using wartime law

BY SELIM SAHEB ETTABA AND CHRIS LEFKOW

  • "He cannot deport people without due process, and he cannot invoke wartime powers -- used only three times in history -- during peacetime without accountability."
  • US President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to overturn a lower court ban on his use of an obscure wartime law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process.
  • "He cannot deport people without due process, and he cannot invoke wartime powers -- used only three times in history -- during peacetime without accountability."
US President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Friday to overturn a lower court ban on his use of an obscure wartime law to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without due process.
The emergency appeal sets up a showdown over one of the most glaring examples of Trump's unprecedented attempts to increase presidential power since returning to the White House in January.
Trump invoked the little-known 1798 Alien Enemies Act to justify rounding up alleged Venezuelan gang members, some of whom were sent to a notorious maximum security prison set up by the right-wing government in El Salvador.
The Trump administration has used images of the alleged Tren de Aragua gang members being shackled and having their heads shaved in the Central American prison as proof that it is serious about cracking down on illegal immigration.
Rights advocates say some of the deportees had nothing to do with gangs and that even potential criminals are required to be given court hearings before expulsion, in line with the US Constitution.
District Judge James Boasberg issued an injunction barring further flights of deportees under the Alien Enemies Act after two planeloads of Venezuelan migrants were sent to El Salvador on March 15.
Boasberg said migrants subject to potential deportation should be "entitled to individualized hearings to determine whether the Act applies to them at all."
On Friday, the judge extended until April 12 his temporary restraining order barring any further deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.
An initial appeal by the Trump administration was turned down Wednesday with one appeals court judge saying that even "Nazis got better treatment" from the United States during World War II.
In its appeal to the Supreme Court, which is dominated by conservative justices, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said the case is a key test of presidential authority over the courts.
"This case presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country" -- the president or judges, Harris said.
"The Constitution supplies a clear answer: the President," she said. "The republic cannot afford a different choice."

'Summary removal'

Harris said the Alien Enemies Act, which has only been used previously during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II, authorizes "summary removal of enemy aliens engaged in 'invasions or predatory incursions' of US territory."
"The district court's orders have rebuffed the President's judgments as to how to protect the Nation against foreign terrorist organizations and risk debilitating effects for delicate foreign negotiations," she said.
The acting solicitor general asked the Supreme Court to immediately stay the district court's order while it considers the case.
Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the ACLU, urged the court to preserve the status quo "so that more individuals are not sent off to a notorious foreign prison without any process, based on an unprecedented and unlawful use of a wartime authority."
"The president is not king," added Skye Perryman of Democracy Forward. "He cannot deport people without due process, and he cannot invoke wartime powers -- used only three times in history -- during peacetime without accountability."
Trump has campaigned relentlessly on social media against Boasberg, even calling for him to be impeached by Congress, a remark that drew a rare public rebuke of the president from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Attorneys for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not members of Tren de Aragua, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.
sst-sms-cl/bgs

defense

Trump prompts US allies to reopen nuclear weapons debate

BY FABIEN ZAMORA

  • Currently, only the US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea are nuclear-armed powers.
  • Donald Trump's attacks on NATO and the established world order are undermining the confidence of its allies under the US security umbrella, fuelling fears of an eventual proliferation of nuclear weapons, experts told AFP. Since his return to power in January, the US president has criticised the transatlantic alliance, reopened direct dialogue with Russia and flattered North Korea's Kim Jong-Un with warm words.
  • Currently, only the US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea are nuclear-armed powers.
Donald Trump's attacks on NATO and the established world order are undermining the confidence of its allies under the US security umbrella, fuelling fears of an eventual proliferation of nuclear weapons, experts told AFP.
Since his return to power in January, the US president has criticised the transatlantic alliance, reopened direct dialogue with Russia and flattered North Korea's Kim Jong-Un with warm words.
Trump's "provocative and inconsistent rhetoric", said Byong-Chul Lee, from the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, Seoul, has left allies' trust in the US deterrence "deeply shaken".
In recent times, the risk of nuclear proliferation has come from states such as North Korea or Iran but non-nuclear armed allies of Washington seem to want to now re-open the debate.
"We're seeing more and more friendly proliferator" speeches in Europe and Asia, even if they seem primarily aimed at putting pressure on Washington, said Heloise Fayet, a proliferation specialist at the French Institute of International Relations (ifri)
Artur Kacprzyk, an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs, agreed. 
"Policies of the new US administration increase the risk of nuclear proliferation by allies, although it is not a foregone conclusion, yet," he said.
The lack of confidence could not have come at a worse time, said Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, from the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research at the University of Lahore in Pakistan.
"The overall international security environment is deteriorating. We see raging conflicts in Europe and the Middle East. We also see a crisis-prone environment in South Asia," he added. 
"And there are no reliable mechanisms in place to resolve those conflicts." 

Butt of the joke

Other than the fear of being left high and dry in the event of attack, Washington's allies are concerned about Trump wanting to revive talks on arms control with Moscow and Beijing.
"The butt of the joke of an eventual agreement will very likely be Europeans and the United States' allies in Asia," said Fayet.
Jaffery said a lack of assurances from the United States makes it more likely that its allies could start looking at other options, including nuclear.
"Countries that are likely to face territorial aggression from nuclear-armed states would mull over having their own nuclear deterrents," he said.
Currently, only the US, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea are nuclear-armed powers.
Lee said that South Korea was arguably the "most likely" US ally to consider acquiring nuclear weapons given its proximity to North Korea.
"Public support for nuclearisation has remained consistently strong," he pointed out. 
"However, South Korean elites remain wary of the strategic instability, diplomatic backlash and potential international sanctions that would follow a nuclear breakout."
In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron has recommended discussion about extending France's deterrence to other European nations.
Poland is on the front line although Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has not announced a national nuclear military programme.
But Kacprzyk said: "He has not, nonetheless, excluded pursuing nuclear weapons in the future while noting it would be a long and challenging process."

Multiple obstacles

Proliferation is unlikely to come overnight, the analysts said.
US allies are linked by the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons -- the cornerstone of the global nuclear architecture.
It is possible to withdraw from it, although only North Korea has done so.
But Fayet said there are "regulatory, financial and technical constraints", and non-nuclear European countries are less advanced than South Korea or Japan.
Any military nuclear programmes could see rival nations attempt to hobble development.
In Europe, said Kacprzyk, "there's also the risk that Russia would try to derail such programmes, even by striking nuclear facilities", as Israel did against the Osirak reactor in Iraq in the 1980s.
Despite the obstacles, Jaffery said that "most of these countries have nuclear latency and when you have the capability and strategic need to develop a nuclear programme, you're more likely to succeed".
"Pakistan has demonstrated it's hard to impede a country committed to building nuclear weapons."
Another uncertainty is how the Trump administration would react to an about-turn from its allies.
"In practice, South Korea would not be able to go nuclear without at least tacit approval from Washington," said Lee.
"In the past, the US dealt with the risk of nuclear proliferation among allies by both exercising pressure and offering additional reassurance," said Kacprzyk.
"For example, it halted plans to cut its conventional troops in South Korea in the 1970s."
The War on the Rocks defence site said non-proliferation to both friendly and hostile nations has been a "core bipartisan pillar" of US foreign policy for decades.
But if that changes, "nuclear proliferation will haunt 'America First'", researchers Ankit Panda, Vipin Narang and Pranay Vaddi warned.
fz/cat/sba/phz/bc

court

Trump lawyers try to shift detained Palestinian activist's case to Louisiana

  • The judge said he would not rule immediately on shifting the case to the Western District of Louisiana, a more conservative bench that has previously been sympathetic to Trump's policies.
  • US government lawyers pushed Friday for the case of a pro-Palestinian protest leader slated for deportation to be moved to a Louisiana court thought to be sympathetic to President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
  • The judge said he would not rule immediately on shifting the case to the Western District of Louisiana, a more conservative bench that has previously been sympathetic to Trump's policies.
US government lawyers pushed Friday for the case of a pro-Palestinian protest leader slated for deportation to be moved to a Louisiana court thought to be sympathetic to President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil -- a prominent face of the protest movement that erupted in response to Israel's war in Gaza -- was arrested and taken to Louisiana earlier this month, sparking protests. Several other foreign student protesters have been similarly targeted.
The government has not accused Khalil of any crime but instead ordered his deportation and cancellation of his green card resident's permit on the grounds of undermining US foreign policy.
At a hearing in New Jersey, government lawyer August Flentje said that "for jurisdictional certainty, the case belongs in Louisiana."
But  Khalil's lawyer Baher Azmy accused the government of seeking to move the case to bolster its "retaliation."
The judge said he would not rule immediately on shifting the case to the Western District of Louisiana, a more conservative bench that has previously been sympathetic to Trump's policies.
Khalil was not present but his wife Noor attended with several supporters.
His arrest has triggered outrage from Trump opponents, free speech advocates and some on the political right, who say the case will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
Immigration officers have similarly detained and sought to deport a Tufts University student from Turkey, Rumeysa Ozturk, and Columbia student Yunseo Chung. Their deportations have been blocked for now by courts.
Ozturk's lawyer said Thursday that "we should all be horrified at the way (officers) abducted Rumeysa in broad daylight" after footage of masked, plainclothes officers surrounding the veiled student circulated online.
Dozens protested in support of Khalil outside the New Jersey courthouse, holding Palestinian flags and banners.
"We are going to fight this witch hunt," said one protester, who did not want to be identified.
As well as targeting foreign students at Columbia University, the Trump administration has sought to slash $400 million of federal funding and grants over alleged anti-Semitism on campus.

Academics sue government

Last week the Ivy League university announced a comprehensive package of measures to appease the White House, including "improvements to our disciplinary processes." It said it would require protesters to identify themselves when challenged, even if they wear masks, as many did during the height of the pro-Palestinian protests.
It also announced the expansion of its security team, including the hiring of 36 officers empowered to remove or arrest those that break university rules.
The Trump administration had demanded that the university deploy external oversight, but the school stopped short of that, instead vowing to engage with outside academics on the issue.
Separately, a number of university professors sued the Trump administration in Massachusetts Tuesday, arguing its campaign targeting foreign academics was illegal.
gw/sms

politics

Fleeing Trump: four Americans who chose Mexico

BY SOFIA MISELEM

  • Four Americans told AFP about why they feel more comfortable living in Mexico today.
  • Americans have long been lured to Mexico by its weather, culture and lower cost of living.
  • Four Americans told AFP about why they feel more comfortable living in Mexico today.
Americans have long been lured to Mexico by its weather, culture and lower cost of living. Now some of the US citizens heading south of the border say they have another reason: Donald Trump.
Discrimination, the erosion of civil rights, government cutbacks, polarizing rhetoric and Trump's war on "woke" are among the motivations these new expats give for not wanting to live in the United States.
Mexico is home to around a fifth of the more than five million US citizens living outside of their country, according to a 2023 estimate from the Association of Americans Resident Overseas.
Four Americans told AFP about why they feel more comfortable living in Mexico today.

 'I think of my parents'

Oscar Gomez, a 55-year-old business consultant, was already considering leaving the United States, but said Trump's victory was a "tipping point."
Although Trump's anti-immigration comments were not directed at him, "I take them personally because I'm Latino.... I think of my parents," he said.
Gomez also saw his income dwindle after Trump canceled the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs he had contracts with.
So more than 60 years after his parents made the journey north from Mexico in search of a better life, Gomez made the reverse trip from San Francisco with seven suitcases and his dog.
"The irony is that people go to America because they think everything is possible and for me coming to Mexico, that's what I feel," he said.
"I think America is going to survive Trump but it's going to change a lot -- things are going to get harder."

'Going backwards'

After several years living in Mexico City, Tiffany Nicole was considering returning to Chicago to reunite with her family there, but Trump's victory made her rethink her plan.
Now the 45-year-old is "looking for ways to get them out," she said.
Nicole decided to emigrate after the police killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in 2020.
"As a Black person, you don't feel safe," said Nicole, a tax consultant.
Disillusioned with life back home, she has now decided to stay in Mexico.
"We're actually going backwards in America," Nicole said, pointing to setbacks in civil rights and medicine prices "going through the roof."
"The American dream now is based on a capitalistic view and not on a community view," she said.

'Micro aggressions'

"Being Afro-Latino, being Dominican, being gay means attacks from all parts," said Lee Jimenez, a 38-year-old yoga instructor from New York.
"The US is not the country that it was once. The American dream no longer exists," he said.
Every time he goes back, "I see the US with clear eyes," said Jimenez, whose parents are from the Dominican Republic.
"I see the micro aggressions, how people treat me and how the energy is," he added, accusing Trump of "fabricating stories" and criticizing him for canceling policies and programs for the LGBT community.

'More tension'

Jessica James, aka “J. J.,” said that Trump's presidency had extinguished any desire to live in the United States.
"I don't have any incentive to go back and I feel a big reason is because what's going on in the US," said the 40-year-old, who works for a fishing company.
James was born in San Diego to a Mexican mother, and grew up in Alaska, a conservative Republican state.
"I see a lot of change in the news, in the social media, because there is a lot more tension between people and that is amplified with him (Trump) being president," James said.
sem/axm/dr/sms

indicator

US Fed's preferred inflation gauge shows some cause for concern

BY DANIEL AVIS

  • Personal income increased by 0.8 percent last month, according to the Commerce Department data published Friday.
  • The US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure was largely unchanged last month, according to government data published Friday, but a widely scrutinized gauge of underlying price pressures rose.
  • Personal income increased by 0.8 percent last month, according to the Commerce Department data published Friday.
The US Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure was largely unchanged last month, according to government data published Friday, but a widely scrutinized gauge of underlying price pressures rose.
The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.5 percent in the 12 months to February, the Commerce Department said in a statement, unchanged from a month earlier. Inflation rose 0.3 percent on a monthly basis.
Both measures were in line with the median forecasts from economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
But of greater concern to Fed officials, an inflation measure stripping out volatile food and energy costs rose more than expected, by 0.4 percent month-on-month, and by 2.8 percent from a year ago.
The Fed is attempting to return inflation to its long-term target of two percent. Friday's data suggests policymakers still have some way to go as they also grapple with the effects of trade policy uncertainty.
"They're kind of in wait-and-see mode for awhile," Wolfe Research chief economist Stephanie Roth told AFP. "Our call is that they're going to cut rates because growth is weakening, but they actually need to see a rising unemployment rate first.
"So today probably doesn't really change the narrative that much for them," she added. 

Stop-start tariff rollout

US President Donald Trump has embarked on a stop-start rollout of country- and sector-specific tariffs, drawing condemnation from allies and warnings from Fed officials that the measures will likely push up prices. 
"It looks inevitable that tariffs are going to increase inflation in the near term," Boston Fed President Susan Collins -- who has a vote on the US central bank's rate-setting committee this year -- said Thursday.
Earlier this month, the Fed voted to extend a pause in rate cuts, holding its key lending rate at between 4.25 and 4.50 percent.
Financial markets see a roughly 90 percent chance that the Fed will vote to continue that pause at its next rate meeting in May, according to CME Group.
"The data support our view that downside risks to the economy are emerging, but with inflation heating up, the Fed for now will maintain its wait-and-see approach," Nationwide chief economist Kathy Bostjancic wrote in a note to clients. 
Personal income increased by 0.8 percent last month, according to the Commerce Department data published Friday.
And personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income -- a measure of how much consumers are saving -- jumped to 4.6 percent last month, up from a revised 4.3 percent a month earlier.
The jump in the personal savings rate since the start of the year may be related to consumer confidence, which has deteriorated sharply in recent months, with consumers more likely to save money if they are concerned about where the economy is headed.
Americans are now feeling less optimistic about the US economy, and more concerned about rising inflation, according to fresh data on consumer sentiment published Friday by the University of Michigan.  
"UMich isn't the greatest measure, but I think directionally, it tells you something important," said Roth from Wolfe Research. 
"And I think it's telling you that consumers are starting to become concerned about the inflation backdrop, and this is the thing that differentiates whether the Fed is able to look through this tariff or not."
da/bbk

diplomacy

US defence chief visits Philippines dogged by scandal at home

BY CHAD WILLIAMS

  • Hegseth said Friday that the United States would deploy "additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines", including anti-ship missile systems and unmanned surface vehicles, for next month's joint Balikatan exercises.
  • The United States is "doubling down" on its alliance with the Philippines, defence chief Pete Hegseth said Friday in Manila, in the face of what he called "Communist China's aggression in the region".
  • Hegseth said Friday that the United States would deploy "additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines", including anti-ship missile systems and unmanned surface vehicles, for next month's joint Balikatan exercises.
The United States is "doubling down" on its alliance with the Philippines, defence chief Pete Hegseth said Friday in Manila, in the face of what he called "Communist China's aggression in the region".
Hegseth's trip, aimed at bolstering ties in the Asia-Pacific region as tensions rise with Beijing, comes in the shadow of a mounting scandal at home over leaked plans for a military strike.
The defence secretary revealed details of strikes on Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen in a group of top administration officials on the Signal messaging platform, according to a journalist added to the chat by accident.
But US President Donald Trump has defended Hegseth, and in Manila the defence chief focused on Washington's plan to "reestablish deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region", he told reporters alongside his Philippine counterpart Gilberto Teodoro.
"Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country -- considering the threats from the Communist Chinese," he said earlier, when he met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
His Manila visit, to be followed by trips to Tokyo and World War II battleground Iwo Jima, follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing claims almost the entirety of the crucial waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.
"Friends need to stand shoulder to shoulder to deter conflict to ensure that there's free navigation, whether you call it the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea," Hegseth said.
"Peace through strength is a very real thing", he added.

'Advanced capabilities'

Manila and Washington have deepened their defence cooperation since President Ferdinand Marcos took office in 2022 and began pushing back on Beijing's sweeping South China Sea claims.
Hegseth said Friday that the United States would deploy "additional advanced capabilities to the Philippines", including anti-ship missile systems and unmanned surface vehicles, for next month's joint Balikatan exercises.
Teodoro said the Philippines would accelerate its "capability upgrades and our logistical support facilities to support deterrence".
The two countries have expanded the sharing of military intelligence in recent years and boosted to nine the number of bases US troops can access on the archipelago.
Given the Philippines' proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, Manila's cooperation would be crucial in the event of any conflict with China.

'Witch hunt'

Despite mounting pressure over the Signal leak, Trump has defended Hegseth.
"Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this," Trump said when asked by AFP whether the defence secretary should be considering his position.
"How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look it's all a witch hunt," Trump added in the Oval Office.
He also repeated his insistence that no classified information was shared in the breach, adding that National Security Advisor Mike Waltz "took responsibility" for the error.
Waltz added Atlantic Magazine editor Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat that included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and others.
Apart from the timing of the strikes in Yemen, Hegseth also identified the type of aircraft, missiles and drones used, according to the Atlantic, which later released screen grabs of the chat.
The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee issued a bipartisan call on Thursday for a Pentagon watchdog to probe the magazine's claims.
"If true, this reporting raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss sensitive and classified information," said a letter from Republican committee chair Roger Wicker and ranking Democrat Jack Reed.
But the White House and its allies have largely held firm in their messaging, praising the success of the attacks and slamming Goldberg as an "anti-Trump hater".
cwl/pjm

Israel

Rubio vows to keep stripping visas after furor over snatched student

BY SHAUN TANDON

  • Asked about a report on the number of visas he has stripped, mostly for students, Rubio said: "Maybe more than 300 at this point.
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday he has canceled more than 300 visas in a crackdown on anti-Israel activism and vowed to keep doing so, brushing aside furor after masked agents snatched a student.
  • Asked about a report on the number of visas he has stripped, mostly for students, Rubio said: "Maybe more than 300 at this point.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday he has canceled more than 300 visas in a crackdown on anti-Israel activism and vowed to keep doing so, brushing aside furor after masked agents snatched a student.
Rubio, a staunch supporter of Israel, said that he personally signed off on every visa revocation and rejected charges he was violating US protections of free speech.
Asked about a report on the number of visas he has stripped, mostly for students, Rubio said: "Maybe more than 300 at this point. We do it every day."
"Every time I find one of these lunatics, I take away their visas," he told reporters on a visit to Guyana.
"At some point I hope we run out because we've gotten rid of them," Rubio said.
Since his return to the White House on January 20, President Donald Trump has moved aggressively against student activists and universities over the disruptive protests that swept US colleges campuses in response to the Gaza war.
Earlier this week, a video went viral of a 30-year-old Turkish graduate student, Rumeysa Ozturk, being detained by masked, plain-clothed figures near Tufts University in Massachusetts.
Ozturk had penned an op-ed in a student newspaper decrying Israel's actions in Gaza as "genocide." She now faces deportation.
Immigration lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai complained that Ozturk had been taken to a detention center in the southern state of Louisiana, despite a court order that she remain in Massachusetts, and was denied access to legal representation.
"Masked DHS agents unlawfully arrested my client," she said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat from Massachusetts, accused the Trump administration of moving to "abduct students with legal status."
"This is a horrifying violation of Rumeysa's constitutional rights to due process and free speech. She must be immediately released," Pressley said in a statement.

Visas a 'gift'

Rubio, asked if Ozturk was being targeted over her writing in a student newspaper, said that she met his criteria for visa revocation without providing details.
"I would caution you against solely going off of what the media has been to identify" for the visa decision, the former senator told reporters later on his plane to his home city of Miami.
Rubio said that visas were a "gift" at the discretion of the State Department and not subject to any judicial review.
He said it was "crazy" to allow in the United States students who were "supportive of a group that just slaughtered babies," a reference to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 that triggered massive Israeli retaliation.
Asked if the Trump administration would go after anyone who presents dissenting views, Rubio said, "If you're complaining about paper straws, then we're obviously not going to yank a visa over that."
"The overwhelming majority of student visas in this country will not be revoked," he said.
The most high-profile deportation case is Mahmoud Khalil, who led protests at Columbia University in New York. He was also taken to Louisiana ahead of deportation proceedings, despite being a US permanent resident.
Khalil's supporters reject the characterization that he supports Hamas and note that he has spoken out against antisemitism. 
The US government has since pointed to technicalities in his original student visa.
Rubio contends that student activists have made education intolerable for Jewish students.
"If you tell us that the reason why you're coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings, creating a ruckus, we're not going to give you a visa," Rubio said in Guyana.
sct/jgc

Trump

Trump order targets 'improper ideology' at famed US museums

  • Trump said this should include a drive to "remove improper ideology from such properties."
  • US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to remove "improper ideology" from the famed Smithsonian Museums -- and the National Zoo -- expanding his conservative clampdown on cultural institutions.
  • Trump said this should include a drive to "remove improper ideology from such properties."
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to remove "improper ideology" from the famed Smithsonian Museums -- and the National Zoo -- expanding his conservative clampdown on cultural institutions.
Trump, who has sought to root out what he called "woke" culture since returning to power in January, accused the Smithsonian of trying to rewrite American history on issues of race and gender.
His order puts hardline Vice President JD Vance in charge of efforts to carry out the order at the Smithsonian's museums, educations and research centers.
Trump said this should include a drive to "remove improper ideology from such properties."
The Smithsonian operates 21 internationally renowned museums and galleries, mainly in and around Washington, dedicated to art, science, space and American history.
They include the National Zoo in the US capital, which recently welcomed two giant pandas from China, debuting them to the public just days after Trump's inauguration for a second term.
The presidential order -- titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" -- targeted a number of examples of what it also called "corrosive ideology."
It said the National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of the newest Smithsonian additions, had described hard work and the nuclear family as "aspects of 'White Culture.'"
Trump also targeted what he said was a plan by the as-yet-unopened American Women's history museum for "celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women's sports."
There was no immediate reaction from the Smithsonian.

'Safe and beautiful'

The Smithsonian Institute was founded in the mid-19th century with a donation from a deceased and childless British chemist, James Smithson, who asked in his will for his wealth to be used to create an educational institution in the then-young United States -- a country he had never set foot in.
Trump's wide-ranging 21st century effort to reshape the US government has increasingly extended to cultural issues, where he is seeking to stamp his conservative mark.
The 78-year-old Republican recently took over the chairmanship of the Kennedy Center in Washington, a famed arts venue, after complaining that it was too liberal.
The president has also eyed reforms in governance of the US capital city, which he has repeatedly complained of having high crime and unsightly nuisances such as graffiti.
In a separate order on Thursday titled "Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful," Trump directed the creation of an inter-agency task force to increase immigration enforcement and other law enforcement priorities.
It also calls for the development of a "coordinated beautification plan" for the city.
"We will take over our horribly run Washington, DC, and clean up, renovate, and rebuild our capital so that it is no longer a nightmare of murder and crime," Trump said on the campaign trail last year -- a message reposted Thursday on X by the White House.
Washington's approximately 700,000 residents are overwhelmingly Democrats, with the party's candidate Kamala Harris winning over 90 percent of the vote last November.
The city has a unique status in the country as it is not a part of any state. It has no voting representation in Congress -- despite having a population larger than two states.
Though the city now runs its own affairs, Congress -- currently controlled by Republicans -- retains the ability to take back control, something Trump has repeatedly threatened to do.
With that backdrop, city authorities have sought to develop a conciliatory relationship with the president, quickly fulfilling his requests, such as removing some homeless encampments and a "Black Lives Matter" mural.
dk/des/jgc

politics

Trump administration expands university DEI probes to California

  • Bondi's announcement comes with elite institutions across the country on the back foot.
  • President Donald Trump's administration said Thursday it will investigate admissions practices at some of California's top universities, broadening a campaign against elite educational institutions.
  • Bondi's announcement comes with elite institutions across the country on the back foot.
President Donald Trump's administration said Thursday it will investigate admissions practices at some of California's top universities, broadening a campaign against elite educational institutions.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had ordered probes into how students are admitted to the private Stanford University, as well as to three of the most prestigious campuses of the University of California system -- Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine.
"President Trump and I are dedicated to ending illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity across the country," Bondi said in a statement.
"Every student in America deserves to be judged solely based on their hard work, intellect, and character, not the color of their skin."
A spokesperson for the University of California said the institutions have not considered race in admissions since it was outlawed in the state by a 1996 ballot measure, but clarified school applications gather race and ethnicity data "for statistical purposes only."
"This information is  not shared with application reviewers  and is not used for admissions," the spokesperson added.
A Stanford spokesperson said in a statement that the private university "immediately took steps to ensure compliance in our admissions processes" after the US Supreme Court eliminated race-based affirmative action in 2023.
Conservatives have long griped that America's foremost universities make it easier for ethnic minority students to attend.
They say the insistence on the notion of "diversity, equity and inclusion," or DEI, is damaging and unfair to otherwise well-qualified candidates.
Bondi's announcement comes with elite institutions across the country on the back foot.
This month Trump's administration revoked $400 million of funding from New York's Columbia University, claiming school officials had not sufficiently protected Jewish students during last year's campus protests against Israel's war in Gaza.
On Friday Columbia announced a package of concessions around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and oversight for specific academic departments in a bid to head off the funding squeeze.
A number of students at various colleges around the country have also been targeted for deportation, in what the government's critics say is part of a broader campaign to silence dissent at America's fractious universities and bring the left-leaning sector to heel.
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