by | Apr 3, 2025 | The Hill
Senate Democrats in a Wednesday letter criticized the Trump administration’s response to a recent earthquake in Myanmar that left thousands dead.
“We write with urgent concerns about the lagging U.S. response to the devastating earthquake that struck Burma and neighboring Thailand on March 28, 2025,” the senators wrote in their letter, using
.
“We ask that you make clear that U.S. sanctions will not impede providing critical relief in the wake of this natural disaster, and we urge you to organize a stronger emergency assistance effort as the death toll climbs and millions of displaced people endure both aftershocks from the earthquake and ongoing Burmese military airstrikes,” the senators added.
The letter, addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is signed by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
The earthquake in Myanmar occurred last Friday, with the country’s government saying that the death toll reached 3,145 on Thursday,
. Thousands of buildings were toppled by the 7.7 magnitude earthquake that also resulted in damage to roads, the AP reported.
In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers requested information including if Americans are “still able to deploy certified search-and-rescue teams to disaster zones from Virginia and Southern California” from the secretaries.
“China, Russia, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand itself have reportedly all sent emergency teams and supplies to Burma,” the senators wrote. “Meanwhile, it is unclear what, if any, emergency response the United States has marshaled thus far.”
“This is the first test of the United States’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in the wake of the administration’s foreign assistance review and dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),” the senators added.
The Hill has reached out to the White House, State Department and Treasury Department for comment.
by dap | Apr 3, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a truck Wednesday night in Gurnee, according to police.
The victim, a 33-year-old woman, was hit around 8 p.m. near the intersection of Delany Road and Sunset Avenue. She was unresponsive when officers arrived, Gurnee police said.
The driver of the Ford E-450 box truck remained on the scene and cooperated with police.
The identity of the victim has not yet been released.
The incident remains under investigation by the Major Crash Assistance Team and Gurnee police. The roadway was closed for several hours as police and technicians processed the scene.
by dap | Apr 3, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has moved to fire several White House National Security Council officials taking action soon after he was urged by a far-right activist to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently committed to his Make America Great Again agenda, several people familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Laura Loomer presented her research to Trump in an Oval Office meeting on Wednesday, making her case for the firings, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Vice President JD Vance, chief of staff Susie Wiles, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, took part in the meeting, the people said.
NSC spokesman Brian Hughes declined to comment on the meeting or the firings, insisting that the White House does not discuss personnel matters.
The Presidential Personnel Office has moved to dismiss at least three senior NSC officials and multiple lower-ranking aides.
Loomer, who has promoted 9/11 conspiracy theories, was a frequent presence on the campaign trail during Trump’s 2024 successful White House run. More recently, she’s been speaking out on social media about some members of Trump’s national security team that she insists can’t be trusted.
“It was an honor to meet with President Trump and present him with my research findings,” Loomer said in a posting on X. “I will continue working hard to support his agenda, and I will continue reiterating the importance of, and the necessity of STRONG VETTING, for the sake of protecting the President of the United States of America, and our national security.”
Trump has a long history of elevating and associating with people who trade in falsehoods and conspiracy theories, and he regularly amplifies posts on his social media site shared by those like Loomer, who promote QAnon, an apocalyptic and convoluted conspiracy theory centered on the belief that Trump is fighting the “deep state.”
The move by Trump to push out staff comes at a moment when his national security adviser Mike Waltz is fighting back criticism over using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive March 15 military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.
A journalist, The Atlantic magazine’s Jeffrey Goldberg, was mistakenly added to the chain and revealed that Trump’s team used it to discuss precise timing of the operation, aircraft used to carry out the strikes and more.
Waltz has taken responsibility for building the text chain, but has said he does not know how Goldberg ended up being included.
Loomer in the leadup to Wednesday’s meeting with Trump had complained to sympathetic administration officials that she had been excluded from the NSC vetting process as Waltz built up his staff, according to one person familiar with the matter. She believe Waltz was too reliant in the process on “neocons”—shorthand for the more hawkish neoconservatives within the Republican Party—as well what she perceived as “not-MAGA-enough” types, the person said.
Waltz in the first days of Trump’s return to the White House sent about 160 non-political detailees assigned to the National Security Council back to their home agencies to ensure personnel were committed to implementing Trump’s America First agenda.
The moved sidelined nonpolitical experts on topics that range from counterterrorism to global climate policy at a time when the United States is dealing with a disparate set of complicated foreign policy matters, including conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Last week, Adam Schleifer, an assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, was fired without explanation in an terse email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office shortly after Loomer posted about him on social media, according to a person familiar with the matter.
by | Apr 3, 2025 | The Washington Monthly
Fifty years ago, I sat in a classroom at Stanford University and listened to the legendary network news producer Fred Friendly discuss the critical importance
by | Apr 3, 2025 | The Hill
A majority of Americans oppose deporting migrants who have not been convicted to El Salvador without due process, according to a new survey, as the Trump administration defends its deportation efforts amid broad scrutiny.
Six in 10 respondents, 61 percent, in a
released Wednesday said they did not support “deporting immigrants without criminal convictions to El Salvador to be imprisoned, without letting them challenge the deportation in court.” That included 46 percent who “strongly” opposed such deportations.
Meanwhile, 26 percent of respondents said they were in favor of such deportations and another 13 percent were unsure.
The Trump
used the Alien Enemies Act and immigration authorities to send hundreds of migrants it has alleged are gang members to a Salvadoran prison.
But critics have
, with civil liberty advocates warning the administration is rushing to deport individuals without offering full evidence to support allegations of gang ties.
The Trump administration on Monday acknowledged in a filing in court that it accidentally deported someone protected from removal, sending the man to the Salvadoran prison where
.
“Although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error,” the Justice Department said in the court filing.
Meanwhile, 51 percent in the YouGov survey also said they did not back “deporting international students who participated in pro-Palesintian campus protests,” while 31 percent said they did support such a move.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that a minimum of 300 foreign students
the Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students who had protested against Israel amid its war against Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The YouGov poll was conducted March 28 to April 1, featuring 1,095 people and 3.8 percentage points as its margin of error.
by dap | Apr 3, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
Associated Press
BOGOTÁ (AP) — Colombia comprará aviones de combate suecos para reemplazar su ya desgastada flota de aeronaves israelíes que operan desde hace más de cuatro décadas, aseguró el jueves el ministro de Defensa.
El país sudamericano planea adquirir aviones Gripen de la empresa sueca SAAB, la misma con la que Brasil firmó hace una década contratos para la entrega de una flota a su Fuerza Aérea. Las autoridades no indicaron cuándo llegará la nueva flota a Colombia e iniciará su operación.
El ministro de Defensa, Pedro Sánchez, indicó que las aeronaves serán nuevas y su operación puede extenderse por medio siglo con “tecnología de vanguardia”.
Sánchez aseguró que no se impactarían de inmediato las finanzas de la nación ni las inversiones en programas sociales que impulsa el gobierno del izquierdista Gustavo Petro. Sin embargo, no detalló cuándo costará la renovación de la flota.
Los últimos tres gobiernos han pensado en reemplazar los KFIR. Petro analizó en los últimos años las ofertas de países como Francia, Estados Unidos y Suecia, hasta concretar el acuerdo.
Colombia cuenta con unos 22 aviones modelo KFIR, cazabombarderos de fabricación israelí, que forman parte de la flota de ataque y defensa aérea del país desde la década de 1980.
Los aviones de combate en Colombia cumplen tareas estratégicas como atacar el tráfico de drogas, proteger el espacio aéreo por su capacidad de combate aire-aire y han ayudado a combatir a grupos armados.
Sin embargo, la vida útil de KFIR se acerca a su fin y requieren mantenimiento para conservarlos operativos que se complicó tras la ruptura de relaciones diplomáticas con Israel desde mayo de 2024, luego de que
las acciones bélicas israelíes en la Franja de Gaza.
by | Apr 3, 2025 | The Washington Monthly
Watch the president closely.
He is using television as pedagogy. Trump uses television to train his troops, educate, and arm MAGA. This differs greatly from Franklin D.
by dap | Apr 3, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
Por DÉBORA REY
BUENOS AIRES (AP) — La disputa legal entre herederos por la explotación de la marca de Diego Maradona se coló el jueves
por la muerte de la leyenda del fútbol, en medio del testimonio de su hermana menor sobre sus últimos días de vida.
El tribunal de San Isidro, suburbio al norte de Buenos Aires, tuvo que pedir un intermedio al producirse un contrapunto entre abogados cuando uno de ellos le preguntó a Claudia Norma Maradona, la más chica de los siete hermanos de Maradona y que declaraba como testigo, si tenía un vínculo contractual con el exfutbolista.
“Antes nada, en vida recibíamos regalos. Después nos dejó las marcas para nosotras”, respondió la mujer ante la consulta de Fernando Burlando, abogado de Dalma y Gianinna Maradona, dos de las hijas del astro.
Ambas demandaron a su tía, a otros familiares y allegados por defraudación en la explotación de la marca Maradona, que genera millonarios dividendos.
Cuando Burlando quiso hurgar en los detalles del negocio, el abogado de Claudia Nora Maradona, Pablo Jurado, se opuso a que su clienta siga respondiendo sobre el asunto por considerar que podía perjudicarla legalmente, tras lo cual los tres miembros del tribunal deliberaron durante casi una hora para resolver el pleito.
Claudia y Rita Maradona, hermanas de Maradona; su abogado en vida, Matías Morla, dos allegados y una escribana están imputados en la causa por defraudación. Las hijas aducen que Morla, en complicidad con el resto, se aprovecharon del deteriorado estado de salud de Maradona para que les firmara una cesión de los derechos de su marca.
Maradona murió a los 60 años de un paro cardio respiratorio el 25 de noviembre de 2020,
en una casa situada en el municipio bonaerense de Tigre.
Los derechos de imagen de Maradona están a nombre de Sattvica SA, de la que son accionistas las dos hermanas de Maradona y Morla. Ninguno de los cinco hijos de Maradona recibe beneficios por explotación de la marca de su padre.
Al retomar la audiencia este jueves, los jueces del tribunal que juzga a los médicos de Maradona por homicidio ordenaron a la testigo seguir respondiendo sobre el asunto, aduciendo que era pertinente para el proceso.
La mujer aseveró que Maradona les cedió los derechos durante una reunión en “el verano de 2019”.
“Me dejó los derechos. Me lo dijo él”, señaló Claudia Norma Maradona. Añadió que recibe los dividendos “mes a mes”.
Más tarde estaba prevista la declaración de Ana y Rita Maradona, también hermanas del astro, y Verónica Ojeda, su exmujer y madre de su hijo más pequeño, Diego Fernando.
Según la fiscalía, los profesionales imputados — un neurocirujano, una psiquiatra, un psicólogo, médicos y enfermeros — que estaban a su cuidado durante su convalecencia
Entre los juzgados está Leopoldo Luque, médico personal del campeón del mundo en los últimos cuatro años de vida; y la psiquiatra Agustina Cosachov, que prescribió la medicación que consumió Maradona hasta el momento de su deceso.
Los procesados niegan haber actuado con negligencia en el cuidado de Maradona y apuntan que su familia quería que el tratamiento médico fuera en ese lugar.
by dap | Apr 3, 2025 | New York Times
Economists and legal experts question how the strongest economy in the world can be facing a national emergency over the trade deficit.
by dap | Apr 3, 2025 | Chicago Tribune
SAN FRANCISCO — Legal aid clinics that sued the Trump administration after it canceled legal services for migrant children alone in the country say they are still in limbo a day after a federal judge in California ordered the reinstatement of direct legal assistance.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of San Francisco ruled late Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by legal aid groups after the Department of Health and Human Services and its Office of Refugee Resettlement on March 21 terminated a contract with the Acacia Center for Justice.
She wrote that advocates raised legitimate questions about whether the U.S. violated a 2008 anti-trafficking law when it canceled funding for direct legal representation without ensuring the provision of counsel prior to the cancellation, warranting a return to the status quo while the case continues. The order took effect Wednesday and runs through April 16.
“The Court additionally finds that the continued funding of legal representation for unaccompanied children promotes efficiency and fairness within the immigration system,” she wrote.
But aid providers said Wednesday they are not sure if they can expect federal dollars to begin flowing again.
The Acacia center provides legal services for unaccompanied migrant children under 18 through a network of legal aid groups that subcontract with the center. Eleven subcontractor groups sued, saying that 26,000 children were at risk of losing their attorneys and that the government has an obligation to come up with a plan for transferring pending cases.
Acacia is not a party to the lawsuit, but Bilal Askaryar, a spokesperson, said Wednesday that it has received no notice from the government on what to do next.
“We’re still stuck in this impossible situation where the attorneys that work with these vulnerable kids have no clarity,” he said.
Alvaro M. Huerta, an attorney with the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said they are waiting to hear from the government on how it intends to comply with the order. Meanwhile, legal aid providers do not know if they can rehire staff or take on new clients, he said.
“Many organizations continue to represent children in court given their ethical and professional obligations, even without getting government funding to do so,” he said.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 created special protections for migrant children who cannot navigate a complex immigration system on their own. Plaintiffs said some of their clients are too young to speak and others are too traumatized and do not know English.
The law requires the government to ensure “to the greatest extent practicable” that all children entering the country alone have legal counsel to represent them in proceedings and to “protect them from mistreatment, exploitation, and trafficking.”
Attorneys for the government say that taxpayers have no obligation to pay the cost of direct legal aid to migrant children at a time when the government is trying to save money. They also said district courts have no jurisdiction over a contract termination that would have expired at the end of March.
Acacia is still under contract with the government to provide legal orientations, including “know your rights” clinics, which Jonathan Ross with the U.S. Department of Justice said at a court hearing Tuesday is legally required.
“They’re still free to provide those services on a pro bono basis,” he said of the legal aid clinics.
But Karen Tumlin with the Justice Action Center said at the same hearing that the administration cannot simply zero out funding without providing direction on who will help these children when Congress has appropriated money for the care of unaccompanied minors.
“They need to make sure to the greatest extent practicable that there is a plan,” she said.
The temporary order by Martínez-Olguín, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, prohibits the government from withdrawing services or funds Congress had appropriated for such children.
The legal services contract, which was set to expire unless renewed in March, was worth $200 million, which is a fraction of the overall $5 billion Congress appropriated for overall unaccompanied migrant children services, including housing or shelter.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in an email it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
This is the third legal setback in less than a week for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, though all may prove temporary as the lawsuits advance.
On Friday, a federal judge in Boston said people with final deportation orders must have a “meaningful opportunity ” to argue against being sent to a country other than their own. On Monday, another federal judge in San Francisco put on hold plans to end protections for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. __ This story has been updated to clarify that legal aid for minors is a $200 million piece of $5 billion appropriated by Congress to assist unaccompanied children and to correct that Acacia is under a modified contract with the federal government, not a new contract.
