News From Around the Web
#1 Trump Ends DHS Payment Freeze Without Congress - Dani Anguiano for The Guardian, NeanderthalRich, Christine Caston/Speaker Mike Johnson, ABC News Politics, Thomas Register, ABC News/andrew, TheCommonVoice,
Donald Trump announced Thursday he will sign an order instructing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pay Transportation Security Administration agents immediately. “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation, and to quickly stop the Democrat Chaos at the Airports,” Trump wrote on social media. “I want to thank our hardworking TSA Agents and also ICE, for the incredible help they have given us at the Airports.” The US president did not state where the funding to pay the agents would come from...
#2 Trump’s Signature to Appear on US Currency in First for Sitting President - John Power for AlJazeera, The Associated Press, CBS News, informedclearly, Blue, and
Sujal Jethwani on X
United States President Donald Trump’s signature will soon appear on US currency under plans to mark the 250th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day on July 4. The move announced by the US Department of the Treasury on Thursday marks a first for a sitting president. Until now, US banknotes – which are divided into denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 – have featured the signature of the Treasury secretary and the treasurer. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Trump had put the country on a path towards “unprecedented economic growth” and “fiscal strength and stability,” and that the change would recognize his “historic achievements.”
#3 Elon Musk’s X Advertising Boycott Lawsuit Dismissed by US Judge - Laura Cress for BBC/MSN, Woodles, Thomas Register, Capital FM Kenya, Joe Kushner, Stop Funding Hate, and ThirdRailParty on X
A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit by Elon Musk's X, which accused a group of advertisers and major companies of illegally boycotting his platform. Its parent company, X Corp, alleged in 2024 that firms including food giants Unilever and Mars, renewable energy firm Orsted, and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) had conspired to deprive it of "billions of dollars" in advertising revenue. But in Thursday's ruling, US District Judge Jane Boyle said the company had failed to show it had suffered any harm under federal competition laws. The BBC has approached X for comment. X Corp's lawsuit, filed in a Texas court in 2024, came after the platform saw a decline inadvertising revenue following Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022...
#4 Judge Blocks Pentagon From Labeling Anthropic AI a “Supply Chain Risk” and Halts Trump’s Ban on Federal Use - Joe Walsh for CBS News, Rick Telberg, Frances, James Cronin, and Rohan Paul/Colbert on X
A judge has blocked the Trump administration from labeling Anthropic a "supply chain risk" and cutting off all federal work with the artificial intelligence firm, an early win for Anthropic in its bitter feud with the government over AI guardrails. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin on Thursday ruled in favor of Anthropic, which sued the federal government earlier this month for taking actions that it called an "unprecedented and unlawful" attempt to punish the company for First Amendment-protected speech...
#5 Trump Ends Worldwide Guessing Game About What Iran Actually Gifted to the US - Steven Nelson for New York Post, Current Report, The Inquisitr, WatchSpace, rediff, and Truth Seeker on X
President Trump ended two days of guessing Thursday by saying that Iran had gifted him 10 “big boats” of oil in a show of goodwill. “They said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil — eight boats, eight big boats of oil.’ … and I didn’t think much about it,” Trump said at a cabinet meeting. “And then I watched the news, and they said … ‘There are eight boats that are going right up the middle of the Hormuz Strait, eight big tankers are going loaded up with oil right through,'” he went on...
#6 Trump Administration Opens Investigations Into Race in Admissions at 3 Medical Schools - Lexi Lonas Cochran for The Hill, Patrick Phillips, Columbus Dispatch, Dr. Michael Schatman, San Francisco Chronicle, Dr._R, and Anna Bower on X
The Trump administration has opened investigations into three medical schools, saying it has concerns about potential race-based discrimination in admissions. Stanford University, the Ohio State University, and the University of California, San Diego received letters on Wednesday demanding seven years of data around applicants’ race, standardized test scores, relations to donors, zip codes, and other educational information. The Trump administration also wants documents relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in admissions and other university communications regarding race, donor status, and other information gathered in the admissions process...
#7 The Depleted Education Department Will Move Out of Its Headquarters - Cory Turner for npr, Mike's Random Thoughts, Allen Mendenhall, AsNeeded, John Boy 2 Living in AR SUX, and Arkadalo ® on X
In the latest effort by the Trump administration to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, it announced on Thursday that all staff will be leaving the department's longtime, Washington, D.C., headquarters in the Lyndon B. Johnson building, which the administration estimates "is roughly 70% vacant." "Thanks to the hard work of so many, we have made unprecedented progress in reducing the federal education footprint," said Education Secretary Linda McMahon in a statement announcing the move, "and now we are pleased to give this building to an agency that will benefit far more from its space than the Department of Education."
#8 Epstein Survivors Sue Trump Administration and Google Over Release of Private Information - Chloe Atkins for NBC News, Jason S, NATO - TRUMP IS INSANE., ECR_Newswatch, Punch Newspapers, and WION on X
A group of Epstein survivors filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump administration and Google on Thursday over the disclosure of personal information found in the release of files related to the late sex offender over the past several months. “The United States, acting through the DOJ, made a deliberate policy choice to prioritize rapid, large-volume disclosure over protection of Epstein survivors’ privacy,” the plaintiffs said, adding that the Justice Department “outed approximately 100 survivors of the convicted sexual predator, publishing their private information and identifying them to the world.”#9 Knives Out for Fetterman as Democrats Turn On One-Time Progressive Star - Charles Creitz for Fox News, HWVIII, Today is October 7th, U.S. Senator John Fetterman/pamelak, Steve Schneider, Coffeecrzy/Acyn, and Lovable Liberal and his Old English sheepdog/Politically homeless Tony on X
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is facing escalating backlash from within his own party, with one House Democrat saying this week she has more success working with a Republican senator and another calling for him to step down. The criticism reflects growing friction between Fetterman and his progressive political base as he breaks with Democrats on key issues, including his support for Israel, backing of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and openness to voter ID. Once a darling of the political left who exchanged endorsements with socialist Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Fetterman now finds himself a target of attacks from his own party...
#10 Stocks Suffer Worst Drop Since Iran War Began - NEWSMAX, Argo Times, Gregory Walsh, Steve Holbert, Good Morning America, and Yosha Joseph/Disclose.tv on X
U.S. stocks had their worst day since the war with Iran started, as doubt took over again from hope on Wall Street about a possible end to the conflict. The S&P 500 fell 1.7% Thursday. The index is headed for a fifth straight losing week, which would be the longest such losing streak in almost four years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2.4%. The Nasdaq has now entered a correction, as it has declined 10% from its last high. They’re the latest flip-flops for financial markets this week after Iran rejected a U.S. offer for a ceasefire. Oil prices rose more than 4%, and Treasury yields climbed in the bond market...
