A public sector worker participates in a rally as part of a warning strike called by the Verdi trade union. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
Two major German trade unions announced a strike for Monday hitting public transport across the country, including long-distance and local trains, as well as motorways and airports.
The trade unions EVG and Verdi on Thursday announced the joint industrial action, which comes after numerous previous strikes that have hit all parts of the German economy in recent months.
"There will be severe delays and even disruption of transport services in all the affected areas across the country," it said.
Verdi called on its members in seven German states to walk out from airports and from their jobs in local public transport.
The strike is intended to increase the pressure on the government and local authorities for a third round of negotiations starting on Monday.
The Verdi union is demanding a 10.5% pay rise and at least €500 more per month for public sector workers.
Passengers wait in line for the security check at a terminal in Munich Airport during a warning strike called by Verdi trade union. Sven Hoppe/dpa
A luggage cart with a vest of GöD (Public Service Union) can be seen at Munich Airport during a warning strike called by Verdi trade union. Sven Hoppe/dpa
Public sector workers participate in a rally as part of a warning strike called by the Verdi trade union. Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
Orange smoke billows over the public sector workers during a rally as part of a warning strike called by the Verdi trade union. Marcus Brandt/dpa
Public sector workers participate in a rally as part of a warning strike called by the Verdi trade union. Marcus Brandt/dpa
Passengers are seen during a warning strike called by the Verdi trade union. Sven Hoppe/dpa
A flag of the trade union Verdi flies at a streetcar stop of the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB), where the trade union Verdi has called a warning strike that would cause substantial interruptions in bus and streetcar services till Friday morning. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
A view of a board displayed at the Leipziger Verkehrsbetriebe (LVB) reading "Will be on strike today," where the trade union Verdi has called a warning strike that would cause substantial interruptions in bus and streetcar services till Friday morning. Hendrik Schmidt/dpa
Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) complained on Wednesday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy threatened to send members of Congress home after the Freedom Caucus shut down floor debate.
"We've told the Speaker that there will be no rule votes until the pistol-brace bill passes," Gaetz told Steve Bannon on Wednesday's War Room podcast. "However, we believe that our committees should continue their work."
But Gaetz said McCarthy had threatened to retaliate against far-right Republicans by postponing contempt proceedings for FBI Director Christopher Wray.
"And I have been told that leadership teams are meeting right now, and they're thinking about punishing House conservatives and just sending everybody home this week and canceling the committee work and the contempt work as a way to stick it to us for making demands that they keep their promises," the lawmaker explained.
Boebert also expressed outrage over the Speaker's threat.
"Now leadership is threatening to send everyone home because we are holding the floor and cancel all of those committees that are having hearings and doing actual work," she said. "That means that they are going to cancel this markup to hold Christopher Wray in contempt."
"The imperial speakership is over, as it was greatly stated yesterday," Boebert added. "And we have some demands."
Former Vice President Mike Pence announced he was running for president on Wednesday morning, but he might not be able to count on some previous supporters.
Speaking to MSNBC, former Homeland Security aide to Pence, Olivia Troye, explained that she liked many things about him, such as being pro-military and a man of faith.
"What's interesting is I saw Pence take on [Donald] Trump very privately, behind closed doors, on issues that mattered to him," she recalled. "I witnessed that, and I was grateful for it at times, personally, on matters of Iran and national security especially.
"It will be interesting to see if he's willing to take on Trump publicly, which he has failed to do. Now is the time to do that. Chris Christie is a bull in the china shop calling Trump out. If Pence wants to gain traction, he's going to have to explain a lot of these policies that he was a part of. He's going to have to differentiate himself on how he's different than Trump. And that's going to be hard for him. He's not traditionally a man that engages in confrontation."
MSNBC host Ana Cabrara said that she thinks people will wonder if he has a spine because they never experienced it when he was working at the White House. Troye confessed that it's something that bothers her too.
"It's interesting, he continued to toe the line. I think it's because of where the base of the party is. Now, Pence is a traditional conservative. He's a man of faith. I saw his faith guide a lot of his decisions. He's pro-military, he's pro-law enforcement, and he has military members in his family. The question is, is the party going to welcome that message? I'm not sure that it is. It may work in Iowa, but it needs to broaden from his evangelical following."
She explained that Pence has a strong base of evangelical support and that he might be able to peel some away from Donald Trump. But when it comes to Donald Trump's hard-nosed base, she said it would be impossible to convince people who have said they want to assassinate you to turn around and vote for you.
On Wednesday morning, June 7, CNN's Kate Bolduan made a bombshell announcement: CEO/Chairman Chris Licht "is leaving the network," and "for now," a new "leadership team" will "take Licht's place."
Licht held that position for a little over a year, declaring that he wanted to purge CNN of what he viewed as too much liberal bias. And he had more than his share of critics, who attacked Licht's leadership as change for the sake of change and saw him as being much too rigid and dogmatic in his centrism.
Licht, for example, reportedly disliked the term "the Big Lie" — which has been used to describe former President Donald Trump's false, thoroughly debunked claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. While Licht considered "The Big Lie" a "Democratic talking point," his critics countered that the term was simply accurate, factual reporting — as Trump's claim of widespread voter fraud had zero basis in fact.
Liberal Washington Post opinion writer Perry Bacon, Jr. discusses Licht's departure in his June 7 column, arguing that his tumultuous months at CNN underscore the problems with "anti-woke centrism."
"Licht's comments embody an anti-woke centrism that is increasingly prominent in American media and politics today, particularly among powerful white men who live on the coasts and don't identify as Republicans or conservatives," Bacon explains. "It's deeply flawed, and it's pushing some important U.S. institutions to make bad decisions."
The Post columnist continues, "By anti-woke, what I mean is skepticism of progressive causes and ideas, especially on issues of gender, race and sexuality. The term 'woke' is vague and imprecise."
Bacon isn't saying that centrists shouldn't have a voice in the media or politics. And he draws a distinction between Licht's centrism and President Joe Biden's centrism, noting that Biden "opposes some left-wing causes but doesn't spend a lot of time deriding people who support them."
Bacon observes, "Anti-woke centrism is really about emphasizing differences with progressives, who are inaccurately cast as Twitter-obsessed college graduates who constantly use terms like Latinx and are out of touch with ordinary Democratic voters…. Licht and Elon Musk, who has expressed similar sentiments, control two hugely important media platforms. Their views matter. That they have become consumed by this anti-wokeism has meant that great journalists were fired at CNN for being too anti-Trump and that Twitter's verification system was disabled, it seemed, because Musk felt it gave too much prominence to left-wing people."
