Latest Headlines

by Thomas URBAIN

The release of the latest image generator on OpenAI's ChatGPT has triggered a flood of online memes featuring images done in the style of Studio Ghibli, the Japanese studio behind classic animated films like "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Princess Mononoke."

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.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow delivered an on-air takedown of the Trump administration’s startling arrest on Wednesday of a Turkish national by masked Department of Homeland Security agents, who surrounded and “snatched” her from the street.

The sudden detainment of Tufts University grad student Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, was captured on a doorbell video and sparked protests demanding her release “spontaneously and basically instantly,” Maddow told viewers Thursday.

By Pooja Salhotra and Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune

"Abortion opponents laud bill that would clamp down on pill providers and out-of-state abortions" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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Far-right state Sen. Randy Fine was supposed to walk to an easy victory in a special election for a north-central Florida congressional district that President Donald Trump won by around 30 points last year.

But Republicans have privately groused this week that he could blow it. And now they're pulling the fire alarm in earnest, CNN reported on Thursday evening.

A law firm hit back at President Donald Trump after finding itself in his crosshairs over its ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump directed agencies to strip the firm WilmerHale of its security clearances and restrict its access to federal buildings. The order also revoked government contracts from companies it represents.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk went on Fox News Thursday, alongside a gaggle of his Department of Government Efficiency software engineers, to defend and justify his takeover and purge of the civil service.

But a CNN panel was less than impressed with some of his answers.

Primetime CNN anchor Anderson Cooper expressed disbelief that Attorney General Pam Bondi is refusing to have the Justice Department investigate the Signal group chat thread in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed imminent attack orders with other high-level officials and a journalist.

Hegseth and National Security Adviser Mike Waltz drew fierce criticism over their involvement in the Signal group chat, in which Hegseth shared live updates about a U.S. airstrike on Yemen's Houthi militants, including disclosing sensitive details such as launch timings. Waltz initiated the group chat and inadvertently included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in the conversation.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) fired back at tech billionaire Elon Musk for continuing to insist that the former decorated veteran and one-time astronaut was “a traitor” to the United States for defending Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion.

Kelly on Thursday delivered a terse takedown of Musk on CNN moments after the head of President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency upped his beef with Kelly in a Fox News interview.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took potshots at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) on "The Eric Bolling Show" this week, The Daily Beast reported — saying, among other things, that because she was unmarried, she lacked any real understanding of how the world works.

“This is a woman, she’s never been married, she has no children, she’s never had a job other than working in a bar,” said Greene, swatting aside growing speculation that Ocasio-Cortez could run for president in the future. “This is a woman that has really no life experience and has no life wisdom because she’s never done any of those things.”

President Donald Trump took aim at yet another prominent law firm on Thursday, signing an executive order to go after WilmerHale over its ties to former special counsel Robert Mueller, who investigated Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 election.

Trump directed agencies to strip the firm of its security clearances and restrict its access to federal buildings, The Wall Street Journal reported. The order also revoked government contracts from companies it represents.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Thursday that his team at President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency isn’t moving fast enough in his efforts to dismantle the federal government.

The assessment from the DOGE head came during a sit-down interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier, where he first discussed the cost-cutting agency’s work and goals alongside DOGE staffers. But when members of his team left the room, Musk opened up in response to a viewer’s question, who asked if he and his team are “happy with the speed at which they’re making changes.”