SmartNews

A government-funded international broadcaster that provides news in Persian and which primarily targets audiences in Iran has been "urgently called back," according to reports.

The Voice of America Persian Service was cut by President Donald Trump in a March 15 executive order that shut down VOA Persian TV, along with other U.S.-funded international broadcasters. The service's funding was cut and nearly all staff were placed on administrative leave.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) opened up about what went down on Thursday in a podcast for The Bulwark — and the incredibly unlikely person who came to his rescue when federal agents tackled and handcuffed him after he tried to ask a question of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Specifically, he told Adrian Carrasquillo, longtime Trumpworld strategist, lobbyist, and Department of Homeland Security adviser Corey Lewandowski helped him get out of the situation.

President Donald Trump's social media post "backfired" when he vowed "changes are coming" to protect farmers and hospitality workers from his mass deportation plans, a Republican lobbyist warned Friday.

Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform that his mass crackdown on illegal immigration led to significant labor shortages for farmers and the hospitality industry, sectors heavily reliant on migrant workers.

A New Jersey congresswoman said Friday afternoon that the Justice Department offered to drop charges against her if she admitted to something she "did not do."

Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was arrested and later indicted on federal charges stemming from a confrontation outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark last month. Federal prosecutors said McIver "forcibly imped[ed] and interfer[ed' with federal law enforcement officers" as they arrested Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was trying to join a congressional oversight visit at the facility.

Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News primetime host who has made a living pushing both white nationalist and non-interventionist policy positions, appeared to turn against President Donald Trump and much of right-wing punditry on Friday, scolding them for cheering on Israel's strikes on Iran and warning that if the United States gets involved, it will only bring disaster.

This follows Trump posting threats against Iran on Truth Social following Israel's drone strikes on Iranian facilities, saying, "the United States makes the best and most lethal military equipment anywhere in the World, BY FAR, and that Israel has a lot of it, with much more to come - And they know how to use it."

Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath thinks that top White House aide Stephen Miller is the puppet master behind the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on farms across California.

President Donald Trump announced to the media on Thursday that “changes are coming” to ensure farmers won't lose immigrant labor from their fields.

Israel's significant strikes on Iran caused a rift in the GOP between the isolationist MAGA wing and more hawkish Republicans, according to a new report.

Israel's attack Thursday on Iran, known as "Operation Rising Lion," has been widely regarded as a significant tactical and operational success. The strikes damaged Iran's nuclear program and decimated its military leadership. Iran has begun retaliatory strikes, though Israel has downplayed their effectiveness.

One of President Donald Trump's longtime allies is slamming other right-wing talk radio figures for their hawkishness at the possibility of war between Israel and Iran.

This comes as yet another front of war in the Middle East appears to be opening up, with Israel launching drone attacks against Iran, a longtime sponsor of violent resistance movements against Israel in the region, from bases they claim to have set up inside Iran itself. Iran has since responded with missile strikes of its own.

A federal judge who ruled this week that the Trump administration couldn't detain a pro-Palestinian activist based solely on his perceived threat to foreign policy has since declined to order the federal government to free him.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in early March based on State Department orders to revoke his student visa.

Anti-Donald Trump protests are scheduled around the country on Saturday, but some jumped the gun early, taking to the streets with a march to Ohio's state capitol.

The Columbus Dispatch uploaded a video Friday showing the anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protesters speaking out against the raids around the country.

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said Friday his committee will investigate Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D).

Comer penned a letter to the Justice Department saying that the protesters in LA "committed vicious acts of violence and fearmongering directed at law enforcement and others," Fox News reported Friday. "They set fire to vehicles and property around the city, and assaulted officers with deadly weapons such as rocks and Molotov cocktails."

The "No Kings" anti-Trump protests are set to erupt all over the country this weekend, with demonstrations planned in over 2,000 cities — and far-right groups are already talking amongst themselves how much they want violence to disrupt them, The Independent reported on Friday.

"Accounts associated with extremist groups are also sharing detailed information about protest organizers, including names and where they work, The Wall Street Journal reports," wrote Rhian Lubin.

Longtime Republican consultant Mike Madrid called out President Donald Trump's administration on Friday in response to reports that the administration is allowing law enforcement to use Medicaid information to attack those they think are undocumented immigrants.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) posted a New York Daily News article to X about the move, telling Americans that they "should be very concerned."