SmartNews

'Ripping up history to put down concrete': Trump's Rose Garden makeover attacked

During his first term, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump removed a significant portion of Jackie Kennedy's Rose Garden at the White House. Now, the second term has removed another tree, and pavers are being placed, reported Daily Mail reporter Emily Goodin.

In February, The New York Times reported that the Trump team was planning to make more changes to the iconic Rose Garden to craft a patio in the Mar-a-Lago style.

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'Beyond the pale': MAGA lawmaker says SNL actor headed to hell over sketch mocking Trump

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) suggested Jesus Christ would send "Saturday Night Live" actors and writers to hell for a sketch that mocked President Donald Trump.

In a sketch over the weekend, comedian James Austin Johnson mentioned Jesus during his impersonation of Trump.

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'Metaphor': JD Vance mocked after 'embarassing' fumble of championship trophy

Vice President JD Vance was roasted on social media for "breaking" The Ohio State University football team's national championship trophy, but not before taking a shot at himself first.

"I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it," Vance posted to social media.

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Trump's long-term strategy is 'even worse' than his 'burn it down' plan: analyst

President Donald Trump's trade war and the significant cuts in scientific research at U.S. agencies are moving "America down the value chain," political analyst Jonathan Chait wrote for "The Atlantic" on Monday.

Trump inherited a "healthy economy," only to "burn [it] down," Chait wrote. He questioned whether it was incompetence or if there was something strategic Trump was attempting to do.

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'This will get memed': CNN host pokes fun as Vance fumbles championship trophy

JD Vance, an alumnus of Ohio State University, fumbled the football team's National Championship trophy in his exuberance to handle the prize during a meet and greet Monday at the White House.

The Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame in the National Championship 34-23 in January.

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'Achilles’ heel': Analysts warn Trump's strongest issue has become an 'outright liability'

President Donald Trump once relied on voter trust on economic issues to propel him into office and to minimize his party's losses once he was in office. But after a few months back in power, the economy is instead one of his biggest weaknesses, wrote election data firm Split Ticket's Leon Sit and Max McCall for The Washington Post on Monday.

"Donald Trump rode a wave of economic discontent back into the White House, with nostalgia for the pre-covid economy guiding voters to reelect the president who presided over that time period," they wrote. "Trump’s voters entrusted him to work to assuage cost-of-living concerns and supercharge the national economy. But just three months into his second presidential term, Trump’s promised protectionist push has opened cracks in the Republican coalition — and could prove to transform economic issues from Republicans’ spearpoint into their Achilles’ heel."

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'Death sentence': Feds use citizenship test to arrest anti-war green card holder

A Palestinian green card holder who protested the war in Gaza was reportedly arrested by Homeland Security agents after being called into the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Vermont for a citizenship test.

A video shared by CBS News correspondent Lilia Luciano showed Mohsen Mahdawi being taken into custody outside the office in Burlington on Monday. Mahdawi, a Columbia University graduate student, had led protests against the war last year.

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Suspect in PA governor arson plot previously accused of attacking wife and kids: report

The man suspected in the arson attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) was already set to appear in court over domestic violence charges, reported CNN on Monday.

Cody Balmer, a 38-year-old car mechanic, "faces charges of attempted homicide, aggravated arson, terrorism and other crimes after police say he climbed over a fence, broke into the governor’s mansion and set the fire with a homemade Molotov cocktail in the early hours of Sunday morning," noted the report.

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'Profoundly chilling message': Pentagon eyes scrapping programs for sex assault victims

The Pentagon, under Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, is reportedly planning to scrap regulations meant to help victims of sexual assault in the military, according to reporting in The Intercept.

The action is in response to President Donald Trump's executive order slashing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in government agencies.

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Trump enacted economic plan 'unlawfully' despite likelihood of 'severe damage': lawsuit

Five owner-operated businesses have filed a lawsuit against the tariffs in the U.S. Court of International Trade.

The Liberty Justice Center and law professor Ilya Somin joined together to form the legal team for the five businesses, which includes VOS Selections, Inc. Plastic Services and Products, Genova Pipe, Microkits, FishUSA, and Terry Precision Cycling.

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'Proud' Harvard alumni cheer school for standing up to Trump

Notable Harvard alumni applauded their university Monday after news that the Ivy League school would not capitulate to the Trump administration's anti-DEI initiatives for $9 billion in federal funding.

Trump threatened to pull the $9 billion if Harvard did not do away with their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, or crack down on student protests like the pro-Palestinian demonstrations against the continued retaliatory bombing of Gaza.

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Official government DOGE account promotes Tesla ad — then deletes it

The official X account for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shared an ad for Elon Musk's Tesla company and then quickly deleted it on Monday.

ABC News correspondent Will Steakin first reported that DOGE had shared the video advertisement and called it "awesome."

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'This is the crisis moment': Political scientist says Trump crossed a crucial red line

Jacob Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory at McGill University, cautioned in a Blue Sky thread that the case involving a Maryland man the U.S. government acknowledges was "wrongfully deported" has reached a "crisis moment."

In March, Kilmar Ábrego García was accused of being an MS-13 gang member and deported to El Salvador along with others whom the U.S government alleged were dangerous. The deportation was carried out despite a U.S. judge telling the government that it could not deport García to El Salvador.

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