FKA Twigs is set to bring Josephine Baker back to the big screen, when she portrays the Jazz Age icon in a new biopic.
The
Grammy-winning musician and dancer is becoming increasingly well-known
as an actress, following supporting roles in films like this year's Anne
Hathaway-led pop fantasia Mother Mary and last year's remake of the
cult classic The Crow.
But the as-yet-untitled
Baker biopic will mark her first leading role as an actress, to be
directed by the French filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, best known for her
controversial 2020 film Cuties.
According to Variety,
singer Twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett), 38, said in a statement,
"I am honored to collaborate with the immensely talented Maïmouna
Doucouré on this incredible project. Josephine Baker's extraordinary
legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people around the
world. She lives on in our hearts as a visionary, groundbreaking woman
whose story is as powerful as it is relevant today. I cannot wait to
embody Josephine Baker bringing her fight, her love, her losses, her
talent and her heroism to the big screen."
In addition to writing and directing the film, Doucouré will also produce it under his Bien Ou Bien Prods. banner.
Twigs,
who can be seen in theaters now in the Anne Hathaway/Michela Cole
musical drama Mother Mary, will take on the challenging role of the St.
Louis-born singer, dancer, actress and activist who found fame in France
and was the first Black woman to star in a major movie, the 1927 silent
film Siren of the Tropics. Known for her high-energy performances and
envelope-pushing stage costumes, Baker was a French Resistance spy
during WWII, during which she smuggled coded messages to France from
opposing forces hidden inside her lyrics. She was also the only female
speaker at the 1968 Poor People's March for civil rights in Washington,
D.C. in 1968.
The singer, nicknamed "Black
Venus," took time away from the stage to raise what she called her
"Rainbow Tribe" of 12 adopted children from a variety of countries and
backgrounds and died in April 1975 at age 68 following a show at the
Bobino Theater in Paris. According to Variety, the project is in
development with support from Baker's sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker
and Brian Bouillon Baker, as well as the other members of the Rainbow
Tribe.
They have tried
to make a film about Josephine Baker for years. In the 80s, for
example, Diana Ross worked on bring that to fruition. In 1991, a TV
movie (starring Lynn Whitfield) was made but that was the closest until
now.
On
February 9, 1964, 13-year-old Ann Wilson and her 9-year-old sister
Nancy were at their grandmother 'Maudie' Wilson's house in La Jolla,
California, when The Beatles made their US television debut on The Ed
Sullivan Show for an audience of approximately 73 million Americans.
Long
before the Liverpool band finished their five-song appearance -
performing All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her
Standing There and I Want to Hold Your Hand - the lives of the Wilson
sisters were changed forever.
"We didn't want to be Beatle
girlfriends," Nancy recalled in the sisters' autobiography Kicking and
Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll. "We wanted to be
Beatles."
Ten years on, the Wilson sisters were playing together in Heart.
But as Ann Wilson recalls in a new interview with Rolling Stone, men in the hard rock community weren't always supportive of the sisters' dreams.
“This
phenomenon would happen where you would build yourself up and do
something really great, and you’d feel really good about it," she
recalls. "Then you could get put down and squashed down very easily by
the rest of the men. They could make you feel like you were really silly
for even trying. We were lucky enough to have great people around us,
but I know other women who were starting up close to our time that had
to rebel as hard as they could to get anything happening at all."
In
2012, Heart presented their fifteenth studio album, Fanatic, at a show
at New York's iconic Beacon Theatre. After the show, Classic Rock were
granted an audience with Ann and Nancy Wilson, a discussion that took in
the new album, love, sobriety, politics and the changing face of the
band.
"Everybody in? Yes? Good.”
It’s
October, and Classic Rock is jammed into a tiny lift backstage at New
York City’s Beacon Theatre. And with those words, we begin our ascent.
We’ve just witnessed Heart deliver a blinding show to a rapturous
audience, and now a coterie of record company types, bigwigs from
publishing house Harper Collins, random friends and well-wishers are
being shuttled up several stories to say hello to Heart. The Art Deco
venue is a stunner, but behind the scenes it’s beginning to show its
age, and we’re not entirely sure the machinery will take us all the way
to the sixth floor.
Thankfully,
however, the trip is mercifully short and in a small, unpretentious
room, Ann and Nancy Wilson hold court to the assembled throng. It’s
crazy scenes in a tiny space, Nancy waves across the room as she and her
sister smile and pose for photos, shake hands and make nice. Classic
Rock moves aside as John McEnroe and wife Patty Smyth squeeze by and
head down the stairs.
The Wilsons are used to
scenes like this. They’ve been doing it a long time. “We’ve had a lot of
things happening,” smiles Ann Wilson later. ”They’re all sort of
intertwined and we’re doing shows at the same time, so it’s been very
busy.”
Busy? Ever the lady of understatement,
2012 has been an incredible one for the Seattle band. In fact, in terms
of eventful happenings, it’s probably one of the most intense times in
Heart’s four-decade career.
So
let’s just define “busy” for a moment. Ann and Nancy were speakers at
Austin’s SXSW in early March; in June, they released Strange Euphoria, a
personally curated, career-spanning box set, stuffed with demos, live
recordings and other rarities alongside their monster hits; the sisters
published their autobiography in September, the same month they were
bestowed a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. We’re not finished yet.
A
new studio album, Fanatic, was released in October, and they were
nominated again (for the second year in a row) for induction into the
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame alongside Rush and Deep Purple.
Oh,
and in between all that, the six-piece has spent most of its time
traversing the US playing show after show. They’re even sticking an
extra day on this brief New York stopover to make a last-minute
appearance at Radio City Music Hall at Paul Simon’s Children’s Benefit
Concert, joining a roster that includes Simon, Sting, Stevie Wonder,
Aaron Neville, Amy Grant and presenters Oprah, Tom Hanks, Hillary
Clinton and Spike Lee.
Looking at that
schedule, you might think that it was a carefully timed media plan,
making hay while the sun is shining. Get Heart in everyone’s faces. A
Heart attack, if you will. But if it was, Wilson’s not buying it.
“I
don’t know if you could say there’s a reason,” says Ann, simply. “Just
the new album was ready, the book was done, the box set was done… All
those projects wrapped up at the same time. There was no real human way
we could have made that happen on purpose. It was a culmination of a lot
of things. And we have this tour so we’re very lucky this year. But
we’re tired, y’know?”
If Heart
are tired, they’re not showing it. Especially not tonight. It’s a
different experience seeing them play on their home turf rather than on
one of their sporadic visits to the UK – something which is “in our plan
for 2013, definitely,” says Ann. In the US, they’re conquering heroes,
blasting through songs that have soundtracked their crowd’s lives – from
the 70s hits (Barracuda,
Crazy On You, Magic
Man, Heartless) to the glossy 80s anthems (What About Love, These
Dreams, Alone) through to today’s more rootsy, but no less vital
material.
The audience goes nuts at every note, and the
fervour isn’t only for the old stuff. Fanatic is the new baby and may
have only reached the shop shelves today, but songs have been previewed
online and Heart have been playing them round the country for a while
already.
The Heart of 2012 – that’s the
Wilsons, guitarist Craig Bartock, drummer Ben Smith, bassist Dan
Rothchild and Debbie Shair on keyboards – is a powerful force on stage,
as Ann acknowledges.
“There are different eras
and the band has played different ways in different times with different
line-ups,” she says. “The line-up we have now – we have a new bass
player in Dan – but everyone else has been together for at least 10
years, and it is without a doubt the finest line-up because we really,
really know each other.
One
listen to Heart's Nancy Wilson playing the extended acoustic opener to
"Crazy on You," and you'll wonder why she's so underrated or why anyone
ever doubted her. Her fingerpicking technique is practically flawless,
as is her sense of rhythm, note articulation, and overall feel. But
people did doubt her, including producer Mike Flicker, who loved
vocalist Ann Wilson but wasn't so sure about her sister, Nancy. However,
thanks to a lot of work from Nancy to prove herself, plus Ann refusing
to form Heart without her sister — as Nancy told Billy Corgan in a
YouTube interview — we got the sibling-led, dual-vocal attack of Heart.
Heart
crossed over from the '70s to '80s without issue, and in fact were more
popular in the '80s, when they released both of their No. 1 tracks on
the Billboard Hot 100, "Alone" and "These Dreams." Nancy didn't just
back "Heart" this entire time, she fronted it, taking the vocal lead on
songs like one of those No. 1s, "These Dreams," in addition to her
guitar playing.
It took a lot of
pushing and striving to reach that point, going all the way back to
Nancy and Ann's childhood. The Wilson family neighbors said Nancy should
stop playing guitar because "it'll ruin her nails" (per Louder Sound).
Thankfully, her parents disregarded such nonsense and supplied their
daughter with whatever instruments they could. At the same time, the
musical world had few female guitarists for Nancy to emulate, but that
didn't matter. She took inspiration from songwriting greats like Elton
John, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young. That's how she became not only an
early female rock guitarist, but a superb player that no one should
underrate in any way.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Chump loses it overnight posting one crazed
conspiracy theory after another, he continues his war on Iran and on the
economy, Petey at the Defense Dept continues to lament the fact that
he'll never measure up to Senator Mark Kelly, and much more.
As Ben notes this morning on MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Donald Chump went crazy last night posting whack job conspiracy theories.
He
makes a fool of himself and a fool of the country. He really needs to
be removed from office. The 25th Amendment should have been implemented
long, long ago.
He is not safe to the
country or for the world. He goes on these nutso benders where he
screeches lies and just looks like a raving loon.
The
combative tirade comes as independent analyses have repeatedly found
that Trump's broader economic agenda has failed to deliver on its
promises for American workers.
The U.S. has
shed roughly 80,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office last
year, according to employment data, with economists pointing to the
administration's own tariff policies as one driver of rising input costs
and factory uncertainty.
The gap has widened
between Trump's manufacturing promises and economic reality, with his
"Liberation Day" tariff promise — that he would bring jobs and factories
"roaring back" — has instead coincided with steady job losses.
A
separate analysis found that Trump's tariffs have functioned as a
regressive tax costing American households an average of $1,300 last
year, with working-class families bearing the heaviest burden.
Democratic
National Committee Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider said in a
Thursday statement that “America’s farmers were already struggling to
get by under Donald Trump and Brooke Rollins and now Trump’s war with
Iran has pushed farmers to a breaking point.”
“Trump
tanked the agricultural economy with his reckless trade war, causing
family farms to go bankrupt at record levels, and now his deadly and
costly war with Iran has caused prices on everything from diesel to
fertilizer to skyrocket,” Schneider added. “Farmers are scraping by to
make ends meet under Trump — and Trump and Rollins have done nothing but
turn their backs on them.”
Rep. Betty
McCollum, a Democrat from farm-heavy Minnesota, said “the closure of the
Strait of Hormuz has made energy prices go up globally, and it’s
increased the cost of living,” adding: “Everything from what my farmers
are paying for fertilizer, to the fuel that they’re putting in their
tractors as they go out to the field, let alone what everyday Americans
are doing gassing up.”
“The president says we
can’t afford to help American families with daycare or funding of
Medicaid or Medicare because we’re fighting wars,” she said during an
April 30 House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing. “Well, I
strongly disagree with the president on this analysis.”
Another
Democrat from a farming-rich Midwest state, Sen. Gary Peters of
Michigan, said during an April 30 Armed Services Committee hearing that
“the number one question I get when I’m back home from people is,
basically, very simply: ‘When will this war end?’”
“Our
farmers are paying because of fertilizer costs. We know that the whole
world economy is paying a great deal for this war,” Peters said.
It's
an interesting economic climate, one where those who just a couple of
years ago were decrying the high cost of gasoline now duck their heads
and try to stay silent. Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports:
Congressional
Republicans are struggling to defend rising gas prices after years of
using fuel costs as a political weapon against Democrats, with some
lawmakers reversing previous messaging while others remain silent on the
issue.
Gas prices have surged nearly 50
percent since President Donald Trump launched the war with Iran on Feb.
28, and the spike presents a sharp reversal for Republicans who spent
years blaming former President Joe Biden for rising fuel costs, reported NOTUS.
“Isn’t
that the only argument you can have right now?” said one Republican
operative involved in midterm contests. “It affects our voters more than
their voters. We live farther apart from each other ... You hope and
pray it’s temporary.”
Some Republicans have
attempted to minimize the current price increases by comparing them to
higher prices under Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA)
claimed on CNBC that gas prices under Biden reached "almost $6 a
gallon," a figure that even conservative host Joe Kernen disputed as
inaccurate.
Vulnerable Republicans facing
reelection are employing various strategies. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI),
who previously warned Michigan families about high gas prices, now
redirects questions about current prices to Iran's nuclear program.
Rep.
Mike Lawler (R-NY) shifted from 2024 campaign messaging about
cost-of-living crises to claiming Washington brought prices down, later
telling CNN that higher prices were "absolutely worth it" for the Iran
war.
Other lawmakers have opted for silence.
Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Mariannette
Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and David Valadao (R-CA) have largely avoided public
comments on the issue despite running 2024 campaigns emphasizing gas
and grocery costs.
President
Donald Trump on Monday said he planned to suspend the federal gas tax
to provide some economic relief as fuel prices have soared since the
start of the Iran war, CBS News reported, though the move would be a
drop in the bucket for consumers given the historic surge in gas prices
lately.
[. . .]
Removing
the federal taxes—totaling 18.3 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.3
cents per gallon of diesel—would reduce the average price for a gallon
of gas to about $4.33, down from $4.52, according to the latest gas
price stats from AAA.
The cost for a gallon of diesel would drop to roughly $5.38, down from $5.63.
18
cents a gallon. And still well above the cost prior to Chump starting
the Iran War. Remember, Chump didn't have to declare war on Iran. Bankole Thompson (DETROIT NEWS) observes:
No
matter what side you sit on in the war with Iran, the skyrocketing gas
prices, which have hit $6 in some parts of the country, are affecting
everyone. They are not merely an energy crisis but an economic
inequality question facing families across the nation, including
Michigan.
If the cost of fuel continues to
rise astronomically, it could interrupt the summer vacations of many
families, especially those who love to take long road trips because it
is more convenient and reasonable than any airfare.
Those
on fixed incomes and communities that are struggling to get by, as well
as families taking their children to school, are feeling the pain the
most. That includes the single mother in Detroit or the Upper Peninsula
who has to balance rent, utilities and childcare because the spike in
gas prices is exposing them to more financial hardship.
Republican
candidates running for office in the midterm cannot escape the fact
that such economic instability is being presided over by President
Donald Trump, the cornerstone of whose 2024 campaign was about bringing
down the inflation that took place under former President Joe Biden.
Instead
of concretely addressing the economic pressure that many are facing
from an unstable oil market, and as a result of the war, Trump seems
more focused on his new White House ballroom than anything else.
Florence Tan and Siyi Liu (REUTERS) note, "Oil
prices rallied on Monday, a day after President Donald Trump said
Iran's response to a U.S. proposal was "unacceptable," raising supply
fears as the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely closed, which kept the
global market tight. Brent crude futures climbed $4.04 or 3.99% to
$105.33 a barrel at 0614 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at
$99.85 a barrel, up $4.43, or 4.64%." Sara Dorn (FORBES) adds, "President
Donald Trump’s approval rating hasn’t risen above 36% in Reuters/Ipsos
weekly polling since the start of the Iran war, as Americans on both
sides of the aisle blame him for rising gas prices and 80% expect gas to
become more expensive. [. . .] Three-quarters of respondents,
including half of Republicans, said his administration is at least
partly to blame for high gas prices, which have gone up 50% since the
start of the conflict, while 65% said they believe Republicans are more
responsible for the rise in gas prices versus Democrats, and 80% said
they expect gas prices to go up more." And John-Paul Ford Rojas (THIS IS MONEY) delivers
this bad news that Chump's not just destroying the US economy, he's
destroying the economies all over the world such as in the UK:
Consumer sentiment has seen its fastest slump in four years as 'Trumpflation' fears grip shoppers, a poll reveals.
The
quarterly survey by PwC revealed 90 per cent of UK consumers worry
about the cost of living as the Iran war stokes inflation.
The accountant's barometer of spending intentions was at minus-13 for April, down from minus-1 at the start of the year.
That
was its lowest since autumn 2023 and the sharpest fall since summer
2022 – a time when inflation was spiralling in the wake of Vladimir
Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Now
inflation is on the rise again after Donald Trump's war on Iran choked
off oil and gas supplies from the Middle East, driving fuel prices
higher.
Sam Waller, consumer markets spokesman
at PwC UK, said: 'Rising costs are prompting shoppers to pull back spend
across the board, and it's expected sentiment will get worse before it
gets better, as consumers face higher energy and food costs later in the
year.'
And as the economy crashes, Chump wants to spend more on ballrooms, on the Eisenhower Executive Office building, etc. Emily Burack (TOWN & COUNTRY) reports that the estimate to slap some paint over the granite building will cost an estimated $7.5 million:
“The
Eisenhower Executive Office Building is a National Historic Landmark.
Its distinctive granite exterior isn't just beautiful, it's historically
significant. Painting over it would trap moisture, damage the stone,
and create a costly, irreversible cycle of maintenance at taxpayer
expense,” the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in a
statement.
Rob Nieweg of the Trust testified
before the National Capital Planning Commission in opposition to the
proposal to paint the EEOB. “The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is
a contributing element of the Lafayette Square Historic District and,
importantly, this architecturally significant building is a National
Historic Landmark,” he said. “That is our nation’s most coveted historic
designation. It serves as permanent notice to all that the EEOB
occupies an important place in our collective story as Americans.
Accordingly, the EEOB’s federal steward should respect the aesthetic
characteristics that qualify the landmark for NHL designation.” He
added, “The historic EEOB has been preserved, un-painted, since its
completion in 1888.”
The building, built in the
1870s and 1880s as the State, War, and Navy Department Building, is now
the base for federal workers. Trump’s desire to repaint it has been
ongoing; in November, he showed a rendering of a painted building on Fox
News, “Look at that, how beautiful that is with a coat of paint.” He
complained, “It was always considered an ugly building” and added “gray
is for funerals.”
A nonprofit group trying to stop President Trump's
reflecting pool renovation on the National Mall claims the project
breaks federal law.
The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a
lawsuit today, saying the National Park Service violated an historic
preservation act by repainting the pool -- quote -- "American flag
blue." The complaint says the new color -- quote -- "will fundamentally
alter the visual and experiential character of the pool."
The
president announced the project last month and drove through the pool's
construction site just last week. The New York Times is also reporting
that its initial cost of less than $2 million has now ballooned to seven
times that figure.
For more on the project, I'm joined now by one
of the reporters covering that story. That's David Fahrenthold of The
New York Times.
David, welcome back.
Let's begin with your
reporting on this that shows that initial cost estimate from the
president of $1.8 million now up to $13.1 million. What happened there?
David Fahrenthold, The New York Times:
Well, the -- President Trump has said multiple times that
this project is only going to cost $1.8 million or less than $2
million. That's never been right.
From the beginning, the federal
government had expected to pay $6.9 million for this contract. And then,
on Friday, that cost jumped again by another 88 percent. So now we're
talking about $13.1 million.
Amna Nawaz:
And the contractor for this project, your reporting also
showed, had no previous federal contracts. How unusual is that for a
renovation like this?
David Fahrenthold:
It's quite unusual for a renovation of this size and this sort of importance.
Remember,
this is not a swimming pool. This is a pool that's about 2,000 feet
long. It's been around since the 1920s. It has a lot of complicated
problems that come from both its age and its size. And the contractor
they chose to do it, not only is this their first federal contract, but
it's not clear this is a swimming pool contractor at all.
Their
Web site is more about lining pipes and culverts and fuel tanks. It's
clear this is a very different project than the ones that they appear to
be used to.
Amna Nawaz:
So folks will remember the images from last week that
showed the president and his motorcade driving through that pool area.
When we saw those, I know a lot of folks had the same question was, is
that going to impact the pool in any way? What does your reporting show
you on that?
David Fahrenthold:
Well, from folks we have talked to, it will not probably
make the pool look any different in terms of reflectivity. If you're
standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, you're standing at the
World War II Monument on the other end, and you're looking across the
pond at a low angle, it'll probably still be reflective.
The
difference, though, may come when you see it from a higher angle, from
an airplane or the top of the Washington Monument. This is a space
that's meant to sort of be invisible. It's supposed to reflect back the
gray stone and the trees all around it.
If what you see instead is
kind of an artificial blue, like a -- the water hazard at a mini golf
course, that could stand out in a very jarring way on the National Mall.
Amna Nawaz:
We know that the president has framed some of these
renovations as part of a broader beautification effort ahead of those
America 250 celebrations. What do we know about what that means about
who's paying for much of this?
David Fahrenthold:
Well, in the cases -- in this case and in the case we
wrote about recently about changes to the fountains around D.C., the
government is paying for it.
It's not private donors. And the
money they're using in this case is coming from people that go to
national parks. If you go to a national park and pay an entrance fee,
some of that money goes to the Park Service to pay for renovations. And
that's the fund they're using here.
Amna Nawaz:
I know as we reported earlier that at least one nonprofit
is trying to block this project. But this is one of several renovation
projects that we know the Trump administration is looking to at least
partially fund with taxpayer money.
We have seen the Kennedy
Center renovation, the White House ballroom, and others. As you track
this, as ethics watchdogs and other track this, what are some of the
concerns that are coming up here?
David Fahrenthold:
One of the biggest concerns about this project and others
around the area is that these are no-bid contracts. The government is
supposed to let multiple vendors bid on jobs like this so the taxpayers
get their best bang for the buck.
In this case, the Trump
administration used sort of a special power to block out all competition
and hand this job directly to a firm that President Trump says is close
to him. He says, this is a company that worked on the swimming pools at
his golf club in Northern Virginia.
And so what happens when you
give a contract directly to somebody with no competition, you don't
really know you're getting the best deal. You don't know that you're
getting the best person for the job. And so it raises questions about
why they're circumventing the normal contracting process and what we're
losing in the process in terms of quality or maybe overpaying.
The
line outside a suburban office building was already 15 people long when
Tiffany Hudson showed up with her 7-year-old son cradling his blanket.
It was 7 a.m. At the front of the line was a woman hooked up to an
oxygen tank who had arrived 90 minutes before the building opened.
Like
others there, Husdon had come to the Arizona Department of Economic
Security office in Surprise, a Phoenix suburb, to find out why the food
stamp benefits for her and her two children were cut off after the state
began implementing new eligibility requirements under President Donald
Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
“It’s been
really hard. We’ve been going to food banks every week,” Hudson said.
She’s a single mom who had received about $600 a month in food
assistance to supplement her income as a part-time caretaker. Her
benefits stopped without warning three months ago. “We’re eating less,
we’re eating more frozen stuff.”
Hudson
and her children have been swept up in a wave of new restrictions and
bureaucratic hurdles that have begun to ripple across the country as a
result of Trump’s marquee legislation, which he signed into law with
great fanfare nearly a year ago during a Fourth of July celebration. The
law extends tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations while cutting
$187 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often
referred to as food stamps, over the next decade. Now, the consequences
of those cuts are showing up on Americans’ kitchen tables.
Since
the law was enacted last summer, about 3.5 million people have fallen
off the SNAP rolls nationwide as of January, according to federal data.
No state has seen a more dramatic drop than Arizona, which offers a
window into what may be in store for other states.
“It’s
a frightening time for the folks we serve,” said Natalie Jayroe, CEO of
the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, which has already been
struggling with limited food after the federal funding cuts from the
early days of the second Trump administration. “The overwhelming
uncertainty and anxiety that the folks we serve are facing — it’s hard
to describe.”
Turning to Petey Hegseth, Secretary of Defense. William Shoukri (BIG) reports on an April 29th hearing before the House Armed Service Committee:
New
Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander was one of the most effective
Democratic critics in the room, asking Hegseth multiple questions that
he fumbled. After Hegseth had bragged about his ‘crack economic team’
earlier in the hearing, Goodlander tested him, asking whether he knew
the average cost of gas on February 28. Hegseth (who clearly did not
know the answer) replied snarkily: ‘If you lived in California, it was 8
bucks’ (this is not true; the average price of gas in California was
$4.44 at that point). Goodlander ignored Hegseth, stating the national
average was $2.83. She then asked him if he knew the average gas price
today, to which Hegseth made another crack at California prices.
Goodlander smirked and told him the price of gas on April 29 ($4.23).
"Mr.
Hegseth, you said you’ve got a crack economic team that’s looking at
the impact of this war on the American taxpayer, and you can’t answer
this basic question – that should shock the conscience of every
American."
At the end of her
time, New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander asked Hegseth whether he
agrees with the statement “the military won’t follow unlawful orders.”
Hegseth immediately showed his annoyance with the question, snapping, “I
do but understand what you’re insinuating at a partisan point.”
Goodlander replied with a smile and revealed that she was actually
quoting Hegseth, not a Democrat talking point. Luckily for Hegseth, her
time was over after the question. Goodlander took to X to criticize
Hegseth after the hearing
Yes,
Hegseth did say that. On TV. On FOX "NEWS" and it wasn't a big deal
because that's what the US military is trained on: Don't follow unlawful
orders.
But when Senator Mark Kelly and others do the same, Petey pisses his diaper and loses it in front of everyone.
Petey
has already lost in one court. It appears that he will lose in the
court that heard arguments last week as well. But Petey can't let his
penis envy go. He's suffering from p.e. every time he looks at Senator
Mark Kelly.
Kelly appeared on CBS' FACE THE NATION Sunday.
In the appearance, Kelly noted the shortage of weapons as a result of
the Iran War. Back in early March, that was rarely noted. By the end
of March, the media was beginning to note it more often and by April?
It was hard to miss stories on this topic. Kelly raised this issue on
Sunday.
U.S.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon is investigating
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) after accusing him of speaking about
classified information connected to the Iran war on cable news.
Hegseth's
threats come after a federal appeals court signaled Thursday that it
would turn down his efforts to punish Kelly and a handful of other
Democratic lawmakers for urging troops to refuse illegal orders. The
blow comes after a court blocked Hegseth's attempt to censure and demote
Kelly, a 62-year-old retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut, in
February.
The latest feud
came to fruition after Kelly warned about dwindling U.S. weapons
stockpiles following the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran,
criticizing the Trump administration's war strategy in the Middle East.
“Because
this president got our country into this without a strategic goal,
without a plan, without a timeline... because of that, we’ve expended a
lot of munitions. And that means the American people are less safe,”
Kelly told CBS News’ Face the Nation.
The
latest outburst from Hegseth came after Kelly spoke Sunday to CBS News’
Face the Nation about a classified briefing on the Iran War and U.S.
weapons stockpiles.
Kelly said it was “shocking
how deep we have gone into these magazines” amid the war in Iran and
that it would take years to replenish the stockpiles of Tomahawks, Army
Tactical Missile System weapons, Patriot missiles and other missile
systems. The U.S. spent weeks sending missiles and other munitions into
Iran before a ceasefire in the attacks.
In response, Hegseth lashed out.
“Captain’
Mark Kelly strikes again,” Hegseth posted on X. “Now he’s blabbing on
TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he
received. Did he violate his oath…again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will
review.”
Kelly immediately shot back on social
media, saying Kelly and Hegseth had this discussion in an open committee
hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
The
threat of a new probe comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit appears likely to affirm that Hegseth's
disciplinary action against Kelly for telling service members they "can
refuse illegal orders" will fail.
President
Donald Trump accused Kelly and five other Democrats — Rep. Jason Crow,
D-Colo., Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy
Houlahan, D-Pa., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. — of engaging in
"SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" when they appeared in a video
in November and condemned lethal military strikes on alleged drug
smugglers' boats in international waters.
Kelly
himself replied to Hegseth with the video below and wrote: “We had this
conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take
‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles. That's not classified,
it's a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and
the president still haven't explained to the American people what the
goal is.”
Washington Post
military affairs correspondent Dan Lamothe also joined the discussion,
writing: “Secretary Hegseth is again threatening Sen. Mark Kelly with
legal action here. In this case, the comments from Kelly that Hegseth is
claiming are an issue do not address specific munition numbers. That’s
generally where classification comes into play. No sign of that here.”
Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:
Washington, D.C. – Today—as Trump proposes to slash
domestic investments to help pay for a defense spending increase of
roughly half a trillion dollars—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice
Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following
statement after a new report found the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program saves participating Washington state families over $19,000 a year on child care.
“Trump is asking Congress to increase his war budget by $500
billion dollars and even said: ‘’We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care
of day care.’ Well, as a former preschool teacher and mom, I think that
is just absurd,” said Senator Murray. “This is not a
question of what’s possible—it’s a question of priorities. President
Trump and congressional Republicans want to spend your taxpayer dollars
on costly wars and golden ballrooms, and I’d like to help more families
afford child care. Instead of dumping trillions of dollars into Trump’s
reckless wars, we could be expanding crucial programs like CCDBG—we
could be saving families thousands of dollars a year on child care. Half
a trillion dollars would make high-quality child care affordable for
every family that needs it, and it would mean employers wouldn’t have to
worry about their employees missing work because they couldn’t find
child care. The child care crisis is holding back families and holding
back our economy. But putting the kind of money Trump is talking about
for war into child care instead would make a world of change for all
families.”
A new report
has detailed how CCDBG subsidies help families in Washington state
afford child care for kids under the age of five. The average cost of
child care in Washington state is over $21,000 a year, or almost $1,800
per month. For families who qualify, CCDBG brings the cost of child care
down to a maximum of $1,980 a year, or $165 per month for a family of
three in Washington state. But, of the over 118,000 children who are
eligible in Washington state to be served by CCDBG, only 15,435 kids are
being served at the current funding levels—that means only 13% of kids
who have families who are struggling to afford child care, are receiving
support. Senator Murray has long pushed to change that and played a
critical role in securing historic funding increases for the CCDBG
program to help serve more families.
As Trump proposes spending $1.5 trillion on the defense
budget—roughly half a trillion more than this year—raising costs on
everyday essentials for working families, Senator Murray is leading
Democrats in Congress to continue their push to help working people make
ends meet—including by tackling the child care crisis. In the FY26
appropriations bills Senator Murray secured $8.8
billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program
(CCDBG)—an $85 million or increase over fiscal year 2025—and $12.36
billion for Head Start, an $85 million increase over last year’s funding
level. Sustained annual increases of federal investments in child care
and Head Start are critical in tackling the child care crisis and
helping to ensure more families can find and afford the quality,
affordable child care and early childhood education options they need.
Senator Murray also protected funding for Preschool Development Grants,
which President Trump and House Republicans pushed to eliminate.
Senator Murray is Congress’ top advocate for child care, and her Child Care for Working Families Act would
tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the
child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options,
stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers
taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The
legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, and support
full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head
Start workers. Under the legislation, which Senator Murray has introduced every
Congress since 2017, the typical family in America will pay no more
than $15 a day for child care—with many families paying nothing at
all—and no eligible family will pay more than 7% of their income on
child care.
Ice-T is looking back at the funny side of Tupac Shakur.
The
two West Coast rappers took the stage together in May 1996 on Fox's
brief response to late-night sketch comedy, Saturday Night Special. In
an episode that aired 30 years ago, Shakur initially performed his
single "Only God Can Judge Me."
Then, he and
Ice-T got together to perform an unlikely tune, Barbra Streisand and
Neil Diamond's "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." Ice-T recently shared a
clip from the show on X, calling the "rare" performance "a surprisingly
tender (and funny) duet."
"Pac trying not to laugh makes it even better. Pure iconic, lighthearted energy," he wrote.
Rapper
Isaiah Rashad speaks on “The Breakfast Club” radio show about the
internal work he did to accept his bisexuality following the May 1
release of his first studio album “It’s Been Awful” in five years.
The
34-year-old artist, whose real name is Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain,
signed with Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) record label in 2013, and
released his first album “Cilvia Demo” the following year.
McClain
explained that he has spent the last few years deconstructing his
masculinity and getting to know himself because there is no established
manual for navigating life as a bisexual Black man, HotNewHipHop
reported.
“At some point, I’ve accepted that
they don’t make a manual for being a bisexual Black men. It was less
hiding myself from anything, and more so not knowing how to not be
ostracized,” McClain told radio show co-hosts Charlamagne Tha God, whose
real name is Lenard Larry McKelvey, and Lauren LaRosa.
This
period of self-reflection follows a 2022 incident where sex tapes of
McClain with men were non-consensually leaked online, eventually
prompting him to identify as sexually fluid during a subsequent media
interview, according to TheGrio.
Adam
Lambert announced the release date for his upcoming sixth solo studio
album on Friday morning (May 8). ADAM, is due out on July 10 on his own
More is More label, distributed by The Orchard. He previewed the
12-track collection with the sultry, vampire love come-on grinder "Eat U
Alive," a classic mash-up of Lambert's legendarily sky-high, powerhouse
vocals, industrial beats and dark, simmering sensuality.
"You
know my love's gonna eat you alive/ Swallow you up when you come take a
bite/ I want you/ In the night, sinkin' teeth/ Into you, into me/ Eat
you alive," he wails on the urgent chorus.
The
album from the solo star and Queen vocalist was executive produced by
Pete Nappi (Jonas Brothers, Rihanna) and features a "fully realized
exploration into all facets of Lambert's humanity and otherworldly
artistry," according to a release.
Inspired
by 90s alternative rock and electronica, the album is "the perfect
primer into my next musical chapter," the singer said in a statement. "I
wanted to create songs that fit into a world reminiscent of the music
that made a formative impact on me in the 90s and early 00's," he added,
citing such influences as Nine Inch Nails, Björk, Prince, Muse,
Goldfrapp, Daft Punk, George Michael, Massive Attack and the Crystal
Method.
"The album explores both the light and
shade of life and the razor's edge that separates a positive experience
from a negative one. I hope these songs connect with anyone who has been
through the confusing but necessary process of self-acceptance,"
Lambert said. "There was a real liberation in acknowledging my own
weaknesses and strengths. Accepting the bad and the good all together.
Revolutionary for someone who always thought of himself as a
perfectionist and Idealist."
American
pop star Ashnikko says MAGA hats are out for the rest of her
“Smoochies” tour. The 30-year-old North Carolina native paused her show
in Miami on Wednesday to make the rule crystal clear to the crowd. “I
would just like to reaffirm that MAGA hats are not f-----g allowed at my
shows,” the singer announced as fans erupted in cheers. The warning
came a day after a concertgoer wearing a bright red “Make America Great
Again” hat was heckled at Ashnikko’s Orlando show. Videos circulating
online show the crowd chanting in unison, “F--k Donald Trump,” before
security approached the attendee. After a brief exchange, the man
ultimately left the venue early. Ashnikko has long been outspoken about
their progressive politics and queer identity. In a 2023 interview with
The Forty Five, they described their music as a celebration of “queer
sex and queer love.” The singer has also spoken openly about growing up
in a conservative household and struggling with internalized shame
before eventually embracing their identity as gender-fluid.
The
man accused of stealing Beyoncé's personal belongings, including hard
drives containing unreleased music, is set to stand trial after he
pleaded not guilty and reportedly turned down a plea deal.
Suspect
Kelvin Evans is scheduled to go to trial on Monday, May 11, per
reports. According to CBS News, Evans was offered a plea deal in April
that included five years in prison on the felony charge of entering a
motor vehicle with intent to commit theft along with 12 months for the
misdemeanor criminal trespassing charge to be served concurrently. Evans
rejected the offer. So he could face up to six years in prison if
convicted.
In September, Atlanta Police Department
confirmed Evans was arrested and taken into custody by Hapeville police
officers on Aug. 26, 2025. He was booked into the Fulton County jail.
During that time, the stolen items were recovered. USA TODAY reached out
to Beyoncé's team for comment but did not receive a response.
In
the early aughts and early 2010s, many listeners found The Black Keys
through commercials. There was Nissan and Cadillac and Victoria's
Secret. The duo's bluesy rock 'n' roll has a grungy, up-tempo feel that
feels subversive, and that style win them half a dozen Grammys.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "GOLD ON THE CEILING")
THE BLACK KEYS: (Singing) They want to get my gold on the ceiling. I ain't blind. Just a matter of time.
FENG:
Fifteen years later, they're still going strong, and they're
experimenting with some variations to that bleeding electric guitar
sound. Their new album "Peaches!" is something of a return to the
blues-heavy rhythms that drove their early career. Dan Auerbach and
Patrick Carney of The Black Keys join me now from their tour bus on the
side of the road on the way to Mississippi. Thank you, guys, and
welcome.
PATRICK CARNEY: Thanks for having us.
DAN AUERBACH: Thank you.
FENG:
So I want to begin with your lead track. It's a cover of a Willie
Griffin song called "Where There's Smoke, There's Fire." Can we listen
to a little bit of it.
AUERBACH: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S FIRE")
WILLIE GRIFFIN: (Singing) There's fire. I'm burning for you. I need your love.
FENG: I'm curious, why did this song call out to you?
AUERBACH:
Well, I think that the song - just the recording, the original
recording - is just kind of haunting and spooky and weird and maniacally
out of tune. And I just remember, the first time I heard it, it kind of
blew me away.
FENG: And what did you do with that magic? How did you adapt it to something that sounded more like The Black Keys?
AUERBACH:
Well, we didn't think about it, honestly, and we didn't reference the
original. And, you know, most of the people in the group recording with
us had never heard the original, either. So I think that's really what
helped, you know?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHERE THERE'S SMOKE, THERE'S FIRE")
THE BLACK KEYS: (Singing) Where there's smoke, babe, there's fire. Where there's smoke, babe, there's fire.
AUERBACH:
So I wrote the lyrics out and had them on a music stand and kind of
just figured out the chords. And we just - we went for it without really
any plan. We kind of got to the core of what we sound like more so than
if we'd tried to do something and spent hours and weeks, you know,
honing it, you know? I think what came out was basic gut instinct.
Monday, May 11, 2026. John Oliver examines The Crooked Court, Puny Pete
Hegseth slaps another false accusation on Senator Mark Kelly, Chump's
immigration problems continue, Chump goes on a late night rant, and much
more.
Last night on LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER, John took on The Shadow Docket.
Oil prices rose and stock futures ticked
down on Monday as investors reacted after the two sides failed to agree
on a U.S.-Iran peace deal.
President
Trump said on social media Sunday that Iran’s latest proposal was
“TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” He did not share details about what Iran had
offered. Tehran has said the two countries are working on a short-term agreement
that would pause fighting for another 30 days and end Iran’s blockade
of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil and gas shipping route in the Persian
Gulf.
Iran’s demands for
U.S. war reparations, recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of
Hormuz and an end to American sanctions were among the conditions that
President Trump has deemed “unacceptable,” Iran’s state-owned
broadcaster reported on Monday.
The
terms were detailed in a social media post by Islamic Republic of Iran
Broadcasting after Mr. Trump on Sunday dismissed an Iranian
counterproposal as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.” Mr. Trump did not specify his
objections to the deal, which was passed via Pakistani mediators.
UAW's Will Lehman issued the following statement regarding the Iran War last week:
Brothers and sisters,
On Saturday, April 25, I introduced a resolution against the US-Israeli imperialist war on Iran at a meeting of UAW Local 677, which includes the Mack Trucks plant where I work. The local apparatus voted it down 7–1, with mine the only vote in favor.
There is enormous opposition among autoworkers to the war, to the attacks on democratic rights at home, and to the diversion of trillions into militarism while living standards are slashed. But the UAW apparatus has aligned itself with the war drive of the government and the corporations, enforcing nationalism while workers are told to “sacrifice” for policies that benefit only the financial oligarchy.
The resolution denounces the war as the supreme international crime as established at Nuremberg, condemns Trump’s threat to “end a whole civilization” as incitement to genocide, opposes the conversion of auto and auto parts production to military output, and demands the immediate disbanding of ICE and CBP as agencies of repression. It calls for the formation of rank-and-file committees in every local — independent of and not subordinate to the union bureaucracy — to take this fight forward.
The fight against war cannot be waged through the officials who support it. I urge workers to read, print, and distribute this resolution widely in your workplaces, present it at your local, and use it to organize discussion and action independent of the bureaucracy.
Donald Trump has gone on a desperate social media posting spree to try to hide just how unpopular a president he is.
In a typically deranged Truth Social blitz starting Sunday night, the 79-year-old posted: “Excellent Poll Numbers. Thank You!”
It is unclear where Trump is seeing these “excellent” poll numbers, as the president is routinely recording dire approval ratings amid his deeply unpopular war on Iran and his handling of the U.S. economy.
In a further 17 Truth Social updates posted over the next hour, the
president shared numerous pieces of AI-generated slop on various topics,
along with fawning praise from MAGA accounts, appearing to self-soothe
over the success of his second term.
Trump
was so desperate to share acclaim from his loyal supporters that he
even posted a polling story that is at least nine months old.
Soon
after boasting about his supposedly “excellent” polling, the president
shared another post about a CNN survey showing Trump had surpassed
Ronald Reagan as the “most beloved president among Republicans.”
The poll appears to refer to polling aggregation reported by CNN in July 2025. A more up-to-date story on the president, showing approval ratings in the low to mid-30s, was published by CNN last week under the headline: “Charting how Trump became a historically unpopular president.”
A released a study
that looked at Latino immigrant labor employment across every major red
and blue state across the country. Researchers found that Texas and
Florida, among the loudest anti-immigration states, depend on immigrant
labor at about the roughly the same rates as California and more than
New York. In other words, red states can’t function without the very
people they say they want to deport.
Red state conservatives
attack immigrants publicly, so no one looks too closely at their own
behavior. As Shakespeare once wrote: “The lady doth protest too much,
methinks.”
A good example of someone “protesting too much” has been Donald Trump, who has repeatedly attacked undocumented migrants as “animals” who “poison the blood of our country.”
Given those types of comments, it is more than ironic that the Trump Tower in Manhattan was built by employing undocumented Polish workers in 1980s, while Trump was telling Americans that immigrants were stealing their jobs. Trump’s golf courses hired undocumented workers for decades. Of course, Trump will deny all of these facts as “fake news.”
Trump
and MAGA need you to hate immigrants, so you don’t notice they’re the
ones hiring immigrants. The louder the outrage, the bigger the secret
they’re hiding from the public.
By the way, aren’t we still waiting for millions of more documents to be released from the Epstein files?
Bob Chimis, Elmwood Park
And let's note a letter to the editors of THE SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS:
After
years demanding indiscriminate immigration crackdowns, they’re now
shocked to learn that driving away workers leaves no workers.
The same politicians who cheered mass deportation suddenly bemoan labor shortages and slower growth.
That’s not policy. It’s political theater with real world costs.
For
more than a decade, Texas leaders blocked immigration reform, sued to
stop legal pathways and turned border security into a prop.
Now
crops rot, construction stalls and restaurants can’t hire. You can’t
demand mass deportation on Monday and complain about missing workers on
Tuesday.
Texas
has always relied on immigrant labor. Our economy knows it. San Antonio
knows it. Only politicians trapped in their own contradictions pretend
otherwise.
If they want workers, they can drop the stunts and finally pass real bipartisan immigration reform.
The United States Department of
Justice on Friday filed a motion urging a federal judge to immediately
prohibit New Mexico officials from enforcing House Bill 9, the Immigrant Safety Act, saying the new state law is unconstitutional and would irreparably harm a New Mexico county.
The law prohibits public entities
like counties from contracting with the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agency to hold immigrant detainees. The law has faced sustained pushback
in Otero County, where county officials say the measure will result in
the loss of up to 284 jobs and force the county to sell its immigrant
detention facility, the Otero County Processing Center, at a loss.
The federal DOJ’s Civil Division and
the United State’s Attorney’s Office in New Mexico filed the motion for a
preliminary injunction Friday in federal court. The defendants are the
State of New Mexico, including Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Attorney
General Raúl Torrez.
The 49-page motion
alleges that House Bill 9, which goes into effect May 20, amounts to an
unconstitutional regulation of the federal government and its
responsibility to detain and remove undocumented immigrants.
ICE
continues to terrorize this country and the people in it. Markwayne
Mullen is not in charge. Tom Homan is. Tom Homan who, ahead of the
2024 presidential election, took a bribe -- $50,000 -- and that got
swept aside once Chump was sworn in.
He's a law enforcement officer . . . who took a bribe. That makes him dirty. And yet Chump allows him to oversee ICE.
As Mother’s Day approaches, a group of
senators are raising the alarm about the “appalling and horrific
treatment” of pregnant and nursing people in immigration detention. On
Thursday, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie K. Hirono
(D-Hawaii), and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) wrote to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin demanding information about the treatment of this vulnerable group, and urging the agency to release pregnant women from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
Their letter comes on the heels of new legislationintroduced
this week by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) that would establish
care standards for federally incarcerated pregnant people—including
those jailed in ICE and Customs and Border Protection facilities. The
bill builds on one that the House already passed in 2022, which only
applied to those in Bureau of Prison’s custody.
It’s hard to know how many pregnant people are in federal custody, and what percentage of those are immigrants. In 2023, more than 700 incarcerated mothers gave birth in prison,
according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Between January 1, 2025, and
February 16, 2026, 363 pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants were
deported, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Sixteen
miscarriages were recorded during those six weeks. As of March, there
were an estimated 126 pregnant women still being held in detention,
according to the senators’ letter.
The care those who are pregnant in detention receive—or don’t
receive—varies widely depending on the state they’re in, or even the
individual facility. Federal guidelines are sparse: There are no federal
rules on prenatal nutrition for incarcerated mothers, and some
facilities still reportedly shackle pregnant inmates, even around their
bellies. Some mothers are separated from their newborns only moments
after birth. These practices can put mothers’ lives in danger, and can
lead to miscarriages, psychological, and physical trauma.
The the laughable First Lady gave a speech last week -- and typed
it up as a column for THE WASHINGTON POST -- proclaiming the importance
of motherhood. But she didn't mean the women in detention -- the women
who need the help the most. No, she's just a blithering egomaniac like
her husband. She's trashy, she's uncouth, she's garbage.
She
lied to get citizenship -- she wasn't a college graduate and did not
qualify for genius status -- but. like her husband, she feels rules are
for other people. Motherhood includes children being schooled and
Melania doesn't give a damn about immigrant children being schooled. Sarah Matusek (CHRISTIAN SCINCE MONITOR) notes:
U.S. states can’t bar immigrant children – no matter their status –
from attending public school. The Supreme Court said so in 1982.
A
growing chorus of Republicans wants to overturn that decision. Bills in
state legislatures over the past year have unsuccessfully aimed to
collect data on immigrant students without legal status or charge them
tuition. Passing that sort of legislation could put the issue back in
front of the Supreme Court someday.
“It’s time for it to go,” Rep.
Chip Roy, who’s also running in the Republican primary for Texas
attorney general, said of the court ruling during a congressional
hearing in March. “Any amount of illegal immigration in our hospitals,
jails, schools, or elsewhere should not be tolerated. ... States should
have the ability to curb it.”
Critics of the landmark decision – Plyler v. Doe – say that educating
unauthorized immigrant children is expensive and that cash-strapped
school districts should focus limited resources on American kids.
Immigrant advocates say children who entered the United States illegally
deserve the same access to schools as their American-born peers,
arguing that free education helps shield against poverty.
As the death toll at immigrant detention centers across the country continues to rise, the Trump administration is kneecapping federal efforts to monitor allegations of abuse at these facilities.
You may have heard of Camp East Montana earlier this year, after a medical examiner determined that an immigrant who was being held there died by homicide via asphyxia, contradicting officials who said the man died after attempting suicide. Last month, NPR reported that
the number of immigrants to have died in the custody of U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already hit a record annual high
in the current fiscal year, which began in October. And CBS News reported that a record high for the calendar year is possible as well.
Meanwhile, the administration is undermining efforts to investigate
unlawful and abusive behavior toward detained immigrants. HuffPost
reported on an internal email, which MS NOW hasn’t independently seen,
indicating that the Department of Homeland Security is closing an office
tasked with investigating claims of abuse at immigration facilities.
The internal Department of Homeland Security office that oversees detention facilities
and conditions is winding down its operations — even as the
administration places more people in detention, and for longer stints.
Congress
created the Office of Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) in 2019 to
investigate detainee deaths, detainee access to medical care, and
employee misconduct, among other issues.
In a statement to NPR,
DHS said the office shut down because of the current funding lapse in
Congress targeting immigration enforcement.
Congress last week finally ended
the longest agency shutdown in U.S. history, agreeing to fund most
parts of DHS — but excluding some immigration enforcement functions.
DHS
said that it is Congress' fault. DHS who lies regularly to the
American people and the American legal system. They're lying again.
Republicans
are separately looking at a partisan process known as reconciliation to
fund all of DHS, including ICE and Border Patrol, for the remainder of
Trump's term without any Democratic support. It is not clear if OIDO
would reopen if ICE and Border Patrol are funded.
Even before the shutdown, the Trump administration had been stripping down the office's functions and laying off staff in civil rights areas. That comes as the number of people who have died in immigration custody has reached an all-time high for the fiscal year.
While Melania ignored the mothers in need, American Friends Service Committee doesn't. They issued the following:
Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the women who
raised us—to honor their love, their sacrifice, their strength. But
today, thousands of immigrant mothers are separated from their children
and loved ones by detention. Across the U.S., mothers are locked up in
immigration detention centers. Many more are left to care for their
families alone after a loved one is detained or deported.
No
one should be torn away from their loved ones. Families should never be
separated by walls or borders. That’s why, with your support, AFSC is
working alongside communities across the country to end detention for
good.
This week, dozens
of community members in San Diego, California, and Denver, Colorado,
showed up for mothers in detention. We wanted everyone behind those
walls to know that people outside stand in solidarity with them, that
they are not forgotten.
In
Colorado, community members gathered for a vigil outside the GEO
Detention Center in Aurora. We held handmade signs and candles and
delivered our messages through a megaphone so everyone inside could
hear.
In San Diego, many community members came together to make Mother’s Day cards for people in detention. On Friday, we brought the cards and yellow flowers to Otay Mesa Detention Center, where we hoped they would be delivered to people inside.
These
acts of solidarity are one part of a broader effort to support families
facing detention. They also highlight the cruelty of our immigration
system.
“Writing a
Mother's Day card to someone who is currently being detained exemplifies
the idea that everyday people are thinking about those who have been
deprived of their freedom,” says Adriana Jasso, coordinator for AFSC’s
U.S-Mexico Border Program. “We need to communicate to the public that
immigration law and policies—as harmful as they are—don’t just impact
mothers being held, but also their children and extended community. We
have a responsibility to call out the inhumanity of a system that
continues to take away people’s freedom and potentially their future.”
Since
the start of the Trump administration, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) has vastly expanded detention and deportation. ICE has
detained the parents of at least 50 U.S. citizen children per day, according to research by ProPublica. It has also deported four times as many mothers of U.S. citizen children per day as the previous administration did.
The people behind these numbers are mothers, children, and whole communities.
From California to New Jersey, AFSC provides
direct support to families impacted by detention and deportation. That
includes legal representation, social work, accompaniment, and other
support.
In Florida, AFSC is part of the Miramar Circle of Protection.
Since 2017, the group has offered mutual aid, information, and other
resources to immigrants navigating the immigration system.
Every
Wednesday, AFSC staff and volunteers set up across the street from the
local ICE facility in Miramar. We offer water, coffee, homemade
pasteles, clothing, Know Your Rights information, and legal referrals.
When someone comes for an ICE appointment and gets detained, our team
documents what they can and helps families locate their loved ones.
AFSC
Campaigns Coordinator Maria Bilbao helped found the Circle of
Protection. In recent months, she says the group has assisted mothers
facing eviction, deportation, and family separation.
Gladis
is a mother of two. Her youngest was just two weeks old when ICE
detained her husband while he was walking to the neighborhood store.
Without her husband’s income, Gladis couldn’t pay the rent or afford
groceries or diapers. The Circle of Protection mobilized, helping raise
funds from the community to cover her rent for three months and other
expenses until she figured out her next steps.
Doris
and her husband were both detained and facing deportation. Maria
connected them with legal help to get their affairs in order. The
parents made the difficult decision to return to Honduras with their
young children. Maria helped Doris get passports for their children so
they could make the journey together.
Ana*
came to the Circle of Protection after her husband was deported during
an ICE check-in at the facility. She didn’t know how she was going to
support their family. The group provided her with some financial
assistance. They brought toys for her kids. And they connected with a
local immigrant services organization that could offer long-term
support.
“We are not
charity,” Maria says. “We are showing up. We are bearing witness. We are
documenting everything we’re seeing. We are there every day to stand
with immigrants facing detention and injustice.”
This
is what community looks like—people choosing to show up for one
another. None of this work happens without people who believe families
belong together and that all people deserve to live in dignity.
Because
of supporters like you, we can walk alongside mothers like Gladis,
Dori, and Ana—offering care, resources, and solidarity in the hardest
moments.
This Mother's
Day, we stand with every mother harmed by detention and deportation. We
stand with every family forced to navigate this inhumane system. And we
will keep standing until every mother can spend this day where she
belongs—with her children, her family, and her community.
Pope Leo XIV’s pick to lead West
Virginia Catholics is a prelate who was at one time an undocumented
immigrant. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, who has served as an auxiliary bishop
in the archdiocese of Washington D.C. since 2023 and has now been
selected by the pontiff to become the new bishop of West Virginia, is a
Central American immigrant who fled for his life hidden in the trunk of a
car, The Guardianreports.
“Born on 14 August 1970, in
Chalatenango, El Salvador, Menjivar-Ayala’s journey to the priesthood
began in the violence of the Salvadorian civil war, where he and his
family narrowly survived being fired upon by soldiers while fleeing
their home, he previously told the Catholic Standard,” The Guardian
said. “After two failed attempts to reach the US, hindered by
deportation and a guide who deserted the migrant group, he finally
succeeded on his third try, despite a brief imprisonment in Mexico and a
grueling desert crossing.”
Menjivar-Ayala, who arrived in the
U.S. with just an extra set of clothes as his only possessions, worked a
series of essential jobs in construction and janitorial services while
earning his GED before entering the priesthood, The Guardian noted.
During a press event announcing his elevation to bishop of West Virginia, Menjivar-Ayala pledged
to stand by working people, including immigrants. Menjivar-Ayala has
already asserted fierce support for immigrant communities as
Washington’s auxiliary bishop, including penning an April 2025 National Catholic Reporter op-ed
that rebuked the federal government’s mass deportation agenda and urged
faithful to not be complicit in the targeting of their neighbors.
“To those of you who are silent or
think this does not involve you, to those of you who are not troubled by
this — or worse, who applaud it — particularly those who are Catholic, I
ask you: Do you not see the suffering of your neighbors?” he wrote. “Do
you not realize the pain and misery and very real fear and anxiety
these unjust government operations and policies are causing? Is your
conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet? In the final teaching
of his public ministry, Jesus warned that we will be judged on how we
respond to others in distress (Mt 25:41-46).”
Since his election on May 8 last year, Pope Leo XIV
has named numerous bishops to fill posts around the world, also in the
USA. Before becoming pope, Cardinal Robert Prevost was himself in charge
of proposing new bishops for established Latin Rite dioceses around the
world. So, while such decisions are never taken lightly, Leo XIV is
particularly keyed in to the needs and criteria involved.
As of May 6, 2026, he has made 26 appointments of bishops for his
homeland. This includes raising priests to the bishopric, elevating
auxiliary bishops to new dioceses, and transferring ordinary bishops to
new sees. Eleven of these bishops — 42% — were born outside the United
States. Sixteen of them are under 60 years old, and the youngest is 45.
Only three come from religious communities: a Jesuit, a Benedictine, and
an Oratorian. They come from countries across North and South America,
Asia, and Africa (but not Europe). Among them are a former undocumented
immigrant from El Salvador and two former refugees from Vietnam.
This diversity reflects the diversity of the Church in America
itself. Immigrants have of course always been a key Catholic demographic
in the USA, since it is itself a nation of immigrants. However, over
the past century their countries of origin have mostly shifted away from
Europe.
Just in the first week of May this year, Leo XIV has appointed five bishops. On May 1, 2026, he made four episcopal appointments:
two of them are immigrants, and a third will be the youngest bishop in
the country. The fourth was a later vocation with a background in
military service. Then, on May 6, he named the fifth, tapping a Jesuit
priest to head the Diocese of Honolulu.
More than 200 people gathered May 6 at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in
Detroit to discuss the Church’s prophetic witness regarding the debates
surrounding immigration and the impact current federal policy has had
on immigrant communities over the past two years.
Priests,
bishops, parish leaders and immigration rights advocates from 10
dioceses participated in “Witness to Hope: Pastoral Care of Immigrant
Communities,” a collaborative effort between the Archdiocese of Detroit,
Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan, the Hope Border Institute in
El Paso, Texas, and the Center for Migration Studies of New York, to
discuss what the Church can do at the parish and diocesan levels to
accompany immigrant communities amidst the expansion of immigration
enforcement initiatives taking place during President Donald Trump’s
second administration.
This was the third daylong summit, following previous “Witness to Hope” gatherings in Providence, Rhode Island, and Phoenix, Arizona, in recent months.
“The
goal here today is to get us energized to take the next steps as
dioceses, parishes, religious congregations or as groups of Catholic
organizations, because some of you might be doing pretty well in a lot
of things,” said Fr. David Buersmeyer, a priest for the Archdiocese of
Detroit and chaplain for Strangers No Longer, a Detroit-based, lay-led
Catholic immigration rights advocacy group.
An
Atlanta-based appeals court has struck down the Trump administration’s
mandatory detention policy for immigrants in federal custody, clearing
the way for more people to wait at home while their deportation cases
wind through the court system.
In a 2-1 decision issued Wednesday
by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel ruled
that the Department of Homeland Security can no longer deny bond
hearings to people in immigration detention, including those who have
been living in the U.S. for years with no criminal records.
An
increasingly desperate Pete Hegseth threatened fresh legal action
against a Democratic senator for his criticism of Donald Trump’s war on
Iran.
The defense secretary’s campaign against Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona was dealt a blow on Thursday, when a federal appeals court signaled that it would not support his effort to punish Kelly over a video in which he and other lawmakers told servicemembers they could refuse illegal orders.
In February, another court blocked
his attempt to censure and demote the 62-year-old senator, who flew 39
combat missions over Iraq during the Gulf War before serving as a NASA
astronaut.
Determined
to defeat Kelly by any means necessary, Hegseth issued a new threat on X
on Sunday evening in response to comments Kelly made on CBS News’ Face the Nation.
Speaking
to host Margaret Brennan, Kelly said that it was “shocking how deep we
have gone” into U.S. weapons stockpiles during Trump’s war on Iran.
“Because
this president got our country into this without a strategic goal,
without a plan, without a timeline... because of that, we’ve expended a
lot of munitions. And that means the American people are less safe,”
Kelly said.
Responding to a post from Brennan on X about Kelly’s claim, Hegseth wrote,
“‘Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again. Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely
& dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received. Did he
violate his oath…again?” He ended his post with a note that the
Pentagon’s legal counsel will review whether or not Kelly violated his
oath.
Kelly was quick to respond, sharing a video of an interaction he had with Hegseth during the Pentagon chief’s appearance in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month.
“We
had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it
would take “years” to replenish some of these stockpiles,” Kelly wrote.
“That’s
not classified, it’s a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious
cost and you and the president still haven’t explained to the American
people what the goal is.”
Let's wind down with this from Senator Alex Padilla:
California gas prices are up more than $1.50 per gallon since the start of Trump’s war with Iran
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Californians face rising gas
prices driven by the Trump Administration’s ongoing war in Iran, U.S.
Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.)
and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in introducing the Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act to crack down on petroleum market manipulation and protect consumers from unjustified price spikes at the pump.
The bill would create a new Transportation Fuel Monitoring and
Enforcement Unit at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to proactively
monitor fuel markets for fraud, manipulation, and anti-competitive
behavior that can artificially inflate prices. It would also increase
transparency across fuel markets and significantly raise penalties for
bad actors.
California drivers consistently pay among the highest gas prices in
the nation, with costs often spiking faster and higher than the national
average during periods of global disruption — putting added pressure on
working families, small businesses, and commuters across the state.
“At a time when Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran is driving up
costs, we need stronger oversight to ensure oil companies and traders
aren’t exploiting the moment to pad their profits,” said Senator Padilla.
“This bill will bring greater transparency to fuel markets, hold bad
actors accountable, and help protect consumers across California.”
The Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act would:
Strengthen Oversight: Enhance the FTC’s authority to crack down on
false reporting or deceptive practices that artificially inflate fuel
prices across gasoline, diesel, and biofuels markets.
Establish Dedicated Monitoring: Create a permanent FTC unit
responsible for continuously tracking crude oil and fuel markets to
identify irregularities and protect consumers.
Target Market Manipulation: Empower regulators to investigate and
penalize companies engaging in price manipulation, abuse of market
power, or other anti-competitive practices.
Increase Penalties: Double the maximum penalty for market manipulation to $2 million per day, per violation.
Improve Transparency: Expand federal data collection and public
reporting on fuel supply and pricing to promote fair competition and
prevent price gouging.
The legislation builds on previous efforts to strengthen federal
oversight of energy markets, similar to authorities granted to the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CFTC), which have successfully policed manipulation
in electricity and financial markets.
Despite having similar authority since 2007, the FTC has not
consistently used its tools to monitor and enforce against manipulation
in petroleum markets. This bill would ensure those authorities are fully
utilized to protect consumers — including millions of Californians who
rely on their cars every day.
A one-page summary of the Transportation Fuel Market Transparency Act is available here.
