Israel stages massive strikes against Gaza
Israel staged massive strikes into Gaza, killing more than 400 Palestinians according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. The White House says that it was consulted and supports Israel’s actions. Hamas accuses Israel of breaking the ceasefire, which had been scheduled to move into phase two by now. Israel accused Hamas of refusing to continue with its release of hostages it is holding.
New Canadian prime minister says Trump needs to be quieter
Canada’s new Prime Minister Mark Carney says Donald Trump needs to tone down his rhetoric about Canada because the disrespectful comments he’s been making are not helping relations between the two countries. Carney says that he’s prepared to sit down with Trump and hold serous discussions about issues dividing the countries, such as Trump’s imposition of trade tariffs. Carney said that as of this morning he has not talked with Trump since being sworn in as prime minister last Friday.
Trump claims he revoking pardons issued by Biden
Donald Trump says that he is revoking presidential pardons issued by President Biden. However, tradition and law do not allow one president to revoke the pardons issued by another president. Trump claims that Biden did not actually sign the pardons that were issued as his term was coming to a close and that an autopen machine was used. The legality of government documents signed by autopen has been upheld in the past. Biden issued the pardons to protect people from political prosecution by Trump. Among the people pardoned by Biden who had been threatened by Trump with prosecution were former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, current U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, General Mark Milley, and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Trump Administration has new plan that would cripple Social Security
After a huge outcry forced it to drop its plan to cut off phone service for Social Security, the Trump Administration has a new plan that would make it more difficult for people to receive needed services. The new plan would require anyone who wants to talk to Social Security on the phone to first go online or show up in-person at a Social Security office with documents that prove their identify. The plan coincides with existing plans to close Social Security offices around the country. It’s estimated that the new plan would create an additional 4.1 million in-person visits to Social Security offices each year that would jam the offices and cause the system to break down. Donald Trump’s largest campaign contributor, Elon Musk advocates privatizing Social Security.
Trump aide Miller accuses federal judge of violating the law
White House aide Stephen Miller, who is one of the architects of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, accuses Federal Judge James Boasberg of violating the law by ordering the administration to temporarily stop flying Venezuelan immigrants to El Salvador where they were put into a prison and are being held without due process. Judge Boasberg had ordered the administration to immediately stop the flights and bring the immigrants back to the U.S. The Trump Administration refused to obey. Miller alleges that Boasberg had no right to rule against the Trump Administration because it was using a law from 1798 called the Alien Enemies Act.
Google acquires digital security firm for $32 billion
Google today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wiz, Inc., a cloud security company headquartered in New York, for $32 billion. Google said that the acquisition represents an investment to accelerate two growing trends in the era of artificial intelligence: improved cloud security and the ability to use multiple clouds. Google says that the increased role of AI, and adoption of cloud services, have dramatically changed the security landscape for customers, making cybersecurity increasingly important. It says what Wiz has is an easy-to-use security platform that connects to all major clouds and computer code environments to help prevent cybersecurity incidents.
