Injunction issued to stop Trump Administration from cutting research funds
New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 21 other attorneys general have convinced a federal judge to issue a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, from cutting billions of dollars in funding. The money supports cutting-edge medical and public health research at institutions across the country. The new order extends the protections of a Temporary Restraining Order and bars the administration from cutting the funding. The next step after the preliminary injunction would be issuance of a permanent injunction.
Trump Administration plans cuts at Veterans Affairs
The chief of staff at Veterans Affairs says the agency is planning to cut 80,000 employees. An internal memo from Christopher Syrek was seen by both CNN and the Associated Press, although CNN yesterday reported the number of job cuts as 70,000. The memo talks about a major reorganization at Veterans Affairs, which is charged with providing health care and other services for veterans. It is not clear how slashing the staff and reorganizing could allow the VA to continue providing the services to veterans that it currently provides. It also would seem to contradict Donald Trump’s campaign pledges not to cut government help for veterans.
The measles outbreak grows to nine states
Cases of measles have now been reported in nine states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now reports 164 cases of the disease that at one time had been declared to be eliminated from the U.S. due to vaccination. Most of the new cases involve children who have not been vaccinated. There is no known cure for measles, and the number of new cases continues to grow as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., continues to badmouth vaccination. Kennedy recommends the use of caster oil and Vitamin A as treatments for measles, even though there are no scientific studies showing them to act against the measles virus.
U.S. holding direct talks with Hamas
Donald Trump has reversed the U.S. policy of not negotiating with terrorists and has started talks with Hamas, the terrorist group that attacked Israel. The U.S. declared that Hamas was a terrorist organization almost 30 years ago. An administration spokesman said that Israel was aware that the U.S. was holding direct talks with Hamas and that the purpose of the talks was to put more pressure on Hamas to release the hostages it still is holding. Trump made internet posts demanding hostage release. Hamas said yesterday that Trump’s public comments are not helping the situation.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Britain says U.S. is destroying world order
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, told a conference in London today that the Trump Administration’s foreign policies are threatening world order. He said that while Russia and other countries in the axis of evil are trying to revise world order, the U.S. is actually destroying world order. He warned that NATO could cease to exist because of what the U.S. is doing and that. following its targeting of Ukraine, Russia could next go after Europe.
News organizations see draft of order to close education department
The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and other news organizations reported today that they had seen a draft of the presidential executive order telling Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to close the Department of Education. McMahon had said that she would proceed to shut down the department if she won Senate confirmation to become its head. Among other things, the department distributes federal funding for public schools, which Donald Trump has said he wants to end. The Trump Administration has already made job cuts at the department and killed funding for programs such as the Institute of Education Sciences.
