Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that the United States has lifted sanctions that previously restricted the construction of the Russian-built Paks II nuclear power plant in Hungary.

According to Szijjártó, the sanctions were originally introduced under the administration of former US President Joe Biden and had complicated Hungary’s long-term energy plans.

In a statement published on June 29, Szijjártó credited current US President Donald Trump for reversing the measures, calling the decision a step toward ensuring Hungary’s future energy security.

“In light of the fact that there is now a president in Washington who considers Hungary a friend, the American government has lifted sanctions related to investments in the Paks nuclear power plant,” Szijjártó said.

This analysis came out earlier this month, and it's the mother of all wake-up calls. Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" would appropriate $200 billion to ICE, which the Cato Institute has called an "unimaginable sum." Some relevant quotes:

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bill will direct an astounding $168 billion of the budget to immigration and border law enforcement, and there is even more for agencies that indirectly support immigration law enforcement.

The $168 billion is, by itself, an unimaginable sum. Without H.R. 1, Congress had already appropriated twice as much money to America’s border police as all other federal law enforcement combined. In FY 2025, immigration and border enforcement accounted for at least two-thirds of all federal law enforcement.

In FY 2025—again, before H.R. 1—Congress allocated nearly $34 billion to immigration and border enforcement agencies. That’s 36 times more than what is provided for tax and financial crimes enforcement (IRS-Treasury), 21 times more than funding for firearms enforcement (ATF), 13 times more than drug enforcement (DEA), and 8 times more than the FBI budget to enforce effectively everything else. The level of border police spending is already so extreme that it has swamped nearly all other criminal law enforcement priorities for the federal government.

The House plans to distort this wildly out-of-whack law enforcement system beyond recognition. H.R. 1 appropriates $168 billion to agencies whose primary purpose is immigration enforcement. It adds $1.2 billion to all other law enforcement for the Secret Service. This sum comes on top of the $33 billion, meaning that if this bill passes, about $200 billion will be made available for immigration enforcement starting in FY 2025.

$200 billion dollars is equivalent to 1/5th of our entire military budget ($960 billion). It's more than Russia's entire military spending in 2024 ($149 billion). To say that Trump would be creating a 7th branch of the military operating on US soil would be neither an overstatement nor a conspiracy theory.

For context, this article was published by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank originally founded by Charles Koch (among others). The fact that these guys are ringing the alarm bell should be a warning unto itself. You can read the full text of the bill (H.R. 1) here.

https://archive.ph/pfuB6

More than 40 million people relied on the food-assistance program in 2024, or about 12% of the population. Many are located in red districts represented by legislators who support gutting the aid.

Donald Trump recently announced a substantial increase in tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, doubling the rate to 50 percent for steel and 20–25 percent for aluminum. Trump justifies these tariffs as an effort to secure the U.S. steel industry and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. While supporters argue the policy strengthens domestic production, critics are concerned that the tariffs could increase costs for industries that rely on imported metals, such as automotive, construction, and canned food manufacturing, resulting in rising prices that disproportionately affect low-income consumers.

The tariff hike has sparked international criticism as well, particularly among key trading partners in the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. These countries were previously affected by similar measures and retaliated with tariffs on U.S. exports in 2018, notably in agriculture and consumer goods. Experts warn that the current plan could revive trade tensions, complicate negotiations with allies, and escalate economic uncertainty.

What do you think of the new tariffs? Do you think that the tariffs will create a positive change for domestic production? Or, do you think it creates economic uncertainty for many individuals and industries?

U.S. officials said they would stop providing the satellite data online on July 31 rather at the end of June.

Data from this instrument also reveals sea ice extent, and that can't be allowed.

Health departments around the country have noticed there's something strange happening with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: It's not showing up on schedule and there's been no communication about why.

The federal public health agency doles out most of the money it receives from Congress to state and local health departments, which then contract with local organizations. That's how public health work gets funded in the U.S.

According to two CDC staff members with knowledge of the agency's budget, the CDC has yet to receive its full funding for the 2025 fiscal year. NPR agreed not to name the staff members because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

[...]

"If they can delay until the end of September, then that's it," the staffer adds. "Those projects are not going to happen. That money goes straight back to Treasury."

That's why both CDC staffers who spoke with NPR say this amounts to impounding the agency's funding.

If huge cuts for everybody in order to preserve tax breaks for the wealthy seems like a bad deal to you, let your Senators know

Best option for putting a stop to this is to give your Senators a call — the budget bill their voting on today would entrench the damage described in this article.

Denaturalization is a tactic heavily used during the McCarthy era and one that was expanded during the Obama administration and grew further during President Trump's first term. It's a tool usually used in only the most serious and rare of cases: dealing with Nazis or war criminals.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/32488986

But the New York mayoral candidate said: “That’s not the language that I use.”

By Gregory Svirnovskiy
06/29/2025 02:24 PM EDT

"New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Sunday again declined to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” but emphasized he would be a mayor “that protects Jewish New Yorkers” if elected in November."

"“I’ve heard from many Jewish New Yorkers who have shared their concerns with me, especially in light of the horrific attacks that we saw in Washington, D.C. and in Boulder, Colorado, about this moment of antisemitism in our country and in our city,” Mamdani told Welker. “And I’ve heard those fears, and I’ve had those conversations.”"

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/32488116

Jessica Corbett
Jun 28, 2025

"As the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) works to deliver on Republican President Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations, federal agents, including those with ICE, have taken immigrants into custody while wearing masks and plain clothes—sparking alarm over abuse by anonymous agents and also copycat criminals.

Velázquez's bill would bar ICE agents from wearing facial coverings during immigration enforcement, unless medically necessary or required for safety. It would also require written justification for any mask use, agents to wear clothing displaying their name and affiliation with ICE, and DHS to report annually to Congress on any related complaints and disciplinary actions."