Fox News Politics: Cruz Calls Out Ivy Leaguer with Tehran Ties
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… –Elon Musk no longer working on DOGE efforts from White House: report -Kamala Harris plans to take on Trump in first major speech since leaving office -Liberal Supreme Court justices grill religious institution in landmark school choice case Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz escalated his war of words with a former Iranian regime official who, as a faculty member at Princeton, was reportedly making Jewish students feel uncomfortable amid global tensions. “I try not to be in the room with people linked to Iranian terrorists who have murdered dozens of dissidents,” Cruz wrote in response to a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, from former Iranian Ambassador to Germany Seyed Hossein Mousavian. “Your books are unreadable, and the only debate you should be having is with DHS agents, at the end of which you should be deported,” Cruz quipped…Read more ‘BACK ON THE TABLE’: Trump admin uses Luigi Mangione case to ‘send a message’ in first 100 days RAMPING UP: Trump to name Haitian gangs foreign terrorist organizations ‘TRUST, CONNECTED VOICE’: New Trump linked consulting firm launches in DC focused on crypto, AI JUDGE STRIKES AGAIN: Biden-appointed federal judge keeps blocking Trump admin from nixing funding for lawyers for migrant children ‘INCREASED THE INTENSITY’: Russian attacks on Ukraine intensify in make-or-break week for peace talks COVER-UP: Iran accused of ‘covering up’ death toll in port explosion amid concerns of uprising TROOPS IN UKRAINE: 600 North Korean troops killed while fighting Ukraine, South Korea says DONE DEAL: Germany poised to get new conservative chancellor Friedrich Merz FIRST ON FOX: US and Uzbekistan reach an agreement for Uzbekistan to accept its nationals TEHRAN TRICKERY: Warning to Trump nuke negotiators about deceptive ‘Iranian version of the Art of the Deal’ DEPORTATION WAVE: Mexico says it accepted 39K deportees from the US, mostly Mexican nationals BETTER AT BUSINESS: ‘Shark Tank’ star insists AOC is a capitalist at heart: ‘The best marketeer in politics’ TAX TIME: Millionaire tax-hike proposal has House Republicans divided LETTER OF THE LAW: Trump’s first 100 days: Pace of executive orders leaves Congress in the dust SECOND THOUGHTS: What to do if you have REAL ID but wish you didn’t ‘CODE TALK TO WHITE GUYS’: Walz on why Harris picked him for veep BORDER BURDEN: Texas hospitals hit with $122 million bill for illegal immigrants’ care in single month SPEAKING UP: Supreme Court to hear arguments on school choice case involving Catholic charter school DYING ‘WITH DIGNITY’: New York Assembly passes bill to legalize assisted suicide for the terminally ill ‘GETTING DESPERATE’: Violent MS-13 gangbangers getting ‘desperate’ as DHS official credits early Trump action ‘SUPRISED AND SHOCKED’: Federal judge says local law enforcement must stop enforcing new immigration law ‘NOT AFRAID OF YOU’: Anti-Israel Columbia protester detained by ICE is freed after federal judge’s order Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Border Patrol chief’s hearing begins with tiff over Dem’s allegations that spurred Noem letter
The Senate Finance Committee hearing to consider Rodney Scott’s nomination to be commissioner of Customs and Border Protection began with fireworks from the panel’s top Democrat. Scott was lambasted by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon over a controversy involving a person who died in CBP custody in 2010. The criticisms prompted a Tuesday letter from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is like the point guard for everything the U.S. government does at our borders,” Wyden said at the start of the hearing on Wednesday. “A person who holds this job should have deep experience with both customs and with protecting our borders, along with unimpeachable judgment. Today’s hearing is to determine whether Rodney Scott possesses that experience, along with the strength of character to be trusted with one of the most important jobs in the federal government,” he said, claiming Scott “falls short.” BORDER PATROL CHIEF STEPPING DOWN AFTER BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO REPLACE HIM The Democrat then delved into details of the detention and death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, who was allegedly beaten while in CBP custody in 2010 when Scott was a top official in the San Diego office. Wyden claimed Scott’s office “taped over the only video copy” of the man’s death and tampered with evidence, citing court documents. He then referenced a letter he sent to Noem seeking documents on the Rojas incident. That request spurred Noem to write a scathing response to the Oregon Democrat, calling out “the minority’s uninformed account of Mr. Scott’s alleged role in the 2010 investigation of the death of Mr. Anastasio Hernandez Rojas [which] was infuriating and offensive to read.” “This response seeks to correct the record and clarify that Mr. Scott is a dedicated and honorable public servant,” she said, adding, “Your account alludes to the Committee’s erroneous impression that Mr. Scott was present at the unfortunate series of events leading to Mr. Hernandez Rojas’ death, or that Mr. Scott presided over CBP’s investigation into Mr. Hernandez Rojas’ death.” 21 REPUBLICANS, LED BY BOEBERT, MOVE TO CENSURE BIDEN OVER ‘FAILURE’ TO ENFORCE BORDER LAWS “Contrary to what your letter describes, Mr. Scott did not impede any investigation, nor did he take steps to conceal facts from investigators.” “Mr. Scott’s twenty-nine years of service at the U.S. Border Patrol provides him with the hands-on experience to oversee one of the world’s largest – and most important – law enforcement agencies. “President Trump rightfully prioritizes border security and recognizes the need for effective leadership at CBP. Mr. Scott is highly qualified for the job at hand, and the President made an excellent choice in nominating him for this position.” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, later offered Scott an opportunity to respond to Wyden. Scott said he was not involved in the detention of Rojas, nor was he in the vicinity when it happened. Asked about a controversial subpoena in the case, he said it was for information gathering and to seek medical records for Rojas since he died in federal custody. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Absolutely not,” Scott later answered when asked if he interfered in that investigation at all. “Secretary… Noem responded to the request and cited official investigations and statutes to note that Mr. Scott’s ministerial work following the death – including authorizing a subpoena to request medical records that were provided to the San Diego police department – was in accordance with his duties, the law and professional standards,” Crapo said in criticizing the allegations.
‘I am afraid’: Another protective order filing against deported ‘Maryland man’ championed by Dems surfaces
FIRST ON FOX: Fox News Digital obtained a second protective order case filed against Kilmar Abrego Garcia from 2020, a year before another protective order that recently surfaced against the suspected MS-13 gang member being held in El Salvador. Abrego Garcia, 29, is a Salvadoran illegal immigrant and suspected MS-13 gang member who was living in Maryland until he was deported to the high-security Terrorist Confinement Center (CECOT) in his home country during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. Though many Democrats hold that Abrego Garcia is an innocent man who was “wrongly deported,” the administration has pointed to considerable evidence that he is a member of the infamous MS-13 gang. In April, the Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision ordering the Trump administration to arrange Abrego Garcia’s return. DEM SENATOR SAYS ABREGO GARCIA SITUATION ‘NOT GOING TO END WELL’ FOR TRUMP, ARGUES HE’S ‘UNDERMINING’ FREEDOM The court required the “government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” The Trump administration agreed to clear any administrative obstacles keeping Abrego Garcia from returning to the U.S., but Attorney General Pam Bondi has said that returning him is “up to El Salvador if they want to return him. That’s not up to us.” This has caused significant outrage among Democrats, several of whom, despite mounting evidence against Abrego Garcia, have flown to El Salvador to advocate for his release. WH SAYS ‘NO DISPUTE’ DEPORTED SUSPECTED GANG MEMBER HAD MS-13 TATTOOS DESPITE PHOTOS TO THE CONTRARY The document, reviewed by Fox News Digital, alleges that his wife accused him of verbal and physical abuse against her and mental abuse against her children. The petition for protection form filed in Maryland by Jennifer Vasquez Sura has boxes checked for “acts of abuse,” including kicking, slapping, shoving, mental injury of a child and detaining against will. On Aug. 11, 2020, Vasquez Sura asked for the petition to be rescinded, saying her family wanted to take part in their son’s birthday, and Abrego Garcia “also agreed to continue counseling and if not [he’s] willing to sign divorce papers.” The original petition form lists their son and Abrego Garcia’s stepchildren needing protection. It says on Aug. 3, 2020, that her “husband took [her] phone around 1:00 a.m., and in the morning he wanted to take my car, but I told him I was going to go out with my kids. He then got angry. I went upstairs to make food for my kids but he turned off the stove.” In addition, the form said Abrego Garcia had threatened her and wrote that she has a recording in which he “told [her] ex-mother-in-law that even if he kills me no one can do anything to him.” VIOLENT MS-13 GANGBANGERS GETTING ‘DESPERATE’; DHS OFFICIAL CREDITS EARLY TRUMP ACTION The form also describes an incident in November 2019 when he grabbed her “by the hair in the car.” In December 2019, he allegedly grabbed her hair in the car and “dragged” her “out of car leaving [her] in the street.” She wrote that he also “broke” her son’s tablet, “broke doors” in the house, pushed her against a wall, broke a phone and a television and damaged the walls that spring. This comes after Fox News Digital reported on written domestic violence allegations filed in court against Abrego Garcia by Vasquez Sura in 2021, but the case was dismissed because she did not make it to a court appearance, CBS News reported. In the filing, written in Vasquez’s handwriting, she alleges Abrego Garcia repeatedly beat her, writing, “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.” Vasquez alleged that Abrego Garcia punched and scratched her eye, leaving her bleeding. He also allegedly threw her laptop on the floor. She wrote that, on another day, Abrego Garcia got angry again, started yelling and ripped her shirt and shorts off before grabbing her arm and leaving marks. In addition to this, according to police and court records shared with Fox News Digital, Abrego Garcia was arrested in Hyattsville, Maryland, in October 2019, at which point he was identified by the Prince George’s County Police Gang Unit as an MS-13 gang member. FEDERAL JUDGE ALLEGES ‘WILLFUL AND BAD FAITH REFUSAL’ TO COMPLY IN ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION CASE A federal immigration court in Baltimore further determined Abrego Garcia was not eligible for release because he “failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his release from custody would not pose a danger to others, as the evidence shows that he is a verified member of MS-13.” The court held that “the fact that a ‘past, proven, and reliable source of information’ verified the Respondent’s gang membership, rank, and gang name is sufficient to support that the Respondent is a gang member” and that Abrego Garcia had “failed to present evidence to rebut that assertion.” Several DHS sources have confirmed to Fox News Digital records indicating that Abrego Garcia was previously pulled over by a Tennessee highway patrol trooper while driving an SUV belonging to Jose Ramon Hernandez Reyes, another illegal alien who in 2020 confessed to human smuggling across the U.S.-Mexico border. The trooper noticed eight individuals in the car with Abrego Garcia, who said he began driving three days prior from Houston, Texas, to Temple Hills, Maryland, via St. Louis, Missouri, to “perform construction work.” The report on the stop states that the trooper suspected it was a human trafficking incident because there was no luggage in the vehicle. Additionally, the individuals in the car reportedly gave the same address as Abrego Garcia’s home address. DEMOCRAT FAULTS HIS OWN PARTY FOR PICKING WRONG BATTLE WITH CASE OF DEPORTED MS-13 SUSPECT When speaking with the trooper, Abrego Garcia allegedly “pretended to speak less English
CIA being restructured to eliminate ‘well-documented politicization’: Ratcliffe
CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Wednesday that a restructuring was underway at President Donald Trump’s direction to eliminate “well-documented politicization” of the agency. Trump joked during a meeting of his Cabinet secretaries on Wednesday that perhaps Ratcliffe was the only one “who’s not allowed to talk about the great job he’s done,” given the classified nature of the Central Intelligence Agency’s work. “At your direction, the CIA has deployed our unique covert action, authorities in various places and continents, to successfully advance your national security and foreign policy priorities, to advance peace, to end wars, to take terrorists off the battlefield, and to keep illicit drugs from coming into this country and harming Americans,” Ratcliffe reported to Trump, in front of news cameras. “Unfortunately, as much as I would love to detail your accomplishments in that regard, we can’t do so with this crowd. But you and I both know, Mr. President, that you have had a profound positive impact on America’s national security posture. And Americans are safer because of your leadership.” ELON MUSK TOUTS ‘TREMENDOUS’ ACCOMPLISHMENTS: ‘GREATEST ADMINISTRATION SINCE FOUNDING’ “Mr. President, the CIA is being restructured at your direction to focus on our core mission and to eliminate the political – the well-documented politicization that has taken place in the intelligence community from bad actors in the past to focus on our core mission and to Make America Safe Again,” Ratcliffe added, thanking Trump for the opportunity without elaborating further. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard also referenced efforts to combat “politicization” within the intelligence community at the Cabinet meeting. “I’m grateful to have the privilege of leading the intelligence community towards ending the weaponization. Politicization of the intelligence community has gone on for far too long,” Gabbard said. “And building out what is truly a lean and agile and effective intelligence community that is helping you deliver that promise to the American people of safety, security, and freedom.” “We’re working every day to hold the deep state accountable to end the politicization of weaponization of the intelligence community,” Gabbard continued. “This past week, I sent three criminal referrals for illegal and unauthorized leaks to the media of classified intelligence for prosecution. We have 11 more that are under investigation. We’ve revoked, at your direction, 67 security clearances, and we continue the work of declassifying documents.” The U.S. government has already declassified documents surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and Gabbard said she was working to declassify more documents around the assassination of former U.S. Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy – the father of Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. TRUMP TO NAME HAITIAN GANGS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS: REPORT “And we continue our extensive investigations around exposing the very serious issues we have related to election integrity, illegal abuses of FISA, Crossfire Hurricane, and others,” Gabbard said. “Mr. President, under your leadership, we are working every day to bring about that transparency and accountability that the American people deserve.” Last month, Trump signed an executive order instructing the FBI to immediately declassify files concerning the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, the agency probe launched in 2016 that sought information on whether Trump campaign members colluded with Russia during the presidential race. At the Cabinet meeting, another U.S. intelligence leader, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, separately acknowledged that multiple federal agencies came together under the president’s leadership to capture terrorists, including the “evil individual responsible for the Abbey Gate bombing” during the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Thirteen U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians were killed when an ISIS-K suicide bomber detonated at Kabul’s airport. One of those agencies was the CIA. Ratcliffe told the gathering of Cabinet secretaries that the CIA “provided the intelligence that led to the apprehension of the Abbey Gate bomber, who is now being prosecuted by our great attorney general and providing a measure of justice to those 13 families that suffered as a result of that disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, during the last administration.” Trump reiterated at the Cabinet meeting that what happened at Abbey Gate was a “disgrace” under the Biden administration and that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is working on prosecuting the alleged planner of the attack. The Justice Department announced last month that ISIS-K member Mohammad Sharifullah, also known as “Jafar,” has been arrested on federal terrorism charges in connection to the attack and was extradited to the U.S. He made a brief appearance in Virginia federal court. Ratcliffe also told the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the CIA, at Trump’s direction, has negotiated and secured the release of Americans like Mark Fogel and Ksenia Karelina, “who had been wrongfully detained, sending the message that you will forget about no Americans that are being held in other places unfairly and unjustly.”
Vance previews Trump’s plans to ‘juice the economy,’ end Russia–Ukraine war in next 100 days
EXCLUSIVE: WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance said the first 100 days of the Trump administration were about making changes “very quickly,” but the next 100 days will require Congress and international partners to “step up to the plate.” Vance spoke about the opportunities he sees ahead to “juice the economy” and end the war between Ukraine and Russia during an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Wednesday — Day 101 of the Trump administration — in his office in the West Wing of the White House. “The first 100 days is — you’re almost fixing and addressing all the things that are very easy to do,” Vance said. “I mean, the border crisis is a matter of presidential enforcement. You have a different president. You have different enforcement policies that happen immediately that don’t require an act of Congress. It is just something you can change immediately. TRUMP EASES AUTO TARIFFS AS HE CELEBRATES 100TH DAY WITH MICHIGAN RALLY “A lot of our energy policies are permitting policies,” he continued. “We’re trying to make it easier to build things. Those are things you can change very quickly.” But Vance cautioned that “the next 100 days are going to be a lot of things that don’t change as quickly.” “It’s the big, beautiful bill — the reconciliation bill that we think will lead to permanent tax relief for Americans, but also juice the economy a little bit,” he said. “That’s going to be a major focus.” “Obviously, we have a lot of foreign policy issues that we’ve been working on that I think are going to come to fruition one way or another over the next 100 days,” he said. “You know, the president made very clear that he doesn’t want Iran to have a bomb. He would like to bring the Russia–Ukraine conflict to a durable solution where you don’t have 5,000 people dying every single week on both sides of that conflict.” When asked where negotiations stand with regard to Russia and Ukraine, Vance told Fox News Digital “the first and necessary step of getting the Russia-Ukraine conflict solved is to get each of them to make a peace proposal. DEFUNDING DEI: HERE’S HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS UNDONE BIDEN’S VERY PRIZED PROGRAMS “And that’s actually happened. The Ukrainians have said, ‘This is what we want.’ The Russians have said, ‘This is what we want,’ and now the work of diplomacy is to try to sort of bring these two sides closer together,” Vance said. “Because there’s a very big gulf between what the Russians want and what the Ukrainians want.” Vance said “a lot of our European friends who, in public, will say, ‘Well, you know, we didn’t necessarily agree with the president what he said, or what he’s done, or, you know, all parts of his policy.’ They will at the same time say he’s the only person who could have actually forced a peace proposal out of each side because these guys weren’t even talking — not to each other, not to anybody. They were just fighting. That was it. “So, we’ve got this first step,” Vance added. “We’ve got the peace proposal out there and issued, and we’re going to work very hard over the next 100 days to try to bring these guys together.” TRUMP HAS HIS OWN DEADLINE, ‘NO ALLEGIANCE TO ANYBODY’ IN UKRAINE-RUSSIA PEACE DEAL Meanwhile, the vice president will travel Thursday to Huger, South Carolina, for a factory tour at Nucor Steel Berkeley, one of the largest manufacturers of steel in the United States. “The message tomorrow is really just a pro-American manufacturing message,” Vance said, adding he is going to “tie it back to national security.” “One of the things that we learned the hard way over the last, you know, 15 to 20 years in this country is that national security is downstream of economic power,” Vance said. “And if there are things that your troops need or things that your critical industries need that they can only get from a hostile adversary, then you’re not nearly as strong as you thought you were.” Vance said President Donald Trump “has really set about rebalancing this in a very fundamental way.” “This is, in my view, a once-in-a-generation change, and it was totally necessary. It has to happen,” Vance said. “And we’re going to talk about the things that we’re going to do to facilitate that rebalancing of global trade.” Vance said that because supply chains of companies “are so complicated, the goal is to facilitate them, moving more stuff on shore.” “We work with industry,” Vance continued. “The president has an extremely open door, and so when he is persuaded that he has to pursue a particular policy in an effort to facilitate more American manufacturing, that’s what he’s going to do, because that’s the goal. And I think you’re going to see, certainly, that continue over the next 100 days in the same way it has over the first 100 days. “So, that’s kind of how I think about it. The first 100 days, you can get a lot done with just the president’s signature on a piece of paper,” Vance said. “The next 100 days are going to be a lot of things where we need Congress, and, in some cases, some of our international partners, to step up to the plate. “I have great confidence in Congress. I have some confidence in our international partners. We’ll see how it goes.”
Trump-backed Republican rips Dem town halls as ‘goofing off’ after chicken stunt
Rep. Gabe Evans, R-Colo., who snagged an endorsement from President Donald Trump this week, is firing back at Colorado Democrats following a series of “People’s Town Halls” that went off the rails during the April congressional recess, as intra-party tensions and strange songs took center stage. “While Democrats goof off and sing songs, Congressman Gabe Evans is working hard and fighting to make Colorado a better and safer place to live, work, and raise a family,” Evans’ spokeswoman said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, one of several Democrats hosting town halls in Republican-held congressional districts, traveled to Colorado for a Democrat-run town hall in Evans’ home district last week. The town hall was derailed by questions about the Democratic Party, undercutting the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) plan to provide a “platform to fight back against Republicans’ dangerous agenda.” Town hall attendees asked question after question about the party’s future and expressed concerns that Democrats aren’t doing enough to resist Trump’s second term, according to a report by The New York Times. Meanwhile, Casar spoke in front of a cardboard cutout of Evans with chicken legs. FRESHMAN GOP LAWMAKER REFLECTS ON FIRST 90 DAYS IN CONGRESS AND PREVIEWS WHAT’S NEXT: ‘REALLY REWARDING’ “Republican members of Congress still aren’t willing to meet with their own constituents, so I’m still doing town halls in their districts to talk to their constituents. Today I traveled to Colorado’s 8th District to answer questions and talk about what we can do to fight back,” Casar said on X following the event. WISCONSINITES KICKED OUT AND DENIED ENTRY TO THIS DEMOCRAT’S ‘FAKE TOWN HALL’ As of Monday, the DNC reported hosting 100 “People’s Town Halls” in 45 states, alongside the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Association of State Democrats Committee (ASDC). “Americans of every political party are mad as hell that not only are Republicans jacking up the cost of living by slashing your Medicaid, threatening your Social Security, and eliminating your school’s funding to pay for tax cuts for billionaires — they don’t even have the courage to face their own constituents in-person. Colorado Democrats were proud to bring Rep. Greg Casar to town to give folks a real town hall and ensure their voices were heard — right in Gabe Evans’ backyard,” Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said in a statement this week. But as constituents in Colorado used the forum to express their concerns with the Democratic Party, not the Republican Party, the town halls have been ridiculed by conservatives on social media for falling into theatrics. A video posted by conservative communicator, Steve Guest, from a town hall hosted by the Colorado Working Families Party last weekend, showed a woman singing into a microphone, “Oh, Gabey boy. Oh, Gabey boy. You work for us,” as the crowd erupted in cheers. “Since when is singing a ridiculous song like this part of a serious town hall? Never. The Democrat Party is floundering—that’s why people were singing laughable songs like this one in CO-08 this week,” Guest said on X. “You are not here… You just run and hide… We call you here to do your freaking job,” the woman sang. According to the event announcement, “The People’s Town Hall: Where is Gabe?” invited Evans to speak to constituents at the progressive group’s town hall. The group planned to listen to stories from the community if he didn’t attend, which he did not. Evans was the only candidate to flip a House district red in a blue state in the 2024 election, according to his campaign. The Colorado Republican picked up a key endorsement from Trump this week for his 2026 re-election campaign. “Congressman Gabe Evans is an America First Patriot who is doing a fantastic job representing Colorado’s 8th Congressional District!” Trump said on Truth Social, “Gabe Evans has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!” “Thank you Mr. President! I am dialed in on making sure our community is free of criminal illegal immigrant gangs and making Colorado a safer place to live, work, and raise a family. Proud to be fighting for #CO08 in Congress,” Evans replied on X. Trump also endorsed Evans in 2024 as he unseated former Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo. Cook Political Report, a leading nonpartisan political handicapper, ranked Evans’ district a “toss up” in 2026. The DNC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Automakers suspend financial guidance amid tariff uncertainty
Several global automakers, including Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, have joined Michigan-based General Motors and Volvo in suspending their respective annual financial guidance reports for investors amid growing tariff uncertainty. The announcements on Wednesday came even as US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to soften the blow of the auto tariffs that he had imposed earlier this month. “While we further assess the impact of the tariff policies on our North American operations, we look forward to our continued collaboration with the US administration to strengthen a competitive American auto industry and stimulate exports,” Stellantis board chairman John Elkann said in a statement. Stellantis said it was “suspending its 2025 financial guidance … due to evolving tariff policies, as well as the difficulty predicting possible impacts on market volumes and the competitive landscape.” This comes amid layoffs at Stellantis, a carmaker that houses 14 brands including Jeep, RAM Trucks, Dodge, Fiat, and Maserati. In April, it temporarily laid off 900 workers for two weeks and said at the time it was because of uncertainty about how Trump-imposed tariffs would affect its business. Advertisement Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’s chief operating officer for the Americas, said in a company-wide email that it would assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs on its operations, but also have “decided to take some immediate actions”. The company reported a 14-percent drop in its first-quarter sales to $40.7bn (35.8bn euros) in its first-quarter earnings report released on Wednesday. Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmakers, reported big drops in their net profits over the same January-March period, before the US tariffs kicked in. Mercedes cited “volatility with regard to tariff policies” that meant business development could not be reliably forecast. Mercedes’s net profit plunged almost 43 percent in the first three months of the year to $1.9 bn (1.73 billion euros) Finance chief Harald Wilhelm said Mercedes still remains in a strong position, thanks to what he said was a strong position in profitable, top-end vehicles. “This, combined with a healthy balance sheet, provides a solid foundation to navigate our company through a period of geopolitical uncertainties,” he said. ‘Towards the lower end’ About 40 companies worldwide, across industries, have pulled or lowered their forward guidance in the first two weeks of the first-quarter earnings season, an analysis by the news agency Reuters showed. On Tuesday, social media giant Snap declined to offer future guidance, saying it was seeing a slowdown in ad spending and raised doubts about advertising budgets due to tariff impact, sending its stock down 15 percent on Wednesday. Advertisement Before the tariffs, European automakers were already facing slowing sales of electric cars and stiff competition from local rivals, as well as from Chinese EVs, for which it is a key market. Volkswagen, a 10-brand group that includes Audi, Skoda and Porsche, said its net profit fell 40.6 percent to $2.49bn (2.19 bn euros). For the rest of the year, the carmaker said that it expected business “towards the lower end” of its guidance, citing challenges including increased competition, more stringent emissions regulations and trade tensions. Speaking on a call for analysts and investors, Volkswagen’s finance chief Arno Antlitz said that it was “too early to say” if Volkswagen would step up manufacturing in the US to circumvent any tariffs. Volkswagen expects a profit margin of 5.5 to 6.5 percent for the coming year, but its guidance does not take into account changeable American tariffs. “It’s highly difficult to give a projection for the full year,” Antlitz said. UBS analyst Patrick Hummel wrote in a client note that the German group’s outlook did not “include any impact of US tariffs,” calling it “essentially a withdrawal of guidance”. In the United Kingdom, luxury carmaker Aston Martin Lagonda announced that it was limiting shipments to the US, but it maintained its annual guidance as it reported a 13-percent drop in first-quarter revenue. Easing some tariffs Besides a 25-percent tariff on finished imported cars, the industry has also been affected by Trump’s 25-percent tariff on steel and aluminium. Advertisement Carmakers are also set to face new tariffs on foreign auto parts expected to take effect on May 3. Trump’s new policy means that a company would not face both a 25-percent levy for an imported vehicle and 25-percent on steel or aluminium. The importer would pay the higher of the two levies, but not both, a US Commerce Department official said. The other change is that companies that import parts for vehicles assembled in the US would be able to offset 3.75 percent of a vehicle’s list price in the first year and 2.5 percent in the second year. But analysts believe that this reprieve won’t necessarily work in practice as automakers face the effect tariffs will have on their business. “While this sounds good on paper (less bad then the original auto tariff slate), a US car with all US parts made in the US is a fictional tale not possible today and many factories/production hubs could take 4-5 years to build in the US … and this speaks to the massive frustration from the industry as the rules of the US tariff game are untenable in our view,” Wedbush Securities Dan Ives said in a note on Wednesday. Adblock test (Why?)
With song and seed, Brazil’s Indigenous Maxakali confront climate change
Maxakali territory once spanned at least three large valleys in the Atlantic Forest. Elders in the village remember how the forest supplied food, medicine and construction materials — in addition to serving as habitat for the yãmĩyxop, spiritual beings central to Maxakali beliefs. “There were medicines in the forest for us,” explained Damásio. “When we had stomachaches, we would use the bark from the trees to feel better. But now, it’s just grass. The farmers burned everything.” But the four remaining Maxakali reservations — reduced to 6,434 hectares (15,900 acres) of pasture — contain less than 17 percent of their original vegetation. Some experts consider the Atlantic Forest to be regionally extinct. That absence has many Maxakali leaders turning to reforestation — and finding in their musical traditions an ecological blueprint of the past. Manuel Damásio Maxakali tends to banana trees in Minas Gerais, Brazil [Sara Van Horn/Al Jazeera] Singing organises life in Maxakali villages: Music, for instance, is used to cure illness, teach history or transmit practical instructions, like how to make bags or weave fishing nets. “Songs tie together the whole Tikmũ’ũn social structure,” said de Tugny, the Hāmhi project coordinator, who is also a musicologist at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. “People don’t compose songs. They have songs.” To have a song, she added, means being capable of taking care of the spirit considered to be the song’s creator. Ancestral songs also provide an extremely detailed register of local ecology. Twelve musical canons, distinct in grammar and lexicon, total about 360 hours of song. Contained in the lyrics are hundreds of species of flora and fauna now extinct in the territory. “We sing about everything: the saplings, the bananas, ourselves,” explained Manuel Kelé, leader of the village of Água Boa. “Even dogs have a song within our religion.” Caretakers at the Hāmhi nursery tend to the growing trees and plants [Sara Van Horn/Al Jazeera] One song, for example, lists 33 species of bees, some of which don’t have names in Brazil’s national language, Portuguese, and only two of which are currently present in the territory. The lyrics supply information about bee behaviour that many Maxakali have never witnessed first-hand. “The songs are snapshots,” said de Tugny. “They are like photographs of every detail that exists in the Atlantic Forest: the names of insects, birds, plants, moments of relationship between an animal and a leaf. All these are registered.” For the Maxakali, ritual songs also play a crucial role in helping the forest regenerate. Singing is a daily part of their work in Hāmhi’s tree nurseries. Nursery caretakers not only sing to seeds as they are buried, but they also make music as part of the regular rhythms of harvesting and cultivation. Caretakers divide into groups, position themselves around the nursery, and sing in concert with each other. The song lyrics help participants remember the ecological knowledge of their ancestors. And while some of the work at Hāmhi is dedicated to planting fruit trees and other crops, the project’s leaders see reforestation as key to reducing the region’s fire risks. Song is an important part of the growing cycle in Maxakali culture [Sara Van Horn/Al Jazeera] Since its inception in 2023, the Hāmhi project has planted over 60 hectares (148 acres) of fruit trees and 155 hectares (383 acres) of Atlantic Forest vegetation. The goal is a reforested area nearly twice that size. Programme participants have also organised themselves into a provisional fire brigade and even created natural fire barriers, using traditional methods like planting species of fire-resistant vegetation. “Songs help the forest grow,” said Damásio, the village leader. “We ask those who have died to help us. They walk here and assist us. We are calling on the forest to grow back.” Adblock test (Why?)
Columbia protest leader Mohsen Mahdawi released from US custody
A United States judge has ordered the release of Columbia University student and pro-Palestine protester Mohsen Mahdawi as a case challenging his deportation proceeds. In Burlington, Vermont, on Wednesday, US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ruled Mahdawi could leave the Northwest State Correctional Facility, where he had been held since immigration officials arrested him earlier this month. Mahdawi walked out of the court with both hands in the air, flashing peace signs as supporters greeted him with cheers. As he spoke, he shared a message for President Donald Trump, whose administration has led a crackdown on student protesters who have denounced Israel’s war in Gaza. “I am not afraid of you,” Mahdawi said to Trump. He also addressed the people of Palestine and sought to dispel perceptions that the student protest movement was anything but peaceful. “We are pro-peace and antiwar,” Mahdawi explained. “To my people in Palestine: I feel your pain, I see your suffering, and I see freedom, and it is very soon.” Advertisement Mahdawi, a legal US resident who had been a leader in the protests at Columbia University, was detained on April 14 while attending a citizenship interview. Video of him being led away in handcuffs spread widely across social media. His arrest came as part of a wider push by the Trump administration to target visa holders and permanent residents for their pro-Palestine advocacy. Trump has also pressured top universities to crack down on pro-Palestine protests, in the name of combating anti-Semitism. Critics, however, say that rationale is an excuse to exert greater control over academia and stifle opposing views. Mohsen Mahdawi was just released on bail by a federal judge in Vermont. pic.twitter.com/sgtNyfeYmU — Katherine Franke (@ProfKFranke) April 30, 2025 What’s in the ruling? While the immigration case against Mahdawi will proceed, Judge Crawford ruled the student activist posed no flight risk and could be released to attend his graduation next month in New York City. It is possible the US government may appeal Mahdawi’s release, but the judge’s ruling allows him to leave the state of Vermont and fight his deportation from outside a detention facility. The Trump administration, however, had opposed his release. Its lawyers argued that Mahdawi’s detention was “constitutionally valid aspect of the deportation process”. Mahdawi’s lawyers have countered that his detainment treads on his constitutional rights to free speech. “Mohsen has committed no crime, and the government’s only supposed justification for holding him in prison is the content of his speech,” Lia Ernst, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union who is representing Mahdawi, said in a statement following his release. Advertisement The Trump administration has taken the broad position that constitutional speech protections only apply to US citizens, a question that could eventually be decided by the US Supreme Court. In court filings, government lawyers have cited the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 as the legal basis for seeking Mahdawi’s deportation. A rarely used part of the law allows the US to deport foreign nationals “whose presence or activities in the United States” gives the secretary of state “reasonable ground to believe [they] would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences”. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has used that provision as the basis for seeking to deport Mahdawi and other pro-Palestinian student protesters. Israel is a critical ally of the US in the Middle East. Demonstrators in New York City carry placards that read ‘Free Mohsen’ to push for Mohsen Mahdawi’s release [File: Jeenah Moon/Reuters] Crackdown on advocacy Mahdawi was arrested weeks after fellow Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil, also a US permanent resident. In early March, Khalil was likewise detained by immigration officials. The pair co-founded the Palestinian Student Union at the prestigious Ivy League university. Khalil has remained in immigration custody in Louisiana since his arrest outside his apartment. Earlier this month, an immigration judge ruled Khalil was indeed deportable, siding with government lawyers. In a two-page letter submitted to the court, Secretary of State Rubio had written that the 30-year-old should be removed from the US for his role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States”. Advertisement The Trump administration has broadly portrayed nearly all forms of pro-Palestine advocacy as “anti-Semitic”, in what critics have called an effort to silence freedom of speech. Rubio provided no further evidence backing his claims against Khalil, and the student leader has been charged with no crime. Rubio’s letter nevertheless said that his department can revoke a permanent resident’s legal status even where their beliefs, associations or statements are “otherwise lawful”. On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Khalil can move forward with a legal challenge to his arrest and detainment on the grounds that he was targeted for his political views. Both Mahdawi and Khalil have parallel court cases, one seeking reprieve from deportation and the other challenging the basis for their arrests. While in detention, Mahdawi had been visited by US Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat who has denounced the student’s arrest as “unjust” and antidemocratic. “I’m staying positive by reassuring myself in the ability of justice and the deep belief of democracy,” Mahdawi said at the time, according to a video posted on Welch’s X account. “This is the reason I wanted to become a citizen of this country, because I believe in the principles of this country.” Adblock test (Why?)
Elon Musk receives applause from Cabinet as he begins planned departure from DOGE role
Elon Musk received a round of applause from President Donald Trump’s Cabinet as he prepares for a planned exit from his role at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “You have been treated unfairly,” Trump said to Musk during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. “But, the vast majority of people in this country really respect and appreciate you. And this whole room can say that very strongly. It’s really been a tremendous help. You opened up a lot of eyes as to what could be done. And we just want to thank you very much.” “You’re invited to stay as long as you want,” Trump added as applause broke out in the room for Musk. “At some point, I guess he wants to get back home to his cars and his family.” Musk has been the public leader of DOGE since the administration began in January, leading teams through various federal agencies in search of government overspending, fraud and mismanagement, which has received repeated praise from Trump and his administration. ELON MUSK NO LONGER WORKING ON DOGE EFFORTS FROM WHITE HOUSE: REPORT The tech billionaire, who leads both SpaceX and Tesla, was hired as a “special government employee,” which is a role Congress created in 1962 that allows the executive or legislative branch to hire temporary employees for specific short-term initiatives. Special government employees are permitted to work for the federal government for “no more than 130 days in a 365- day period,” according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk’s 130-day time frame, beginning on Inauguration Day, runs dry May 30. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles told the New York Post Tuesday that Musk is no longer working regularly from the White House. MUSK NOT LEAVING YET, WRAPPING UP WORK ON SCHEDULE ONCE ‘INCREDIBLE WORK AT DOGE IS COMPLETE’: WHITE HOUSE “Instead of meeting with him in person, I’m talking to him on the phone, but it’s the same net effect,” Wiles told the outlet as the tech billionaire prepares to depart from his role at DOGE. “He hasn’t been here physically, but it really doesn’t matter much.” Musk said during the Cabinet meeting Wednesday that DOGE has now saved the U.S. $160 billion through his efforts trimming government fat, and celebrated the accomplishments of the administration in the meeting. “The American people voted for secure borders, safe cities and sensible spending,” Musk said. “And that’s what they’ve gotten. Tremendous amount has been accomplished in the first hundred days. As everyone has said, it’s more than has been accomplished in any administration before. Ever. Period. So, this portends very well for what happens for the rest of the administration. I think this could be the greatest administration since the founding of the country.” DOGE SLASHES OVER $100M IN DEI FUNDING AT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT: ‘WIN FOR EVERY STUDENT’ The tech billionaire notably wore two Trump hats during the meeting, quipping: “Mr. President they say I wear a lot of hats,” he said. “Even my hat has a hat.” DOGE is a temporary cross-departmental organization that was established to slim down and streamline the federal government. The group itself will be dissolved July 4, 2026, according to Trump’s executive order. DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS Musk and Trump have both previously previewed that Musk’s role was temporary and would come to end in the coming weeks. “You, technically, are a special government employee and you’re supposed to be 130 days,” Fox News’ Bret Baier asked Musk during an exclusive interview with the DOGE leader in March. “Are you going to continue past that or do you think that’s what you’re going to do?” “I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” Musk responded. Trump also told the media in March that he would keep Musk “as long as I can keep him,” but that “he’s got a big company to run.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Tesla dealerships have faced repeated protests amid Musk’s work with DOGE, including physical attacks on cars and monetary boycotts of the company. Musk noted during the Cabinet meeting that protesters “do like to burn my cars, which is not great,” which received laughter from colleagues.