Federal Employees Can Work From Home as DC Preps for Trump Parade
The Office of Personnel Management told agency heads last week that they should consider allowing unscheduled telework for DC-based employees beginning June 11 'to help alleviate traffic congestion, prevent disruptions to preparation activities, and minimize any distractions to law enforcement and security officials.'
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Terrified by Trump raids, LA's undocument migrants hide at home
For over a month, Alberto has hardly dared to leave the small room he rents in someone's backyard for fear of encountering the masked police who have been rounding up immigrants in Los Angeles. "It's terrible," sighed the 60-year-old Salvadoran, who does not have a US visa. "It's a confinement I wouldn't wish upon anyone." To survive, Alberto -- AFP agreed to use a pseudonym -- relies on an organization that delivers food to him twice a week. "It helps me a lot, because if I don't have this... how will I eat?" said Alberto, who has not been to his job at a car wash for weeks. The sudden intensification of immigration enforcement activity in Los Angeles in early June saw scores of people -- mostly Latinos -- arrested at car washes, hardware stores, on farms and even in the street. Videos circulating on social media showed masked and heavily armed men pouncing on people who they claimed were hardened criminals. However, critics of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sweeps say those snatched were only trying to earn a meagre wage in jobs that many Americans don't want to do. The raids -- slammed as brutal and seemingly arbitrary -- sparked a wave of demonstrations that gripped the city for weeks, including some that spiraled into violence and vandalism. Alberto decided to hole up in his room after one such raid on a car wash in which some of his friends were arrested, and subsequently deported. Despite being pre-diabetic, he is hesitant to attend an upcoming medical appointment. His only breath of fresh air is pacing the private alley in front of his home. "I'm very stressed. I have headaches and body pain because I was used to working," he said. In 15 years in the United States, Trump's second term has turned out to be "worse than anything" for him. - 'Ghost town' - Trump's immigration offensive was a major feature of his re-election campaign, even winning the favor of some voters in liberal Los Angeles. But its ferocity, in a place that is home to hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers, has taken the city by surprise. Faced with mounting raids, migrants are limiting their movement as much as possible. In June, the use of the public transportation system -- a key network for the city's poorer residents -- dropped by 13.5 percent compared to the previous month. "As you're driving through certain neighborhoods, it looks like a ghost town sometimes," said Norma Fajardo, from the CLEAN Carwash Worker Center, a non-profit organization that supports these workers. It has joined forces with other groups to deliver hundreds of bags of food every week to those afraid to step outside. "There is a huge need for this," said the 37-year-old American. "It's very saddening and infuriating. Workers should be able to go to work and not fear getting kidnapped." In June, ICE agents arrested over 2,200 people in the Los Angeles area, according to internal documents analyzed by AFP. About 60 percent of them had no criminal record. Given the colossal resources recently allocated to ICE by Congress -- nearly $30 billion to bolster immigration enforcement, including funding to recruit 10,000 additional agents -- Fajardo says she is not expecting any let up. - 'New normal' - "It seems like this is the new normal," she sighed. "When we first heard of an ICE raid at a car wash, we were in emergency crisis mode. Now we are just really accepting that we need to plan for the long term." Food assistance has also become essential for Marisol, a Honduran woman who has been confined to her building for weeks with 12 family members. "We constantly thank God (for the food deliveries) because this has been a huge relief," says the 62-year-old Catholic, who has not attended Mass in weeks. Marisol -- not her real name -- has hung up curtains on the windows at her home entrance to block any view from outside. She forbids her grandchildren from opening the door and worries enormously when her daughters venture out to work a few hours to provide for the family's needs. "Every time they go out, I pray to God that they come back, because you never know what might happen," she said. Marisol and her family fled a Honduran crime gang 15 years ago because they wanted to forcibly recruit her children. Now, some of them wonder if it's worth continuing to live in the United States. "My sons have already said to me: 'Mom, sometimes I would prefer to go to Europe.'" rfo/hg/aks
Forbes
12 minutes ago
- Forbes
Trump Hits Out Against Former Russian President's War Threat—Doubles Down On India Tariff
President Donald Trump lashed out at both Russia and India in a Truth social post at midnight on Thursday, as he doubled down on the 25% tariffs he placed on New Delhi—along with an unspecified 'penalty' for its continued trade with Moscow—and attacked former Russian president and key Putin ally, Dmitry Medvedev, who warned that Trump's ultimatums against his country were a 'step towards war.' U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his tariffs against India and lashed out at Russia. Getty Images In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president wrote: 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.' Trump claimed the U.S. has done 'very little business with India' as their Tariffs are 'among the highest in the World,' and added: 'Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together.' While announcing his plan to impose a 25% tariff on India, Trump pointed out that the country has 'always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia' and is the 'largest buyer' of Russian energy after China. This was the first instance of the president following through with his threat to impose 'secondary tariffs' on Russia's key trading partners unless Moscow agrees to end its war in Ukraine. Trump, however, didn't specify what this penalty would entail. Earlier this month, Trump threatened to impose 100% 'secondary' tariffs on Russia, unless it managed to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine in 50 days. These secondary tariffs would target countries like India and China, which are among Russia's key trading partners. However, the president revised his deadline on Monday during his visit to Scotland and said Moscow now has 10 to 12 days to take steps towards ending its conflict with Ukraine. What Has Medvedev Said About Trump's Deadline For Russia? When Trump announced the first deadline, Medvedev mocked it in a post on X, saying: 'Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn't care.' After Trump shortened the deadline on Monday, Medvedev responded, tweeting: 'Trump's playing the ultimatum game with Russia…He should remember 2 things: 1. Russia isn't Israel or even Iran. 2. Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war. Not between Russia and Ukraine, but with his own country. Don't go down the Sleepy Joe road!' The president had not commented on Medvedev's earlier post, but his Thursday midnight post appears to respond to the former Russian president's 'step towards war' remark. After pointing out that Russia and the U.S. do almost no business together, Trump said: 'Let's keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. He's entering very dangerous territory!' Medvedev, who had not shied away from nuclear saber-rattling in the past few years, has not yet responded to Trump's remarks.
UPI
13 minutes ago
- UPI
Trump, South Korea strike 15% tariff deal ahead of deadline
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that negotiators struck a deal to impose a 15% tariff on South Korean goods. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo SEOUL, July 31 (UPI) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the United States will impose a 15% tariff on South Korean goods in what he called a "full and complete trade deal" between the two countries ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for negotiations. The deal calls for $350 billion in South Korean investments "owned and controlled by the United States and selected by myself," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. Seoul will also purchase $100 billion of U.S. liquified natural gas and will announce further investments when South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visits Washington "within the next two weeks," Trump said. The arrangement comes just ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline for countries to make deals with Washington before facing higher "reciprocal" tariffs. South Korea was facing a 25% levy if it had not reached an agreement. "We have overcome a major hurdle," South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wrote on Facebook Thursday. "Through these negotiations, the government has eliminated uncertainty in the export environment and aligned U.S. tariffs with those of our major export competitors, creating an environment where we can compete on equal or superior terms with major countries." Lee said that $150 billion of the announced investment is earmarked for South Korean companies to enter the United States shipbuilding sector. Seoul had touted its world-class capacity as a key negotiating card, as the Trump administration is looking to revive the moribund American shipbuilding industry to counter China's massive naval growth. The 15% tariffs will apply to South Korea's automobile industry -- its largest export sector to the United States -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote in a post on X. "[South Korea] will also not be treated any worse than any other country on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals," he added. The major South Korean exports of steel and aluminum will remain at the global rate of 50% that Trump has set, however. Seoul was able to hold off Washington's push to further open up its rice and beef markets to U.S. imports, which farmers' groups in South Korea strongly opposed. "In the course of the consultations with the United States, there was a strong demand for the opening up of our agricultural and livestock markets," Kim Yong-beom, the presidential chief of staff for policy, said at a press briefing Thursday. "However, given food security and the sensitivity of our agriculture, it was agreed that the domestic rice and beef markets would not be further opened," Kim said. While South Korea avoided higher tariffs with the new deal, it still represents a major increase over the existing U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, under which roughly 95% of goods were duty-free. "The 15% tariff by the United States is a different trading environment and challenge than in the past," Kim said. "The government will actively support our companies in enhancing their competitiveness and diversifying their export markets." The South Korean trade deal follows others the Trump administration has made in recent weeks, including 15% reciprocal tariffs on Japan and the European Union, 19% on the Philippines and Indonesia and 20% on Vietnam.
