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What an Iowa Farmer Fears About the Trade War

What an Iowa Farmer Fears About the Trade War

New York Times24-04-2025
In the increasingly bitter trade war between the United States and China, perhaps nobody has more at stake than America's soybean farmers, whose crop has become the country's single biggest export to China.
Michael Barbaro speaks to an Iowa farmer who helped build that $13 billion market, and asks her what President Trump's sky-high tariffs mean for her and for tens of thousands of other American farmers.
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Massapequa asks President Trump for executive order protecting Native American school mascots
Massapequa asks President Trump for executive order protecting Native American school mascots

CBS News

time14 minutes ago

  • CBS News

Massapequa asks President Trump for executive order protecting Native American school mascots

A Long Island school district is asking for President Trump's help in their fight to keep their team name and mascot — the Massapequa Chiefs. The New York State Board of Regents voted to ban Native American-related mascots, team names and logos in public schools back in 2023 and issued a June 2025 deadline for rebranding, saying districts that didn't comply could lose state aid. Massapequa High School has been pushing back, and the town is asking Trump to issue an executive order that would protect Native American mascots and imagery nationwide by outlawing any such bans. "This is a national issue, and so what we're saying is instead of having these little fights everywhere, we're asking the president to get involved," Massapequa Board of Education President Kerry Wachter said. "It really goes to the heart of who we are, and they're trying not only to erase Native Americans, but they're also trying to erase our tradition." The New York State Department of Education released the following statement in response: "No school district is above the law. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has twice rejected attempts by Massapequa and others to block enforcement of this regulation. The court made it clear: the State Education Department has a strong public interest in making sure every student learns in an environment free from discrimination and harassment. In fact, the court said the hardships 'tipped decidedly' in favor of NYSED. We remain committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated, and offensive depictions of Indigenous people. Our responsibility is to students and families; we won't trade their dignity for convenience." Trump has voiced support for Massapequa in the past. Back in April, he posted on Truth Social, in part, "I agree with the people in Massapequa, Long Island, who are fighting furiously to keep the Massapequa Chiefs logo on their Teams and School. Forcing them to change the name, after all of these years, is ridiculous and, in actuality, an affront to our great Indian population." United States Education Secretary Linda McMahon visited the district in May and said she planned to launch an investigation into the state's mascot ban. On Sunday, Trump threatened to block a deal for the Washington Commanders NFL team to return to a Washington, D.C., stadium unless the team changed their name back to the "Washington Redskins." A deal was reached between the city and the team Thursday, however.

What will Trump's new homelessness executive order mean for California?
What will Trump's new homelessness executive order mean for California?

Yahoo

time30 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

What will Trump's new homelessness executive order mean for California?

An executive action taken by President Donald Trump on Thursday, aiming to push cities and states to remove homeless people from the streets, could make California governments' ability to secure Federal funding contingent on taking such steps and changing the state's current approach to homelessness. Trump signed an order directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek to reverse federal and state judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit local and state governments' ability to move homeless people from streets and encampments into treatment centers. The move, first reported by USA TODAY, also redirects federal funds to ensure the homeless people impacted are transferred to rehabilitation, treatment, and other facilities, though it was unclear how much money would be allocated. Here's what to know about Trump's executive order on removing homeless people from the streets. More: In major decision, Supreme Court allows cities to ban homeless camps What did Trump's executive order say? Under the order ‒ which the White House has titled "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets" ‒ Bondi is also required to work with the secretaries of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Transportation to prioritize federal grants to states and cities that "enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement to USA TODAY, said Trump is "delivering on his commitment to Make America Safe Again and end homelessness across America." "By removing vagrant criminals from our streets and redirecting resources toward substance abuse programs, the Trump Administration will ensure that Americans feel safe in their own communities and that individuals suffering from addiction or mental health struggles are able to get the help they need," Leavitt said. More: The average American is closer to being homeless than being Elon Musk What order may mean for California In recent years, California has become a national poster child for the issue of homelessness, the challenges it poses and the difficulty governments can have with meaningfully addressing it. The US Senate Housing Committee reported earlier this year that a recent homeless count found that just over 187,000 people were homeless in California. That represented a 3% increase from the year before, less than the 18% increase observed nationwide. But it was still the highest homeless population of any state and accounted for 28% of the homeless people in America, while the state makes up just 11.7% of the population. The report also said that 66% of homeless people were "unsheltered," the highest percentage in the nation. In recent years, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made several efforts to help — and, increasingly, push — cities in the state to address issues with homelessness and people living without shelter. In 2023, the state made $1 billion in funding available through grants to communities to address homelessness. A year later, urged cities to take action to make homeless encampments illegal in their cities and take action to move people off their streets and provide them with shelter and services. Earlier this year, he released a "model ordinance" that he encouraged cities to use as a template for passing their own laws banning camping in their cities. "There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets," Newsom said in a statement he issued at the time he released the model ordinance. "Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered. Now, we're giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care." Trump's order pushes for many of the same approaches and aims Newsom has advocated for, while making the government's eligibility for Federal grant money contingent on communities taking steps to get people off the street and into treatment and showing success in doing so. The order says that eligibility for grants will be based on cities and states' ending "housing first" policies. Such policies emphasize an approach to addressing homelessness focused on getting unhoused people into permanent housing as a first step to successfully transitioning them out of homelessness. All California housing programs have been required to adopt a "housing-first" model since 2016, with a bill that would've ended that requirement failing to advance out of committee earlier this year. On Thursday, a spokesperson for Newsom criticized the order to KQED, saying it was based on "harmful stereotypes and ineffective policy" in comparison to Newsom's executive order on encampments that she said had been based on the law and facts. But she also said that Trump's imitation of Newsom (even poorly executed) is the highest form of flattery. Trump's action follows major Supreme Court decision on homeless camps Trump's action comes after the Supreme Court ruled in June 2024 that that people without homes can be arrested and fined for sleeping in public spaces, overturning a lower court's ruling that enforcing camping bans when shelter is lacking is cruel and unusual punishment. The 6-3 decision, split among ideological lines in the conservative-majority court, upheld a ban in Grant Pass, Oregon, prohibiting homeless residents from sleeping outdoors. Homeless residents of the southern Oregon city of 38,000 face fines starting at $250 and jail time for repeat offenses. More: Homelessness rates jumped by double digits in 2024 as Americans battled to afford housing In a statement, the National Homelessness Law Center condemned Trump's order, characterizing it as misguided at best, and counterproductive and dangerous at worst. "The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick," said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center. 'As a licensed mental health professional, I know that forced treatment is unethical, ineffective, and illegal." "People need stable housing and access to healthcare," Rabinowitz said. Rather, Trump's actions will force more people into homelessness, divert taxpayer money away from people in need, and make it harder for local communities to solve homelessness." Across the U.S., more than 771,800 people lived without housing in 2024, according to a HUD count taken annually on a single night in January. It was the highest tally ever recorded, a 18.1% jump than in 2023, when officials counted about 650,000 people living in homeless shelters or in parks and on streets. Many cities have struggled to build more affordable housing in recent years, while some communities have pushed for harsher laws banning tents and sleeping in public spaces. More: The homeless population is increasing. Will Trump's second term make it worse? Trump has often expressed his distaste of homeless camps, singling out the removal of encampments on parks and federal land in Washington as a priority. Trump, in a 2023 campaign video, said: "We will use every tool, lever, and authority to get the homeless off our streets. We want to take care of them, but they have to be off our streets.' Other items in Trump's order include language that seeks to ensure that grants intended for substance use disorder prevention and recovery don't fund drug injection sites or illicit drug use. The order also prohibits convicted sex offenders who receive homelessness assistance from being housed with children and supports new homeless programs to exclusively house women and children. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Email him at This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: How Trump homelessness order could impact California Solve the daily Crossword

Examining reports Texas man who moved family to Russia died in Ukraine war
Examining reports Texas man who moved family to Russia died in Ukraine war

Yahoo

time38 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Examining reports Texas man who moved family to Russia died in Ukraine war

In late July 2025, amid high media interest in Derek Huffman, a Texas man who moved his family to Russia to escape LGBTQ+ values in the U.S., a claim (archived) circulated online that Huffman had died in combat after enlisting in the Russian armed forces. One X user wrote, "American Derek Huffman, who fled to russia over 'LGBT propaganda,' was killed on the front lines by a drone strike." The user attributed the claim to The Maltese Herald, a news site from Malta that ran the story on July 23, 2025. The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), Threads (archived), Bluesky (archived), Reddit (archived) and TikTok (archived). Snopes readers searched our page, asking whether the claim was true. We found no evidence Huffman had died in combat at the time of this writing. The Huffman Time YouTube channel, where the family documented their move to Russia, told several commenters on July 24 that Derek Huffman was alive. We also found no evidence of a reported video showing Huffman's death. DeAnna Huffman, Derek Huffman's wife, told Snopes via email on July 25 that "we are not doing any interviews or answering any questions at this time." A U.S. State Department spokesperson said the department was "aware of unconfirmed media reports of a U.S. citizen killed in Ukraine," and reiterated a warning against U.S. citizens traveling to Russia. We also reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm whether Derek Huffman had died in combat and await a reply. The claim appeared to stem from a July 23 report in The Maltese Herald. That report, which the Herald has since updated, claimed Derek Huffman died in a drone strike on the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war. It further claimed that footage of Huffman's death circulated online, but did not provide any links. We reached out to The Maltese Herald to ask why it initially believed the story to be true and await a reply. The updated version of the Herald's report included screenshots of the Huffman Time YouTube channel, run by DeAnna Huffman in her husband's absence, denying reports of his death. Despite this, the report still included the sentence "Derek Huffman, the US citizen from Texas, has been confirmed killed on the Ukrainian front lines by a drone strike." The Maltese Herald also had not updated an X post (archived) that claimed Derek Huffman died in combat. DeAnna Huffman, via the Huffman Time YouTube Channel, replied to a comment on July 24 reading, "Update: Derek has passed," writing in a series of comments: Why are you here lying? He's with his unit and for safety, not allowed to. Let people talk and lie. We know the truth, and when safe, it will eventually be widely seen. Yes, I understand you believe everything that the news says… and my husband and I have been laughing about it. You're more than welcome to believe the lies. Huffman said her husband was "alive and well." We found no reports in Russian media about Derek Huffman dying. On July 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media he had not previously heard about Huffman joining the armed forces but that it was possible for foreigners to volunteer. Snopes previously reported that Huffman enlisted with the Russian armed forces as a way to secure Russian citizenship for his family. Huffman said he moved himself, his wife and three daughters from Texas to Russia in order to escape LGBTQ+ values in the U.S. "Anti-Woke Dad Who Moved Family to Russia Sent to War Zone." The Daily Beast, 20 Jul. 2025, Bennetts, Marc. Texan Who Fled 'Woke' America Has Been Sent to Putin's Front Line. 22 Jul. 2025, "Derek Huffman Confirmed Killed by a Drone Strike." The Maltese Herald, 23 Jul. 2025, Huffman Time. "Girls Show Their Art, Summer Hats & Russian Life Updates 🇷🇺 | Big News & Fun Moments!" YouTube, 15 Jul. 2025, Reyes, Ronny. American Who Joined Russian Army to Escape "woke" US Has Been Sent to the Frontlines, Wife Says. 22 Jul. 2025, "Песков прокомментировал данные о добровольце из США Хаффмане на СВО." TACC, Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.

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