'Newsom has effectively assumed the presidency'
Joe Mathews at the San Francisco Chronicle
Gavin Newsom is the "chief executive of America's richest and most populous state," and in "this peculiar moment, that makes him the real president, by default," says Joe Mathews. There's a "guy living in the White House who some people call president. But real presidents swear an oath to execute the laws and to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution." Newsom is "acting like the president, not a governor, because the country needs someone to act like a president."
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Chicago Tribune editorial board
In the 1980s, Congress "lost its collective mind over the idea that its members' rental histories could undergo public scrutiny," but now the "same law is being invoked to attack Weigel Broadcasting," says the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Americans "should be aware that practically every keystroke on every website could potentially be tracked." But "most Americans are still surprised to learn how much of their personal information is being collected. And once it's given away, there's no getting it back."
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Spencer Neale at The American Conservative
Alex Ovechkin scored his "895th goal, a new record in the NHL," and Wayne Gretzky "provided a fitting bridge from past to present," says Spencer Neale. It's "not easy to watch your greatest successes pass by, but Gretzky has done so with great honor and respect." Gretzky's "goal record has long stood as one of the most insurmountable achievements," but "instead of dismay, Gretzky displayed humility, honor, and dignity as his lofty achievement was torn from the record books."
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Liam Karr at The Hill
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has "presented U.S. officials and the American people with a proposal: help bring security to the embattled central African country and, in return, receive access to valuable mineral deposits," says Liam Karr. But "American leaders should ask if it is worth the risk it poses to U.S. service members." The U.S. "should develop a comprehensive critical minerals strategy and seek out partnerships that best suit this strategy, not build a strategy around external offers."
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The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
In the US, a factual National Archives still exists — but for how long?
When I arrived in New York City two years ago — a Russian journalist fleeing my country after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — I was routinely asked: 'Do all Russians support Putin?' A good question, perhaps, but I'm unable to provide a fact-based answer. When a regime like Russia silences the press, takes control of all branches of government and installs loyalists to oversee historical records, the truth quickly disappears, becoming accessible only to the ruler's inner circle. Since Trump's inauguration, conversations in the U.S. have changed. Now, when I meet Americans, they rarely mention Russian politics outside of the Ukraine war. Instead, they share their anxieties about their own country, often with a nervous laugh. I recognize that laugh. In Russia, independent journalists and human rights activists spent years laughing over worst-case scenarios — until every single one of them came true. My Ukrainian friends have become masters of gallows humor. Then Americans ask: 'What should we do? What advice do you, who have seen this happen in your country, have for us here in the U.S.?' This again makes me laugh, given we weren't exactly successful in stopping our own dictator. Still, hindsight does provide some clarity, and while I don't have immediate solutions, I do have two urgent suggestions: Safeguard your independent media and defend your national archives. The war in Ukraine shows how, without a strong independent press and by employing a warped version of history, a dictator can act however they please. While outsiders struggle to understand how Russians accept Putin's justification for the invasion as a mission to 'de-Nazify' Ukraine, a country led by a Jewish president, or as the reclamation of historically Russian territory (a claim that quickly unravels under serious historical scrutiny), the reality is that within Russia these narratives are now embedded in the national story. This is the result of a deliberate reshaping of the historical narrative by the government. Putin's first steps in controlling Russia's narrative was dismantling the post-Soviet independent media. It began with television, shuttering the independent NTV channel under the pretense of a business dispute. He then tightened his grip on the media through laws, including the ' foreign agent ' designation, jailing reporters he disagreed with. Three days after invading Ukraine in 2022, he imposed military censorship, forcing over 1,500 journalists into exile. Today, it is illegal for journalists to contradict the government's version of events. This is why, in 2023, a few fellow exiled journalists and I launched the Russian Independent Media Archive: to preserve the fact-based journalism the Kremlin was so intent on erasing. Today, the archive holds 3.5 million documents from 131 (and counting!) independent national, regional and investigative outlets dating back to Putin's first years in office. Designed to resist takedowns and censorship, with a powerful search engine, the Russian Independent Media Archive is open to all, empowering readers, researchers and historians to challenge propaganda about a particular era with truth, and to answer questions with verified facts. Others are better placed than I to say if a similar closing down of free speech and independent media is possible in the U.S.. The signs are certainly there in the Trump administration's accelerated book banning campaign, ending federal funding for NPR and PBS and shutting down Voice of America. Beyond that, Trump has unleashed a wave of chaotic actions that have directly harmed innocent people and disrupted businesses both in the U.S. and around the world — from mass deportations and abrupt firings to sweeping tariffs and threats of international conflict. Amid this endless barrage of harmful actions, one seemingly benign yet potentially extremely dangerous move risks slipping by unnoticed: Trump's bid to take control of the National Archives' leadership. Putin closed Russia's archives stealthily, cloaking his actions in language that maintained an illusion of transparency. In 2004, he signed a Federal Archives Law restricting access to anything labeled a 'state secret.' Today, that list includes 119 broad categories — enough to conceal almost anything from public view. As a result, we Russians no longer have access to a trusted record of our country's past. If Americans know the National Archives, it's usually as the home of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But it's much more than a home for documents. It safeguards billions of records vital to government transparency, public accountability, historical preservation, veterans' services and the integrity of elections. These documents hold facts upon which a great many important decisions are made. If access were restricted or content altered or erased, as is already happening on numerous government websites, truth, as in Russia, begins to disappear. For as Orwell presciently wrote in 1984, 'he who controls the past controls the future.' Covering tracks, destroying evidence, blocking websites, interfering in elections, distorting history — it's hard to say who does it better, Putin or Trump. But there's still a crucial difference between my country and yours: In the U.S., your institutions are intact enough that if I ask, 'Do all Americans support Trump?' you could still answer based on facts. The question now becomes: For how much longer?
The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump order aims to make it easier to remove the homeless off the streets
President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order making it easier for cities and states to remove homeless people from the streets and get them treatment elsewhere. The order also calls on Attorney General Pam Bondi to 'reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit state and local governments' ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others,' according to a White House fact sheet. On the surface, it's framed as a solution — but underneath, it represents a troubling expansion of forced institutionalization, with few real answers about long-term care or housing. Trump's recent executive order on homelessness, which prioritizes forced relocation of unhoused people to treatment centers and penalizes open-air encampments, reads more like a campaign tactic than a compassionate or effective public policy. While public frustration around homelessness is understandable, this order channels that frustration in the wrong direction — targeting symptoms instead of causes, and people instead of systems. Framing homelessness as a threat to public safety rather than a humanitarian crisis is not only dangerous — it's inaccurate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, 'By removing vagrant criminals from our streets the Trump Administration will ensure that Americans feel safe …' This kind of language paints unhoused people as violent offenders, despite studies — like one from the University of Central Florida — showing that unhoused individuals are typically arrested for nonviolent infractions like public intoxication or shoplifting, not for violent crime. In fact, research shows they are far more likely to be victims of violence than perpetrators. Trump's approach to homelessness relies on institutionalization, encampment sweeps, and prioritizing states that crack down on outdoor sleeping. But it offers no real investment in building or preserving affordable housing — which experts across the political spectrum agree is the core issue. Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center said it best: 'Trump's expected actions are reckless, expensive, and make homelessness worse. … Real leaders focus on solutions, not on kicking people when they are down.' Supporters of the order argue that it gets people into treatment, but forced treatment rarely leads to long-term recovery — especially when it's divorced from stable housing. Research has consistently shown that Housing First, which prioritizes placing people in permanent housing before mandating treatment or sobriety, reduces homelessness by up to 88 percent and lowers costly emergency care visits. The problem isn't that Housing First failed — it's that we've underfunded and inconsistently applied it across the country. This order also disproportionately affects Black and brown communities, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities — groups who are already overrepresented in the unhoused population. And in cities like D.C., where Trump is directing federal agencies to evict people from public parks, the move will simply push people out of sight, further away from services and case managers. A few high-profile, tragic incidents involving homeless individuals should not dictate national policy. Fear should not be driving our response to poverty. If we want real results, we need real solutions: housing, mental health access, wraparound services — and most importantly, humanity. Homelessness isn't a crime. And treating it like one won't solve it.
The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump's trip to Scotland: What to know
President Trump departed Friday for a five-day stay in Scotland, where he is expected to meet with British and Scottish officials and visit his properties there. The White House has described the trip as a 'working visit,' pointing to planned discussions with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer about a trade agreement between the U.S. and the United Kingdom. But Trump will visit his properties at Turnberry and Aberdeen, giving a publicity boost to his personal golf courses and his family's brand while overseas. Here's what to know about Trump's visit. Talking trade with the UK Trump told reporters while leaving for Scotland that he would be meeting with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday evening, expecting that the two will work through more aspects of the trade deal they struck in May. 'We're meeting with the prime minister tonight. We're going to be talking about the trade deal that we made and maybe even approve it,' Trump said. He added, 'we want to talk about certain aspects, which is going to be good for both countries. More fine-tuning. Also, we're going to do a little celebrating together, because, you know, we got along very well. U.K.'s been trying to make a deal with us for like, 12 years, and haven't been able to do it. We got it done, and he's doing a very good job, this prime minister. Good guy.' Last month, Trump and Starmer detailed the trade agreement together while at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada after they first announced it in May. The deal includes 'billions of dollars of increased market access for American exports, especially for beef, ethanol, and certain other American agricultural exports,' according to the order, and includes a stipulation that the U.S. will create an annual quota of 100,000 cars for U.K. imports at a 10 percent tariff rate. It also stipulates that the U.K. remains committed to 'working to meet American requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminum products,' which would prompt the U.S. to 'promptly construct a quota at most-favored-nation rates for steel and aluminum articles.' The U.K. agreement was the first trade deal announced since Trump imposed tariffs on trading partners, although it was in the works before then. This week, Trump has also announced deals with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines and the administration has continued talks with the European Union. In addition to meeting with Starmer, Trump is slated to meet with First Minister of Scotland John Swinney during his visit. 'We have a lot of things in Scotland,' Trump said. 'I have a lot of love, my mother was born in Scotland. And he's a good man.' Spotlight on Trump's properties and possible protests While the White House has billed Trump's trip as a working visit to Scotland, critics have highlighted how the president is once again mingling politics with his business interests. Trump owns two golf courses in Scotland— one in Aberdeen that opened in 2012, and one at Turnberry that opened in 2014. He is slated to celebrate the opening of a third on the trip. The new 18-hold course is outside of Aberdeen and will be named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in Scotland. Ethics watchdogs and Democrats have accused Trump of blatantly profiting off of the presidency, pointing to the launch of a cryptocurrency, Trump-branded sneakers and Bibles and a line of fragrances, among other ventures. Visits to Trump properties tend to generate scrutiny, as the government pays for Secret Service and other White House staff to stay there as well. Trump is also expected to be greeted with protests during his stay in Scotland. A 'Stop Trump' coalition is organizing demonstrations in Aberdeen on Saturday, and in Edinburgh outside the U.S. consulate. Trump experienced protests during his last presidential visit to his Turnberry golf course in 2018, when groups gathered outside the property to boo the president and demonstrators flew a paraglider around the area with a message criticizing him. Trump left Washington amid GOP turmoil over Epstein Trump headed out of Washington while calls for the release of more materials related to deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein have grown. Trump said he hasn't thought about pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell on Friday morning, as she was set to meet for a second day with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche at the Tallahassee prison where she's serving her sentence. He also told reporters they should be focused on other Epstein associates and other topics, and suggested that he has a list of people who were associated with Epstein, other than him, that he could give to the media. 'People should really focus on how well the country's doing or they should focus on the fact that [former President] Barack Hussein Obama led a coup or they should focus on the fact that [former Treasury Secretary] Larry Summers from Harvard, that [former President] Bill Clinton, who you know very well, and lots of other friends, really close friends of Jeffrey [Epstein] should be spoken about,' Trump said. 'They don't talk about them, they talk about me. I have nothing to do with the guy,' he added. The Trump administration is facing increasing pressure to release more information from the Epstein files after the Justice Department earlier this month released a memo stating that Epstein killed himself and did not keep a client list. Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously said such files were on her desk. The House broke for its weeks-long August Recess one day early this week, while Republican leadership have tried to contain furor over the handling of the Epstein-related materials.
