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Black America Web
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Black America Web
ICE Masks Are Just Modern Ku Klux Klan Hoods [Op-Ed]
Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Donald Trump is barking over a proposed Democratic bill that would bar ICE and Border Patrol agents from wearing masks and covering their badges while on duty. He's claiming that Democrats 'must hate America' for pushing such a bill. Which is ironic, given that Trump has spent years cheerleading for an American immigration policy that borrows its aesthetics and tactics straight from the Ku Klux Klan, including the convenient use of masks to terrorize the vulnerable while staying anonymous. But this performative outrage about unmasking isn't about officer safety or patriotism. It's about protecting the same tradition of faceless, unaccountable violence that has always marked American repression. Trump knows exactly how powerful a mask can be when you want to terrorize without consequence. His own father was arrested at a Ku Klux Klan rally in Queens in 1927, back when hoods were the uniform of choice for bigots who wanted to raid and lynch with impunity while avoiding responsibility. The hood is the perfect accessory for cowards, and ICE masks are their modern update. Trump's real complaint is that unmasking would humanize the victims and implicate the perpetrators. And God forbid we acknowledge that this isn't some neutral bureaucratic process but an organized racist infliction of suffering on people trying to survive. Trump and his allies want these agents to be able to slap on a mask, break down doors at 3 a.m., haul families away, and go home for dinner with no one knowing their names. They want the terror without the guilt. The hoods may have changed style, but the impulse is exactly the same. What does the bill actually say? Simply that federal agents enforcing immigration laws shouldn't be able to hide who they are. That's it. It's about basic transparency and accountability. And yet Trump is shrieking as if it's an existential threat to the republic. Why? Because he knows the effect of taking away the mask: it forces responsibility. It turns abstract cruelty into personal choice. And it reveals the humanity of the victims and the culpability of the perpetrators. Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Trump loves the aesthetics of unaccountable force. He always has. In July 2020, when unidentified federal agents showed up in unmarked vans in Portland and grabbed protesters off the street, he praised them. He threatened to send federal agents into 'Democrat-run cities' without local permission, bragging about crushing dissent. He celebrated police who used tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters outside the White House for a photo-op with a Bible. He told police officers in 2017 not to be 'too nice' when arresting suspects, encouraging rougher treatment. He threatened to deploy the military under the Insurrection Act to put down protests in the summer of 2020, describing American streets like a war zone to justify force. He defended Kyle Rittenhouse, who killed two people during unrest in Kenosha, praising him as someone who was 'trying to get away' and acting in 'self-defense.' He repeatedly called for shooting looters, invoking violent crackdowns reminiscent of past police abuses against civil rights activists. He urged governors to 'dominate' protesters, mocking them for being weak if they didn't unleash their police. Trump wants government enforcers who can operate with impunity, who can make whole communities afraid to resist because they don't know who's coming for them next. That's the same logic the Klan used when they donned hoods and terrorized Black communities. The goal wasn't just anonymity; it was intimidation. It told Black people and other targeted groups that white supremacist violence was everywhere and no one could be held responsible. ICE and U.S. border protection have their own long history of abuse and impunity. Border Patrol agents have been caught sharing violently racist memes and joking about migrant deaths. ICE has separated mothers from babies, retaliated against immigrants who spoke out, and 'lost' children in the system. Source: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Many agents routinely obscure or remove nameplates. The idea that they 'need' this anonymity for safety is rich coming from a political movement that cheers when teachers get doxxed for including LGBTQ books or when librarians are threatened for 'woke' reading lists. They want school employees and activists to live in fear of being named, harassed, and punished. Transparency is apparently only dangerous when it threatens the people enforcing state violence. Trump's entire political brand is built on stoking fear of immigrants. He called them 'rapists' and 'animals.' He oversaw family separation policies that traumatized thousands of children. He threatened to shoot migrants in the legs. He made cruelty the point. Deliberate and public cruelty designed to make people afraid to even try coming here. And he wants the agents carrying out that cruelty to stay anonymous. Because if they're faceless and untouchable, then the violence doesn't have to feel personal. No one ever has to answer for it. That's why he's so desperate to preserve the mask. Because unmasking ruins the fantasy of righteous, impersonal enforcement. It forces the country to confront that these are real people choosing to inflict harm on other real people. It denies them the moral cover of being mere cogs in the machine. It opens the door to accountability. And Trump can't have that, because accountability is poison to the entire politics of fear he's built. His father, Fred Trump, understood that dynamic perfectly. The KKK hoods weren't just about secrecy; they were about collective power. They let ordinary white people commit extraordinary violence while pretending they were just like everyone else when the sun came up. The hood was both a disguise and a threat. And though Trump himself doesn't wear one, he's inherited that same impulse. He wants state power to be able to terrorize without consequence. Meanwhile, Trump's screaming about Democrats hating America is the height of projection. If you love America, you should want its agents identifiable and accountable. You should want them held to the highest standards of conduct precisely because they wield the power of the state. Trump doesn't want that. He wants them to be his shock troops, enforcing a racialized border regime in the shadows. The truth is simple: the Klan's hoods and ICE's obscured nameplates serve the same function. They both allow the state (or its proxies) to terrorize with plausible deniability. They both depend on fear to enforce social hierarchy. And they both rely on the cowardice of those who want to inflict harm without ever being recognized for it. We should rip the masks off. Make them show their badges. Make them answer for what they do. Because real patriotism doesn't mean cheering on secret police tactics or protecting government agents from accountability. It means refusing to let our public servants become a faceless mob. It means naming them. And it means remembering that anyone who fights that transparency is fighting for the right to terrorize in our name without consequence. Dr. Stacey Patton is an award-winning journalist and author of 'Spare The Kids: Why Whupping Children Won't Save Black America' and the forthcoming 'Strung Up: The Lynching of Black Children In Jim Crow America.' Read her Substack here . SEE ALSO: ICE Agents Claim Assaults Are Reasons For Masks, But That's A Lie Experts Sound The Alarm On New Rules For ICE Detention Center Visits SEE ALSO ICE Masks Are Just Modern Ku Klux Klan Hoods [Op-Ed] was originally published on
CNBC
09-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Stock futures are little changed after S&P 500 posts first winning session in three: Live updates
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 08, 2025 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images Stock futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday evening after the S&P 500 recouped some of its losses from this week's tariff-fueled slide. S&P 500 futures traded just below the flatline, along with Nasdaq 100 futures . Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were also flat. President Donald Trump announced late Wednesday a 50% tariff on Brazil partly in retaliation for the current trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in an alleged attempt to overturn the country's 2022 election results. The move was also due to the "very unfair trade relationship" with Brazil, Trump added, saying it has been "far from Reciprocal." That comes after Wall Street saw gains during Wednesday's session. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average posted their first positive sessions in three with a rise of 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.9%, closing at a record high. Those gains were spurred by optimism around the artificial intelligence trade, which sent Nvidia shares nearly 2% higher to briefly become the first public company to be valued at $4 trillion. The bullish AI sentiment helped lift stocks as investors moved past the latest developments surrounding Trump's tariffs. Prior to the president's announcement of levies on Brazil, he sent letters that dictated new U.S. rates on the imports of at least seven additional countries. He had also sent letters laying out new rates earlier this week to the leaders of 14 other countries, such as Japan and South Korea. The duties are set to take effect Aug. 1. "AI might be exactly what is needed to counteract any price increases from the tariffs," said Jeremy Siegel, Wharton School professor of finance and Wisdom Tree chief economist, on CNBC's "Closing Bell" Wednesday. "If we don't hear much bad effects, boy, this bull market certainly, I think, has further to run," Siegel also said. "If we begin to hear … there's some hurdles that are harder to overcome, then we're going to see choppiness, I think, this quarter." Concerns over the impact of tariffs, specifically as it relates to inflation and the labor market, also came up in the minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting unveiled Wednesday. However, the minutes showed that policymakers were split on how many interest rate cuts the central bank should make over the coming months. Investors are awaiting more developments on the economic front, as jobless claims data for the week ending July 5 is due out Thursday morning. Economists polled by Dow Jones are expecting an increase of 2,000 to 235,000 from the previous week.
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Bank of America delivers bold S&P 500 target
The S&P 500 is widely considered the benchmark index most investors use to measure performance for good reason. It includes 500 of the largest companies in America, crisscrossing sectors and industries. The index reflects the strength or weakness of the U.S. economy. Its pops and drops are a leading indicator market participants use to make buy-and-sell decisions. Earlier this year, the S&P 500's massive sell-off made investors anxious. Cracks in the jobs market and worry over sticky inflation amid President Trump's higher-than-expected tariffs have caused many to worry about stagflation or an outright recession. Related: Goldman Sachs revamps Fed interest rate cut forecast for 2025 It's been a different story since April. After tumbling 19% from its mid-February high, the S&P 500 has skyrocketed since April 9, when Trump paused most reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2, so-called "Liberation Day." The S&P 500 has now rallied over 25% from its early April low, a remarkable performance given the index's average annual return since 1957 is around 10%. The robust gains have investors wondering whether stocks have run too far, too fast. This is especially true given the White House's recent return to tough talk on tariffs and the looming end to the tariff pause approaching on August 1. The dynamic has caught the attention of Wall Street, and Bank of America recently updated its S&P 500 target. Image source: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images It's not easy being Jerome Powell nowadays. The Fed Chairman is tasked with upholding the Fed's dual mandate of low inflation and unemployment, two goals often at odds with one another. Balancing unemployment, which rises when the Fed increases interest rates, and inflation, which rises when the Fed cuts rates, is tough in regular times. This year, it's particularly challenging because of the mounting uncertainty associated with President Trump's tariff policy. Related: Legendary fund manager has blunt message on 'Big Beautiful Bill' The White House maintains tariffs are the best way to arm-wrestle manufacturing back to the US. However, most economists view tariffs as a consumer tax likely to increase inflation. President Trump has enacted 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and autos, 30% tariffs on China and a 10% baseline tariff on all imports. This week, he announced increased tariffs on key trading partners South Korea and Japan and, after extending the tariff pause deadline from July 9 to August 1, said no further extensions would be granted. Unfortunately, that does little to help give the Fed the clarity it needs to embrace dovish rate cuts, like it did late in 2024. Until there's certainty on tariff levels from trade deals, the Fed is left to wonder if additional rate cuts could fan inflationary fires even as the impact of tariffs on inflation hits. The Fed's hesitancy to lower interest rates creates a problem for the stock market. Stocks follow revenue and profit growth over time, and worries that inflation will slow household and business spending somewhat cap forward revenue and earnings outlooks. As a result, some are struggling to justify the S&P 500's massive rally since April, given the benchmark's price has increased much faster than forward earnings estimates, lifting valuation to worrisome levels. Analysts' forward 12-month earnings estimates have increased by just 1.2% since March, while the S&P 500 has gained about 11%, inflating the S&P 500's forward price-to-earnings ratio to 22.2, according to FactSet. That's meaningfully higher than the S&P 500's average forward P/E ratio over the past five and ten years, which are 19.9 and 18.4. Importantly, historically, the S&P 500 has struggled to generate returns in the year following a P/E ratio this high. While valuation is concerning, Bank of America isn't convinced that stocks have run out of steam. The popular Wall Street investment firm increased its S&P 500 target this week, citing corporate American resiliency. Related: Who saves money due to 'Big Beautiful Bill' tax cuts? "It's dangerous to underestimate Corporate America," wrote Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian. "The US isn't exceptional, but corporate America might be." The analyst concedes that despite progress on trade deals, passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and lower recession risks, uncertainty remains high, propping up yields on Treasury bonds. Still, policy uncertainty hasn't translated into worrisome levels of corporate uncertainty. "Most co's have continued to guide on profits, and estimate dispersion (a measure of EPS uncertainty) is near post-COVID lows," wrote Subramanian. "Volatility in currency, inflation and rates have failed to rattle S&P 500 margins since COVID -- corporates either adapted or dropped out of the index." The ability to adapt doesn't mean risks don't exist, though, which could cause short-term problems for stocks. The strategist rates the short-term outlook for the S&P 500 as "tepid to cool" due to a lack of catalysts. The medium-to-long-term outlook is "warm," though, because while sentiment has improved, it is "nowhere near dangerous euphoric levels." "Deregulation and a pick-up in business investment could buoy markets ahead of mid-term elections," wrote Subramanian. Subramanian admits long-term S&P 500 returns could underwhelm because of the index's current valuation. Still, the analyst's latest number crunching points to a higher, not lower, price target. After adjusting equity risk premium and bond yield assumptions, Subramanian comes up with a 12-month S&P 500 target of 6,600. Related: JPMorgan delivers blunt warning on S&P 500 The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
New York Post
08-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Zohran Mamdani won most votes of a candidate NYC primary history
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani won more votes than any other mayoral candidate in New York City primary election history, according to updated tallies released Tuesday. The city Board of Elections' unofficial figures showed that in round three of the Democratic Party's ranked-choice voting primary last year, the democratic socialist netted 565,639 votes after 102,000 votes were transferred from other candidates. 'With the updated RCV totals just released by the Board of Elections, our campaign has officially earned the most total votes in a primary in New York City History,' the state Assemblyman from Queens boasted on X. Advertisement Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani received more votes than any other mayoral candidate in New York City primary election history, according to Board of Election figures. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The previous record for a Democratic mayoral primary has been held since 1989, when David Dinkins bested Ed Koch in a non-ranked-choice election with 547,000 votes. In the 2021 democratic mayoral primary, Eric Adams received just over 404,000 votes in the final round of ranked choice — with around 50,000 of those votes getting transferred to him. Advertisement Mamdani's totals are expected to grow as while a small percent of ballots are still being counted. A campaign representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Newsweek
02-07-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
Around 33,000 Jobs Lost in June In Hiring 'Slowdown'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. More than 30,000 jobs were lost during the month of June as companies begin what many are viewing as a hiring 'slowdown,' according to a new report. Private employers shed 33,000 jobs, with the losses most concentrated among professional and business services, education and health services, ADP's new national employment report found. One expert told Newsweek it's a "troubling sign." Why It Matters In recent years, the job market has pushed toward a candidate-driven market, with employees likely to jump jobs and file resignations for higher pay and more work-life balance flexibility. However, the data shows that the tide might be turning, with a surge in layoffs in the tech and retail sectors. A study from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CGC) reported that June job cuts marked the highest total for a three-month period since 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when 1.2 million jobs were lost. A "Help Wanted" sign is seen at a Golden Krust location on Church Avenue on June 07, 2024 in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn borough New York City. A "Help Wanted" sign is seen at a Golden Krust location on Church Avenue on June 07, 2024 in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn borough New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images What To Know The hiring slowdown may be due to employers course correcting after strong job gains earlier in the year. Small businesses may especially be feeling the strain, as these businesses with 1 to 19 employees saw a decline of 29,000 jobs and those with 20 to 49 employees cut 18,000 jobs, according to the report. Large corporations, defined as those with 500 employees or more, meanwhile, added 30,000 jobs. Industry-wise, professional and business services declined by 56,000 jobs, while education and health services went down by 52,000. Leisure, hospitality and manufacturing saw gains between 15,000 and 32,000. The new data could signify that the job market is cooling but not collapsing entirely, experts say. With hiring slowing, even with the job losses concentrated in a few sectors, the data is a "troubling sign," according to Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin. "The unemployment rate has been one of the longstanding positive signs for the economy over the last few years, even as Americans faced inflationary pressures on all ends. The key factor to blame is uncertainty," Beene said. "Given the recent upheaval in economic policy with everything from tariffs to potential cuts to programs, employers are concerned what the next year will look like, and that concern is unfortunately manifested in both cutting positions and not refilling roles as employees leave or retire." What People Are Saying Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, said in the report: "Though layoffs continue to be rare, a hesitancy to hire and a reluctance to replace departing workers led to job losses last month. Still, the slowdown in hiring has yet to disrupt pay growth." Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: "This report doesn't indicate a slowdown; we're already in one. The bigger question is, why is the stock market ignoring it? "This market isn't tied to economic fundamentals anymore. It's being propped up by a small group of mega-cap tech names. Just five companies—what I call 'TAANG'—now make up over 22% of the S&P 500 index. The broader economy may be slowing, but these few stocks are distorting the overall picture." Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of told Newsweek: "33,000 jobs lost isn't catastrophic, but it's the direction that's got my attention. Like when your car starts making that weird noise. It might be nothing, but your gut tells you it isn't a good sign. "So why are we seeing this? Companies got spooked. They're reading the same headlines we are. Inflation lingering, the Fed playing hardball with interest rates due to tariff's, consumers tightening their belts. When CEOs get nervous, the first thing they do? Hit the brakes on hiring. It's Corporate 101: when you're not sure what's coming, you batten down the hatches." What Happens Next Ryan said the job market still remains strong despite the slowdown, with unemployment at a historic low of 4.2 percent for May. "But what we're seeing is this shift from 'hire everyone with a pulse' to 'let's be a little more selective.' Companies are getting pickier, taking their time, really thinking through each hire." It could be a "warning shot" for the broader economy, Ryan said. "What I tell people is this: if you're job hunting right now, don't panic, but do adjust your expectations. It might take a little longer, you might need to be a bit more flexible, but good people are still getting hired," Ryan said.
