Free Republic

GENEVA (Reuters) -U.N. agencies on Friday appealed to Washington to continue allowing asylum seekers access to the country and to be given due process after President Donald Trump vowed to freeze migration from "Third World" countries following an attack near the White House. Asked to respond to Trump's remarks, U.N. human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told a Geneva press briefing: "They are entitled to protection under international law, and that should be given due process." U.N. refugee agency spokesperson Eujin Byun echoed those remarks. "When people who need protection arrive in their territory, they have to have a due...

COPENHAGEN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Iceland has designated the potential collapse of a major Atlantic Ocean current system a national security concern and an existential threat, enabling its government to strategize for worst-case scenarios, the country's climate minister told Reuters. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, current brings warm water from the tropics northward toward the Arctic, and the flow of warm water helps keep Europe’s winters mild. But as warming temperatures speed the thaw of Arctic ice and cause meltwater from Greenland’s ice sheet to pour into the ocean, scientists warn the cold freshwater could disrupt the current’s...

WASHINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Legislation moving through Congress that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history would also allow eight Republican senators to seek hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for alleged privacy violations stemming from the Biden administration's investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.The bill, which passed the Senate on Monday, includes a clause that would allow lawmakers whose phone records were subpoenaed as part of that probe to sue the Justice Department for damages.Jumpstart your morning with the latest legal news delivered straight to your inbox from The Daily Docket newsletter. Sign...

Summary Tear gas, car chases. The immigration crackdown in Chicago grows increasingly heated In Chicago neighborhoods, locals keep vigil for ICE operations Sounding the alarm on immigration crackdown by whistle and messaging apps CHICAGO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The immigration agents' tear gas grenades clinked and then exploded against the concrete, shrouding the block in plumes of white gas. The dozen or so residents at the scene only screamed louder."We don't want you here," yelled Rae Lindenberg. The 32-year-old, who works in marketing, ran out of her apartment when she heard the shrill sound of whistles. "Get out of...

Atlas browser challenges Google's Chrome dominanceAtlas offers AI features like content summarization and task automationAnalysts see ad competition riskOpenAI on Tuesday unveiled ChatGPT Atlas, a long-anticipated artificial intelligence-powered web browser built around its popular chatbot, in a direct challenge to Google Chrome's dominance.The launch marks OpenAI's latest move to capitalize on 800 million weekly active ChatGPT users, as it expands into more aspects of users' online lives by collecting data about consumers' browser behavior. It could accelerate a broader shift toward AI-driven search, as users increasingly turn to conversational tools that synthesize information instead of relying on traditional keyword-based results...

Crypto prices tumbled amid investor concerns over economic stability and escalating trade disputes. Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two major cryptocurrencies, crashed after United States President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on 'any and all critical software' import goods from China. The continuing trade tensions between the two countries were significantly heightened by this move. According to Reuters, Bitcoin had dropped 8.4% to £78,000 ($104,782) as of 21:20 GMT. Ethereum also had a 5.8% decline, settling at £2,700 ($3,637). XRP, DOGE and Ada fell around 19%, 27%, and 25% in the last 24 hours, respectively, Bloomberg reported.…..

CHICAGO (Reuters) -On a chilly morning outside Nash Elementary School in a working-class Chicago neighborhood, teachers greeted students with the usual high-fives and hugs, while handing out sheets with red-bolded words proclaiming in capital letters: “Defend your rights under the threat of occupation.” Four weeks into President Donald Trump's "Operation Midway Blitz" deportation drive, mass arrests across the city - which have swept up parents on their way to school and entire families - have induced fear in immigrant communities and protectiveness from educators, according to city leaders, the teachers' union, parents and immigration advocates. "My Latino students, they're fearing...

Summary Powerful Trump aide Stephen Miller key part of crackdown ICE agents being redeployed to target activist groups George Soros' charitable network on White House list Trump using isolated ICE clashes to justify national crackdown WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role, according to officials. The Trump administration plans to deploy America's counter-terrorism apparatus - including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department -...

Summary Trump threatens to jail mayor of Chicago, Illinois governor National Guard troops gather outside Chicago despite local opposition Ex-FBI chief Comey pleads not guilty in case Trump pushed for CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Some 500 National Guard troops were deployed near Chicago on Wednesday on President Donald Trump's orders despite the objections of the Chicago mayor and Illinois governor, who decried the militarization of their city as an unnecessary provocation. Trump in turn called for the jailing of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, neither of whom has been accused of criminal wrongdoing. Both have...

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg alleged on Tuesday that she and other detainees of the Gaza flotilla were subjected to torture in the Israeli prison they were held. Thunberg told a news conference in Stockholm that she and others were “kidnapped and tortured” by the Israeli military. She declined to elaborate, adding when pressed that she didn’t get clean water and that other detainees were deprived of critical medication. “Personally, I don’t want to share what I was subjected to because I don’t want it to make headlines and ‘Greta has been tortured’, because that’s not the story here,” she said,...

WASHINGTON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - An FBI agent was relieved of duty for declining to arrange a "perp walk" of the bureau's former director, James Comey, in front of news media cameras after Comey was federally charged last month, four people briefed on the matter said on Friday.Comey was charged on September 25 with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation, in a dramatic escalation of President Donald Trump's retribution campaign against his political enemies.An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment on personnel matters.Reuters could not immediately determine how or when senior FBI officials wanted to stage bringing Comey into...

Oct 3 (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Joe Biden exceeded his authority by withdrawing large areas along U.S. coastlines from future offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled on Thursday.U.S. District Judge James Cain in Lake Charles, Louisiana, sided with Republican states and oil and gas industry groups that sued to block Biden's move to protect all federal waters off the East and West coasts, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and portions of the northern Bering Sea in Alaska.Biden, on one of his final days in office, used his authority under the 70-year-old Outer Continental Shelf...

BOGOTA, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Saturday dismissed the U.S. decision to revoke his visa and accused Washington of violating international law over his criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.The U.S. said on Friday it would revoke Petro's visa after he took to New York's streets on Friday to join a pro-Palestinian demonstration and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump's orders.Read about innovative ideas and the people working on solutions to global crises with the Reuters Beacon newsletter. Sign up here."I no longer have a visa to travel to the United States. I don't...

European officials are uneasily digesting U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations this week, where he blasted the world body and attacked Europe’s immigration policies, energy transition and commitment to climate action. Unlike his last appearance in 2020, when China dominated his speech, his European allies were the focus of some of his harshest criticism, getting mentioned twice as often as Beijing. "Immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe," Trump told the assembly. "Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe.” The speech dismayed many in Europe - and left some bemused - -...

The United States said it would revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa after he took to New York's streets on Friday in a pro-Palestinian demonstration and urged U.S. soldiers to disobey President Donald Trump's orders. "We will revoke Petro’s visa due to his reckless and incendiary actions," the State Department posted on X. Petro, addressing a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters outside the U.N. headquarters in Manhattan, called for a global armed force with the priority to liberate Palestinians, adding, "This force has to be bigger than that of the United States." "That's why from here, from New York, I ask...

When Israel arrested 24-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi for inciting terrorism in 2023, mainstream media outlets described her as a modern-day Gandhi. The New York Times hailed Tamimi as an "international symbol of Palestinian resistance." Reuters claimed her protests of "Israeli land seizures" had made her "a hero since she was a teenager." Even before her arrest, CNN called her a "fearless teen" who suffered the horrors of "living under Israeli military occupation." What those outlets have not reported, among other things, is Tamimi’s praise for Adolf Hitler, promises to drink the blood of Jews, and declarations that she is...

NEW YORK, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Hundreds of people marched on Wall Street to campaign for an array of issues, including economic justice, and diversity and inclusion, in downtown New York on Thursday. "We're coming to Wall Street instead of Washington this year," said Reverend Al Sharpton, one of the event's organizers. He accused Wall Street of benefiting from government tax cuts at the expense of programs such as Medicaid and food assistance. "Corporate elites are running America, and we want to try and do something about that," said Jackie Barham, a marcher who attended with other members of Brooklyn...

Summary Nearly half of recent cases in crackdown target minor offenses Large teams of federal agents assist in routine policework Effort turns up guns, large quantities of drugs WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - One night last week, police officers in Washington stopped a man carrying a designer handbag after spotting a small, clear plastic bag poking out of it, which they suspected might contain marijuana. It was the kind of encounter that is a staple of local police work, only this time the officers who asked to look inside the bag were accompanied by agents from five separate federal law...

Summary ICE officers face burnout, frustration amid Trump's aggressive enforcement Public outrage grows over ICE's arrest tactics ICE launches recruitment drive to hire 10,000 officers WASHINGTON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Under President Donald Trump, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has become the driving force of his sweeping crackdown on migrants, bolstered by record funding and new latitude to conduct raids, but staff are contending with long hours and growing public outrage over the arrests. Those internal pressures are taking a toll. Two current and nine former ICE officials told Reuters the agency is grappling with burnout and frustration among...

Summary Abrego ordered released on bail after wrongful deportation Trump administration brought him back to face criminal charges Defense lawyers fear deportation to third country despite release Noem says U.S. will continue to seek his deportation Aug 22 (Reuters) - Kilmar Abrego, the migrant whose wrongful deportation in March to his native El Salvador made him a symbol of President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration policies, was released from criminal custody in Tennessee on Friday, his lawyer said.Abrego, 30, was deported to his native El Salvador in March despite a 2019 immigration court ruling that he not be sent there due...