Trump 2.0 revives travel ban
How’s it going? Rebecca Morin here. I’m still thinking about the new “Wicked: For Good” trailer that dropped yesterday.
Trump brings back a travel ban
President Donald Trump is reviving a controversial policy from his first term: a travel ban. Trump on Wednesday issued a full travel ban blocking the entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries into the United States, which will go into effect on June 9. Trump cited "national security risks" posed by citizens of the targeted nations, in a proclamation he signed imposing the ban. The ban prohibits entry into the U.S. of foreign nationals from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Trump issued partial travel suspensions for foreign nationals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The restrictions do not apply to visas that have already been granted, lawful permanent residents, certain athletes (like those attending the Olympics or FIFA World Cup), or immediate family members of current visa holders. Trump’s new travel ban will likely be challenged in court.
- How will the new policy impact international travelers? Tourism, work, and student visa applicants from affected countries may face delays or denials. Those already in the U.S. may still be able to renew their visas, but reentry could be complicated.
- Some experts are warning travelers from those countries to not come to the United States. Michael Wildes, managing partner of Wildes and Weinberg, PC, a law firm that focuses on immigration, told Paste BN that he’s advising his clients to avoid traveling to the U.S. where their visas could be terminated, which could complicate future visa applications.
- Trump’s latest action comes as his sweeping tax and domestic policy bill is facing backlash from one key ally, Elon Musk. Trump has unleashed a flurry of executive actions that has bulldozed Musk’s loud opposition to the bill onto other matters, such as the travel ban.
- Speaking of Musk, Trump’s rosy relationship with the world’s richest man may come to an end. The president said during an Oval Office event on Thursday he was “disappointed” in his former DOGE adviser after he trashed the president’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” and urged lawmakers to vote against it.
A politics pit stop
- Trump orders investigation of Joe Biden's alleged 'cognitive decline'
- Trump bans Harvard from admitting new international students
- Pentagon to make change to military oversight of Greenland: report
- Spies vs. fentanyl: House task force to look at intel agencies
- Trump and China's Xi break the ice with first phone call since launch of trade war
Supreme Court drops key rulings, including one on 'reverse discrimination'
The Supreme Court agreed Thursday that a worker faced a higher hurdle to sue her employer as a straight woman than if she’d been gay – a decision that could trigger a wave of “reverse discrimination” lawsuits amid a national backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The justices unanimously rejected a lower court’s ruling that Marlean Ames could not sue the Ohio Department of Youth Services because she’d failed to provide “background circumstances” showing the department was “that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.” The Supreme Court’s decision doesn’t settle Ames’ discrimination claim but only revives it for additional court proceedings. What to know about the case.
- Supreme Court rules Mexico can't sue US gunmakers over cartel violence
- Supreme Court sides with Catholic Charities in case about tax exemptions and religion
Trump admin attacks LGBTQ+ gains during Pride Month
Pride Month, which lasts throughout June, typically celebrates LGBTQ+ culture. But the Trump administration has kicked off the month by launching a barrage of actions undermining the gains for LGBTQ+ Americans in the past couple of decades. From the Defense Department stripping gay rights activist Harvey Milk's name from an oil tanker to the National Park Service trying to fence off an iconic park in a gay neighborhood in Washington, D.C, the host city for WorldPride, advocates see the administration’s policies as “bullying.” How the Trump administration has targeted LGBTQ+ Americans.
- As WorldPride comes to DC, queer community vows to be 'louder than ever'
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