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Vice president says U.S. hopes to strike ‘Donald Trump-style’ deal with Greenlanders
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JD Vance said during his visit to Greenland on Friday that he doesn’t believe military action will ever be needed on the island amid President Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S. requires control of the semi-autonomous territory.
“We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary,” the vice president said at a U.S. military base. “We think this makes sense, and because we think the people of Greenland are rational and good, we think we’re going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump-style, to ensure the security of this territory but also the United States of America.”
Meanwhile, Trump has signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian Institution by threatening to withdraw federal funding from its programs that contain what he calls “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”
The president said there has been a “concerted and widespread” effort over the past decade to rewrite American history by replacing “objective facts” with a “distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”
His order instructs Vice President JD Vance to “remove improper ideology” from the Smithsonian’s museums, education, and research centers and the National Zoo.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued a preliminary injunction, which means the agency will continue to exist until she can further rule on a lawsuit seeking to preserve the agency.
Berman Jackson said the court “can and must act” to save the agency from being shuttered. She noted In her ruling that without court intervention, Donald Trump would move quickly to close down the agency – set up to protect consumers in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.
Mike Bedigan has the details.
Donald Trump is reportedly aiming to slash the workforces of nearly two dozen federal agencies by between 8 and 50 percent, according to a White House document preparing federal officials for the enormous cuts.
According to the Washington Post, which obtained the document and spoke to two people familiar with it on condition of anonymity, its contents include plans for 22 agencies.
People familiar with the document told the paper that the plans are fluid and that the numbers are not final.
That said, the plans reportedly show that upcoming cuts will have a severe impact on what federal agencies will be able to accomplish in their diminished state.
Graig Graziosi reports.
President Donald Trump is at his golf club in West Palm Beach this morning, arriving at 9:17 a.m.
This is the 18th day of his 68-day presidency in which he has played golf — just over one-quarter.
CBS News reports that staff members at the U.S. Institute of Peace were informed on Friday that their termination is effective immediately, according to three sources familiar with the situation.
It remains unclear whether the terminations affect the entire organization; however, one source indicated that the layoffs impact a significant majority of the nonprofit, including multiple departments within the congressionally funded body.
The Trump administration has attempted to freeze its funding and overhaul its board. President Trump signed an executive order in February aimed at dismantling the USIP. USIP has approximately 300 employees and a budget of around $55 million. The institute’s mission is to promote conflict resolution and prevent conflict globally.
Affected employees received notifications of their termination via email from a USIP email address.
Discussing his upcoming White House dinner with longtime foe Donald Trump, Bill Maher told NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo that he has “credibility” with the president and his MAGA base’s “respect” because of his honesty “about the woke train to crazy town.”
Maher also suggested that his sit-down with the president was similar to Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972, though he acknowledged that he doesn’t think his one-on-one with Trump will do much to “heal” the country.
Read more from Justin Baragona:
Wyatte Grantham-Philips writes:
Even if you’re not in the market for a new car, U.S. President Donald Trump‘s 25% tariffs on auto imports could make owning one more expensive.
The new taxes, which are set to begin April 3 and expand in the following weeks, are estimated to raise the average cost of a car imported from another country by thousands of dollars. But repairs for vehicles that currently use foreign-made parts are also expected to get pricier — and, as a result, hike insurance costs farther down the road.
While the White House says these tariffs will foster domestic manufacturing and raise $100 billion in revenue annually, economists stress that straining the auto industry’s global supply chain brings significant disruptions. Dealerships and car repair shops will likely have little choice but to raise prices — leading drivers across the country to pay more for everyday maintenance.
Here’s what you need to know.
Hannah Schoenbaum writes:
Utah became the first state to prohibit flying LGBTQ+ pride flags at schools and all government buildings after the Republican governor announced he was allowing a ban on unsanctioned flag displays to become law without his signature.
Gov. Spencer Cox, who made the announcement late Thursday night, said he continues to have serious concerns with the policy but chose not to reject it because his veto would likely be overridden by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Starting May 7, state or local government buildings will be fined $500 a day for flying any flag other than the United States flag, the Utah state flag, military flags or a short list of others approved by lawmakers. Political flags supporting a certain candidate or party are not allowed.
Read more:
Io Dodds writes:
A Harvard scientist who fled Russia because she opposed the war in Ukraine is facing deportation from the U.S. after being detained over undeclared frog embryos.
Kseniia Petrova, a bioinformatician at the Kirschner Lab at Harvard Medical School, was detained at the U.S. border on February 16 while returning from France and had her visa revoked, according to her friend Cora Anderson.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Petrova’s detention in a statement to The Independent, alleging that she had “knowingly broken the law” by attempting to “smuggle” undeclared frog embryos and petri dishes through customs.
Read more:
President Donald Trump has threatened to gut the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution in an executive order that aims to eliminate the museum network’s “anti-American ideology.”
Trump wants to overhaul the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex to “restore truth and sanity to American history,” his latest executive order signed Thursday said.
The president does not want Congress to fund exhibits that “divide Americans by race,” and singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the forthcoming Women’s History Museum, which the order alleges plans to “recognize men as women.”
Read more from Rhian Lubin and Darlene Superville:
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