Maine police chief says officer arrested by ICE is missed by colleagues and was eligible to work
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Old Orchard Beach Police Department reserve Officer Jon Luke Evans, of Jamaica, on July 25. The agency, which has been ramping up arrests across the country to fulfill President Donald Trump's promise of mass deportations, said Evans overstayed his visa and unlawfully attempted to purchase a firearm.
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Yahoo
a few seconds ago
- Yahoo
Trump once hailed mRNA vaccines as a 'medical miracle.' Now RFK Jr. is halting advancement
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hailed as a 'medical miracle' the mRNA vaccines developed to combat the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Now, his health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is effectively halting the vaccine technology's advancement. Kennedy announced Tuesday that the federal government is canceling $500 million worth of mRNA research development contracts, putting an end to U.S.-backed hopes for the vaccine technology to prevent future pandemics, treat cancer or prevent flu infections. It's a sharp pivot from how Trump and top officials described the technology during his first term. Here's a look at what Trump and some of his closest advisers have said about mRNA vaccines that were credited with slowing the pandemic five years ago. Robert Redfield, Trump's director of the Centers for Disease Control 'A COVID-19 vaccine is the thing that will get Americans back to normal everyday life,' said Redfield, in a Sept. 16, 2020, statement. Americans were still donning face masks as one of the few ways of protecting themselves from a virus that had killed nearly 200,000 in just over six months. Redfield promised that the new vaccines — developed for the first time using mRNA technology — would offer a return to normalcy. Trump wanted to make sure Biden didn't get credit 'Don't let Joe Biden take credit for the vaccines ... because the vaccines were me, and I pushed people harder than they've ever been pushed before .. The vaccines are — there are those that say it's one of the greatest things. It's a medical miracle.' Trump said on Nov. 26, 2020, during a news conference in the White House. Weeks earlier, Trump had lost the election in a bitter race against Democrat Joe Biden. As the Republican grappled with leaving Washington and continued to plan for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, he reminded reporters that he oversaw the development of the new shots. 'They say it's somewhat of a miracle and I think that's true,' Trump said on Dec. 8, 2020, during a speech at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The event celebrated 'Operation Warp Speed," the government-funded project that accelerated vaccine development with pharmaceutical companies. Trump was promoting the shots as the government prepared to offer them to frontline health workers. Trump's first-term health secretary, Alex Azar 'It's clear that many Americans are learning these vaccines are safe and extraordinarily effective,' Azar said on Dec. 16, 2020, at a news conference. The government was shipping out mRNA vaccines to states, preparing to distributed it to the masses. Azar noted that a vast majority of Americans — between 70% to 80%, according to polls — intended to get the new COVID-19 vaccine that would be available to the public in the coming months. Gen. Gusave Perna, Trump's chief operating officer for pandemic response 'It takes somewhere between five and 10 years to put a vaccine on the street. Look what we did. Now, that's because of the great work of the scientists who had done the research on mRNA vaccines and others because of industry working on this, they just didn't wake up one day and start working on it,' Perna said during a podcast interview that aired on May 9, 2023. Reflecting in an interview about his time overseeing 'Operation Warp Speed,' Perna credited the mRNA technology with the government's ability to get shots in arms mere months after the pandemic started claiming lives in the U.S. in 2020. Trump supporters boo his vaccine accomplishments 'Take credit because we saved tens of millions of lives. Take credit. Don't let them take that away from you,' Trump said on Dec. 19, 2021 during a live interview with former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly. Daily COVID-19 deaths had ticked down to 1,500 compared to 3,000 from a year earlier after Americans began receiving their first doses of the mRNA vaccines. Trump revealed to O'Reilly and the audience that he had just gotten a COVID-19 booster. The crowd booed. Amanda Seitz, The Associated Press
Axios
2 minutes ago
- Axios
Trump doesn't oppose Netanyahu plan for full Gaza occupation: U.S. officials
President Trump does not oppose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to launch a new military operation to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, U.S. and Israeli officials say. Why it matters: The Israeli Security Cabinet is expected to approve on Thursday a highly controversial plan to expand the war. According to the sources, Trump has decided not to intervene and to let the Israeli government make its own decisions. The big picture: The new operation to occupy additional areas of central Gaza, including Gaza City, is expected to take at least several months and involve displacing around 1 million Palestinian civilians. The Israel Defense Forces would also be moving into areas where Israel believes hostages are being held, possibly risking their lives. Netanyahu is poised to escalate the war despite massive international pressure to stop the fighting and prioritize the humanitarian crisis in the enclave — and over the objections of his own top generals. What they're saying: Two U.S. officials tell Axios Trump won't intervene in the Israeli decision-making around the new operation. When asked on Tuesday about a possible Israeli full occupation of Gaza, Trump said: "I really can't say. It is going to be pretty much up to Israel." Netanyahu and his aides claim Hamas isn't interested in signing a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage deal on terms Israel can accept, and that only military pressure can change that. "We are not willing to remain in the current limbo and we are not willing to surrender to Hamas' demands — so essentially only one option is left, to take a drastic step. This is the last card we have left," a Netanyahu aide told Axios. Behind the scenes: One U.S. official said Trump was moved by the video released by Hamas of an Israeli hostage digging his own grave. "It influenced the president, and he is going to let the Israelis do what they need to do," the official said. At the same time, the U.S. official said the Trump administration doesn't support Israeli annexation of parts of Gaza — another possibility discussed by Israeli officials. Between the lines: The IDF has been reluctant to attack the areas in Gaza that the new plan focuses on for fear of accidentally killing hostages. According to Israeli officials, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir told Netanyahu such a move would endanger the hostages and could lead to Israeli military rule in Gaza with full responsibility over 2 million Palestinians. "You are walking into a trap," Zamir told Netanyahu in a meeting on Tuesday, according to multiple reports in the Israeli press. It appears that Netanyahu was unmoved. Split screen: The White House plans to focus in the coming weeks on addressing the starvation crisis in Gaza, though the expansion of the war would make that more difficult. In a meeting Monday evening at the White House, Trump and special envoy Steve Witkoff discussed plans for the U.S. to significantly increase its role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. "The United States remains committed to helping alleviate the situation in Gaza and is supportive of efforts to increase humanitarian aid. However, the United States is not 'taking over' the aid effort," a U.S. official told Axios. What to watch: The Trump administration plans to increase its funding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in order to open new aid centers in parts of Gaza to which displaced Palestinians will be relocated, both in north and central Gaza, sources say.
The Hill
2 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump officials eye Indiana as redistricting war intensifies
The Trump administration is turning its attention to Indiana as Republicans look for other red states to follow Texas's lead in the building redistricting battle. Vice President Vance is visiting Indianapolis on Thursday to meet with Gov. Mike Braun (R) amid chatter about potential mid-cycle redistricting in the Hoosier State. Braun has said there are no commitments at the moment, but left the door open for the matter to come up at the meeting. The visit suggests Indiana could be one of the next states on the GOP's list to move forward with redrawing congressional maps, though it's unclear whether Indiana Republicans have the appetite for it. 'They are completely rewriting the implied rule book,' Pete Seat, a GOP strategist and former communications director for the Indiana Republican Party, said of the redistricting push. 'It's a Pandora's box, because if you do it in Texas, you do it here, you do it in some other red states. What's going to happen in the blue states? They're going to respond in kind. And then you have a redistricting arms race, and I don't know where that ends,' Seat said. Vance's visit to Indianapolis comes amid escalating drama over a proposed redraw in Texas, where a plan backed by President Trump could net Republicans five House seats ahead of next year's high-stakes midterms. Texas Democrats fled the state over the weekend, breaking quorum in a last-ditch bid to stall the state legislature from moving forward. Meanwhile, the developments in the Lone Star State have had a domino effect across the country. In calling for the Texas changes last month, Trump floated that 'there could be some other states' on the table. The Trump administration's political allies were quietly exploring options in Indiana late last month, Punchbowl News reported. And the Indy Star reported on Wednesday that Vance was expected to talk to state leaders about a potential redraw. Braun's office confirmed to The Hill that the governor is set for a private meeting with Vance on Thursday to discuss a number of topics, without specifying whether redistricting is on that agenda. Vance's team also said that the vice president will 'discuss a variety of issues' with Braun and state officials while in town to headline a Republican National Committee fundraiser, according to a statement obtained by NewsNation, The Hill's sister station. 'At the end of the day, it's up to Braun and the state legislature. But … I'm sure [redistricting] is going to be touched upon, because it's a situation where you would be, if the opportunity presents itself based on the law, on the data, etc, then you'd be foolish not to try to take advantage of it,' said GOP strategist Ford O'Connell, a former Trump White House and campaign surrogate. Asked on Tuesday whether he'd call for a special session if the vice president asked him to do so for redistricting, the Indiana governor told reporters that 'whatever we discuss there, and if that topic comes up, it's exploratory.' 'So there's been no commitments made other than, I think they're going to come into every state that's got the possibility of that happening, and obviously you can see in Texas how that's eventuated,' Braun said, according to WXIN, a NewsNation affiliate. To change the maps, Braun would need to call a special session of the state General Assembly, where Republicans boast a supermajority — and they'd have to act quickly to make it happen before the midterms. 'My guess, if I had to guess, would be that JD Vance would try to sort of take the governor's temperature on the likelihood of a special session being called,' said Steven Webster, a political science professor at the University of Indiana in Bloomington. O'Connell argued that it would be wise for Vance and Braun to have a conversation about the options, 'because if the shoe was on the other foot, the Democrats would be having that conversation if they hadn't already eaten up all the Republican seats.' Republicans hold seven of the state's nine congressional seats, but some think the GOP could get at least one more. 'That seems kind of like a small thing. But on the other hand, when the balance of power is often so tight in Washington, I think there's probably value in getting any seats that you possibly could if you're a political party,' Webster said. Redrawn Indiana lines would likely squeeze Rep. Frank Mrvan (D-Ind.) in the northwest, while Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.) may be somewhat safer in his district around Indianapolis. 'It is no surprise that some believe redistricting is the only option to cling to power when they know the American people are rejecting the damage done by the House Republican Majority,' Mrvan said in a statement on potential Indiana redistricting, arguing it would be 'reprehensible' to call the state Assembly in for a special session on the matter. Other Indiana Democrats have pushed back strongly against the possibility. 'Sending the Vice President here to beg for another Congressional seat is beyond absurd,' Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian said in a statement. State Rep. Matt Pierce said in a statement from the state House Democratic caucus that Trump and Vance are 'desperate' if they think that 'having seven of the nine seats in Indiana held by Republicans is not enough.' Whether Vance ultimately raises the matter during his visit or not, it remains unclear whether Indiana Republicans would want to pursue it. 'We know that redistricting is expensive. And we had just done this back in 2021,' said Carly Schmitt, a political science professor at Indiana State University, pointing to redistricting efforts after the 2020 census. 'If we're thinking about the need to shore up more Republican [power] either at the state level or the congressional level, it's already happened.' Indiana has an 'A' grade in the Gerrymandering Project's report card for its latest round of congressional redistricting, while Texas has an 'F' grade. 'My sense is there will be – and is – hesitation regarding this idea. Because Republicans in this state take great pride in how we redistrict,' Seat said. 'You're not hearing a lot of excitement for this idea that the way you have seen and heard it in Texas.' But Indiana isn't the only sign that the Trump administration is looking for redistricting opportunities beyond the Lone Star State. Missouri Republicans have signaled openness to redistricting after the state House Speaker pro tem reportedly got a call from the White House last month, according to the Missouri Independent. Ohio is set to redistrict due to state requirements, and Florida Republicans have also floated a redraw in Texas's stead. Meanwhile, Democrats are looking to counter would-be GOP gains by weighing redistricting in blue strongholds, including New York and California. The Golden State's Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said he's moving forward with a plan to put redistricting before voters this fall, contingent on what happens in Texas. 2024 Election Coverage The talk of tit-for-tat redistricting and the potential for other states to get involved threatens to roil next year's midterms, as Republicans defend their slim 219-212 majority in the House. 'I mean, it could very well end with the exact same margin that we have now,' Seat said. If Texas moves forward, prompting California and other states, he added, 'I think it's just going to be a tit-for-tat until every single deadline hits.'
