Bracing for Putin in Alaska
Efforts to scuttle the high-stakes meeting have not been subtle. European officials issued statements in recent days on the futility of Trump negotiating with Putin over Ukraine without Ukraine, urging the U.S. president on Wednesday to not cut a unilateral deal. Kyiv warned that Moscow's proposals for peace — rewarding its war of conquest with territorial concessions — are a nonstarter. Many Russia experts are hoping one side simply decides to call it off. Despite their efforts, the summit — haphazardly scheduled on American soil with days to spare — is moving ahead, with Trump scheduled to host the Russian leader at a U.S. military base in Anchorage on Friday, the first meeting of its kind since 2021.
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The Hill
3 minutes ago
- The Hill
They are twisting the 14th Amendment out of shape
Every American citizen owes a debt of gratitude to John Mercer Langston, architect of the 14th Amendment and founding dean of the Howard University School of Law. His writings and speeches are critical to understanding the current implementation of the most important provision of the U.S. Constitution. Just a month after the ratification of the 13th Amendment in December 1865, Langston spoke about the interpretations by several attorneys general that African-Americans could not be citizens. As the first Black person to address the Missouri legislature on Jan. 9, 1866, Langston said, 'Indeed, it has not been uncommon for distinguished officials, occupying high positions in the State and National Governments, to make the assertion that ours is and shall remain a white man's Government.' However, he continued, that is not what the Founders decided. 'It was South Carolina that made the proposition, when the Articles of Confederation were under consideration in Congress, to insert the word 'white' between the words 'free' and 'inhabitants,' in the fourth article of that document, and make it read that 'the free white inhabitants of each of these States, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from justice excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free citizens in the several States.' Eleven States were called upon to vote on this proposition. Each State had one vote. Eight States voted against it, two States for it, and one State was divided in her vote. Thus, as early as 1778, with an unusual unanimity, our Fathers branded this word and set their seal of disapprobation upon the unjust discrimination which it imports.' In fact, Langston notes that the franchise was available. 'When the Constitution was ratified, free colored men voted in a majority of all the States. They voted in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and North Carolina.' Between 1812 and the Dred Scott decision, Langston decries a 'National apostacy in this matter.' He cited an 1843 ruling by Attorney General H.S. Legere that a Black applicant for land could not be considered a citizen. Langston was leader of the Equal Rights League from 1864-1868, the political movement that shepherded the 14th Amendment. The 4 million Africans in the U.S. had the same issue that sparked the American Revolution — taxation without representation. 'It has always been our fortune to be held to a full discharge of all the obligations and duties which citizenship imposes, while it has ever been our misfortune to be denied well-nigh all the privileges, advantages, and rights, it naturally confers,' said Langston. 'We have been taxed and denied representation. We have paid to the government the full debt of our allegiance; and then we have been denied the protection due its defenders.' The novel and contrived interpretation that the 14th Amendment bans use of race leaves out its role as repealing the Dred Scott decision. The same Congress that approved the 14th Amendment by two-thirds of both houses would charter the Freedmen's Bank and Howard University. Sixteen civil rights acts since 1866 have underscored the covenant with African American citizens to realize the protections of the Constitution. Myriad congressional findings have confirmed that has not happened yet. There is no equivalency between those institutions and the violent gangs proscribed in the three Force Acts during the 1870s. In fact, the Justice Department was founded in 1870 specifically to protect African-Americans from violent former Confederates. On July 30, 1866, 200 Union Army veterans gathered in the Mechanics Institute in New Orleans to ponder a new state constitution. Former Confederates surrounded them and massacred them, an outrage which propelled the passage of the 14th Amendment. Now the site of the Hotel Roosevelt, this spot is sacred for American democracy. The military takeover of cities led by Black woman politicians such as Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. evokes the same echoes of New Orleans and the Wilmington, N.C. race riot of 1898 that unseated an elected Black city government. The currently contemplated Texas mid-decade redistricting scheme comes right out of the Black Codes playbook that sparked the Joint Reconstruction Committee. All Americans need to heed the sage wisdom of Langston, who has provided a stable framework for democracy across the globe.
Boston Globe
3 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
President Trump ramps up takeover of Washington's police department. Here's what to know.
Why is Trump taking over the police in DC? The Republican president this week announced he's taking control over Washington's police department and activating National Guard troops to reduce crime, an escalation of his aggressive approach to law enforcement. But District of Columbia officials say the action isn't needed, pointing out that violent crime in the district reached historic 30-year lows last year and is down significantly again this year. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Can he do that? Advertisement D.C.'s status as a congressionally established federal district gives Trump a window to assert more control over the the district than other cities. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser didn't offer much resistance at first, allowing city workers to clear homeless encampments and work closely with federal immigration agents. But on Friday, the heavily Democratic district asked for an emergency court order blocking Trump officials from putting a federal official in charge of D.C. police. So who is in charge of police in Washington? Right now, it's unsettled. Trump's administration announced Thursday that the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration will take over the police chief's duties, including authority over orders issued to officers. It's unclear where the move leaves the city's current police chief, Pamela Smith, who works for the mayor. Smith says upending the command structure would be a 'dangerous' threat to law and order. Advertisement What's at stake The showdown in Washington is the latest attempt by Trump to test the boundaries of his legal authority to carry out his tough-on-crime agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally. What are the federal troops doing in DC? About 800 National Guard troops are being activated, with Humvees parked along the Washington Monument and near Union Station. Troops have been spotted standing outside baseball's Nationals Park and neighborhood restaurants. The White House says guard members aren't making arrests but are protecting law enforcement officers who are making arrests and helping deter violent crime. Trump says one of the objectives will be moving homeless people far from the city. How long can this go on? Trump has the authority to do this for 30 days and says he might look into extending it. But that would require congressional approval. Whether Republicans in Congress would go along with that is unclear. Some D.C. residents have protested against the increased police presence. For some, the action echoes uncomfortable historical chapters when politicians used language to paint predominantly Black cities with racist narratives to shape public opinion and justify police action. Will Trump try to take control in other US cities? Washington is very different from any other American city, and the rules that govern it give the federal government much more control than it would have anywhere else. Whether Trump is using this as a blueprint for how to approach cities — largely Democratic cities — that he wants to exert more control over remains to be seen. Advertisement
Boston Globe
3 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Governor Newsom mocks Trump's social media stylings amid redistricting fight: ‘I'm following his example'
Newsom's press office even trolled Trump with what appeared to be an AI-generated Time magazine cover, showing the governor wearing a crown under the words 'LONG LIVE THE KING.' Advertisement A SUCCESSFUL LIBERATION DAY! THANK YOU! — Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) 'I'm following his example,' Newsom Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'To the extent it's gotten some attention, I'm pleased. But I think the deeper question is how have we allowed the normalization of his tweets, Truth Social posts, over the course of the last many years to go without similar scrutiny and notice' the California Democrat added. The satirical posts have come as a dispute over congressional redistricting unfolds between Democratic and Republican-led states. Newsom, a possible contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, urged Trump in a letter on Monday to halt the redistricting fight after the president called on Texas to draw a map favoring Republicans, giving him a 24-hour deadline. Advertisement 'FINAL WARNING DONALD TRUMP — MAYBE THE MOST IMPORTANT WARNING IN HISTORY! STOP CHEATING OR CALIFORNIA WILL REDRAW THE MAPS. AND GUESS WHO WILL ANNOUNCE IT THIS WEEK? GAVIN NEWSOM (MANY SAY THE MOST LOVED & HANDSOME GOVERNOR) AND A VERY POWERFUL TEAM. DON'T MAKE US DO IT!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER,' the governor's press office On Wednesday, the governor said Trump missed his deadline by failing to respond to his letter. 'DONALD 'TACO' TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, 'MISSED' THE DEADLINE!!! CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE 'BEAUTIFUL MAPS,' THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!), the governor's press office At a news conference Thursday, Newsom said he would Outside the event, 'BORDER PATROL HAS SHOWED UP AT OUR BIG BEAUTIFUL PRESS CONFERENCE! WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED!' his press office Alyssa Vega can be reached at
