Latest news with #American-first
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Says 'I Rebuilt the Military' During West Point Speech
President Donald Trump delivers the commencement address at the 2025 U.S. Military Academy Graduation Ceremony at West Point, New York, on May 24, 2025. Credit - Saul Loeb—Getty Images President Donald Trump returned to the United States Military Academy at West Point on Saturday to give the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2025. Adorned in his trademark 'Make America Great Again' hat, Trump spoke to the 1,002-strong class for just under an hour. During his address, he lauded the United States Army as the 'greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known.' Beyond this, he stated that he is the one responsible for the Army's might. 'And I know because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military,' Trump told the crowd. 'We rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.' Trump went on to push his American-first ethos, saying: 'We're getting rid of the distractions and we're focusing our military on its core mission: crushing America's adversaries, killing America's enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before.' In his rally-style speech, Trump celebrated the achievements of the students, while also lauding his own presidency—including his cracking down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. West Point has found itself in the center of the DEI-related pushback, especially related to the banning of books and educational programs that the Trump Administration says promote DEI. In February, West Point disbanded its Society of Black Engineers club as well as multiple other clubs listed under 'affinity' groups on the club directory. This followed Trump's Jan. 20 Executive Order titled 'Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing' and a Jan. 21 Executive Order titled 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.' A subsequent Jan. 29 instruction from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saw the announcement of a new task force.'I direct the establishment of a multi-functional 'Restoring America's Fighting Force' task force charged with overseeing the Department's efforts to abolish DEI offices and any vestiges of such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to systemic racism and gender fluidity,' Hegseth said. Beyond clubs, West Point has reportedly purged work by diverse authors from its libraries and has removed discussions of systemic inequities from its classrooms, leading aWest Point professor to resign, saying: 'I am ashamed to be associated with the academy in its current form.' Trump addressed his DEI measures during his West Point commencement speech, saying he has 'liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political training.' 'There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody, forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else, for that matter, in this country,' Trump said. 'And promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity. They'll be based on merit…We're a merit-based country again.' Trump claimed that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, 'subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects'—something he says is no longer. The President's speech comes after he and Hegseth have fired multiple senior military officers who were known to endorse DEI efforts. The Trump Administration has also once again banned transgender people from serving in the military and has ordered new physical standard tests which will require the same standards for both men and women. The change in requirements to serve in combat roles is expected to drastically cut the number of women in said roles. Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time Magazine
Trump Takes Credit for ‘Most Powerful Army World Has Known' During West Point Speech: ‘I Rebuilt the Military'
President Donald Trump returned to the United States Military Academy at West Point on Saturday to give the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2025. Adorned in his trademark 'Make America Great Again' hat, Trump spoke to the 1,002-strong class for just under an hour. During his address, he lauded the United States Army as the 'greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known.' Beyond this, he stated that he is the one responsible for the Army's might. 'And I know because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military,' Trump told the crowd. 'We rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.' Trump went on to push his American-first ethos, saying: 'We're getting rid of the distractions and we're focusing our military on its core mission: crushing America's adversaries, killing America's enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before.' In his rally-style speech, Trump celebrated the achievements of the students, while also lauding his own presidency—including his cracking down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. West Point has found itself in the center of the DEI-related pushback, especially related to the banning of books and educational programs that the Trump Administration says promote DEI. In February, West Point disbanded its Society of Black Engineers club as well as multiple other clubs listed under ' affinity ' groups on the club directory. This followed Trump's Jan. 20 Executive Order titled 'Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing' and a Jan. 21 Executive Order titled 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.' A subsequent Jan. 29 instruction from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saw the announcement of a new task force. 'I direct the establishment of a multi-functional 'Restoring America's Fighting Force' task force charged with overseeing the Department's efforts to abolish DEI offices and any vestiges of such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to systemic racism and gender fluidity,' Hegseth said. Beyond clubs, West Point has reportedly purged work by diverse authors from its libraries and has removed discussions of systemic inequities from its classrooms, leading aWest Point professor to resign, saying: 'I am ashamed to be associated with the academy in its current form.' Trump addressed his DEI measures during his West Point commencement speech, saying he has 'liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political training.' 'There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody, forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else, for that matter, in this country,' Trump said. 'And promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity. They'll be based on merit…We're a merit-based country again.' Trump claimed that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, 'subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects'—something he says is no longer. The President's speech comes after he and Hegseth have fired multiple senior military officers who were known to endorse DEI efforts. The Trump Administration has also once again banned transgender people from serving in the military and has ordered new physical standard tests which will require the same standards for both men and women. The change in requirements to serve in combat roles is expected to drastically cut the number of women in said roles.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barr, Rogers talk Trump, '26 Senate race at Lincoln Dinner
The Pulaski County Republican Party's Lincoln Dinner is named after the United States' 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. But it was the current GOP occupant of the White House who was mentioned most of all on Tuesday night. Speakers Kentucky Congressmen Hal Rogers of the Fifth District and Andy Barr of the Sixth District both took the opportunity to unequivocally throw their support behind President Donald Trump during the party event held at The Center for Rural Development. Barr's visit was not just as a guest speaker but a campaign stop, since he is in the running for the U.S. Senate Seat from Kentucky currently held by longtime Senator Mitch McConnell. That race will take place next year, but Barr, of Lexington, worked to build momentum Tuesday night by making his case as both someone who has successfully won in a Democrat-heavy area and who would back Trump in Washington. '(W)ith this great privilege of having represented central Kentucky, what an enormous blessing it would be to get a chance to represent the people of Pulaski County, eastern and southern Kentucky, western Kentucky and the rest of our commonwealth,' said Barr. 'Failure is not an option,' he later added. 'We must nominate someone who can make sure that this U.S. Senate seat stays in conservative American-first Republican hands. ... We have a governor who has shown how Democrats can win a statewide race in red Kentucky. ... The only way a Democrat can win statewide in the commonwealth of Kentucky, in 2023, '24, '25 or '26, is to win the Sixth District. That's how Andy Beshear did it. He did it twice. ... I pledge this to you: I will not lose the single swing purple district in Kentucky, my district (including Lexington).' Barr described himself as 'an America-first conservative' raised in the era of Ronald Reagan, and said that 'for the first time in our lifetime, our country is teetering on the brink, and thank God we've got President Trump to help us save our country.' Barr further connected himself to Trump and his tariff policies by saying, 'Finally, we have a president who is fighting for reciprocal and, yes, free trade, but free trade on level terms. We have been ripped off, even not just from our enemies, from our trading partners and allies, and we finally have a president who is trying to get us better, more reciprocal deals ... the turbulence that we've seen in the short term will lead to long-term stability and better access to markets.' Referencing his place on the House Financial Services Committee, Barr said that he is actively working to 'take politics out of your retirement accounts and your investment accounts and your college savings and your retirement savings,' and to 'unleash our capital markets and our community banks, because we know those are the American Dream makers. Those are the folks that provide those loans in our hometown communities to the farmers and to the mainstream businesses and the entrepreneurs. 'We believe in the Republican Party, in the power of the American Dream, the idea that in this country, regardless of where you come from, you can get ahead through the power of free markets,' he continued. '... We're about the American Dream through freedom, not government, because we believe that government should be the servant of the people, not the master of the people.' Barr also praised Trump's handling of the nation's border crisis — '(T)he border is closed,' he said. '(Former President) Joe Biden and the media, they said, 'Oh we just need a bipartisan immigration and comprehensive immigration reform bill.' No they didn't. They just needed a commander-in-chief who knew how to protect our country' — and said that lawmakers are working on a bill to 'surge resources to border patrol to build the wall ... (and) keep our communities safe.' In addition to Trump, Barr also had words of praise for Pulaski County, calling it 'a place near and dear to my heart' — he talked about camping at the Bee Rock area, which he did as a young boy as well as now with his own daughters; he also proposed to his late wife Carol there in 2007 — and for Rogers, saying, 'There is no better mentor in the U.S. House than Hal Rogers. ... Unlike most politicians in Washington who like to hear themselves talk, he is very selective about when he speaks up, but when he does, people listen because he is a man of wisdom, a man of influence, and a man who knows how to deliver.' Rogers did deliver his own address at Tuesday's Lincoln Club event, saying that he and Barr were 'having fun in Washington D.C., getting a lot of blisters on our hands,' and working to support the Trump administration's agenda. In particular, speaking about international trade, Rogers noted Trump has started the process of negotiating with China and is 'right to do so, because they've ripped us off, flooded our young people with fentanyl and threatened all sorts of activities worldwide' —and then urged people to 'have patience with this president' and his economic policies. 'Making America great again is alive and well,' said Rogers. 'This president has put forward some ... far-reaching policies and ideas, and it's going to take some time. This is not going to happen overnight. But it's beginning to happen, as we speak.' Speaking to the crowd of Republicans assembled at The Center, Rogers — who briefly spoke in front of his own portrait hanging in the facility's lobby — said, 'It's a new day, and it's your party. We're going to keep ahead of the curve, and we do that by doing what you're doing just now: supporting the party and helping in the election.' The dinner was the first to see Alex Wilson speak as the new chairman of the Pulaski County Republican Party, following Bill Turpen, who served in that role from 2017 until this past March. Wilson recognized a number of notable individuals present — as well as the late JC Tucker — and was sworn in as the new chair by Circuit Court Judge Teresa Whitaker, along with vice chair Cloyd Bumgardner, treasurer Debra Ruckel, secretary Maydell Greer, and youth chair Callie Thompson.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Vance says India-Pakistan conflict ‘none of our business' as Trump offers US help
Vice President JD Vance suggested the U.S. will not intervene in the ongoing conflict between India and Pakistan, arguing the dust-up is "fundamentally none of our business." "We can't control these countries," Vance told Fox News' Martha McCallum on "The Story" Thursday. "We're not going to get involved in the middle of a war that's fundamentally none of our business and has nothing to do with America's ability to control it." Vance's comments came after President Donald Trump offered his help to repair relations between the two neighbors in Asia. "Oh, it's so terrible. My position is, I get along with both," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "I know both very well, and I want to see them work it out. I want to see them stop. And hopefully they can stop now. They've got a tit-for-tat, so hopefully they can stop now. But I know both. We get along with both countries very well. Good relationships with both. And I want to see it stop. And if I can do anything to help I will. I will be there as well." Pakistan Shoots Down More Than Two Dozen Drones Launched By India Vance, however, said the U.S. does not believe the issue will devolve into a nuclear conflict as he called on both sides to de-escalate. Read On The Fox News App "America can't tell the Indians to lay down their arms. We can't tell the Pakistanis to lay down their arms. And so we're going to continue to pursue this thing through diplomatic channels. Our hope and our expectation is that this is not going to spiral into a broader regional war or, God forbid, a nuclear conflict." The vice president's comments come after India attacked nine sites in longtime foe Pakistan's territory in response to a terrorist attack that killed 26 mostly Indian tourists in the disputed Kashmir region. India said it had intelligence that a terrorist group based in Pakistan was responsible for the attack. Meanwhile, Pakistan's military reported that the strikes killed at least 26 people – including women and children – and claimed India's action amounted to an "act of war." Pakistan said it shot down five Indian fighter jets in response, claiming that the move was justified given India's strike. India has since launched drones into Pakistan, which its military forces say they shot down. India has also called up its reservists to ready for the potential of a protracted conflict. Trump Offers To Help India, Pakistan Amid Growing Conflict: 'I Want To See Them Stop' Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on whether Trump and Vance's views on the conflict align. Vance has emerged as the standard-bearer for the Trump administration's non-interventionist wing, giving voice to an American-first foreign policy that breaks sharply from GOP orthodoxy and has been labeled isolationist by hawkish critics. He claimed the U.S. was "making a mistake" when it began the offensive campaign against the Houthis in March. "I think we are making a mistake," Vance wrote in a private Signal chat, inadvertently leaked to a journalist and later published by The Atlantic. "I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now." The commercial ships attacked in the Red Sea are largely European. Vance has favored diplomatic negotiations with Iran to thwart its nuclear program and was on the attack at a White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. "Right now you guys are going around forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems," Vance told Zelenskyy. "You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict," he added during a meeting that devolved into a near-shouting match. Trump, for his part, is seemingly behind Vance and his restraint-minded approach, naming the vice president as a potential successor to the presidency in an NBC interview last week. "You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, who's fantastic," Trump said on the future of the top of the Republican ticket, referring to Vance and Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio. "Certainly you would say that somebody's the V.P., if that person is outstanding, I guess that person would have an advantage."Original article source: Vance says India-Pakistan conflict 'none of our business' as Trump offers US help
Associated Press
08-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Classover Developing Next-Gen AI Powered Tutoring Platform
Classover is training its AI tutor agents using a proprietary dataset of over 300,000 hours of real teacher-student interactions. The platform aims to deliver a 'Netflix for Learning' type of experience, offering students unlimited access to AI-led lessons anytime, anywhere, through a monthly subscription. With an American-first job creation model built on a network of hundreds of U.S.-based teachers and instructors, Classover supports local U.S. employment and maintains minimal exposure to tariffs or global supply chain risks. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 8, 2025 / Classover Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:KIDZ)(NASDAQ:KIDZW), a leader in live, interactive online learning operating through its wholly-owned subsidiary Class Over Inc. ('Classover'), announced today the development of a next-generation artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tutoring platform designed to make high-quality education more accessible, personalized, and affordable for students everywhere. The new service will offer unlimited access to AI agent-led lessons across a wide range of academic and enrichment subjects, available anytime through a simple monthly subscription. At the core of this innovation is a robust proprietary education dataset - over 300,000 hours of interactive teaching captured from real-time sessions between professional instructors and students. These live, human-to-human learning moments form the foundation for training Classover's AI tutor agents: intelligent, on-screen teaching assistants capable of guiding students through lessons with structure, clarity, and human-like interactivity. 'Just as AI companies train their models using massive social media datasets, we're using real teaching interactions to build AI tutors that actually know how to teach,' said Hui Luo, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Classover Holdings and Founder and CEO of Classover. 'We view this as the future of education: scalable, intelligent, and designed to support every student on their own learning path.' Students will be able to explore a vast library of AI-led lessons on demand-covering everything from algebra and science to creative writing, piano, and public speaking. The experience is designed to feel like joining a real, dynamic classroom-but on their own schedule, and at their own pace. As the global tutoring market continues to grow rapidly, traditional models remain expensive, inconsistent, or out of reach for many families. Classover's flat-fee subscription model seeks to break that barrier-making personalized, high-quality tutoring accessible to far more students than ever before. Classover's educational expertise is built on a network of hundreds of U.S.-based teachers and instructors who have delivered interactive live classes to students nationwide. This foundation not only provides high-quality data to train Classover's AI agents, but also supports local employment and ensures operational stability-with minimal exposure to tariffs or global supply chain disruptions. 'This is the next generation of innovative edtech,' said Luo. 'By combining world-class teaching data with AI technology, we're creating a platform that can scale globally-without sacrificing quality, care, or the human touch. Our mission is to help every student, no matter where they are, learn better.' Pilot programs for the new tutoring platform are expected to begin in late 2025 or early 2026, with full public launch expected in 2026. About Classover Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York, Classover has rapidly emerged as a leader in educational technology, specializing in live online courses for K-12 students worldwide. Offering a diverse curriculum tailored to different learning levels and interests, Classover empowers students through personalized instruction, innovative course design, and cutting-edge AI technology. From creativity-driven programs to competitive test preparation, Classover is dedicated to redefining education through accessible, high-quality learning experiences. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on Classover's current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of Classover's business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of Classover's control including, but not limited to: the ability of Classover to achieve the anticipated benefits of its recently completed business combination with Battery Future Acquisition Corp. ('BFAC'); Classover's inability to maintain the listing of its securities on Nasdaq following the business combination; Classover's ability to execute its business model, including obtaining market acceptance of its products and services; Classover's financial and business performance, including financial projections and business metrics and any underlying assumptions thereunder; changes in Classover's strategy, future operations, financial position, estimated revenue and losses, projected costs, prospects and plans; Classover's ability to attract and retain a large number of customers; Classover's future capital requirements and sources and uses of cash; Classover's ability to attract and retain key personnel; Classover's expectations regarding its ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection and not infringe on the rights of others; changes in applicable laws or regulations; and the possibility that Classover may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. These risks and uncertainties also include those risks and uncertainties indicated in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus included in the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed by Classover Holdings, Inc. in connection with its business combination with BFAC. Classover's actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by Classover in this press release is based only on information currently available to Classover and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Classover undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. 800-345-9588
