Latest news with #BLM
Yomiuri Shimbun
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Trump Picks Right-Wing Lawyer and Podcaster Who Promoted 2020 Election Lies as Watchdog Agency Head
The Associated Press President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Elon Musk in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's pick to lead a federal watchdog agency is a former right-wing podcast host who has praised criminally charged influencer Andrew Tate as a 'extraordinary human being' and promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Paul Ingrassia would lead the Office of Special Counsel, an agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers that is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers. Trump described Ingrassia in a social media post on Thursday as a 'highly respected attorney, writer and Constitutional Scholar.' Ingrassia was most recently working as the White House liaison for Homeland Security after briefly serving in the liaison position at the Justice Department. Ingrassia called his nomination the 'highest honor.' Ingrassia didn't immediately respond to a message on Friday. 'As Special Counsel, my team and I will make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch — with priority on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal workforce and revitalize the Rule of Law and Fairness in Hatch Act enforcement,' Ingrassia wrote on social media. Ingrassia worked for a law firm whose clients included Andrew and Tristan Tate, the influencer brothers charged in Britain and Romania with rape and human trafficking. Ingrassia has described Andrew Tate, the former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist, as an 'extraordinary human being' and 'the ancient ideal of excellence.' 'It is for this reason that he and his brother have become public enemies number one and two in the eyes of the Matrix, the deep state, and the satanic elite that attempt to systematically program and oppress all men from womb-to-tomb – a form of communism that not even Karl Marx, in his wildest dreams, could have imagined,' Ingrassia wrote in a 2023 social media post. Ingrassia that same year published a Substack post titled 'Free Nick Fuentes,' criticizing then-Twitter's decision to suspend the account of the far-right activist who has used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric. Ingrassia was seen in 2024 at a rally where Fuentes spoke, The Intercept reported. Ingrassia previously told NPR that he did not intend to go the impromptu Fuentes rally, which was near another event, adding: 'I had no knowledge of who organized the event, observed for 5-10 minutes, then left.' The day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Ingrassia wrote on social media: 'This 'war' is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day.' Days later, he wrote: 'I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was yet another psyop.' Ingrassia has also promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, publishing a piece in November that argued that Trump's win over Kamala Harris proved 'beyond all doubt' that the 2020 race was 'fraudulent.' The Office of Special Counsel is an independent agency separate from Justice Department special counsels, who are appointed by the attorney general for specific investigations, like Jack Smith. Trump in February fired the previous special counsel, Hampton Dellinger, leading to a legal battle. A federal judge in Washington initially ruled that Dellinger's firing was illegal, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit later ruled that the Trump administration could replace Dellinger while the legal battle played out. Dellinger ultimately abandoned his fight to get his job back, acknowledging that he was facing likely long odds before the Supreme Court.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Eureka Fire: Blaze spreading across Joshua Tree National Park is 0% contained
Firefighters battling a stubborn brush fire in Joshua Tree National Park on Friday, May 30 urgently requested major air support, including a very large air tanker, a large air tanker and a type three air tanker, according to radio traffic captured by WatchDuty. The blaze, named the Eureka Fire, surged to nearly 164 acres by 1:40 p.m., per CalFire. It was reported as a 20-acre brush fire at 11:57 a.m. in the Lower Covington Flats area of the park, in flammable, scrubby brush in Lower Covington Flat Road, between Nolina Cove Road in the town of Joshua Tree and Carmelita Place and Carmelita Circle in Yucca Valley. A smoke plume was visible for miles, including from Onyx Peak cameras that captured a thick pall of gray smoke. A helicopter and two smaller air tankers appeared to be headed to the area by 2:15 pm on a CalFire map. A park spokeswoman said, along with their firefighting personnel, that additional resources from BLM and San Bernardino County had been requested to try to contain the active blaze. The weather in the area is cool, with a high temperature near 84, but south winds were blowing at about 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. The fire is at 0% containment. The cause is under investigation. This is a developing story. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Fire in Joshua Tree: Eureka Fire spreads in Joshua Tree National Park
Wall Street Journal
a day ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
A Ruinous ‘Summer of Rage'
Mike Gonzalez's op-ed 'George Floyd's Death Almost Consumed America in Revolution' (May 24) evokes what Portlanders suffered during 100 days of Antifa and Black Lives Matter riotous mayhem. But it isn't over. Encouraged by a feckless city government that tolerated lawlessness, Portland's fiery summer of love spawned revolutionary harm still felt today. In 2020 Portland lost its former pleasant appeal and entered a doom loop cycle. It has one of the lowest office occupancy rates in the country. Skyscrapers are for sale at a fraction of their previous value. Many buildings remain boarded up and tents clutter sidewalks, while their drug-addled occupants wander around like zombies threatening bystanders. Regular pedestrian traffic has plummeted. Victimized businesses have left with few replacements in sight. All this in a city once called 'America's most liveable.'
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Trump picks right-wing lawyer and podcaster who promoted 2020 election lies as watchdog agency head
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's pick to lead a federal watchdog agency is a former right-wing podcast host who has praised criminally charged influencer Andrew Tate as a 'extraordinary human being' and promoted the false claim that the 2020 election was rigged. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Paul Ingrassia would lead the Office of Special Counsel, an agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers that is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act , which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers. Trump described Ingrassia in a social media post on Thursday as a 'highly respected attorney, writer and Constitutional Scholar.' Ingrassia was most recently working as the White House liaison for Homeland Security after briefly serving in the liaison position at the Justice Department. Ingrassia called his nomination the 'highest honor.' Ingrassia didn't immediately respond to a message on Friday. 'As Special Counsel, my team and I will make every effort to restore competence and integrity to the Executive Branch — with priority on eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal workforce and revitalize the Rule of Law and Fairness in Hatch Act enforcement,' Ingrassia wrote on social media. Ingrassia worked for a law firm whose clients included Andrew and Tristan Tate, the influencer brothers charged in Britain and Romania with rape and human trafficking. Ingrassia has described Andrew Tate, the former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist, as an 'extraordinary human being' and 'the ancient ideal of excellence.' 'It is for this reason that he and his brother have become public enemies number one and two in the eyes of the Matrix, the deep state, and the satanic elite that attempt to systematically program and oppress all men from womb-to-tomb – a form of communism that not even Karl Marx, in his wildest dreams, could have imagined,' Ingrassia wrote in a 2023 social media post. Ingrassia that same year published a Substack post titled 'Free Nick Fuentes,' criticizing then-Twitter's decision to suspend the account of the far-right activist who has used his online platform to spew antisemitic and white supremacist rhetoric. Ingrassia was seen in 2024 at a rally where Fuentes spoke, The Intercept reported . Ingrassia previously told NPR that he did not intend to go the impromptu Fuentes rally, which was near another event, adding: 'I had no knowledge of who organized the event, observed for 5-10 minutes, then left.' The day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, Ingrassia wrote on social media: 'This 'war' is yet another psyop to distract Americans from celebrating Columbus Day.' Days later, he wrote: 'I think we could all admit at this stage that Israel/Palestine, much like Ukraine before it, and BLM before that, and covid/vaccine before that, was yet another psyop.' Ingrassia has also promoted the lie that the 2020 election was stolen, publishing a piece in November that argued that Trump's win over Kamala Harris proved 'beyond all doubt' that the 2020 race was 'fraudulent.' The Office of Special Counsel is an independent agency separate from Justice Department special counsels, who are appointed by the attorney general for specific investigations, like Jack Smith . Trump in February fired the previous special counsel, Hampton Dellinger, leading to a legal battle. A federal judge in Washington initially ruled that Dellinger's firing was illegal, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit later ruled that the Trump administration could replace Dellinger while the legal battle played out. Dellinger ultimately abandoned his fight to get his job back, acknowledging that he was facing likely long odds before the Supreme Court. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
E&E News
a day ago
- General
- E&E News
Removal of top BLM official leaves leadership vacuum
The dramatic removal of Mike Nedd, the Bureau of Land Management's top career official who was escorted out of the Interior Department's headquarters this week, left a crater-sized hole in BLM's leadership team. All three of BLM's deputy directors positions are now vacant, through either attrition, transfer, or in Nedd's case, placement on administrative leave under still-mysterious circumstances. Multiple people familiar with the situation, granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, have said he is on leave. Right now, the BLM director is also a temporary leader. Advertisement Nedd's deputy director position is a big job, overseeing roughly 9,000 staffers who manage 245 million acres of federal rangelands, mostly in the West and Alaska.
