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Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wall Street Journal
Trump Says U.S. Could Set Tariff Rates for Trading Partners Soon
President Trump spoke to reporters at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where he watched "Les Misérables." (Samuel Corum - Pool via CNP/Zuma Press)
UPI
28-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Trump admin. sues North Carolina over voter registration records
The Justice Department under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi sued North Carolina on Tuesday, accusing the state of failing to maintain accurate voter registration records. File Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo May 28 (UPI) -- The Trump administration is suing North Carolina and the state's Board of Elections on accusations of maintaining voter registration records that include voters who did not provide required identifying information, in violation of federal law. The Justice Department filed the lawsuit Tuesday, alleging the defendants violated the Help America Vote Act of 2002 by using a state voter registration form that did not "explicitly require" a voter to provide a driver's license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Those who filled out the form, without providing the identifying information, were then added to the voter registration record. HAVA was sweeping voter reform legislation that included updated voter identification procedures. Under the law, a voter registration application must include either the applicant's driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. The lawsuit alleges that a "significant number" of North Carolina voters who did not provide the required identifying information were registered to vote by election officials. "Accurate voter registration rolls are critical to ensure that elections in North Carolina are conducted fairly, accurately and without fraud," Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. "The Department of Justice will not hesitate to file suit against jurisdictions that maintain inaccurate voter registration rolls in violation of federal voting laws." The lawsuit comes after Jefferson Griffin, a Republican Court of Appeals judge, finally conceded defeat to his Democratic opponent for North Carolina's state Supreme Court seat earlier this month, following six months of litigation over the legality of tens of thousands of votes cast in the election. Griffin lost to Associate Justice Allison Riggs by 734 votes and sought to have some 60,000 ballots in six Democratic-leaning counties rejected on the same grounds that the Justice Department cited in its lawsuit on Wednesday -- the ballots were cast by voters, mostly in the military or overseas, who did not provide photo ID or an ID exception form. Democrats accused him of attempting to steal the election, and the state's high court ruled to uphold the validity of the votes cast. With Riggs' victory, the state's Supreme Court maintains a 5-2 Republican majority.
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Case for a U.S.-Led Military Alliance in Space
A newly designed rank insignia in Washington, D.C. on May 15, 2020. Credit - Samuel Corum/Pool—Getty Images Far out in geosynchronous orbit, a Russian satellite moves through deep space. Cosmos 2533, nicknamed 'Sput-nuke,' is designed to carry a nuclear payload that could render most satellites unusable. Meanwhile, China is pouring billions of dollars into developing advanced space capabilities, including anti-satellite weapons. These weapons, known as ASATs, could change modern life on Earth as we know it—threatening GPS, weather forecasting, geospatial intelligence, and more. Also at stake is the burgeoning $1.8 trillion space economy that relies on open and free access to space. The principles of a free, open, and peaceful space are enshrined in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which all major space powers have ratified, including the U.S., Russia, and China. The U.S. had sought to build on that landmark treaty when it launched the Artemis Accords in 2020, which 54 countries have so far signed on to. But the refusal of Russia and China to get on board—alongside the Kremlin's veto last year of the first ever U.N. Security Council resolution on outer space, which condemned the placing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit—are a sure as sign as any that a new approach is needed. That is why it is time for the U.S. to lead a new military alliance—an Artemis Alliance, or Allied Space Forces—to do exactly that. China's space ambitions are hegemonic and virtually limitless. 'To explore the vast cosmos, develop the space industry, and build China into a space power is our eternal dream,' Xi Jinping said in China's most recent space strategy. According to the Pentagon, Beijing has devoted 'significant resources' to all aspects of its space program, including counter-space weapons. Russia, which has been cannibalizing its space program for missile parts, still maintains interests in outer space. But with a test of a space weapon that endangered its own cosmonauts onboard the International Space Station in 2021 and the subsequent launch of Cosmos 2553 in 2022, as well as an attack-capable satellite in the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite in 2024, Moscow appears to have shifted toward an apocalyptic mindset: if it cannot control space, nobody should. The Artemis Alliance should not, of course, replace the Outer Space Treaty. A defense alliance would instead be a coalition of like-minded countries whose goal is to uphold the peaceful use of space. Ultimately, an Artemis Alliance would add hard power credibility to the soft power norms and principles shaped by the 1967 accord, essentially giving it 'teeth.' The Alliance would seek to deter and defeat offensive space capabilities, condemn any attempts to render space unusable in international fora, and impose tangible violations that include sanctions—from export controls on the low end to military action on the high end. It would consist of the U.S. and friendly spacefaring nations that Washington already has reciprocal defense treaties with, such as Australia, Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the U.K. The long-term goal would be to expand membership to emerging spacefaring partners that do not yet have reciprocal defense treaties with the U.S., such as India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Such an alliance would also align with the 2020 National Space Policy that the Trump Administration issued in its first term, and which stated that the U.S. shall 'strengthen deterrence and assure allies and partners of its commitment to preserving the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities.' An alliance is the most powerful and effective mechanism to ensure the U.S. has the ability to create and shape norms—a mechanism more powerful than treaties. Read More: Inside Space Force: Here's What the New Agency Does To be sure, some countries may hesitate to align civilian space activities with a military alliance. For most, space symbolizes bold aspirations of scientific research and exploration—not warfare. There would likely be concerns that joining a military alliance would contradict the spirit of the Outer Space Treaty. Yet the U.S. Navy justifies its efforts to ensure the free flow of trade under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Therefore, an Artemis Alliance is justified as a necessary enforcement mechanism. And unlike UNCLOS, the U.S. Senate ratified the Outer Space Treaty, which makes it legally binding in America. The threats today are kinetic and offensive, not just ideological. According to USSPACECOM, China is rapidly developing counter-space weapons 'like direct-ascent antisatellite missiles, lasers, and jammers' and unveiled in 2024 a 'novel microwave weapon that could target satellites.' Meanwhile, Russia has declared military satellites as legitimate targets and already in 2025 used electronic weapons to cause 'flight diversions and Global Positioning System inaccuracies.' Ignoring these threats and relying solely on existing norms for protection is not an effective countermeasure. The U.S. and its allies need more than words at this stage. They need the ability to move up the escalation ladder to take defensive military actions on Earth before adversaries take devastating military actions in space. Space is not a luxury—it is a necessity. The Artemis Alliance is the logical next step in securing a open, free, and safe space environment. Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
VA Secretary Is Designated Survivor For Trump Speech
Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins on Jan. 21, 2025. Credit - Samuel Corum—Getty Images Doug Collins, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, is reportedly serving as the designated survivor during President Donald Trump's joint congressional address on Tuesday night. The designated survivor is a person in the presidential line of succession—often a low-level Cabinet member—chosen to be kept separate from other executive branch officials when the government is all gathered in one place in the event of a catastrophic event. Collins was revealed to be the designated survivor, according to multiple media reports. The practice ensures that the government can still run even if all those present at a large governmental event are wiped out—which is why some members of Congress also are kept separate to ensure that the legislative branch can continue to function. The practice began during the Cold War, when the idea of nuclear warfare was heavy on the minds of the U.S. government. In the event of a nuclear event wiping out the presidential line of succession in one go, the designated survivor is chosen so that they are eligible to be president, and could take up the mantle to lead the United States if need be. There are very few times in which all of America's governmental leaders are in the same place, and thus it is rare that the designated survivor must be tapped—only a handful of times during each presidency, usually. The American Presidency Project at the University of California-Santa Barbara keeps a running list of designated survivors dating back to 1984 when Ronald Reagan was president. In Politico Magazine in 2017, Dan Glickman, former United States Secretary of Agriculture under Bill Clinton, wrote about his experience as designated survivor, and spending the State of the Union address at his daughter's apartment in New York City. 'I don't recall getting any specific instructions on what to do if the doomsday scenario happened. All I knew is that if necessary, I could turn to that military officer accompanying me, holding that 45-pound bag, and trigger a military response, including a nuclear strike,' Glickman wrote of his experience. 'It felt like an awesome responsibility to put on one man's shoulders, even if it was exceedingly unlikely the president—or in this case, the secretary of agriculture—would ever have to use it.' Contact us at letters@
