Latest news with #TheLogoff
Vox
a day ago
- Politics
- Vox
Trump's new travel ban, briefly explained
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's increasingly nasty public split is dominating headlines today, and you can read all about it here. But it also means that another change Trump made this week is flying under the radar — one with consequences for millions of people around the world. What just happened? On Wednesday evening, the Trump administration announced a total ban on entry to the US for citizens of 12 countries, resurrecting a key first-term policy. The ban also includes partial restrictions on seven other countries and is set to take effect this coming Monday, June 9. Which countries does the ban impact? Immigrants, students, and tourists will all be affected. Citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen are subject to a total ban, while all immigrant visas and many classes of non-immigrant visa for citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela are covered by the partial restrictions. What's the context? This new ban isn't a surprise — a 'Muslim ban,' which was eventually upheld by the Supreme Court after multiple iterations, was a flagship policy in the first Trump administration, and the second Trump administration has previously signaled its intent to bring back some version of the policy. In March, it was reported that the administration was considering various restrictions on at least 43 different countries. The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life, from senior editor Patrick Reis. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. What's different this time? The new ban covers more countries and cites a wider range of justifications. In addition to national security concerns, the ban also alleges 'significant risks' of visa overstays from some of the impacted countries. It comes as the administration steps up an ever-more-aggressive campaign of deportation and anti-immigration policies. And with that, it's time to log off…
Vox
3 days ago
- Business
- Vox
The Trump-Musk breakup, briefly explained
Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on May 30, 2025, in Washington, DC.This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: Is the Trump-Musk partnership over? It's complicated — but after today, it's looking more like yes. What just happened? President Donald Trump has pinned his legislative hopes on one 'big, beautiful bill,' which passed the House last month. Today, Elon Musk took aim at the bill as 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled…a disgusting abomination' that would 'massively increase' the budget deficit. Does it matter what Musk thinks? Maybe not as much as it once did. This is a transitional moment for Musk, who is on his way out after the official end of his time as a government employee last week. Trump, in a farewell press conference, downplayed the departure, saying, 'Elon's really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth.' In private, Trump has reportedly expressed some skepticism about Musk, asking whether efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency were 'all bullshit.' Despite that, reporting has so far suggested that the Trump-Musk relationship remains generally amicable — but Musk's new broadside against Trump's bill may be a sign of things fraying. What did Musk actually accomplish? In some ways, relatively little — as my colleague Andrew Prokop has reported, Musk and DOGE failed to get anywhere close to cuts at the promised scale. At the same time, however, Musk had done a horrifying amount of damage — his decimation of US foreign aid alone may already have caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, by some estimates, and will continue to cause even more. The Logoff The email you need to stay informed about Trump — without letting the news take over your life, from senior editor Patrick Reis. Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. What will Musk do now? Allegedly, return to focusing on his long list of companies, Tesla and SpaceX chief among them, and spend less time on politics. Musk also said in May that he would do 'a lot less' political spending going forward. At the very least, his comments Tuesday suggest he's not all the way done with politics, though it remains to be seen how influential he can be. And with that, it's time to log off…
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump 'unquestionably' violates a court order
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The Trump administration moved to deport eight men to South Sudan in what a federal judge in Boston says was 'unquestionably' a violation of a court order. What happened? On Tuesday, the US government put eight men — only one a South Sudanese citizen — on a deportation flight to South Sudan, an unstable country in East Africa that is on the verge of civil war, with minimal notice and no chance to speak with a lawyer. Their exact location is now unclear. What have courts ruled about deportations? A court order from April, issued by the same federal judge, Brian Murphy, blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants to countries not their own without due process because of the possibility they could face violence or death there. What will happen to the immigrants who were deported? Murphy has ordered the government to keep the men in US custody while considering how to ensure their due process rights, but they won't be flown back to the US. Murphy also raised the possibility of criminal contempt sanctions for officials involved in the deportations. What's the context? This isn't the first time the Trump administration has attempted deportations to a dangerous third-party country. Not only has the administration sent Venezuelan immigrants to a brutal El Salvadoran megaprison, but Murphy, the federal judge in Boston, also intervened earlier in May to block deportation flights to Libya. What does this mean for Trump's immigration plans? The Trump administration is almost certain to keep testing the limits of what it can do on immigration. In an interview published today, Vice President JD Vance alleged that 'you are seeing an effort by the courts to quite literally overturn the will of the American people' on immigration enforcement, raising the specter of more clashes to come. The promise of this newsletter is to help you get the important news, then log off. So we'd be remiss in not sharing Vox deputy editor Izzie Ramirez's attempt to do just that: For (almost) a full month, she abandoned her iPhone and switched to a 'dumbphone' that could do little more than text and call. She writes that the experience encouraged deeper connections and spontaneous hangs, and helped restore her attention span. Couldn't we all use that?
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
350,000 people are losing protection from deportation
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The Supreme Court today ruled the Trump administration could strip deportation protections from nearly 350,000 Venezuelans living in the US — a victory for President Donald Trump that comes at the expense of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people. What's the context? Since 2021, many Venezuelan immigrants have had Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows migrants to stay and work in the US when their home countries experience disasters or civil strife. Venezuela is in an ongoing humanitarian crisis thanks to an authoritarian regime's economic mismanagement and foreign sanctions. But upon taking office, the Trump administration attempted to revoke that status for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans. A federal judge froze the administration's effort in March while lawsuits proceeded. What's the latest? The Supreme Court overturned the lower court's freeze, ruling that deportations could begin — even while the cases are still in front of the courts. What's next? The administration is now free to begin deporting Venezuelans who had been covered by the status, though the court's order still allows individual immigrants to challenge their deportations or the loss of work permits. Trump also aims to revoke Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of other immigrants later this year. What does this mean for the immigrants? Venezuela is still in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, and deportations would mean a return to a country where work is scarce but suffering is not: More than 20 million people lack adequate access to food and medical care, according to Human Rights Watch. What does this mean for the balance of power? Federal judges have repeatedly checked Trump's power by freezing his actions while they work their way through the judicial system. Trump and his officials have raged against such freezes, saying they give individual judges too much power over the president. Today, the court sided with the White House, weakening another check on this administration's power. Apropos of nothing in particular, here's a wonderful old Washington Post story about how Haitian immigrants brought a North Carolina town back from the brink of economic collapse. If you're in the mood for something totally free of politics, Vox's Unexplainable podcast has an episode whose title I can't resist: 'The man who walked butterflies on a leash.' (You can listen here on Apple, here on Spotify.) Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you back here tomorrow.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Silencing Voice of America
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: Today I'm focused on the Trump administration's efforts to undermine Voice of America, a US-funded news network that brings information to people around the world — including people living under repressive regimes. What's the latest? The administration fired about 600 contractors Thursday who work for the network, more than a third of the organization's staff. What about the rest of the staff? In March, the administration put almost the entire staff on leave, but they successfully sued to block those de facto firings, at least temporarily. Litigation is ongoing over whether the administration has the authority to cut the agency, which is funded by Congress. What else are they doing? The organization's domestic website has not been updated since mid-March. The administration is proposing to replace some of Voice of America's content with programming from the One America News Network, a far-right outlet closely aligned with the administration. Why is the administration doing this? Voice of America is, by law, editorially independent, meaning the Trump administration cannot control the network's content. That means it sometimes publishes news that reflects poorly on the president or his policies — something this administration cannot abide. What's the big picture? Like any outlet, Voice of America has its shortcomings, and there are legitimate disagreements over how it covers the news. But for millions of people whose governments block access to the news, Voice of America and its affiliates are their best chance of learning about what's happening in the world around them — including what their own governments are up to. Now, Trump is trying to take that away. Here's an award-winning Voice of America story about what happens to accountability here in the US when local news organizations are driven out of business. It's a great piece, but if you want to save it for a non-Friday afternoon, there's always the glorious livestream of a bald eagles' nest. Thanks so much for reading, and I'll see you back here Monday.
