Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of the Navy on March 13 announced voluntary separation for sailors with a current diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria, as it will only recognize the male and female sexes, “with gender being immutable.”

The update affects military service eligibility, and sailors “impacted by these changes may request voluntary separation,” the department said in a statement. The department said it will not make active efforts to identify individuals with gender dysphoria.

“Waivers for retention or accession may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Sailors eligible for voluntary separation pay will receive twice the amount of involuntary separation pay, though this is not available to those with fewer than six or more than 20 years of service,” the statement reads.

Those who opt for voluntary separation will be placed in an administrative absence status, with full pay and benefits, until their separation is complete. The Navy has committed to the “privacy and dignity” of those impacted by the policy change.

Furthermore, the Navy said that those who separate voluntarily do not need to repay education benefits or bonuses previously received.

According to an official Navy document released by Terence G. Emmert, acting secretary of the Navy, sailors have until March 28 to request voluntary separation.

The Navy’s decision was made according to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14168, titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”

The Navy document further says that a history of cross-sex hormone therapy, sex reassignment, or genital reconstruction surgery as part of gender-related treatments will be deemed disqualifying for military service applicants.

Waivers may be considered on a case-by-case basis by the secretary of the Navy.

To be eligible for the waiver, military personnel or applicants must demonstrate 36 consecutive months of stability in the individual’s sex and other important areas of functioning while meeting applicable standards associated with their sex.

Trump Cancels Biden’s Authorizations

In January 2021, after being elected as the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden signed an executive order overturning the prior Trump administration’s stance on transgender military members.

At the time, then-Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said that all transgender individuals “who wish to serve in the United States military and can meet the appropriate standards shall be able to do so openly and free from discrimination.” The personnel were allowed to serve as their self-identified gender.

Biden’s policy change also ensured that all medically necessary transition-related treatments were made available to service members.

Trump’s executive order, issued the same day he began his second term, ordered that women’s rights be defended and protected, along with using accurate language regarding the distinction between the two sexes. He said that henceforth, women will be recognized as biologically female and men as biologically male.

Privacy in intimate spaces shall be enforced, said the order.

“Agencies shall take all necessary steps, as permitted by law, to end the Federal funding of gender ideology,” according to the order.

On Feb. 14, the U.S. Army said on its official X social media account: “The USArmy will no longer allow transgender individuals to join the military and will stop performing or facilitating procedures associated with gender transition for service members.

“Effective immediately, all new accessions for individuals with a history of gender dysphoria are paused, and all unscheduled, scheduled, or planned medical procedures associated with affirming or facilitating a gender transition for Service members are paused.”

On Feb. 28, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a statement saying that service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria “will soon be processed for separation by their respective services.”

Moreover, the use of pronouns will be based on the individual’s sex. “In keeping with good order and discipline, salutations (e.g., addressing a senior officer as ‘Sir’ or ‘Ma’am’) must also reflect an individual’s sex,” according to a DOD policy memorandum.

A man whose genitalia was ‘disfigured’ by hot coffee was awarded $50 million by a California jury on Friday after a five year court battle.

Michael Garcia was picking up drinks at a Los Angeles Starbucks drive-through when he suffered “suffered severe burns, disfigurement, and debilitating nerve damage to his genitals when hot drinks ultimately spilled” onto his lap, according to the 2020 lawsuit filed in California Superior Court, which accused Starbucks of breaching its duty of care by failing to secure the lid.

Garcia’s lawyer, Michael Parker, said his client was picking up three beverages – one of which wasn’t fully pushed into the drink holder. When the barista handed Garcia the order, a hot drink fell out and spilled onto his lap – causing permanent and life-changing disfigurement.

According to a recording of the verdict, Garcia’s damages cover physical pain, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, humiliation, inconvenience, grief, disfigurement, physical impairment, anxiety and emotional distress.

Garcia underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled on him on Feb. 8, 2020, causing ‘permanent and life-changing disfigurement,’ according to his attorneys.

“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” said another one of Garcia’s lawyers, Nick Rowley.

* * *

Pick up one of these lighter / flashlight combos!

*  *  *

Starbucks plans to appeal the verdict, saying in a statement that while they sympathize with Garcia, they “disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive,” adding “We have always been committed to the highest safety standards in our stores, including the handling of hot drinks..”

This is the latest in a string of burn lawsuits at US eateries.

In a famous case from the 1990s, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3 million in damages after she suffered burns while trying to pry the lid off of a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through – though the case was ultimately settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000 after an appeals court judge reduced the award.

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued recommendations to vaccine makers on Thursday regarding the virus strains to be used in the 2025–26 influenza vaccines, after canceling a meeting of its vaccine advisers last month that had been scheduled for March 13.

The strain composition recommendations for flu shots usually involve input from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), but this year, the agency excluded its advisers from the decision-making process.

Instead, the FDA held a closed session with experts from its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, along with officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Defense, to review U.S. and global surveillance data on currently circulating flu viruses.

That interagency meeting was held on the same day that the VRBPAC was originally scheduled to meet. In a statement, the FDA said it does not expect any impact on the timing or availability of vaccines for the public.

The regulator recommended using the trivalent formulation of egg-based influenza vaccines for the next flu season, containing two influenza A subtype viruses and one influenza type B virus.

The FDA stated that it has informed vaccine manufacturers of its recommendations and expected “an adequate and diverse supply of approved trivalent seasonal influenza vaccines” for the upcoming influenza season, which covers the fall and winter of each year.

The reason for the cancelation of the VRBPAC meeting remains unclear. The FDA did not offer an explanation.

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)—which represents over 13,000 physicians, scientists, and public health experts—had urged the FDA to reschedule the meeting, saying that its cancelation could endanger public health as the nation faces its worst flu season in more than a decade.

“Cancelling this meeting means vaccine makers may not have the vital information and time they need to produce and distribute targeted vaccines before the next flu season,” IDSA President Tina Tan said in a Feb. 27 statement.

Seasonal influenza activity has remained high in the United States, with at least 40 million illnesses recorded so far, according to the CDC. Of these, 520,000 patients were hospitalized, and 22,000 have died from flu as of March this year.

The cancelation of the FDA’s advisory committee meeting came after President Donald Trump’s nominee for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, was confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 13.

Kennedy told employees at the Health and Human Services (HHS) on Feb. 18 that nothing would be off-limits as he led investigations into children’s health, identifying vaccinations as possible factors behind the rise in chronic diseases.

In his address, Kennedy emphasized that his main mission at HHS is “to reverse the chronic disease epidemic” in the United States.

Besides hearing from its advisers, the FDA typically consults with the World Health Organization (WHO) on the composition of the influenza vaccines before making recommendations. The agency was not included in the FDA’s recent meeting on flu vaccines.

Trump has withdrawn the United States from the WHO, citing the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China,” and other global health concerns.

The president stated that the WHO had failed to “adopt urgently needed reforms” and was unable to demonstrate independence from “the inappropriate political influence” of member states.

The United States was the largest contributor to the WHO, having contributed about $1.28 billion during the 2022-2023 biennium, according to the organization’s website. It stated that U.S. experts supported nearly half of WHO joint external evaluation missions last year.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.

Journalists at Voice of America (VOA) have been placed on administrative leave one day after President Trump signed an executive order dismantling eight federal agencies, which builds on a prior Trump directive to eliminate elements of the federal government deemed “unnecessary.”

VOA reporters were placed on “administrative leave with full pay and benefits until otherwise notified,” adding that this is “not being done for any disciplinary purpose,” according to The Hill, which received a copy of an internal memo which was sent out by the human resources executive for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), VOA’s parent company.

VOA workers were also instructed not to enter their work premises or access USAGM internal systems without permission from the HR executive or “prior” permission from their supervisors.

The two-page memo, that was sent just past 9:40 a.m. local time Saturday, came after Trump penned an executive order to gut seven federal agencies, including USAGM, telling them to “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel.”

“This order continues the reduction in the elements of the Federal bureaucracy that the President has determined are unnecessary,” the order said. –The Hill

Trump’s order also dismantles the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Interagency Council on Homelessness, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and the Minority Business Development Agency.

If asked, VOA workers are expected to “immediately” surrender their USAGM badge and press pass, along with “any keys or other official government property, including documents, records, electronic and telephone devices, and other equipment.”

As the Epoch Times notes further, the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which runs Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia, has been in Trump’s crosshairs since his first term. With an annual budget of around $900 million that operates networks broadcasting in more than 60 languages and around 100 countries, USAGM has been a target of criticism from Trump’s allies, who argue it operates with a liberal bias.

The president has nominated Brent Bozell, a conservative media watchdog, to lead the USAGM—though his Senate confirmation is pending.

Meanwhile, Kari Lake, a former news anchor and Arizona gubernatorial candidate, has been tapped to steer VOA. Lake said in a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference that she understands why there are calls to dismantle VOA but that she believes it can be improved.

She was sworn in as a senior adviser for the USAGM on March 3, as she awaits further action on her VOA nomination.

In a post on social media on Saturday, Lake said that Trump’s latest executive order affects VOA operations and added that staff should check their emails “immediately.” Already, multiple VOA staff have received emails placing them on administrative leave with full pay and benefits “until otherwise notified.” It was not immediately clear how many employees were affected.

Friday’s executive order builds on Trump’s earlier Feb. 19 directive to reduce the size of the federal government, eliminate non-essential agencies and advisory committees, and minimize statutory functions to the lowest level required by law.

The moves represent the latest steps by Trump to reshape the federal bureaucracy and make its operations leaner. The president has tasked tech entrepreneur Elon Musk with leading that effort in his role as a special government employee in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

So far, the DOGE effort has resulted in potential cuts of more than 100,000 jobs across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian workforce, the freezing of foreign aid, and the cancellation of thousands of contracts and programs, for an estimated savings of $115 billion to taxpayers.

Trump has said he and members of his administration are committed to finding ways to cut federal spending and reform government at a “historic level,” with the president setting a goal for DOGE to identify $2 trillion in wasteful spending before its scheduled dissolution on Independence Day in 2026.

A recent Epoch Times poll showed that readers overwhelmingly support DOGE and its activities, though many called for greater public visibility into its findings—along with demands for accountability for whatever abusive, fraudulent, or wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars that it identifies.

Authored by David Stockman via International Man,

Told you so!

Donald Trump doesn’t give two hoots about the true agenda that might actually make America freer and more prosperous again. We are referring to the principles of—-

• peaceful commerce with every nation, entangling alliances with none.
• minimalist, solvent, constitutional government at home.
• sound money and market-driven interest rates and asset prices.
• maximum scope for personal liberty and free markets.
• decentralized, Federalist arrangements for any necessary functions of the state.

Now, if there is one politicians in all of the Washington Swamp besides Senator Rand Paul who stands four-square for these essential principles, it is Congressman Thomas Massie, also of Kentucky. In fact, Tom Massie is so steadfast, learned and consistent on these matters as to be the very living embodiment of libertarian principles on the great stage of national politics.

And yet, and yet. In the face of what is a hugely debatable issue with respect to the latest continuing resolution (CR) tabled by Speaker Johnson, which is another total capitulation to Washington spending as usual, the Donald has now unleashed a vicious bully-boy attack on Rep Massie.

But for crying out loud, Donald, Congressman Massie has actually read every line of this 110 page abomination and knows that it provides spending authority of $1.658 trillion, which is 47% more than Big Spender Obama’s last budget. It will virtually cancel every dime DOGE has allegedly saved.

And, besides, enough with the clownish ALL CAPS sloganeering already. Instead, how about you give Rep. Massie the apology he deserves.

Thank you to the House Freedom Caucus for just delivering a big blow to the Radical Left Democrats and their desire to raise Taxes and SHUT OUR COUNTRY DOWN! They hate America and all it stands for. That’s why they allowed MILLIONS of Criminals to invade our Nation. Sometimes it takes great courage to do the right thing. Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic “NO” vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past. HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him. He’s just another GRANDSTANDER, who’s too much trouble, and not worth the fight. He reminds me of Liz Chaney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won’t stand for it, just watch. DO I HAVE ANY TAKERS??? Anyway, thank you again to the House Freedom Caucus for your very important vote. We need to buy some time in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. Unite and Win!!!

Based on the above rant, however, we are not sure what they put in the Donald’s orange juice today because it appears he was just getting cranked up when he took off after Rep Massie. Since then he’s come out swinging against Canada, and ordered his Secy of Commerce to raise the tariff on steel and aluminum to 50% in response to a threat from the equally loud-mouthed premier of Ontario that Canada might tax electricity exports to the US.

Needless to say, the social media rant below conveying this intention was surely posted by the Donald himself. It is full of the ALL CAPS hyperbole, factual exaggerations and outright nonsense that are the trademark evidence of unfiltered conveyance straight from the Donald’s brain to the worldwide web.

The one good thing you can say here is that there is no staff intermediation, scripting or spinning in the bluster, blather and bile posted below. Indeed, after Teleprompter Joe it is actually refreshing to know that what you get from the Donald is pure Trump-thought.

Unfortunately, what we also have is a classic case of Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: You never know what you are going to get!

And not just the good stuff like his order to stop the insanity in Ukraine or wondering out loud whether he could convene a summit with Putin and Xi aimed at a global agreement to cut defense spending by 50%. That’s all marvelous!

Still, today’s eruption should be an off-setting cause for concern because it shows that on the large matter of global trade and the strategy for returning America to capitalist prosperity, the Donald is just as off-base, uninformed and ill-tempered, as he was this morning regarding Rep. Massie’s principled stand to vote “nay” on the CR.

Moreover, we are not just referring to the utter nonsense in the second column below about Canada as the 51st state. By now the Canucks are not remotely interested in the proposition, of course, but, more importantly, if Trump were even a luke-warm conservative, to say nothing of being semi-sane, he’d recognize that annexing Canada is not even a joke.

To the contrary, it’s an absolutely awful idea because the United States, like the EC, is already way too big to be governed honestly and effectively. That is to say, anyone truly worried about constitutional liberty and capitalist prosperity today would be advocating for defunding, dismantling and devolution of the Leviathan on the Potomac, not vastly expanding the territory from which it can suck revenues and resources.

Moreover, annexation of Canada aside, the Donald’s madcap posting today shows that he is hopelessly ill-informed factually and also analytically out to lunch on the matter of global trade. In that arena, in fact, the very last thing he ought to be attacking—even as a wanna be protectionist—-is Canada.

After all, Canada was a party to the NAFTA free trade area, and now, by virtue of the Donald’s bigger and better USMCA arrangement after his phony redo of NAFTA in 2020, is even more blameless on the unfair trade front.

As we will show below, Canada actually has a lower tariff barrier to trade than the United States and most certainly is not remotely “ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS IN THE WORLD”.

Consider his point above about Canada’s anti-farmer tariffs, which he claims rise to 250% to 390% of various US dairy products.

Well, no, in 2024 Canada did not collect one single Canadian dollar or US dollar or even plug nickel of tariff revenue from US dairy exporters of the four leading dairy export products—fluid milk, butter, cheese and powder milk. That’s right, the tariff on US dairy exports of these four products was zero, nichts, nada and nothing, respectively.

And the reason for that lies in the so-called TRQs (tariff rate quota) that the Donald himself negotiated with the Canadians in the course of attaining his ballyhooed USMCA deal in 2020.

These TRQ arrangements, of course, are Rube Goldberg devices of the kind that anti-free market government bureaucrats love to tinker with, and the Donald’s were no exception. So what they negotiated was a “tariff free” amount of US dairy exports up to a specified quota level, after which the huge Canadian dairy tariffs the Donald referenced in his rant would become effective.

These TRQs, in turn, were to be phased in over six year—so as of 2024 we were almost there. Yet on the four leading dairy products listed in the table below, US exports did not reach the quota level in any of them. Therefore, no tariff was applied to nearly 71 million pounds of US dairy exports to Canada.

In the largest category for fluid milk right off the cows’ teats, for example, the quota was 91.9 million pounds, but US exports in 2024 amounted to only 34.7 million pounds or 37.7% of the quota. And in the case of cheese, the ratio was much closer at 95.6%, but still no tariff cigar; and so on for butter and skim milk powder, as well.

In all, the Donald’s own quota amounted to 136.9 pounds in 2024, but US exports only reached 70.5 million pounds or half of the quota on these four products. So the remaining headroom under the quota for Wisconsin or New York state dairy farmer supporters, as the case may be, is considerable.

And yet, this isn’t even the half of it. As it happens, the average value of these US dairy exports in 2024 ranged between $0.50 per pound for fluid milk, to $1.20/lbs for SMP, $2.00/lbs for cheese and $2.50/lbs. for butter. The long and short of the math, therefore, is that America’s tariff-free dairy exports to Canada in these four categories amounted to $83.7 million in 2024, which, in the scheme of things, is not even a fly on old Bessy’s ass.

As it happens, during 2024 total US goods exports to Canada totaled $349 billion and goods imports from Canada were $413 billion, leaving a merchandise trade deficit of $63 billion. So the dairy piece of the picture is a mere pimple. The export figure for the four products analyzed above amounted to just 0.02% of total US exports to Canada.

Moreover, on the services side of the trade ledger it was the opposite. US exports of $90 billion exceeded services imports of $65 billion, thereby generating a surplus on services of +$25 billion. So the net deficit on the goods and services account of stuff flowing north and south across the border was a tiny $38 billion.

In other words, even if you think the trade surplus or deficit with any single country is the end all and be all of policy, which it surely isn’t, the US does not remotely have a “trade problem” with Canada. The actual shortfall or cash difference to the US amounted to just 2.7% of two-way trade in goods and services and just 0.1% of GDP.

Stated differently, total trade turnover in goods and services with Canada in 2024 amounted to $917 billion. That captures a huge flow of business activity north and south across the 5,525 mile border with Canada—the longest border in the world. And yet we have the Donald ranting about phantom dairy tariffs on a tiny $84 million chunk of dairy exports to Canada, which amounts to 0.01% of America’s trade flows with Canada.

And, yes, even when you add in branded dairy-based manufactures like yogurt, ice cream and whey products, which also have not been constrained by TRQs, total dairy related US exports to Canada of about $1.1 billion are still a tiny fraction of 1% of the aggregate trade turnover with America’s partner to the north.

Finally, the Donald’s bombast today about Canada was rooted in his huge misconception that unfair tariffs and other trade barriers abroad are the reason why we have massive trade deficits and have seen huge parts of America’s industrial base 0ff-shored along with the good jobs and middle class incomes which went with it.

As highlighted in the Donald’s rant above, we have the familiar Trumpian claim that Canada is  “ONE OF THE HIGHEST TARIFFING NATIONS IN THE WORLD”.

Well, no, here are ten major categories of imports into Canada in 2023 and the applicable tariff rate on each category. Together they comprise Canada’s $559 billion of imports from all worldwide partners.

As is evident from the second column and total at the bottom, Canada is the very opposite of a big time tariff collector. In fact, the average tariff on all products in 2023 was, well, 0.8%.

Indeed, the above not only proves that the Donald is out to lunch on the matter, but also that he probably shouldn’t by throwing stones from a glass house. As we will amplify more fully later this week, the weighted average effective tariff on imports into the USA is considerably higher at 2.0%.

So were the Donald to actually impose some kind of reciprocal tariff, which would amount to 2.00% -0.80%=1.20%, to equalize the two countries import duties, he would owe Canada about $5 billion per year in tariff equalization rebates!

In short, the last three things that Donald Trump should be attacking are Congressman Massie, Canada’s trade policies and the dairy TRQs of the USMCA.

In the lingo of sports, the first two of these amount to “unforced errors” and the latter consists of scoring an “own goal”, if there ever was one.

*  *  *

The truth is, we’re on the cusp of an economic crisis that could eclipse anything we’ve seen before. And most people won’t be prepared for what’s coming. That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive an economic collapse. Click here to download the PDF now.

Update (1220ET): In response to judge James Boasberg’s move to halt the Trump administration’s deportation of alleged gang members, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) says he’s filing articles of impeachment against the judge. 

“I’ll be filing Articles of Impeachment against activist judge James Boasberg this week,” Gill posted on X.

I’ll be filing Articles of Impeachment against activist judge James Boasberg this week. pic.twitter.com/kh4vfooS2A

— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) March 16, 2025

In response to Boasberg’s order (read all about it below), Attorney General Pam Bondi made an emergency filing with the DC Circuit Court to pause the order, asking the court to “halt this massive, unauthorized imposition on the Executive’s authority to remove people that Defendants had determined to be members of TdA (Tren de Aragua).

Maybe the Trump administration should just take AOC’s advice to ignore the court?

“The Biden Administration should ignore the court” – AOC, 2023 pic.twitter.com/fHF4PAykQT

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 11, 2025

Oopsie… Too Late

Boasberg’s order was issued while a plane full of Venezuelan prisoners was headed to El Salvador – eventually landing in the country…

“Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable),” said President Nayib Bukele on X. “On this occasion, the U.S. has also sent us 23 MS-13 members wanted by Salvadoran justice, including two ringleaders. One of them is a member of the criminal organization’s highest structure.”

Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).

The United States will pay a very low fee for them,… pic.twitter.com/tfsi8cgpD6

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025

Then, responding to Boasberg’s order, Bukele posted: “Oopsie… Too late“

Oopsie…

Too late 😂 pic.twitter.com/nDHL6deLJq

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 16, 2025

*  *  *

Have you picked up a John O. flag yet at ZH Store?

*  *  *

A federal judge who’s been a critical ally to the deep state has preemptively blocked the Trump administration from deporting five Venezuelan nationals under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1978.

US District Judge James Boasberg (more on that below) issued his preemptive ruling a few hours after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a motion on the Venezuelans’ behalf against Trump’s reported plan to invoke the AEA to accelerate the removal of illegals from the US.

The ACLU asked Boasberg to block the use of the law, though Trump has yet to invoke it. Boasberg, of course, complied, granting a restraining order Saturday morning that prevents the administration from removing the five Venezuelan nationals for two weeks so the judge can hold a hearing on their challenge.

In their filing, the ACLU, alongside Democracy Forward and the ACLU of the District of Columbia, stated that the government has moved the Venezuelans – alleged members of Tren De Aragua, to a facility in Texas, which they state are being used “as staging facilities to remove Venezuelan men under the AEA.”

Of note, the Trump administration officially declared Tren de Aragua a terrorist organization last month.

If the name Boasberg rings a bell, refresh your memory below…

• Ray Epps Dodges Prison Sentence – Gets Probation, Community Service For Telling J6ers To Go “Into The Capitol”

Boasberg is the judge who was in charge of FISA when it was being used to illegally spy on Trump as part of an operation to overthrow the president. https://t.co/btXKlSfqB6

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) January 9, 2024

• Nearly 4 Years Later, No Letup In Jan. 6 Prosecutions, Possible Pardons Or Not
• “They Must Be Eating Xanax Like Tic-Tacs…” – The Blob Has A Migraine
• New chief judge in Washington to oversee secret Trump proceedings

The ACLU’s wish is his command!

What are being widely reported as Serbia’s largest ever protests have gripped various districts of Belgrade over the weekend, which saw well over 100,000 thousand people descend on the capital on Saturday.

BBC for exampled observed, “While the government put attendance at 107,000 across Belgrade, an independent monitor said 325,000 – if not more – had gathered, making it Serbia’s largest protest ever.”

The people filling the streets are calling for an end to the more than decade-long governance of the Serbian Progressive Party of President Aleksandar Vučić, following a deadly tragedy last November which many believe was aided by corruption and corner-cutting.

Fifteen bystanders were killed when a concrete concrete canopy of the main railway station in Novi Sad collapsed on top of bystanders who had been walking underneath at the time.

Protesters are blaming the Progressive Party of Vucic, and already the resignations of several senior officials have resulted, as well as at times explosive shouting matches and even violent scuffles among lawmakers in parliament.

Saturday’s protest was called the “15th for 15” protest, given it took place on March 15. It looked to be largely peaceful, given only 22 people were arrested while 56 others were injured, according to Serbian national media.

Belgrade.
Crazy. pic.twitter.com/27ErgKZM9A

— Stevanović Vladimir (@VladimirStev) March 15, 2025

Young people and students are a huge component to the demonstrations, which has also been jointed by lawyers, teachers, and even farmers.                                   

“We just want a country that works,” one law student interviewed by BBC commented. “We want institutions that do their jobs properly. We don’t care what party is in power. But we need a country that works, not one where you don’t get justice for more than four months.”

For a nation of only about 6.6 million people, the sheer size of the crowds in the streets have been impressive.

I’ve never been more proud of my country and my people 🥹

– ~6M people in Serbia.
– ~800k people protesting.
– 0 crimes, 0 fights, 0 broken shit.
– Biggest protests in Serbian history.
– One of the biggest protests in Europe.

I salute you, fellow students 🫡 pic.twitter.com/oSjsS4HfiJ

— cap / thecap.eth (d/acc) (@TheCapHimself) March 15, 2025

There’s an international dynamic at play as well, as Vucic is often described in Western media as friendly to Putin.

Serbia remains another one of those East-West fault line countries in which Europe and NATO would like to see a government which moves away from generally warm relations with Russia Putin. Some analysts have warned the country is ripe for a West-backed ‘color revolution’. But by and large the population is still anti-NATO, given their memories of the brutal bombing campaign of 1999 led by US warplanes under Clinton

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Columbia University said on March 13 that it has expelled or suspended some students who took over its Hamilton Hall last year amid pro-Palestinian protests, and temporarily rescinded the diplomas of others who have graduated.

In a campus-wide email, the university said its judicial board levied a range of sanctions against the students who occupied the building last year while protesting the Israel-Hamas war.

Those sanctions include multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions, Columbia wrote in a statement on its website. It said the return of suspended students will be overseen by the Columbia’s Life Office.

“Columbia is committed to enforcing the University’s Rules and Policies and improving our disciplinary processes,” the statement reads.

The school did not say how many students were expelled, suspended, or had their degrees revoked. In the campus-wide email, it said the administrative actions were based on “evaluation of the severity of behaviors.”

The Trump administration had said on March 7 that it was pulling $400 million in grants and contracts from Columbia University, citing the school’s failure to combat anti-Semitism on its campus.

Columbia recently launched an investigation into students engaging in pro-Palestinian protests last year, amid threats of funding losses from the federal government.

On Sunday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a former Columbia University graduate student and green card holder who led the pro-Palestinian encampment protest at the school in 2024. Agents said his arrest follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders combating anti-Semitism in colleges and universities.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Khalil “led activities aligned to Hamas,” the U.S.-designated terrorist group that triggered the war in Gaza with its large-scale assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Trump said it was the “first arrest of many to come” in a Monday post on his Truth Social platform.

“We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump Administration will not tolerate it,” Trump wrote.

“Many are not students, they are paid agitators. We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country—never to return again.”

The president added that he expects “every one” of U.S. colleges and universities to comply.

On Monday, a federal judge in New York temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting Khalil until further legal proceedings, and after the court potentially authorizes his removal from the United States.

Khalil is suing to block Columbia University from providing a congressional committee with records of disciplinary actions stemming from last year’s protests.

Aldgra Fredly, Tom Ozimek, Bill Pan, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The NAACP is rallying around a Virginia high school track star at the center of a viral-video controversy and on the receiving end of criminal charges after she smashed a competitor in the head with a baton in the middle of a state-championship 4×200-meter relay race.  

In videos that most observers find damning, Alaila Everett, a senior at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth, is seen swinging her baton into the back of the head of Kaelen Tucker, a junior at Brookville High School. Reeling from the pain, Tucker grabs her head and staggers to the ground alongside the track at Liberty University in Lynchburg. Everett proceeds to awkwardly flail her baton-arm.

This is literally is crazy. A high school track runner was attacked with a baton during a relay race, leaving her with a concussion and a possible skull fracture.
No apology from the runner or the coach. How is this not being treated like assault? pic.twitter.com/Hka2FUgOS0

— Mean Mug (@meanmuglife) March 10, 2025

An attorney and former multi-sport, standout athlete who reviewed the footage for ZeroHedge said Everett’s follow-on motions look like theatrics meant to portray the head-blow as an accident, rather than an attack springing from a loss of impulse control as Tucker overtook her. 

Everett and her squad were immediately disqualified from the championship competition, while Tucker was diagnosed with a concussion and possible skull fracture. In TV interviews after the incident, Everett admitted the act “looked purposeful,” but said the hammer-blow to Tucker’s head was an accident caused by the baton catching on Tucker’s clothing, which supposedly caused Everett to lose her balance. “I know my intentions, and I would never hit somebody on purpose.” Not satisfied to merely proclaim herself innocent, Everett also cast herself as a victim: “Everybody has feelings. So, you’re physically hurt, but you’re not thinking of my mental, right?” 

Track star Alaila Everett has been charged with assault & battery following baton Incident after seen crying & saying it wasn’t intentional. 😳⛓️‍💥

The family claim she never apologized & tried to get sympathy for herself so they pressed charges. pic.twitter.com/B556sGnz7l

— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) March 12, 2025

Runner who hit another girl with a baton says it’s all a “misunderstanding” due to the camera angle.

The victim suffered a concussion and potential skull fracture and said she was bumped before the strike.

Does it look like an accident? pic.twitter.com/9qSJht6ZLZ

— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) March 10, 2025

Feelings are one thing; facts are another — and this video from second angle appeared to conclusively torpedo Everett’s claim of innocence:  

This chick intentionally attacked her opponent with a baton and is now crying victim.

And of course, the NAACP says racism is the reason she’s being blamed for her actions. pic.twitter.com/ONDsaBsf4B https://t.co/evGyOsGCoR

— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) March 14, 2025

Speaking of feelings, Tucker and her mother say neither Everett nor Everett’s coaching staff made any effort to check on her well-being or reach out afterwards. Asked what she would like to communicate to Everett, Tucker said, “Why did you do it, and why haven’t you apologized yet?“

* * *

Pick up one of these lighter / flashlight combos!

*  *  *

After video of the incident went viral, Portsmouth NAACP issued a statement declaring Everett innocent:

“Alaila is NOT AN ATTACKER and media headlines that allude towards that in any way is shameful. We understand the sensitivity of the circumstances for both athletes and their families involved but this narrative must not go unaddressed.”

Contrary to the NAACP’s assertion, most observers concluded Everett was indeed an “attacker” — including  Lynchburg Commonwealth prosecutors, who filed a misdemeanor charge of assault and battery against her on Wednesday. The next day, Everett held a small rally outside her high school in Portsmouth, which is across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. Crying again, she reiterated her increasingly-rejected claim of innocence and victimhood. “There’s nobody else who wanted to hear my story except for people that know me and people that know I would never do anything like that.”  

NEW: The Virginia runner who bashed the head of an opponent with a metal baton holds a rally after getting charged with assault.

Odd.

Alaila Everett started sobbing while holding a rally outside of her high school in Virginia.

Portsmouth NAACP is now *defending* Everett and… pic.twitter.com/kTysxJioku

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 14, 2025

“It bothered me to my heart to see how the whole world was dragging this young lady, dragging her character based on what they thought they saw,” local “community activist” Germain Green Green told the gathering. “I just wanted to step up, speak out, and bring unity and let this young lady know that the city of Portsmouth has her back.”

After meeting with prosecutors, Portsmouth NAACP’s James Boyd told WAVY that “the criminal justice system should not be used in this situation, and for charges of assault and battery to be levied against her, you have to prove her intent and maliciousness, and those things are not present here.”

Having seen all the angles, who are you going to believe — Everett and the NAACP or your lying eyes? 

SpaceX delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday as part of a NASA crew rotation mission that will bring home two Boeing Starliner astronauts stranded on the ISS for eight months. The lengthy delay occurred because the Biden-Harris regime sought to avoid optically displeasing headlines about Elon Musk rescuing the astronauts before the presidential election last November.

A little more than one day after launching from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on Friday evening, the Crew-10 astronauts’ SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule docked at the ISS early Sunday morning. 

Crew 10 Dragon vehicle arriving! pic.twitter.com/3EZZyZW18b

— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) March 16, 2025

NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov entered the ISS shortly after opening the hatches between the ISS and the Dragon spacecraft around 0035ET.

The @SpaceX #Crew10 members joined the station’s Exp 72 crew after the hatch opened at 12:35am ET on Sunday beginning a long-duration space research mission. https://t.co/VrsLob2wh2

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 16, 2025

The Crew-10 mission marks the beginning of the long-awaited effort to rescue stranded Boeing Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams and bring them home. Both are scheduled to depart the ISS on Wednesday, along with American astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

Early last week, before the Crew-10 launch, a Washington Post journalist interviewed the stranded astronauts and was shocked to learn that the Biden-Harris regime rejected Musk’s space rescue offer ahead of the presidential election.

Wilmore told the WaPo journo: “I can only say that Mr. Musk, what he says is absolutely factual…” He noted that the exact reasons behind the offer being rejected were unknown to him or Williams.

NEW: Astronaut says Elon Musk is “absolutely factual” after a WaPo reporter asked him about how Musk said his rescue efforts were denied for political reasons.

Musk was condemned by the media for making the comment but it appears the astronauts agree.

Reporter: “Elon Musk has… pic.twitter.com/Qeb8sF8gnT

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) March 6, 2025

Recently, Musk revealed on a Joe Rogan podcast that SpaceX offered to rescue the stranded astronauts last year, but Biden-Harris folks rejected the offer “for political reasons.” Musk claimed, “There is no way they’re going to make anyone supporting Trump look good” ahead of the November presidential elections. 

“We offered to bring them back early – this offer was rejected by the Biden administration”0

Joe: “Why?”

Elon: “Political reasons. There is no way they’re going to make someone supporting Trump look good.”pic.twitter.com/QXVbpDPgKr

— Donna Marie (@sabback) March 6, 2025

X users are saying…

https://t.co/19Exr4I2xS Democrats and the press should watch NASA describe the complexity of the docking process to the ISS all automated by Musk and his SpaceX team. When will the press acknowledge Musk’s uncanny accomplishments to better life in the U.S. and around the planet.

— John M. Curtis (@drjmcurtis) March 16, 2025

And the democrats will say nothing about this or even downplay it and berate @elon and @POTUS for doing this.

— Amerigo Vespucci 🇮🇹🇺🇸 (@Amerigo93679262) March 16, 2025

SpaceX capsule docks at ISS successfully — Rescue mission goes according to plan (video).

Elon Musk saving Americans and saving the country

Meanwhile LowIQ democrats destroying private property and burning the country down#Falcon9

— Shadow Banned (@ttstrac) March 16, 2025

This is yet another instance of Democrats putting party over the country in critical decision-making, jeopardizing the lives of two of America’s top astronauts in the process.

There should be a hearing on Capitol Hill to investigate this.