Activists call for a nationwide ‘blackout’ to protest against Trump’s violent immigration crackdown – US politics live | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
important events
Trump to Iran: End nuclear ambitions and stop killing protesters or confront US military
Donald Trump He warned Iran that it must end its nuclear program and stop killing protesters if the large armada of US warships deployed in the Middle East is not used.
While Trump was speaking at the premiere of the Melania documentary, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi came to Türkiye to discuss whether there was a basis for an agreement with the United States.
The US president said thousands of protesters were killed but Iran prevented them from carrying out executions.
Trump’s own administration has come under renewed scrutiny after US immigration officials killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Keith Porter in Los Angeles and Silverio Villegas González in Illinois. ICE monitors reportedly faced violence, tear gas, and arrests.
Iran is ready for the resumption of talks with the United States, but the talks must be fair and not involve Iran’s defense capabilities, Iran’s top diplomat said on Friday.
“Iran is ready to participate in such talks if the negotiations are fair and equitable,” the Foreign Minister said. Abbas Araqchi He spoke at a press conference with his Turkish counterpart in Istanbul.
Araqchi said no meetings are currently arranged between Tehran and Washington.
Trump nominates Kevin Warsh to head the US Federal Reserve
Lauren Aratani
Donald Trump nominates former Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh He served as the next chairman amid the president’s extraordinary attempt to tighten his grip on the U.S. central bank and disregard its longstanding independence.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he plans to announce his pick for the Fed chair on Friday morning, implying that “a lot of people think this is someone who could have been there a few years ago.” He then announced early Friday that it was indeed Warsh, as had been teased.
If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh would replace Jerome Powell, whom Trump first appointed in 2018 but later infuriated the US president by defying his repeated calls to lower interest rates.
In December, Trump said of Warsh:: “He thinks you should lower interest rates.”
Read more:
Opening Summary
Activists called for a nationwide shutdown Friday, advocating “no work, no school, no shopping” in a protest against the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on immigration.
Organizers say Friday’s “blackout” — or general strike, as some call it — is part of a growing nonviolent movement to combat ICE’s aggressive enforcement tactics, which have come under renewed scrutiny after a series of deadly shootings involving federal agents.
“We are calling this strike because we believe that what we are doing in Minnesota should happen at the national level,” said Kidus Yeshidagna, president of the University of Minnesota Ethiopian Students Association and one of the students who organized the strike.
“We need more people and lawmakers across the country to wake up.”
In other updates:
-
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer’s office confirmed to the Guardian on Thursday that Democrats and the White House had reached a deal to avoid a government shutdown. The agreement would feature a package of spending bills while separating the Department of Homeland Security spending bill from the package. The deal would include funding for DHS for two weeks at current levels, and Democrats would continue to negotiate more barriers to immigration officials in light of recent deadly shootings in Minneapolis.
-
Donald Trump has filed a $10bn (about £7.9bn) lawsuit against the US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service over the unauthorized release of his tax returns during his first term, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday evening. Thursday’s lawsuit puts Trump in the unusual position of suing government agencies that are part of the executive branch he leads. Trump broke precedent by not releasing his tax returns while running for and later achieving the presidency.
-
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan held a press conference in Minneapolis today where he said “no institution is perfect” but made no significant mention of the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by immigration agents there this month.. At Thursday’s press conference, Tom Homan said the administration “recognizes that certain improvements can and should be made” to Minnesota’s ongoing immigration enforcement operation, but did not specify what those looked like or when they would be implemented. The border czar also declined to comment on newly released video footage of Alex Pretti earlier this month that showed police officers grabbing Pretti and taking him to the ground during intense protests that gripped Minneapolis. “We will let the investigation play out and let it go wherever it goes,” Homan added.
-
Trump signed administrative order The White House said Thursday that this agreement lays the groundwork for imposing tariffs on goods from countries that supply oil to Cuba. The order, which ramps up Trump’s push to overthrow the Communist government, declares a national emergency and establishes a process for U.S. secretaries of state and commerce to consider tariffs against countries that sell or otherwise supply oil to the island nation. The White House has not yet set tariffs for violations of its new policy of blocking Cuban oil purchases.
