NEWS - SATURDAY, MAY 17, 2025 - NEWS
Can one federal judge block Trump's plan to deny citizenship to babies whose parents are not U.S. citizens? LA Times
VOA VIEW: The answer is no.
Seventeen relatives of El Chapo were recently allowed to enter the U.S. in San Diego. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move by the Trump administration a 'total disgrace.' LA Times
VOA VIEW: Shumer is the disgrace.
Last year, GM shipped 418,782 autos from South Korea to American consumers. Will Trump's tariffs force local factories to close? LA Times
VOA VIEW: The tariffs should apply to all.
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"Has anyone noticed that, since I said 'I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT,' she's no longer 'HOT?'" POTUS posted on his social media platform, Truth Social. New York Post
Cuban has been on the popular investment program since Season 2. New York Post
Twenty Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza are known to be alive, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Hamas should give them freedom.
46% of registered voters are ready to back Vance as Trump's successor, compared with just 8% who'd like to see Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis return to the GOP primary contest. New York Post
VOA VIEW: Time will tell.
An additional 276,000 people filed for Social Security benefits so far this fiscal year, up 13% from a year ago. Anxiety appears to be a driver. New York Times
Louisiana officials want to overturn the remaining federal desegregation orders in their state. New York Times
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More than lying to the public, too many Democrats were lying to themselves. New York Times
Individuals and small businesses may end up bearing some of the cost of grid upgrades needed for large electricity users. New York Times
A decision to not pursue a guilty plea from Boeing would be the latest about-face in a long effort to hold the plane maker accountable for the crashes of two 737 Max jets. New York Times
A major manhunt was initiated in the state of Louisiana after 11 inmates initially escaped from the Orleans Parish Jail. However, two of the eleven have now been caught -- making it nine escaped inmates on the run. OANN
VOA VIEW: They should all be caught.
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FBI Director Kash Patel has announced that the bureau will be leaving their D.C. headquarters and transfer 1,500 employees to multiple locations across the country. OANN
President Donald Trump announced Friday that the White House will be informing other countries about how much they will be tariffed via letters and what they will be required to pay on exported goods to the United States. OANN
VOA VIEW: It will be lucrative.
The Trump administration axed hundreds of contractors at taxpayer-funded Voice of America on Thursday, cuts that represent a third of the international broadcaster's staff. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: They are not the real VOA - we are.
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U.S. consumer sentiment fell slightly in May for the fifth straight month, surprising economists, as Americans increasingly worry that President Donald Trump's trade war will worsen inflation. Washington Times
VOA VIEW: Don't count on the liberal lies.
New Jersey Transit train engineers went on strike Friday, leaving an estimated 350,000 commuters in New Jersey and New York City to seek other means to reach their destinations or consider staying home. Washington Times
Three Montana Army National Guard members face trespassing charges after authorities said they landed a Black Hawk helicopter in a mountain pasture on a private ranch to take several elk antlers before flying away. Washington Times
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's acting chief plans to shift responsibility for disaster recovery to states during the upcoming hurricane season, he said during a staff town hall on Thursday. Washington Times
Five Republicans on the House Budget Committee blocked the legislation from advancing on Friday. CBS
VOA VIEW: The five are fool disruptors.
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Trump administration officials claim former FBI chief James Comey called for violence against the president — which Comey has pushed back on. CBS
VOA VIEW: Comey is a lying idiot.
House Republicans have included in Trump's domestic policy bill a 5% tax on cash payments sent by non-citizens to family in their home countries. CBS
VOA VIEW: No problem - no money can be sent back.
Georgia's "heartbeat law" is among the restrictive abortion statutes that have been put in place in many conservative states. CBS
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The Florida woman and mother of three was charged $500 for every day she has remained in the U.S. since the removal order was issued in April 2005. CBS
VOA VIEW: She should have left.
House Republicans have included a proposal in their tax bill to provide a $4,000 deduction for individuals ages 65 and up. CNBC
The U.S. and United Arab Emirates are working on a path to allow Abu Dhabi to purchase some of the most advanced American-made chips. CNBC
VOA VIEW: A deal is a deal in adequate.
TikTok is launching in-app guided meditation and other well-being features aimed at young users, amid concerns about the platforms impacts on mental health. CNBC
VOA VIEW: TIKTOK should be banned, period.
Fortnite is now unavailable on iOS globally, after Apple blocked a bid to reinstate the popular game on the App Store in the U.S. CNBC
Charter Communications and Cox Communications, two of the largest cable companies in the U.S., have entered into an agreement to merge. CNBC
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized around $875,000 in marijuana after it was discovered in a shipment of men's overalls leaving Baltimore for Belgium. FOX News
A 15-year-old Colombian illegal immigrant teenager involved in a deadly crash that killed a woman in Aurora, Colorado, was sentenced to probation. FOX News
VOA VIEW: The fool should be terminated.
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan notified the court Friday he will take a leave from his duties until an investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against him concludes. UPI
Russia-Ukraine peace talks finally got underway a day late in Instanbul with little to no expectations after U.S. President Donald Trump said a face-to-face meeting with Putin was the only way forward. UPI
The United States extended its ban on travel to North Korea for the ninth year in a row, a federal notice showed, citing "imminent danger" posed by any trips to the authoritarian state. UPI
A wide swath of the Midwest and Plains states is under a tornado watch and severe weather conditions are forecast to persist into next week, the National Weather service said Thursday. UPI
Pentagon lawyers are reviewing a request by the Department of Homeland Security for the Defense Department to activate 20,000 National Guard troops to enforce immigration laws. UPI
VOA VIEW: As they should.
Criminals using AI to send malicious texts and voicemails impersonating United States officials, the FBI warned Thursday. UPI
VOA VIEW: They should be prosecuted.
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Schools should not be teaching gender identity, sexuality. A sharply divided Supreme Court appeared likely to require a Maryland school board provide parents with the ability to opt their elementary school-age children out of instruction featuring storybooks that address gender identity and sexual orientation.
At issue in the court fight between a group of families and the Montgomery County Board of Education is whether public schools unconstitutionally burden parents' First Amendment right to exercise their religion freely when they require children to participate in instruction on gender and sexuality that violate the families' religious beliefs. After more than two hours of arguments, the court's conservative majority seemed ready to side with the families.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, invoked the state's founding and said the county in particular has been a "beacon" of religious liberty and tolerance. He told Alan Schoenfeld, who argued for the school board, he was "surprised" given that history that "this is the hill we're going to die on in terms of not respecting religious liberty." "What is the big deal about allowing them to opt-out of this?" Justice Samuel Alito asked, noting that the county allows parents to request their children be excused from other areas of instruction, such as sexual education or Halloween or Valentine's Day celebrations. "What is infeasible about doing that?"
Kavanaugh echoed Alito, saying, "I'm not understanding why it's not feasible" for schools to excuse children from instruction that violate their families' religious beliefs. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia allow for parental opt-outs or require opt-ins before students participate in sex education. Montgomery County, home to Maryland's largest public school system with more than 160,000 students, also had an opt-out policy for parents with religious objections to classroom instruction or activities so long as the requests did not become "too frequent or burdensome," according to court papers.
After Maryland enacted rules seeking to promote "educational equity," the Montgomery County Education Board introduced "LGBTQ-inclusive" storybooks for elementary school students into its English Language Arts curriculum. The district said it supplemented its language arts books with a handful of stories "in order to better represent all Montgomery County families." Among the five books incorporated, which are at issue in the case, were "Born Ready," about a transgender elementary-aged child, and "Prince & Knight," about a prince who falls in with and marries a knight.
Several of the justices acknowledged that they had read the picture books that were included in the curriculum, and Alito at one point even read from one, "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," which discusses gay marriage.
