WGA Statement on ABC’s Decision to Pull Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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Los Angeles and New York – The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and Writers Guild of America East (WGAE):

The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other – to disturb, even – is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice.

As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn’t have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to – painful as it may be at times – is the freeing agreement to disagree.

Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world.

The WGA stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.

The Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) and the Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) are labor unions of writers working in motion pictures, television, cable, digital media and broadcast news. The Guilds negotiate and administer contracts that protect the creative and economic rights of their members; conduct programs, seminars and events on issues of interest to writers; and present writers’ views to various bodies of government. For more information on the Writers Guild of America East, visit http://www.wgaeast.org. For more information on the Writers Guild of America West, visit http://www.wga.org.

Source:Writers Guild of America West @ https://www.wga.org/news-events/news/press/2025/wga-statement-on-abc-decision-to-pull-jimmy-kimmel-live

President Trump’s Lawsuit Seeks to Punish Publishers and the Press for Questioning His Narratives

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(WASHINGTON)— PEN America released this following statement in response to President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against publisher Penguin Random House and The New York Times, in which the president accused them of “spreading false and defamatory content” to damage his 2024 presidential candidacy. It follows other recent lawsuits and legal threats against the media, with the goal of chilling reporting that the administration deems unfavorable. 

“President Trump’s defamation lawsuit against Penguin Random House and The New York Times—and by extension against a free and independent press—underscores his dangerous pattern of seeking to punish any publisher that questions his narrative in hopes of draining financial resources, instilling fear, and deterring coverage he doesn’t like. This latest lawsuit is striking in its hypocrisy, and continues the broader goal of creating a climate of fear and retaliation while claiming to champion free speech. The president has assumed the role of policing the press, working to cancel truthful reporting while casting himself as the victim,” said Tim Richardson, program director for Journalism and Disinformation. “This kind of weaponized litigation not only threatens an independent press but also erodes the foundation of the First Amendment. We stand firmly with the reporters and publishers that continue to hold our elected leaders accountable in defense of free expression, even in the face of escalating threats and retaliation.”

President Trump filed the $15 billion defamation lawsuit this week against The New York Times, four of its reporters, and Penguin Random House, claiming their articles and a book were published with “actual malice” to damage his business, political standing, and 2024 presidential candidacy. The suit alleges the reporting was timed to inflict “maximum electoral damage” and caused him “enormous” financial and reputational harm.

About PEN America

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.

Contact: Suzanne Trimel, STrimel@PEN.org, 201-247-5057

Source:https://pen.org/press-release/president-trumps-lawsuit-seeks-to-punish-publishers-and-the-press-for-questioning-his-narratives/

Russia-linked alt news sources promote pro-Russian narratives about Ukraine and NATO

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Medium.com expose of websites that promote Russian propaganda in support of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine – first published April 22, 2021

Alternative news sites, some with connections to Russian intelligence, amplified pro-Kremlin disinfo about the Ukraine conflict. by Nika Aleksejeva

Fringe news websites hosted in Russia or registered by Russian organizations published stories suggesting that Ukraine, along with NATO member states, the United States, and Turkey, are provoking the military buildup that is taking place near the Russian-Ukrainian border. These stories were later amplified by websites previously caught in spreading disinformation. Many of the sources participating in this alternative news ecosystem, such as News Front and South Front, have been previously identified as having connections to Russian intelligence by U.S. officials, including in the U.S. Treasury’s recent announcement detailing sanctions on several Russia-linked disinformation outlets. The DFRLab has also reported on Russian-state media promoting similar narratives.

The content spread by these English-language alternative news websites coincides with the recent disinformation campaign that Russia’s state TV channels launched for its domestic audience. This campaign blames Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO in military buildup and conflict escalation on Russian-Ukrainian border.

The narrative that Ukraine is responsible for the escalation of military tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border ignores the Russian military buildup of the past few months. According to The Insider, an independent Russian media outlet, the first confirmed report about Russian military equipment deployed to Crimea dates back to early February 2021. The equipment was likely deployed as part of the Russian Airborne and Naval military exercises in Crimea. Ukrainian analysts assessed the exercise to be rehearsal for an offense, and Ukraine started enhancing its military positions in the region in early March 2021.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine started in 2013 with pro-Western protests in Ukraine that resulted in the ousting of the pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, and the coming to power of a pro-Western interim government, followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Complete post, listing several “news” sources, with Whois data on owners of the sites @https://medium.com/dfrlab/russia-linked-alt-news-sources-promote-pro-russian-narratives-about-ukraine-and-nato-f1a3aba9d6ea

The Human Rights Crisis in ICE Detention Centers

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By C.J. Ciaramella

Reports of human rights abuses are piling up as the number of people in immigrant detention reaches all-time highs.

masked ICE agent | ANGELINA KATSANIS/UPI/Newscom

In early August, the number of people in immigration detention in the U.S. surged to an all-time high of more than 60,000. Behind that number is an incipient human rights crisis.

While the Trump administration waited for massive new detention centers to open, it turned to federal prisons and jails, hastily constructed state facilities, and temporary holding cells that were never meant to house people for any extended amount of time.

The overcrowding, combined with negligence and malevolence, has led to inevitable abuses that are too large to ignore or deny.

On August 12, a federal judge ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to drastically improve conditions in migrant holding cells in its New York City offices, where detainees were kept in overcrowded, squalid cells for days and even weeks at a time.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered officials to provide more spacious cells, bedding for each detainee, adequate hygiene supplies, three meals a day and water on request, and access to calls with lawyers. The order was in response to a lawsuit filed by an ICE detainee, who alleged he and other detainees were not given access to medical care or showers and were kept in cells so crowded that they didn’t have space to lie down.

Full Post by C.J. Ciaramella @ Reason Magazine https://reason.com/2025/08/15/the-human-rights-crisis-in-ice-detention-centers/

Politico Report on Russian use of Chemical Weapons in Ukraine

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July 15, 2025 7:20 pm CET

By Nicholas Vinocur

BRUSSELS — Russia is increasingly using chemical weapons in Ukraine in an effort to subdue the country by causing as much pain and suffering as possible, Europe’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after a gathering of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, the Estonian politician cited German and Dutch intelligence reports showing that Moscow has used chemical weapons at least 9,000 times since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — and was now ramping up their use.

“As the intelligence services are saying this is intensifying, I think it’s [Russia’s use of chemical weapons] of great, great concern,” Kallas said. “It shows that Russia wants to cause as much pain and suffering so that Ukraine would surrender. And, you know, it’s really … unbearable.”

Most countries around the world, including Russia, have signed a 1993 international convention banning the use, production, development or stockpiling of chemical weapons. Russia is one of 65 countries to have not only signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, but also ratified it.

Kallas’ comments add to a growing sense of alarm in EU capitals that Russia is escalating its campaign to subdue Ukraine, unleashing larger and larger nightly attacks by missiles.

Full Post @ Politico https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-increasing-use-chemical-weapons-ukraine-unbearable-says-top-eu-diplomat-kaja-kallas/

How Russia Secretly Disappears Thousands of Ukrainian Civilians – Forbidden Stories report

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Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, thousands of Ukrainian civilians in the occupied territories have vanished into thin air. These “ghost prisoners” are whisked away by the occupying forces to informal places of detention, where they’re held outside any legal framework and tortured. Some are then transferred to the Russian prison system, where they languish without charges or serve trumped-up sentences. Forbidden Stories and its partners unveil this opaque system designed to break down Ukrainian society.

Key findings

  • According to Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, between 16,000 and 20,000 civilians are currently held by the Russians. By definition, counting secret prisoners is nearly impossible, and so far, few authorities have dared to give an exact figure, but we have chosen to retain the ombudsman’s data, which reflect the extent of the situation.
  • “Torture chambers” have been set up in the occupied territories since 2022.
  • Forbidden Stories has identified 29 Russian detention facilities where torture is systematic, out of the alleged 186 locations where Ukrainian civilians are held.
  • Our investigation also reveals details about the authorities at Taganrog, known as “Russia’s Guantanamo.”

Five minutes of continuous blows. “They didn’t even give me time to turn my head. The Russians didn’t say anything. They just kept hitting me.”

By the time the onslaught was over, Vitaliy* had no strength left. His fellow prisoners helped him clean his face, which was coated in blood. After a pause, his jailers returned. They put a bag over his head, lay him on the floor, and tied him up. 

“They connected wires to my legs. I don’t know how long it lasted. They shocked me with electricity,” Vitaliy said calmly, sitting at Puri Chveni, a Georgian restaurant in the city of Zaporizhzhia. He didn’t order anything to eat or drink. The former mechanic remains, if not only physically, an emotionally wounded man. While he remembers the details of his imprisonment, he still has to summon his courage each time he speaks of it out loud.

Vitaliy remembers every detail of the day he was detained: July 27, 2022. On that late summer day, Russians showed up at his service station in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol. They beat him, asked him whether he knew anyone from the Ukrainian army, and took him away. Vitaliy was first sent to a location known as “the garages”—a vacant industrial premise used by the occupiers to torture Ukrainians—where he was subjected to electric shocks. Vitaliy was then transferred to another detention center with miserable conditions for almost two months. There, he was denied contact with relatives or a lawyer, but ultimately, no charges were brought against him. He was liberated on the evening of September 22, 2022. He has since fled the occupied territories.  

Full report from Forbidden Stories @ https://forbiddenstories.org/russia-disappears-ukrainian-civilians/

Trump sued over China tariffs

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President Trump was sued Thursday over the 20 percent tariffs he imposed on Chinese goods in the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s broader announcement.

It marks the first known legal challenge against Trump’s tariffs, which have fulfilled a campaign promise and rattled financial markets.

The lawsuit contests Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), arguing the law authorizes asset freezes and similar economic sanctions, but not tariffs. 

“Congress passed the IEEPA to counter external emergencies, not to grant presidents a blank check to write domestic economic policy,” the lawsuit states. 

The suit was brought by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a conservative legal advocacy group, on behalf of Simplified, a Florida-based small business that sells planners and purchases products from China. 

Filed in federal court in Pensacola, Fla., the suit asks a judge to declare Trump’s Chinese tariffs unlawful and block their implementation.

Trump first imposed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods in a Feb. 1 executive order and then doubled it in another order issued March 3.

Both came before Trump’s broader tariff announcement on Wednesday, which imposes a 10 percent general tariff on imports to the U.S. and higher rates for dozens of countries. It slapped China with an additional 34 percent tariff, creating a combined total of 54 percent.

“But in the IEEPA’s almost 50-year history, no previous president has used it to impose tariffs. Which is not surprising, since the statute does not even mention tariffs, nor does it say anything else suggesting it authorizes presidents to tax American citizens,” the lawsuit states. 

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

Source:Zach Schonfeld @ The Hill https://thehill.com/homenews/5231388-trump-sued-over-china-tariffs/

House Republican moves to rein in tariff powers

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Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon said he plans to introduce a companion bill to the bipartisan Senate legislation aimed at reclaiming Congress’ authority over tariffs, becoming the first House Republican to openly challenge the powers President Donald Trump is using to launch a massive global trade war.

Bacon confirmed his plans to POLITICO on Friday as market losses continued to pile up and rattle Republicans on Capitol Hill.

The Senate bill introduced Thursday by Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) would limit a president’s power to impose tariffs, including allowing Congress to vote to end any tariff at any time. It would also require the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of imposing any duty and for Congress to explicitly approve any new tariffs within 60 days. Four additional Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors to that bill.

Bacon’s move is a rare step in the deeply Trump-loyal House Republican conference. Speaker Mike Johnson has no plans to bring any legislation limiting Trump’s tariff authority to the House floor, and House Republicans voted for a measure several weeks ago that effectively barred any lawmaker from trying to force a vote to end the president’s emergency declaration he’s used to implement tariffs.

Beyond leadership, most rank-and-file House Republicans have been particularly keen on backing the president, with few voicing much concern about the economic fallout since Wednesday. House Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to force a vote on Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) resolution to lift Trump’s blanket tariffs on Canada. The Senate passed it with four GOP votes earlier this week.

Source:Meredith Lee Hill @ Politico https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/04/04/congress/don-bacon-tariff-powers-bill-00273307

An economic, constitutional, and geopolitical disaster

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Yesterday’s tariff announcement was long expected, yet its details came as a surprise. In one regard it was less bad than it could have been: The baseline tariff of ten percent was less than the 20 percent widely touted. But the methodology of the “reciprocal tariffs” added to the baseline tariff was dismaying and not one many practicing economists had considered. The effects of this announcement are likely to be disadvantageous to Americans and may risk economic disaster. They will also have geopolitical effects that future American administrations will rue.

To begin with, the reciprocal tariffs are supposed to represent the sum of tariff and non-tariff barriers imposed by the foreign nation on American exports, plus factors like Value Added Taxes (which are not trade barriers). However, the administration says it calculated this based on the assumption that “the trade deficit that we have is the sum of all the unfair trade practices, the sum of all cheating.” This assumption essentially says that all American trade deficits are the result of unfair trade practices, whereas economic analysis says differently (they are caused by differences between the nation’s capital account and current account). So, the initial assumption is faulty.

This leads to absurd situations. Small, poor countries that cannot afford to buy many US goods are penalized harshly. Even uninhabited islands are subject to the ten percent minimum tariff. But so are countries like the UK that has its own trade deficit with the United States (one might ask if this is the result of US “cheating”). Moreover, this applies only to trade in goods. Trade in services, where the US routinely runs surpluses, are not mentioned.

As CEI analysts have argued until they are blue in the face, these trade barriers will be harmful to American consumers. They will also cause problems for American producers, and have already led to factory closures and the loss of manufacturing jobs. Global stock markets are reacting badly, and the dollar is falling. All of this was entirely predictable, and it is likely to continue. A recession is not out of the question.

Full Post with more analysis by Iain Murray @ Competitive Enterprise Institute https://cei.org/blog/an-economic-constitutional-and-geopolitical-disaster/

Other Countries Are Not Ripping Us off on Trade

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One of the justifications for reciprocal tariffs is the claim that other countries are ripping us off. If anyone is getting ripped off, it’s definitely not the United States. As trade has expanded, all countries have gained, but none has benefited more than the United States. 

Measured in nominal dollars, U.S. GDP per capita increased by $55,075 since 1994, a much bigger increase than in any of our major trading partners. After adjusting for inflation, U.S. GDP per capita has grown by $26,000, a 62% increase. 

Real wealth statistics show a similar success story. According to the World Bank, comprehensive wealth per capita in the United States has increased by 22% since 1995. By this measure, we are much wealthier than our major trading partners. 

The record is clear. The United States has not been ripped off, and we are not subsidizing our trading partners. They have benefited, and at the same time, the United States has gotten wealthier. Everyone wins–and we win the most. We should be looking to continue this progress, not blow it up. 

Source:Bryan Riley @ National Taxpayers Union https://www.ntu.org/publications/detail/other-countries-are-not-ripping-us-off-on-trade