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Tag: U.N. condemnation

  • A look at what happened in the US government this week

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    Two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to keep SNAP afloat during the shutdown. President Donald Trump visited Asia, striking a trade deal with China. Speculation about a Trump third term heated up again, despite its near impossibility. And judges made consequential rulings regarding federal workers and voter registration.Here are the top stories involving the U.S. government this past week.SNAP crisis as shutdown drags onTwo federal judges ruled nearly simultaneously on Friday that President Donald Trump’s administration must continue to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s biggest food aid program, using contingency funds during the government shutdown.One out of 8 households in the United States receives SNAP benefits. Here’s a closer look at the data.Pop-up food drives and “grocery buddies” are emerging around the country as SNAP hangs in the balance.Instacart, DoorDash, and Gopuff are among the companies offering discounts to SNAP recipients right now.Video below: Wisconsin bakery offers free bread to support locals facing food benefit lossTrump reaches deal with China while visiting AsiaTrump revealed plans to reduce tariffs on China and announced new trade agreements following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Here are some takeaways from the agreement.China also said it will work with the U.S. to resolve issues related to TikTok, potentially finalizing a new ownership deal for the app. While in Asia, Trump met with Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and announced roughly $500 billion in Japanese investments in the U.S.During his visit to Japan, Trump bragged about the state of the U.S. economy. However, experts say the reality for millions of Americans is not as rosy.Trump announced on social media Thursday, after meeting with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, that the U.S. will begin sharing nuclear submarine technology with the Asian country.Video below: President Trump delivers remarks at Yokosuka Naval Base aboard the USS George WashingtonIn other newsTrump is urging Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster to reopen the government, but GOP leadership is resisting the move.What is a filibuster and why does Trump want to get rid of it during the shutdown?Could Trump legally run for a third term? Experts say it’s nearly impossible. Here’s why.A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown.A judge in D.C. blocked Trump’s proof-of-citizenship mandate for federal voter registration, calling it unconstitutional.Four Republicans joined Democrats in backing a Senate resolution to undo Trump’s tariffs around the globe.The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated.Trump announced plans to begin testing nuclear weapons, raising fears of a new arms race as Russia and China respond with warnings.A Senate hearing for Trump’s surgeon general pick, Casey Means, has been postponed because she went into labor.The federal workforce grew 11% in the past decade. Here are the jobs that had the most and least growth.U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that U.S. military strikes against boats on boats allegedly carrying illegal drugs from South America are “unacceptable” and must stop.Video below: What is the nuclear option? President Trump demands GOP end filibuster, Republicans say no

    Two federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to keep SNAP afloat during the shutdown. President Donald Trump visited Asia, striking a trade deal with China. Speculation about a Trump third term heated up again, despite its near impossibility. And judges made consequential rulings regarding federal workers and voter registration.

    Here are the top stories involving the U.S. government this past week.

    SNAP crisis as shutdown drags on

    Video below: Wisconsin bakery offers free bread to support locals facing food benefit loss

    Trump reaches deal with China while visiting Asia

    • Trump revealed plans to reduce tariffs on China and announced new trade agreements following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
    • Here are some takeaways from the agreement.
    • China also said it will work with the U.S. to resolve issues related to TikTok, potentially finalizing a new ownership deal for the app.
    • While in Asia, Trump met with Japan’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, and announced roughly $500 billion in Japanese investments in the U.S.
    • During his visit to Japan, Trump bragged about the state of the U.S. economy. However, experts say the reality for millions of Americans is not as rosy.
    • Trump announced on social media Thursday, after meeting with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, that the U.S. will begin sharing nuclear submarine technology with the Asian country.

    Video below: President Trump delivers remarks at Yokosuka Naval Base aboard the USS George Washington

    In other news

    Video below: What is the nuclear option? President Trump demands GOP end filibuster, Republicans say no

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  • UN human rights chief says US strikes on alleged drug boats are ‘unacceptable’

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    The U.N. human rights chief said Friday that U.S. military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying illegal drugs from South America are “unacceptable” and must stop.The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for an investigation into the strikes, in what appeared to mark the first such condemnation of its kind from a United Nations organization.Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk’s office, relayed his message Friday at a regular U.N. briefing: “These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable. The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”She said Türk believed “airstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and in the Pacific violate international human rights law.”President Donald Trump has justified the attacks on the boats as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, but the campaign against drug cartels has been divisive among countries in the region.The strikes and the U.S. military’s growing presence near Venezuela have stoked fears that the Trump administration could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the United States.Asked Friday if he’s considering land strikes in Venezuela, Trump said, “No.” He did not elaborate as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to Florida for the weekend.Speaking earlier this week from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in Japan, Trump noted the U.S. attacks at sea and reiterated that “now we’ll stop the drugs coming in by land.”U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced the latest U.S. military strike in the campaign, against a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. All four people aboard were killed. It was the 14th strike since the campaign began in early September, while the death toll has grown to at least 61.Shamdasani noted the U.S. explanations of the efforts as an anti-drug and counterterrorism campaign, but said countries have long agreed that the fight against illicit drug trafficking is a law enforcement matter governed by “careful limits” placed on the use of lethal force.Intentional use of lethal force is allowed only as a last resort against someone representing “an imminent threat to life,” she said. “Otherwise, it would amount to a violation of the right of life and constitute extrajudicial killings.”The strikes are taking place “outside the context” of armed conflict or active hostilities, Shamdasani said.

    The U.N. human rights chief said Friday that U.S. military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying illegal drugs from South America are “unacceptable” and must stop.

    The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for an investigation into the strikes, in what appeared to mark the first such condemnation of its kind from a United Nations organization.

    Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk’s office, relayed his message Friday at a regular U.N. briefing: “These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable. The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”

    She said Türk believed “airstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and in the Pacific violate international human rights law.”

    President Donald Trump has justified the attacks on the boats as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, but the campaign against drug cartels has been divisive among countries in the region.

    The strikes and the U.S. military’s growing presence near Venezuela have stoked fears that the Trump administration could try to topple Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the United States.

    Asked Friday if he’s considering land strikes in Venezuela, Trump said, “No.” He did not elaborate as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to Florida for the weekend.

    Speaking earlier this week from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier in Japan, Trump noted the U.S. attacks at sea and reiterated that “now we’ll stop the drugs coming in by land.”

    U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced the latest U.S. military strike in the campaign, against a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. All four people aboard were killed. It was the 14th strike since the campaign began in early September, while the death toll has grown to at least 61.

    Shamdasani noted the U.S. explanations of the efforts as an anti-drug and counterterrorism campaign, but said countries have long agreed that the fight against illicit drug trafficking is a law enforcement matter governed by “careful limits” placed on the use of lethal force.

    Intentional use of lethal force is allowed only as a last resort against someone representing “an imminent threat to life,” she said. “Otherwise, it would amount to a violation of the right of life and constitute extrajudicial killings.”

    The strikes are taking place “outside the context” of armed conflict or active hostilities, Shamdasani said.

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