MicroWave

joined 2 years ago
 

Demonstrators across the country and the globe will protest against Donald Trump on Saturday at over 3,000 planned events.

Millions are expected to gather across the country and around the world on Saturday for a third round of “No Kings” protests against Donald Trump. Organizers predict that it will be the “single largest non-violent day of action” in American history.

Saturday’s “No Kings” marches, of which there are more than 3,200 planned across all 50 states and several continents, come as Trump faces increasing scrutiny over the war with Iran, the rising cost of gas and how his administration has executed its mass deportation agenda.

“Since the last No Kings [protests], we’re seeing higher gas prices and groceries, all while there’s an illegal war in Iran,” Sarah Parker, a national coordinator for the group 50501, told reporters Thursday on a national press call previewing Saturday’s events.

 

Idaho lawmakers passed a sweeping bathroom ban Friday, approving legislation that would make it a crime for transgender people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity, even inside privately owned businesses.

If Republican Gov. Brad Little signs the bill, Idaho will have the strictest bathroom ban in the nation, subjecting people to time behind bars if they knowingly enter a bathroom, locker room or changing area that does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.

Violators could be charged with a misdemeanor and sentenced to a year in jail for a first offense, or a felony with up to five years in prison for a second offense.

 

Saudi intelligence source confirms reporting that crown prince has urged Trump to ramp up ‘historic opportunity’ to remake Middle East – key US politics stories from Friday 27 March at a glance

Saudi Arabia has urged the US to ramp up attacks on Iran, a Saudi intelligence source has confirmed, as it decides whether to join the fight directly.

The Saudi source confirmed reporting in the New York Times that said the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has urged Donald Trump not to cut short his war against Iran, and that the US-Israeli campaign represented a “historic opportunity” to remake the Middle East.

The intelligence source said Riyadh was not just calling for the military campaign to be continued, but to be intensified. Trump appeared to confirm the report about the crown prince’s role, telling journalists on Tuesday: “Yeah, he’s a warrior. He’s fighting with us.”

Saudi Arabia and Iran, claiming leadership roles of the Sunni and Shia Islamic worlds respectively, have long been regional rivals. According to a leaked US state department cable, the crown prince’s paternal uncle King Abdullah urged the US military in 2008 to “cut off the head of the snake”, a reference to the theocratic regime in Tehran.

 

AI images of people – such as women in military contexts – are making money and serving as propaganda, researchers say

Online content creators are not just building fake images and videos of prominent public figures, they are also fabricating people and using them in military contexts, which can make them money and even serve as effective propaganda, according to artificial intelligence researchers.

Some of these online avatars are sexualized images of women wearing camouflage garb that have generated a significant audience and helped create an idealized image of political figures like Donald Trump, even if the viewer knows the content is not real, according to experts.

"We are blending the lines between political cartoons and reality," said Daniel Schiff, an assistant professor of technology policy at Purdue University and co-director of the Governance and Responsible AI Lab (Grail). "A lot of people feel like these images or videos or the stories they convey, feel true."

The amount of political deepfakes has increased dramatically in recent years, according to a Grail database. Since the start of 2025, the organization has catalogued more than 1,000 English language social media posts featuring fake images or videos of prominent political figures and politically important social issues and events.

 

As the war in Iran pushes U.S. gas prices toward $4 a gallon nationally, some lawmakers are pushing to suspend the federal gasoline tax in the latest attempt to try to control surging energy costs.

Lawmakers say the action would provide much-needed relief for families and businesses that rely on their cars and trucks to get to work and school and run everyday errands.

Asked about the gas tax at a Cabinet meeting Thursday, Donald Trump said he has “thought about” suspending it but suggested states should consider suspending their fuel taxes.

 

Thousands of striking workers at one of the nation’s largest meatpacking plants will extend their walkout to a third week as they push for higher wages and better health care.

Industry experts said it’s too early to know if the strike that began March 16 at the Swift Beef Co. plant in Greeley, Colorado, will impact retail beef prices that already had soared to record levels.

“The workers know the value of their labor,” union President Kim Cordova said Friday. “This could be a long, drawn out fight.”

Owner JBS USA said Friday that it’s operating the plant at limited capacity and has shifted beef production elsewhere to meet customers needs.

 

Vital Arctic sea ice shrank to tie its lowest measured level for the winter, the season when ice grows, as a warming Earth shattered records across the continents.

Arctic sea ice levels, especially in the summer, are crucial to Earth's climate because without the ice reflecting sunlight, more heat energy goes into the oceans. Ice of all kinds around the poles acts as Earth's refrigerator.

Wildlife, such as polar bears and seals, also depend on sea ice. Lack of sea ice in the Arctic creates new shipping routes and in doing so causes geopolitical disruptions, making once-ignored places such as Greenland, more desirable.

 

Bank of America agreed to pay $72.5 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by women who accused the bank of facilitating their sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein, court records showed on March 27.

Lawyers for the bank and the women had told Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff this month they had reached a "settlement in principle," but terms of the deal were not disclosed at the time.

"While we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs," a spokesperson for Bank of America said in a statement.

In a joint court filing, David Boies and Bradley Edwards, attorneys for the plaintiffs, said the settlement represented the best option for their clients "given that many Class Members suffered harm many years ago and are in need of financial relief now."

 

JD Vance accused Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) of having “definitely committed immigration fraud” and said that he’d recently spoken with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller about how best to “go after her.”

Speaking on a podcast hosted by MAGA influencer Benny Johnson on Friday, Vance was asked about claims that Omar had defrauded the United States by marrying her brother to secure his legal residency.

The unsubstantiated claim has circulated in MAGA circles for years but has been denied by Omar multiple times. The congresswoman was born in Somalia but moved to Minneapolis with her family in 1997, fleeing the civil war.

 

Agency uses devices, which are uncomfortable and interfere with employment, to push people to self-deport, advocates say

 

Intelligence reports find Russia is close to completing phased shipment of drones, medicine and food

Intelligence agencies in Europe believe Russia is in the final stages of preparing to supply drones to Iran for use in its war with the US and Israel, according to a senior European official.

Russia has already been providing intelligence sharing with Tehran to help it target US forces in the region, the official said, but the upcoming delivery of explosive-laden drones would mark the first evidence of lethal support since the start of the war.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to provide details on the scale of any deliveries, but confirmed an article by the Financial Times that said “western intelligence reports” found Russia was close to completing a phased shipment of drones, medicine and food to Iran.

[–] MicroWave@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago

Thanks for this comment. News about Iran seems to bring out extreme personalities lately it seems like.

[–] MicroWave@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago

Thanks! Appreciate the recognition.

[–] MicroWave@lemmy.world 13 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thanks officer

[–] MicroWave@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Thanks, that’s nice to hear from a fellow longtimer.

[–] MicroWave@lemmy.world 27 points 7 months ago (4 children)
view more: next ›