Just One Thing: Trump's Gaza bombshell
In one of the most remarkable press conferences I've ever seen, President Donald Trump proposed that the US take over AND OWN the Gaza Strip, and redevelop it. I guess the model would be Puerto Rico except that Trump would care about it more.
On the one hand, this has a 0.01% chance of happening. There are SO many things to make it a bad idea. On the other hand, as Bibi noted, Trump is always thinking outside the box...more than anybody else, probably, and Trump is exactly right that just rebuilding and leaving the same people there probably just results in a replay of the terrible cycle we've seen for decades. Really, it's a jaw-dropping proposal. And I have said for years that the best outcome for that territory is for the Palestinians to be relocated elsewhere. The current situation is like having a nation (or at least a territory) of Hitler Youth on the border of the world's only (mostly) Jewish nation. It's unacceptable and unsustainable. And yet it's probably what's going to happen...again.
Trump says US will 'take over' Gaza: 'We'll own it' - ABC News
Axios: 1 big thing: Trump's wild Middle East vision
Saudis, UN Security Council members reject Trump's Gaza bombshell | CBC News
Today's Guests
Ruthie Blum joins us from Israel to discuss President Trump's incredible comments about Gaza.
Ruthie Blum: Commentary on Politics and Middle East
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Intrepid Chad Bowar from the KOA news desk returns, by listener demand, with a new edition of Well Now You Know
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Other Stuff
In addition to Trump's incredible statements about Gaza yesterday, he also made serious moves and serious statements about the risk Iran is taking if it pursues a nuclear weapon
Trump signs memo aiming to block Iran from achieving nuclear weapon | Reuters
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Restores Maximum Pressure on Iran – The White House
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"He's not messing around": US sends flight with migrant criminals to Guantanamo Bay
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Offered without comment: All 67 victims of D.C. midair collision recovered from Potomac River; only 1 left unidentified
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While there is clearly a massive amount of waste and abuse in USAID, Congress should be very careful to guard its powers against usurpation by the executive. The last thing this (or any) country needs is too much power concentrated in one person and the presidency has already been accumulating too much power for at least a couple of decades as members of Congress want the perks and the praise but none of their constitutional responsibilities.
I'm not at all sure it's OK for this to play out without Congressional involvement even though I understand that Congressional involvement might just keep the swamp from being drained. It's a REALLY tough situation from a constitutional perspective.
USAID direct hires put on leave worldwide | AP News
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I don't care about this very much but from a business perspective it's really pretty amazing how long a resolution took: Altitude Sports deal: Nuggets, Avs games returning to Comcast, Xfinity
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If you order small items from China from sites like Temu or Shein (specializing in inexpensive clothing) or AliExpress (where I shop a lot for small electronic parts, wire, switches, etc), you may be unable to do so for a while until the China tariff and "de minimis" exception situations are worked out. I tend to spend $10 or $20 at a time and a 10% tariff, while annoying, wouldn't stop me from buying. But obviously being unable to actually receive the stuff would stop me.
USPS suspends packages from China as Trump’s tariffs start - The Washington Post
Trump’s Big Threat to Little Shipments - WSJ
Suspension of Inbound Parcels from China and Hong Kong - Newsroom - About.usps.com
Shein and Temu depend on a 100-year-old tariff loophole that Trump wants to close
Interesting insight on how to tell if you might be buying from a Chinese seller on a US or international site like Etsy:
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An egg-sistential problem for breakfast restaurants: Waffle House egg surcharge added amid bird flu, high prices, shortages
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I don't usually pay much attention to these kinds of warnings but I did with this one. I threw away the black plastic spatulas I had for eggs, pancakes, fish, etc., and bought silicone instead, even though the original story had a big math error.
Toxic Flame Retardants in Recycled Plastics - Toxic-Free Future
Correction: Corrigendum to ‘From e-waste to living space: Flame retardants contaminating household items add to concern about plastic recycling’ [Chemosphere 365 (2024) 143319] - ScienceDirect
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This will be thrown out in court: Oklahoma schools leader Ryan Walters moves to require students to prove citizenship
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Great note by Jimmy: Colorado GOP — Democrats’ best asset | Jimmy Sengenberger | Columns | denvergazette.com
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And now here's a Colorado angle: Colorado expands abortion shield law to protect doctors - Axios Denver
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Part of me wants to fly on one of these and part of me thinks "I shudder to imagine how many people will be in front of me in the passport line unless I'm right near the exit of the plane."
Largest passenger aircraft to service flights from Denver to Munich, Germany
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So how do these two stories fit together?
Court says banning gun sales to adults under 21 is unconstitutional
Colorado poised to raise the minimum age to buy ammunition to 21
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Today's Video
This is absolutely nuts...in Miami?!?