Trump asks the Supreme Court to get rid of Haitians

NY Times  -  The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to allow it to end a program shielding hundreds of thousands of Haitians from deportation.

In a court filing, Solicitor General D. John Sauer asked the justices to block a lower court decision that found the Trump administration had violated the law when it terminated Temporary Protected Status, a program that allows some 350,000 Haitians to live and work legally in the United States.

Mr. Sauer urged the justices to clear the way to end the protections, asserting that “lower courts are again attempting to block major executive-branch policy initiatives in ways that inflict specific harms to the national interest and foreign relations.”  He added that Haitian immigrants were aware of the possibility that the program could be ended, saying that reality was inherent “in the temporary nature” of the T.P.S. program.

...The filing is the second such emergency petition pending before the court dealing with whether the Trump administration can end the protected status for a group of immigrants. In late February, the solicitor general asked the justices to remove protected status for Syrian immigrants. The court has yet to rule in that case.

The effort to lift the protections is part of a broader deportation push by the Homeland Security Department, which has announced that it would terminate the program for hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti, Venezuela and several other countries. The justices have, so far, allowed the Trump administration to move forward with its plans to lift protections for more than 300,000 Venezuelan immigrants who had been living in the United States under the program.

Created by Congress in 1990, T.P.S. is a designation that the U.S. government can confer to migrants from countries grappling with natural disasters, armed conflicts or other crises that make conditions in those countries particularly dangerous.

People from those countries already in the United States can remain temporarily, and the protection can be renewed as long as conditions are considered unsafe for their return. When a country loses the T.P.S. designation, its nationals fall out of legal status and can be deported.

Jimmy Carter on gays

Thursday

Trump words

Donald Trump - “We think they should put a president in or the head of the country that’s going to be able to do something peacefully for a change. They’ve been doing this for 47 years, killing people for 47 years. Whether it’s the barracks or even the SS Cole where they were involved, very strongly, they always denied it,” Trump said. “But they were very strongly involved and all of the people that died through the roadside bombs died and are right now walking around with no legs, no arms. A face that’s been so badly damaged.”

Money

Bernie Sanders - One family, the right-wing Trump-aligned Ellisons, will soon control:

TikTok

CBS

CNN

HBO

Discovery Channel

BET

Cartoon Network

Comedy Central

DC Studios

Fandango

Miramax

MTV

Nickelodeon

Paramount

PlutoTV

Showtime

TBS

The CW

TNT

Warner Bros.

And more

This is oligarchy.

War With Iran Pushes Gas Over $5 a Gallon in California, Raises Prices Throughout Southwest

Voting

NPR - Nearly half of Americans support deploying the National Guard to monitor polling places in the November midterm elections. It would be illegal for the federal government to mandate this. But state governors can legally use them to support elections in many capacities. A recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released today found that 46% back the idea, while 54% oppose it. 

America has second warmest winter

MSN -   Meteorological winter -- December to February -- was unseasonably warm across much of the contiguous U.S., ranking as the second-warmest winter on record since 1895, behind the 2023-24 season, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

While the Northeast faced persistent blasts of bitter cold and snow, exceptional winter warmth in the West nearly pushed the nation to a new all-time high for the season.

Nine states finished off with their warmest winter on record: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. Dozens of cities in the West and Plains saw a top 5 warmest winter with cities such as Albuquerque, Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City seeing their all-time warmest.

Trump's & Israel's Middle East war

Newsweek - Federal authorities warned California law enforcement agencies that Iran had aspired to carry out a surprise drone attack against targets in the state in retaliation for U.S. military strikes, according to an FBI bulletin reviewed by ABC News.

The alert said the FBI obtained information indicating that, as of early February, Iran allegedly considered launching unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the U.S. coast, specifically targeting California. The bulletin emphasized that authorities had no additional details on the timing, targets, methods or perpetrators and described the information as uncorroborated, ABC News reported.

“We recently acquired information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United State Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran,” the alert stated. “We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack.”

The Hill -  The Pentagon said on Tuesday that about 140 U.S. service members have been wounded since the U.S. war with Iran kicked off late last month. “Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Hill.

Heather Cox Richardson - Today, administration officials gave a classified briefing to the Senate Armed Services Committee about the war in Iran. Democrats who spoke to the press afterward appeared to be furious.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told reporters he was coming out of the briefing “as dissatisfied and angry, frankly, as I have from any past briefing in my 15 years in the Senate. I am left with more questions than answers, especially about the cost of the war. My questions have been unanswered. And I will demand answers because the American people deserve to know.”

“I am most concerned about the threat to American lives, of potentially deploying our sons and daughters on the ground in Iran. We seem to be on a path toward deploying American troops on the ground in Iran…and there is also, as disturbingly as anything else, the specter of active Russian aid to Iran, putting in danger American lives. Literally, Russia seems to be aiding our enemy, actively and intensively, with intelligence and perhaps with other means, and China, also, may be assisting Iran.”

“So, the American people deserve to know much more than this administration has told them about the cost of the war, the danger to our sons and daughters in uniform, and the potential for further escalation and widening of this war, a war of choice made by this president, not chosen by the American people, with potentially huge consequences to American lives.”

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) noted on social media that the administration appears to have no goals for the war except continued bombing, and no plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) was obviously frustrated that the administration is giving out information only under the cloak of classified briefings, making it hard for elected officials to communicate with their constituents about the war. “[W]e’ve been calling over and over again for them to come out of the classified briefings, to allow us to have these conversations, as much as we can, in an open setting, not just with the press, but with the American people, and with our constituents. With our men and women who serve in the military with their families, who are waiting home for them.”

Time -   After nearly two weeks of U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, Iranians describe a country exhausted and uncertain. Bombing campaigns that targeted military sites and security infrastructure have also damaged police stations, fuel depots and power facilities.

Electricity is intermittent in parts of the country. Gasoline is rationed. Communications remain unreliable. And the regime, despite thousands of strikes, still stands.

“What I’m feeling is an intense fear for the future of this country,” said Kamran, a Tehran resident who, like all other Iranians TIME spoke to for this story, asked to use a pseudonym because of fear of regime reprisals.

“All of our infrastructure is going up in flames—military, economic, even electricity now. We don’t have the capital or technology to rebuild them. The economy had already tanked under the mismanagement of the regime, but what we’ll be facing after the dust settles will probably be more akin to famine and starvation.”

Trump steps into a minefield with no clear escape

Join the Flyover - The Pentagon said Tuesday that 140 U.S. service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks since the start of Operation Epic Fury. The majority of injuries were minor, and 108 have already returned to duty.

Eight service members remain severely injured and are receiving the highest level of care. Seven have been killed, including Army Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, 26, of Kentucky, whose dignified transfer took place Monday at Dover Air Force Base with Vice President JD Vance in attendance.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said that Tuesday was the "most intense" day of strikes yet, vowing the U.S. "will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated."

The White House said more than 5,000 targets have been struck, and Iran's ballistic missile attacks are down over 90%. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut, and an Iranian drone strike forced the United Arab Emirate's biggest oil refinery to halt operations.

Bloomberg - The US war effort against Iran is showing signs of strain due to Tehran’s extensive arsenal of missiles and drones. The latest headlines: The UK Navy said three ships were hit with projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Donald Trump, in a series of social media posts, warned Iran against laying mines in the Strait and threatened to blow up any ship attempting to do so.

NBC - Evidence is mounting that the U.S. was responsible for the deadly school strike in southern Iran as images emerged showing fragments of American-made missiles.

NPR - The U.S. and Israel's war on Iran has entered Day 12 with no end in sight. The Trump administration yesterday promised its most aggressive strikes on Iran, while Israel intensified its offensive in Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Iranian government announced that it now considers banks and economic centers in the Middle East potential targets. Iranians revealed that one of their banks has already been targeted. 

The internet across Iran has been cut, and many people are afraid to share their experiences due to potential government retaliation, NPR’s Aya Batrawy tells Up First. People escaping Tehran through the Turkish border tell NPR they left because the sky is red from bombs, and multi-story buildings lie in ruins. There is still no word from Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Batrawy says reports suggest he was injured in the attack that killed his father, who was the former supreme leader. However,  Batrawy says there is no way to independently confirm this claim. 

Jeffrey Epstein

Newsweek - President Donald Trump's Justice Department (DOJ) told officials in New Mexico to halt a 2019 investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch, a senior Republican lawmaker said this week, raising fresh questions as the site is searched again.

Allegations tied to Epstein’s New Mexico property have lingered for years without a full public accounting.

A recent search by local authorities and political scrutiny have reopened questions about why earlier inquiries were stopped and what that meant for survivors.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, said federal officials under Trump asked New Mexico authorities to stand down from a 2019 probe into a ranch once owned by Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in federal custody that year.

Idaho considering bill to ban lingering in left lane

Newsweek -    Idaho lawmakers have advanced a plan to fine drivers who linger in the left lane on multilane highways. Senate Bill 1340 would create a civil penalty for “left-lane camping,” aiming to keep passing lanes clear and traffic flowing on Idaho’s busiest corridors. Supporters say the change could reduce congestion and driver frustration, while the Idaho Transportation Department would spend an estimated $200,000 on signage and public education if the bill becomes law.

The bill would prohibit motorists from lingering in the left lane on multilane highways except when passing, preparing for a left turn, or when right-hand lanes are obstructed by slower traffic.

The legislation also states that any vehicle in the left lane may not travel more slowly than the traffic to its right. Violations would carry a $75 fine.

Democratic States Sue Over Trump Demand That Colleges Provide Race Data

NY Times -   Several states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over its mandate that colleges share with the federal government detailed student and admissions data, which the government has said is meant to ensure schools are not using racial preferences.

The Trump administration announced in August that schools would be required to report disaggregated data on the race, gender, test scores and grade point averages of applicants. Linda McMahon, the secretary of education, argued that the new requirements were a way to scrutinize whether colleges were abiding by a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that outlawed race-conscious admissions.

The states say the effort has been rushed into place to target diversity efforts and creates an undue burden on schools. In the lawsuit on Wednesday, filed by the attorneys general of 17 mostly left-leaning states, including New York and California, the states argue that the Trump administration was attempting to turn the National Center for Education Statistics, a nonpartisan agency, into a “mechanism for law enforcement and the furthering of partisan policy aims.”

Media

(Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Washington Post -  The Defense Department has barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed “unflattering,” according to two people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.

The March 2 briefing came days after a joint military strike on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. It was also the first time the defense secretary had appeared at the briefing room podium since June 26.

Several outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images sent photographers to the briefing from Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But after they published photos — which have broad reach because they are licensed by publications globally — members of Hegseth’s staff told colleagues that they did not like the way that the secretary looked. Hegseth’s aides decided to shut out photographers from the two subsequent briefings at the Pentagon, on March 4 and March 10, according to the two people familiar with the decision.

Billionaires contributed 19% in 2024 federal elections

Cmmon Dreams  - Billionaires exerted an unprecedented amount of influence over the 2024 US federal elections, accounting for almost one-fifth of the nearly $16 billion spent to elect candidates during that cycle, according to a New York Times analysis published Monday.

Just 300 billionaires and their immediate families poured an unprecedented $3 billion into the election, either giving directly to candidates or through political action committees.

These individuals represent just about 0.0087% of the 3.46 million people who donated more than $200 to one or multiple candidates during the election cycle.

And yet, with an average donation of $10 million apiece—equivalent to what 100,000 typical donors would give—they amounted to about 19% of all spending, allowing their interests to be pushed to the center of major races.

Word

“There’s nothing like a war to help a wannabe dictator justify more ‘emergency’ powers. Donald Trump is the real emergency.”  ‑ Robert Reich

Cuba

Newsworthy News -   The U.S. has escalated pressure on Cuba by targeting the island’s oil supply chain, driving widespread blackouts and service disruptions.  Mexico halted oil shipments after U.S. tariff threats, worsening Cuba’s immediate fuel shortage and transportation breakdowns.  Cuba has imposed emergency measures, including rationing and school closures, as the health system warns fuel scarcity could cost lives. The UN’s human-rights office has condemned the U.S. executive action. 

Environment

NPR -  A study published in the journal Nature suggests that rising seas may affect as many as 132 million more people than previously thought.

Congress

Newsweek -   Maine Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, trailed Democratic challenger Graham Platner in two polls of the state’s 2026 race released this week.

Collins could face her toughest reelection bid yet in Maine, a generally Democratic-leaning state where her popularity has helped the Republican incumbent win tough races in the past. She is one of the Democrats’ top targets; Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by seven points in 2024.

Democrats are hoping a favorable national environment, fueled by President Donald Trump’s declining approval rating, will boost their chances against Collins. But Republicans hope Collins’ long tenure and bipartisan appeal will keep the seat in their hands even amid a blue wave.

Maine’s race is a must-win for Democrats hoping to win control of the Senate in November. Forecasters like the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball view the race as a pure toss-up three months ahead of the primary.

But Democrats are facing a competitive primary between Platner, a progressive oyster farmer and political newcomer, and Mills, the state’s two-term governor. The most recent polls give Platner an advantage in the primary, though Mills has received support from many in the party’s establishment, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Bloomberg - A Democrat is leading in the Georgia special election to replace former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Polls

NBC News

NPR - Trump is suffering politically due to the U.S.’ involvement in the war with Iran, according to a new NPR/PBS/Marist poll. NPR’s Domenico Montanaro says that of the nearly 1,600 people surveyed, only 36% approve of Trump’s handling of the war, while 56% of respondents oppose it. Trump’s overall approval rating stands at 38%.  It's even lower with regard to the economy. At 35%, it's his worst rating to date. Despite these scores, eight in 10 Republicans still back Trump’s economic policies and his approach to Iran. While some MAGA influencers criticize the war, they don’t represent the majority of Republican voters. Montanaro says that the poll most notably reveals that independents have shifted to align more with Democrats on various issues, including Iran.

Forgotten words

In October 2024, weeks ahead of the presidential election, Vance said “our interest, I think, very much is in not going to war with Iran.” He argued such a move would be a “huge distraction of resources” and “massively expensive.”

NBC News - During the House GOP retreat in Florida, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other top Republicans said the U.S. should not be involved in nation-building in Iran, a day after President Donald Trump called the operation there “the beginning of building a new country.”

Can AI replace human soldiers?

Time -   The Phantom MK-1 looks the part of an AI soldier. Encased in jet black steel with a tinted glass visor, it conjures a visceral dread far beyond what may be evoked by your typical humanoid robot. And on this late February morning, it brandishes assorted high-powered weaponry: a revolver, pistol, shotgun, and replica of an M-16 rifle.

“We think there’s a moral imperative to put these robots into war instead of soldiers,” says Mike LeBlanc, a 14-year Marine Corps veteran with multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan, who is a co-founder of Foundation, the company that makes Phantom. He says the aim is for the robot to wield “any kind of weapon that a human can.”

Today, Phantom is being tested in factories and dockyards from Atlanta to Singapore. But its headline claim is to be the world’s first humanoid robot specifically developed for defense applications. Foundation already has research contracts worth a combined $24 million with the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, including what’s known as an SBIR Phase 3, effectively making it an approved military vendor. It’s also due to begin tests with the Marine Corps “methods of entry” course, training Phantoms to put explosives on doors to help troops breach sites more safely. 

Women

Time -   Uber has launched a program that gives women passengers and drivers the option to ride with other women—a new feature that comes after years of the ride-sharing app grappling with safety concerns and reports of sexual assault.  The program, called “Women Preferences,” is being made available in cities across the U.S. starting on Monday, as well as in other cities globally,,,,

When a passenger is requesting a ride on the Uber app, they will now have the option to select “Women Drivers” in addition to other previously existing options like the standard UberX, according to the company’s blog post. The app will then match the rider with an available woman driver nearby. Uber said that if the wait time for a driver is too long, the rider can instead choose to select another ride expected to reach them sooner.

Women drivers, meanwhile, can go to their preferences in the app and select the “Women Rider Preference” option in order to match with women passengers...The feature is available in seven countries, including the U.S., Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Brazil, and Spain

Via Dulce Biatch

Donald Trump

Independent, UK -   President Trump now has a net worth of about $6.5 billion, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year, according to Forbes, as the Republican’s crypto and hospitality businesses continue to mint cash. He now ranks 645th among the world’s 3,428 billionaires, the magazine found, a 55-place jump up from his spot in 2025.

When Will the War End? Trump’s Responses Are All Over the Place.

READ IN THE NY TIMES 

Trump continues attack on abortion and gay relations

Independent, UK -  The decision by Donald Trump's administration to extend the US policy that bars groups receiving foreign aid from promoting abortion risks weakening United Nations (UN) programmes designed to protect women and support LGBT+ people around the world, experts has warned.

The policy – branded the “promoting human flourishing in foreign assistance policy” – dramatically expands the so-called Mexico City policy, which restricts organisations receiving US funding from providing or promoting abortion services overseas.

The new rule goes much further and attaches broader ideological conditions to American foreign assistance. Organisations that receive US assistance must now ensure that none of their activities, even those funded by other governments, conflict with Washington’s positions on abortion, gender identity or diversity programmes.

The rule took effect in February and could apply to tens of billions of dollars in US foreign aid. Under the policy, non-compliance could lead to funding being withdrawn and previously disbursed money being clawed back.

Immigration

Immigrants Reduce America’s Deficit

CATO  -   Amid ongoing congressional debates—culminating, of course, in a partial shutdown—over Trump’s mass deportation agenda, one fact in particular should capture both Democrats’ and Republicans’ attention: immigrants provide an enormous boost to the country’s long-term economic and fiscal health, reducing our massive deficit by a third.
Off the bat, the Trump administration’s instincts on the economic effects of immigration are wrongheaded. “For decades, the structure of U.S. society, by intent and design, was remade to redistribute wealth, resources, property and opportunity from Americans to non-Americans,” Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said in December. It’s a compelling narrative, but it’s simply incorrect.

The evidence for immigrants’ significant economic contribution to America is overwhelming. Indeed, a new study published recently by the Cato Institute, analyzing three decades of fiscal policy for the first time, finds Deputy Chief Miller’s logic precisely backward: foreigners are creating wealth and redistributing it to Americans. The study finds that immigrants reduced the U.S. debt by nearly a third, or $14.5 trillion, from 1994 to 2023. 

Money

Which states believe in God

Polls

Kamala Harris 23% Gavin Newsom 19% Pete Buttigieg 10% AOC 7%

Politics & Poll Tracker 

NBC News -   Voters are worried about AI and don’t trust either political party to handle the rapidly evolving technology, according to a new national NBC News survey.  Just 26% of voters say they have positive feelings about AI, compared with 46% who hold negative views. In fact, the only topics that were less popular than AI in the survey were the Democratic Party and IRA

Meanwhile. . .

A six year old piano player who'll stun you