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The day's news roundup + tonight's musical feature: Johnny Winter

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Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features Texas blues rock guitar slinger Johnny Winter. Enjoy!

^{Johnny Winter - Be Careful With A Fool}

"History has a long-range perspective. It ultimately passes stern judgment on tyrants and vindicates those who fought, suffered, were imprisoned, and died for human freedom, against political oppression and economic slavery."

-- Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

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News and Opinion

In Australia The Police Beat You Up For Opposing Genocide

Australian authorities were fully aware that inviting Israel’s president for a visit was going to ignite unrest and furious opposition. They invited him anyway, and sent in the police to assault the protesters.

I saw a video of two cops pinning a kid in a keffiyeh face down on the ground and proceeding to punch him over and over again long after he’d been subdued.

I saw another video of police repeatedly punching a middle-aged man who was holding his hands in the air until he fell to the ground.

I saw another video of police repeatedly pepper spraying a demonstrator directly in the face as he was visibly complying with their demands to move and providing no resistance whatsoever.

I saw another video of police manhandling Muslim men who were literally on their knees praying, presenting no possible threat of any kind.

Police charge, bash kid. This is Australia's Rodney King moment#herzog #SydneyProtests #auspol pic.twitter.com/vMu62DK3go

— Michael West (@MichaelWestBiz) February 9, 2026

That’s right kids, welcome to Australia, where the government invites the head of a genocidal apartheid state for a happy cuddle party and then beats the shit out of anyone who opposes this.

It’s a testament to the courage and vitality of the pro-Palestine movement in Australia that people keep showing up to anti-genocide protests even as authorities do everything they can to create a chilling effect on them.

After all, this happens as the state of Queensland moves to make it illegal to utter the pro-Palestine phrases “from the river to the sea” or “globalise the intifada”, with violations punishable by two years in prison. This is easily the single most bat shit insane speech suppression legislation in Australian history, and that’s an extremely high bar.

To be clear, not one person sincerely believes that “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is a genocidal or antisemitic statement. This is one of those many, many instances in which Israel supporters are pretending to believe something they do not actually believe in order to further outlaw criticism of Israel.

They’re trying to make it so that nobody feels comfortable opposing Israel’s abuses without first consulting with a lawyer about what exactly they are legally permitted to say in that moment, thereby throwing a chilling effect on pro-Palestine activism throughout the nation.

Australia’s Queensland ridiculously wants to outlaw the phrase “from the river to the sea.” Really? If I want equal rights for all, Israeli and Palestinian, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, that’s hate speech? https://t.co/f5SrNilLOO

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) February 8, 2026

This comes weeks after the Australian government passed frightening new “hate speech” laws in the name of “combatting antisemitism” which will make it much easier to designate activist groups as “hate groups”. Australian officials have conspicuously refused to say that the new laws will not be used to ban groups for speech that is critical of Israel, which tells you all you need to know about the real intentions at work here.

This also comes as the state of New South Wales cracks down on protests with extreme aggression, banning protests in certain areas and seeking to outlaw the use of the phrase “globalise the intifada” to appease Australia’s obscenely powerful Israel lobby. Premier Chris Minns is presently defending the actions of the police he sent in to crack skulls at the Herzog protests on Monday.

Just two months ago a prominent member of the Australian Israel lobby publicly announced that he wants a total ban on pro-Palestine protests throughout the nation, and said it is criticism of Israel that is the problem, not just hatred toward Jews. Joel Burnie, Executive Manager of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), explicitly said that what he wants is “No more protests! No more protests!” in Australia.

“I for one as a Jewish leader will no long talk about antisemitism in isolation from Israel, because it’s the rhetoric and language on Israel that motivates the people to come and kill us,” Burnie said during a video conference, later adding that “ language on Israel invading all of our social spaces in Australia have made this country a very unsafe space and place for Jews.”

Increment by increment, Joel Burnie and his ilk have been getting their wish ever since. Australian civil rights are indeed being disintegrated to protect the information interests of a genocidal apartheid state.

"No more protests! No more protests!"

AIJAC Executive Manager Joel Burnie demands Australians lose their right to protest Israel following Bondi Beach shooting.

He also demands prosecutions for "hate speech" and insists all security costs for Jews be put on Aussie taxpayers. pic.twitter.com/xvIskGjfGx

— Chris Menahan (@infolibnews) December 17, 2025

As I often remind readers, Australia is the only so-called democracy in the world which has no national charter or bill of rights of any kind. A tremendous amount of faith has been placed in state and federal legislators to simply do the right thing, which has proved foolish and ineffective. Professor George Williams wrote for the Melbourne University Law Review in 2006:

“Australia is now the only democratic nation in the world without a national bill of rights. Some comprehensive form of legal protection for basic rights is otherwise seen as an essential check and balance in democratic governance around the world. Indeed, I can find no example of a democratic nation that has gained a new Constitution or legal system in recent decades that has not included some form of a bill of rights, nor am I aware of any such nation that has done away with a bill of rights once it has been put in place.”

This system plainly does not work. Australians desperately need speech protections enshrined in our Constitution, because we cannot trust our leaders to resist efforts to silence us whenever our speech becomes inconvenient to powerful people and influential lobbying groups.

The more aggressively they fight to silence us, the louder we need to become. It is more necessary to oppose Israel and its supporters than ever before, because now they’re coming after us and our rights. It’s not just about opposing genocide, war and apartheid anymore. It’s about fighting for our own rights and our own future.

Iran & Russia FLIP Trump's War Ultimatum into STUNNING Victory | Alexander Mercouris

Trump Says It Will Be ‘Very Traumatic’ for Iran if a Nuclear Deal Isn’t Reached

President Trump said on Thursday that it would be “very traumatic” for Iran if Washington and Tehran don’t reach a nuclear deal, echoing threats he made last year in the lead-up to the 12-Day War.

“We have to make a deal with Iran, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters a day after holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

“We had a very good meeting yesterday with Bibi Netanyahu, and he understands. But it’s ultimately up to me. If the deal isn’t a very fair deal and a very good deal with Iran, it’s going to be a very difficult time for them,” Trump added.

The US president was asked if there was a timeline for a deal and said, “I guess over the next month … They should agree very quickly.”

Is Israel Blackmailing Trump to Attack Iran?

Israeli Rabbinical Judge Violated ‘Ethical Guidelines’ for Boasting About Destroying Homes in Gaza

An Israeli rabbinical judge who drove an armored D9 bulldozer for the IDF in Gaza has been ruled to have violated ethical guidelines for expressing “extremist views,” including calling to “flatten the Gaza Strip” and boasting about the fact that many Palestinian bodies were left to be eaten by stray dogs and cats.

Rabbi Avraham Zarbiv made the comments during an appearance on Israel’s Channel 14 last year, where he estimated that he destroyed about 50 Palestinian homes and other buildings per week during his time in Gaza. At the time, the Hind Rajab Foundation, which seeks to prosecute IDF soldiers overseas, filed a complaint against Zarbiv with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and called for his arrest.

According to Haaretz, Israeli State Ombudsman Asher Kula ruled that Zarbiv violated a code of ethics on the basis of expressing his worldview on matters of public controversy. “With all due respect to the rabbinic judge’s prolonged military service, as well as his significant contribution during the war, the soldier’s uniform does not shed him of the robe of a rabbinic judge, nor of the ethical duties that continue to apply to him even during his military service,” Kula said.

INTEL Roundtable : w/ Johnson & McGovern : Weekly Wrap 13-FEB

Mahmoud Khalil is still fighting for others as he fights his own deportation: ‘It’s about raising the alarm’

Despite his grim circumstances, Mahmoud Khalil can’t help but laugh. Walking through Congress’s hallowed halls, the Palestinian student activist, who may be inching toward deportation, has a lightness to him. He is quick with a smile – and not yet ready to waver. He admits he’s in “the scary part” of his ordeal, but he has a new reason to like his odds. “Now it’s easier to make my case because they’ve seen the illegal actions and the unlawful action of DHS and ICE,” Khalil said. “They know they went too far.”

It was nearly a year ago that Khalil became a household name as the first high-profile ICE apprehension of Donald Trump’s return to office. Last March, he was detained at his New York City apartment complex over his advocacy at Columbia University for Palestinian rights and against American complicity in Israel’s siege and bombardment of Gaza. But the political winds have shifted. Khalil is no longer just a target, but a witness to ICE’s hard streak, one that he endured for more than 100 days of detention. Americans are increasingly sympathetic.

A February Marist poll found that a majority of Americans now believe ICE has overstepped its authority, with approval ratings for the agency dropping to historic lows. A January YouGov survey showed similar trends, with growing concern about due process violations in immigration enforcement, and an Economist/YouGov poll revealed increasing skepticism about aggressive detention policies that separate families and detain legal residents.

“I was the first to be called a terrorist sympathizer,” Khalil reflected, recalling the rhetoric sounded by Trump as he was being whisked away to a 70-man dorm in a Louisiana detention center while his wife was eight months pregnant. “Now this administration has used it against anyone who was protesting against them in the streets.” For Khalil, Wednesday’s packed schedule of congressional meetings felt different from previous trips to Washington. The progressive Democrats Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Summer Lee of Pennsylvania filled his morning. He discussed his own case and ICE detentions in general. Ramirez agreed during their meeting that the government “must” drop the entire case.

As for attitudes on ICE, the shift has been swift. ... The shift matters not only for Khalil’s own case but potentially for thousands of others. A January third circuit court of appeals decision in his habeas corpus case has sent shock waves through immigration law circles: the three-judge panel ruled that federal district courts lack jurisdiction over his case while he is in removal proceedings. If broadly applied, that would mean immigrants must wait until their cases fully proceed through the immigration system before they can challenge their detention in federal court.

Cuba's U.N. Ambassador Denounces U.S. Oil Blockade, Push to Topple Government

Mexico sends aid to Cuba as Sheinbaum walks diplomatic tightrope with US

As the sun came up on a flat calm Florida Straits, two ships arrived off the port of Havana: the Isla Holbox, a squat logistics ship, followed by the more aggressive looking Papaloapan, whose bow ramp gave the appearance of a large beetle. The two Mexican navy ships docked on Thursday laden with humanitarian aid as part of Mexico’s efforts to support Cuba amid a deepening crisis exacerbated by Donald Trump’s economic pressure campaign.

The boats, carrying more than 800 tons in aid, arrived at the Caribbean nation two weeks after Trump signed an executive order allowing the US to slap tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba, effectively choking off fuel to the island.

Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Thursday that her government was seeking diplomatic measures to allow the country to resume sending oil to Cuba, but emphasized that as soon as the ships return, “we will send more support of different kinds” The Isla Holbox carried some 536 tons of food including milk, rice, beans, sardines, meat products, cookies, canned tuna and vegetable oil, as well as personal hygiene items. The Papaloapan carried just over 277 tons of powdered milk, according to the Mexican government.

Mexico’s determination to aid Cuba in its moment of dire need – even as it bows to Washington’s pressure to stop sending oil – evinces the complex historical relationship between the three countries that stretches back more than a century.

“The energy pressure that Trump is exerting on Cuba places Mexico in a dilemma that is very characteristic of its entire history of diplomatic relations with the United States and Cuba,” said Rafael Rojas, a Cuban historian at the College of Mexico. “Mexico is yielding to the demands of the United States – and on the other hand it maintains its solidarity with the island.”

Max Blumenthal : Trump Threatens Venezuela’s New President

Russia RETALIATES for Kiev's Terror Attack: 'Ukraine Ceasing to EXIST as a State' | Andrei Martyanov

US judge blocks Hegseth’s bid to punish Mark Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ video

A US judge on Thursday blocked the Pentagon from reducing Senator Mark Kelly’s retired military rank and pension pay because he urged troops to reject unlawful orders. The preliminary ruling by Richard Leon, a George W Bush appointee, is the latest setback for Donald Trump in his campaign of vengeance against perceived political enemies, which has drawn opposition from judges across the ideological spectrum.

Kelly, a retired navy captain and former astronaut who represents Arizona in the US Senate, was one of six congressional Democrats who appeared in a November video that reminded service members of their duty to reject unlawful orders. In the clip, Kelly stated: “Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders.“

Kelly’s remarks came as Democrats criticized Trump’s deployment of national guard troops in US cities and the authorization of lethal strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs from Latin America.

The Republican president, in a social media post, called the video “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH”.

Earlier this week, a grand jury in Washington DC declined to indict the six members of Congress featured in the video: Kelly, Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin, and House members Jason Crow of Colorado, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, and Chrissy Houlahan. The grand jury’s decision and Judge Leon’s ruling are a stark rebuke of the Trump administration and its allies’ attempts to use their position to criminalise dissent.

‘Chaos Is the Point’: Ryan Grim Exposes Trump’s Epstein Strategy

House members seek inquiry into DoJ’s tracking of their Epstein files research

Members of Congress are calling for investigations after discovering the Department of Justice created records of their research activities while they dug into files connected to Jeffrey Epstein. Photographs taken by Reuters during a congressional hearing on Wednesday showed the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, holding a document titled “Jayapal Pramila Search History”, listing files that the Democratic US representative Pramila Jayapal had accessed during her review of the Epstein materials.

Access to the unredacted Epstein materials became available to legislators earlier this week under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Several members of Congress are demanding that the justice department halt the tracking, alleging that the department has violated the separation of powers. “It is an outrage that [the justice department] is tracking members’ investigative steps,” said Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, who announced he would ask the justice department inspector general to open an inquiry into what he called “this outrageous abuse of power”.

The department of justice confirmed to the Guardian that it does, in fact, monitor all Epstein file searches from lawmakers on its systems. “DoJ has extended Congress the opportunity to review unredacted documents in the Epstein files,” a justice department spokesperson said in a statement. “As part of that review, DoJ logs all searches made on its systems to protect against the release of victim information.”

Raskin described a review process he said was designed for surveillance from the start. Members of Congress seeking to examine the files must travel to a justice department annex, sit at one of four department-owned computers, navigate what he called “a clunky and convoluted software system”, and read documents while justice department staffers watch over their shoulders. “It is the perfect set-up for [the justice department] to spy on members’ review, monitoring, recording and logging every document we choose to pull up,” Raskin said in a statement. “Today, photographs of Attorney General Bondi’s ‘burn book’ confirmed my suspicions.”

“Bondi showed up today with a burn book that held a printed search history of exactly what emails I searched,” Jayapal wrote on X. “That is outrageous and I intend to pursue this and stop this spying on members.” Jayapal called the practice “totally inappropriate and against the separations of powers for the [justice department] to surveil us as we search the Epstein files”. Representative Suhas Subramanyam, from Virginia, wrote on social media: “As I said yesterday, the [justice department] was keeping a history of all the files we were viewing. Now we know why.”

ICE says 2 officers may have lied under oath about migrant shooting in Minnesota

US unions raise thousands for victims of ICE crackdown

Labor unions are fundraising for workers affected by the surge of immigration enforcement across the US, providing legal and financial support to members affected by the brutal crackdown.

Nearly $20,000 was raised for a homecare worker, Maria, a member of Service Employees International Union Local 503 in Salem, Oregon, and a US citizen who was attacked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on 29 January.

Maria, whose last name is being held for anonymity, was pulled from her car after ICE agents boxed her in with their vehicles and smashed her car window, and then thrown to the ground. They left her alone without medical care after they found her US passport in her purse. She was later treated for mild injuries, including a concussion and bruised ribs.

“We are standing for our workers. ICE in our communities is creating fear. It’s creating havoc,” said Pati Urias, communications director for SEIU Local 503. “The labor movement has always stood for causes that affect workers, and this is one of them.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said it could not confirm whether the incident happened and that neither ICE or Customs and Border Protection contacted a US citizen in Salem. Urias noted that federal agents often don’t wear identification or give badge numbers or names when request. “How could anyone know if they were impersonators?” she said. “They left her alone when they saw she was a citizen. What might they have done if she wasn’t?”

Chris Parente Reveals Hidden Evidence in Chicago Border Patrol Shooting | Lies EXPOSED

New Jersey governor bans immigration agents from some state property

New Jersey’s governor, Mikie Sherrill, has banned immigration agents from some state property and launched an online portal for residents to share videos and photos of enforcement activity.

Sherrill, a Democrat, signed an executive order on Wednesday which prohibits immigration officers from access to non-public portions of state-owned property if they don’t have a judicial warrant, according to NJ.com. The prohibition also bars immigration agents from using state property as bases for enforcement operations.

“We have seen dozens, even hundreds of videos of Donald Trump’s [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents abusing their power, smashing cars, teargassing families, gunning down American citizens and violating our most basic rights,” Sherrill remarked during a news conference reported by NJ.com.

Amid growing scrutiny of ICE activities, New Jersey officials have stated that the state attorney’s office will review photos and video uploaded to the web portal. “While we cannot guarantee any particular action by our office in response to reports on the portal, we will review every report with care,” the acting state attorney general, Jennifer Davenport, reportedly said.

Sherrill’s initiatives come as Donald Trump has ramped up immigration enforcement, with his administration overwhelmingly targeting Democratic-run states. The US president’s enforcement blitz in Minnesota has spurred ongoing demonstrations over agents’ heavy-handed approach to migrants and protesters; immigration agents have killed two US citizens during the enforcement surge.

This is a huge victory of the people of Minneapolis over the ICE occupation. They had two dead and many injured, a lot taken prisoner, but ICE is retreating. https://t.co/KPjPxa1aUF

— Dean Baker (@DeanBaker13) February 12, 2026

Trump’s border czar says immigration crackdown in Minnesota will ‘conclude’

The Trump administration has claimed it is drawing down its immigration crackdown in Minnesota that led to the death of two US citizens, mass detentions and widespread protests. The move was announced by Tom Homan, the US border czar, at a press briefing on Thursday.

“I have proposed, and President Trump has concurred, that this surge operation conclude,” Homan said, claiming that “a significant drawdown” had already been under way this week and would continue.

Agents in Minnesota will be returned to their normal duties or assigned elsewhere, Homan said. The number of agents in Minnesota will return to normal levels, which is about 100 agents, officials have previously said. But security teams will stay in place to respond to what Homan called “agitators” who oppose immigration agents’ work in the state.

Homan said he would remain on the ground in Minnesota for “a little longer” to oversee the drawdown of agents.

Local and state officials had expressed they were hopeful for a drawdown, based on meetings with Homan, but that they would not believe it until they saw the evidence on the ground.

Gov. Tim Walz: "They left us with deep damage. Generational trauma. Economic ruin in some cases. The left us with many unanswered questions. Where are our children? Where and what is the process of the investigation into those that were responsible for the deaths of Renee and… pic.twitter.com/oylfiGSzXl

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 12, 2026

Senate Democrats block DHS funding over immigration tactics

Democrats in the US Senate have blocked a funding package for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid ongoing fury over the Trump administration’s crackdown and the deaths of two people in Minneapolis.

Thursday’s vote means that the department is almost certain to shut down at midnight on Friday evening, affecting a range of services yet largely leaving the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) – the target of Democrats’ ire – unaffected because it is already the recipient of lavish federal funding.

While senators voted virtually along party lines, 52-47, in favor of a bill passed by the House of Representatives last month to continue funding the DHS, it fell short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster.

The vote came hours after Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s “border czar”, announced that ICE was largely withdrawing its operation in Minneapolis, where feelings continue to run high following the shooting deaths last month of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, at the hands of federal agents.

Democrats maintained their opposition after the White House refused to bow to their demands for major reforms in how ICE is run. Proposed changes included agents wearing identification and body cameras and being barred from operating near schools, medical facilities, churches, polling stations, childcare facilities and courts. Democrats also demanded that local and state law enforcement agencies be guaranteed the right to handle investigations into potential crimes committed by federal authorities, including excessive use of force.

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Trump Effort ‘To Rig Our Elections Is Well Underway’

A pair of experts warned this week that President Donald Trump is clearly telegraphing his intention to meddle in the 2026 midterm elections.

Stephen Richer, former recorder of Maricopa County, Arizona, said during an interview with The Atlantic published Wednesday that he’s grown worried that “something truly spectacular is going to happen in which our 2026 midterm elections are not administered like past elections have been.”

When asked to flesh out how Trump could potentially rig the upcoming elections, Richer said it was unlikely that he would deploy US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to polling places across the country, if for no other reason than he lacks the manpower to accomplish such an operation.

However, Richer did express concern about the president’s ability to muddy waters in tight races and put pressure on his Republican allies to refuse to seat Democratic winners when he is claiming there are disputes about the results.

“Where I think President Trump is most potent is still in the post-election procedures,” he explained, “still in sowing doubt in the minds of enough Americans that they don’t think the elections are legitimate and, therefore... the Congress doesn’t have to seat its new members. That’s certainly a popular theory that’s floating about: that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), the outgoing speaker, will choose not to seat the new members, because they’re in allegedly disputed elections.”

Richer argued that California could be particularly vulnerable to this, since the state infamously takes so long to finish tallying its votes.

In a New York Times editorial published Thursday, Sean Morales-Doyle, director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s voting rights and elections program, argued that Trump’s “campaign to rig our elections is well underway,” and he pointed to the president’s mass pardon last year of rioters who violently stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 as the beginning of his election subversion campaign.

“We have every reason to expect more actions like these in the coming months,” wrote Morales-Doyle. “A few weeks ago, Mr. Trump reiterated his threats to prosecute election officials who ran the 2020 election. Just days later, FBI agents seized ballots and election records from 2020 in Fulton County, Georgia.”

However, Morales-Doyle also said there was reason to believe that the American system can withstand the president’s assault on its election integrity, and he gave a nod toward several efforts across the country to fight back, including states resisting Trump’s demands to hand over their voter rolls and Democrats refusing to let new voter suppression legislation pass through Congress.

“We are already seeing how effective people can be in pushing back,” he concluded, “whether on the streets of Minneapolis or at town halls hosted by their representatives in Congress. It will be incumbent on all of us—election officials, advocates, state law enforcement, and voters—to see the administration’s efforts for what they are and to fight back.”

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Trump’s EPA repeals landmark climate finding in gift to ‘billionaire polluters’

The Trump administration has revoked the bedrock scientific determination that gives the government the ability to regulate climate-heating pollution. The move was described as a gift to “billionaire polluters” at the expense of Americans’ health. The endangerment finding, which states that the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere endangers public health and welfare, has since 2009 allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit heat-trapping pollution from vehicles, power plants and other industrial sources.

Donald Trump called the move “the single largest deregulatory action in American history”.

“This is a big one if you’re into environment,” he told reporters on Thursday. “This is about as big as it gets.” The move comes as part of Trump’s bigger anti-environment push, which has seen him roll back pollution rules and boost oil and gas.

The final rule removes the government’s ability to impose requirements to track, report and limit climate-heating pollution from cars and trucks. Transportation is the largest source of climate pollution in the US. It does not apply to regulations on stationary sources of emissions such as power plants and fossil fuel infrastructure, which are regulated under a separate section of the Clean Air Act, but it will open the door to end those standards, too.

Trump’s EPA has separately proposed to find that emissions from power plants “do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution” and therefore should not be regulated.

Trump named ‘undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal’ by industry group

Donald Trump was crowned the “undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal” during a White House ceremony on Wednesday, during which the president received a trophy after ordering the US defense department to purchase billions of dollars’ worth of power from coal plants.

The award was reportedly granted by the Washington Coal Club, an advocacy group with financial ties to the coal industry. James Grech, CEO of Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the US, presented Trump with the bronze trophy that depicts a coalminer donning headlamp and pick.

“We stand here today representing the thousands of coalminers across the country to express our deep gratitude to you, sir, for the actions you’ve taken to support our industry,” Grech said to Trump during the ceremony, which had more than a dozen coal executives and miners in attendance.

Several Republican lawmakers and cabinet members also attended the ceremony, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Lee Zeldin, and the secretary of the interior, Doug Burgum, who are both staunch coal advocates.

The event marked Trump’s signing of an executive order directing the defense department to secure long-term power purchase agreements with coal plants for military installations and other “mission-critical facilities”. At the event, Trump also announced that the Department of Energy would allocate $175m in funding to six projects to “modernize, retrofit and extend” the life of “coal-fired power plants that serve rural and remote communities” in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky.

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Also of Interest

Here are some articles of interest, some which defied fair-use abstraction.

Jonathan Cook: Palestine Action Ban Protected Arms Industry

US security firm that oversaw deadly aid sites in Gaza in talks for future role

Russia’s ‘Collapsing’ Economy

‘It’s happening here’: ICE turns quiet Minnesota suburbs into conflict zones

US antitrust chief Gail Slater ousted from Trump justice department

Bondi SHAMED by EPSTEIN SURVIVORS in DC Hearing

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A Little Night Music

Johnny Winter – Rollin' And Tumblin'

Johnny Winter – Rock Me Baby

Johnny Winter – Honest I Do

Johnny Winter And – Great Balls Of Fire / Long Tall Sally / Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin' On

Johnny Winter – Forty Four

Johnny Winter – Rollin' 'Cross The Country

Johnny Winter – Highway 61 Revisited

Johnny Winter – Going Down Slow

Muddy Waters feat. Johnny Winter - Chicago Fest 1981

Johnny Winter - 7/5/1984 Montreux Jazz Festival

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