“Voters in South Texas delivered Elon Musk a decisive victory, overwhelmingly approving a ballot measure to establish Starbase, Texas, as its own city. By a margin of 173 to 4, residents of the far-flung community surrounding SpaceX’s rocket-launch site and headquarters voted resoundingly in favor of the incorporation effort, according to preliminary results posted on the county election website from the early voting period. Final totals were not immediately available. At the same time, voters also approved the city’s first elected officials, all three of whom are current or former SpaceX employees and ran unopposed. Virtually all of the inhabitants within the 1.45-square mile territory are Musk’s employees at the massive manufacturing facility that dominates the beachfront town, or their family members.” (05/04/25)
“US President Donald Trump has denied that he is considering a third presidential term, a move which experts agree is banned under the US Constitution. ‘I’ll be an eight-year president, I’ll be a two-term president. I always thought that was very important,’ Trump told NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker in an interview that aired on Sunday. Trump, 78, has previously said that he was ‘not joking’ about wanting to serve a third, or even fourth, term as US president. He later said his statements were meant to troll the ‘fake news media’. His company, The Trump Organization, has been selling ‘Trump 2028’ hats, fuelling armchair speculation that he may seek to remain in office after his second term ends in January 2029. In the interview, recorded from his residence in Florida on Friday, Trump said that he has had ‘many requests’ from people asking that he consider seeking to remain in office.” (05/04/25)
“Australia’s center-left government convincingly won reelection Saturday in a remarkable turnaround driven partly by anger over President Donald Trump’s disruptive trade war and its impact on the close U.S. military ally. Anthony Albanese became the first Australian prime minister to win a second term in more than two decades as his Labor Party dramatically increased its parliamentary majority. It marked a stunning comeback for the progressive leader, who trailed in the polls two months ago. In a jubilant victory speech, the 62-year-old struck a tone of unity while also alluding to his opponent’s failed embrace of Trump-like policies.” (05/03/25)
“A trip to Hawaii is about to get even more expensive for travelers in an attempt to preserve the islands’ future. Hawaii lawmakers have passed a first-of-its-kind bill to raise the tax on hotel stays and other vacation rentals, specifically to fund efforts to fight climate change. Senate Bill 1396 was unanimously passed in the Senate on April 25. On May 2, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill. Gov. Josh Green is expected to sign the bill. ‘Our residents and communities deserve to be protected,’ state Rep. Adrian K. Tam said at Friday’s adjournment. ‘As we continue to invite visitors to Hawaii to share the beauty of this land, this bill is a huge step in ensuring adequate funding is set aside to steward and protect our delicate ecosystems for visitors, our constituents and communities for generations to come.'” (05/04/25)
“A federal judge found President Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Perkins Coie to be illegal, per the court ruling Friday. The ruling, which bars the administration from enforcing the executive order, is the first time a court has permanently prohibited Trump from using his presidential power against a law firm he perceives to have threatened him politically. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sided with the law firm, one of the largest in the nation, in a 102-page opinion saying the executive order sends ‘the clear message: lawyers must stick to the party line, or else.'” (05/03/25)
“Activists who were planning to sail an aid ship to Gaza say it was struck by drones in international waters off the coast of Malta – appearing to accuse Israel of being behind the attack. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition said its ship The Conscience was targeted at 00:23 local time on Friday and issued an SOS signal right after the attack. … The NGO called for Israeli ambassadors to be summoned to answer for ‘violation of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel.’ The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the attack.” (05/02/25)
“A federal judge in Texas ruled that President Donald Trump improperly invoked a 227-year-old wartime law to deport accused Venezuelan gang members to an El Salvador prison, setting up what may become yet another high-stakes battle at the US Supreme Court. US District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., a Trump appointee, made the finding in a ruling Thursday shortly after certifying the case as a class action and barring the removal of suspected gang members from the US under the controversial Alien Enemies Act. … ‘The historical record renders clear that the president’s invocation of the AEA through the proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute’s terms,’ Rodriguez said in the ruling.” (05/01/25)
“Nigel Farage’s insurgent anti-immigration party, Reform U.K., scored a significant, if razor-thin, victory Friday in a parliamentary special election in the northwest of England. The result served notice that Mr. Farage, a populist fixture and close ally of President Trump, is again a rising force in British politics. Reform’s candidate, Sarah Pochin, won by just six votes over her Labour Party opponent, Karen Shore, in Runcorn and Helsby, seizing what had been a safe seat for Labour until the incumbent, Mike Amesbury, was forced to resign after being convicted of assault for punching one of his constituents. On a night of high drama, the outcome — the tightest in such an election in modern history — was so close that the vote had to be recounted, delaying the declaration of the result for hours.” (05/02/25)
“Initial unemployment claims posted an unexpected increase last week in a potential trouble sign for the wobbling U.S. economy. First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 241,000 for the week ended April 26, up 18,000 from the prior period and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 225,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. This was the highest total since Feb. 22. Continuing claims, which run a week behind and provide a broader view of layoff trends, rose to 1.92 million, up 83,000 to the highest level since Nov. 13, 2021. Much of the gain seemed to come from one state — New York, where claims more than doubled to 30,043, according to unadjusted data. The increase may have been due to spring recess in New York public schools, according to Sam Tombs, chief U.S. economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.” (05/01/25)
“President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to end federal funding for America’s two biggest public broadcasters, which have faced a series of attacks from the White House and Republican lawmakers accusing them of biased reporting. The order instructs the CPB’s board to terminate direct funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to the ‘maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding.’ It also orders the board to take steps to ‘minimize or eliminate’ indirect funding to NPR and PBS.” [editor’s note: Nice to see him ordering something good for a change – TLK] (05/02/25)
