CURRENT EVENTS - May 8-11

Could we return this thread to the general current events topic?

I moved the most recent pissing match posts there. Thanks.

CORRECTION — apparently I accidentally deleted that thread while watching the baseball game. My bad.

UPDATE: FreeGuy’s bad faith, intentionally disruptive behavior made it not worth trying to moderate, so no need to worry about further engagements with this alias at least.
 
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The DEA Once Touted Body Cameras for Their “Enhanced Transparency.” Now the Agency Is Abandoning Them.​

An internal email obtained by ProPublica said the agency made the change to be “consistent” with a Trump executive order. But at least two other federal law enforcement agencies are still requiring body cameras.​



“The Drug Enforcement Administration has quietly ended its body camera program barely four years after it began, according to an internal email obtained by ProPublica.

On April 2, DEA headquarters emailed employees announcing that the program had been terminated effective the day before. The DEA has not publicly announced the policy change, but by early April, links to pages about body camera policies on the DEA’s website were broken.

The email said the agency made the change to be “consistent” with a Trump executive order rescinding the 2022 requirement that all federal law enforcement agents use body cameras. …”
 

Democrats vote to reject Senate crypto bill​

All Democrats and three Republicans — including Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri — voted against the effort.


“… Democratic negotiators pushed to delay the vote until next week to give them more time to circulate potential changes with members, but GOP leaders plowed ahead.


“We need time,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who voted for a previous version of the bill in committee and helped lead negotiations for Democrats this week. “We’re not shutting down. We don’t want to shut this down to the point where we are ending all this work we have put into it. We want to bring this economy and this economy and this innovation to the United States.”

The vote is a major loss for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other pro-crypto Republicans, and it could jeopardize a broader GOP effort to advance several pieces of industry-friendly digital assets legislation this year. Thune voted against the bill and entered a motion to reconsider, which will allow him to bring it back up on the floor.

… The bill has previously drawn bipartisan support, but it hit a roadblock over the weekend when nine likely Democratic supporters said they would not support the most recent version introduced by GOP leaders ahead of a floor vote….”
 

Hegseth initiates ban on transgender troops after Supreme Court ruling​

The Trump administration said it is moving quickly to purge the military of about 1,000 service members who have self-identified as having gender dysphoria.


“… About 1,000 troops have self-identified as having a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, the Pentagon said in a statement accompanying Hegseth’s memo to senior military leaders, but advocates for transgender service members have said the number is higher. It was not immediately clear from the guidance Hegseth issued Thursday how the Pentagon may attempt to remove any transgender troops who have not disclosed such a diagnosis.

… Transgender personnel serving on active duty have a month to voluntarily leave the service while reservists will have 60 days, and they may be eligible for separation pay, Hegseth’s guidance says. Once those deadlines pass, the Pentagon will move to involuntarily separate those who remain, he said. …”

 

Hegseth initiates ban on transgender troops after Supreme Court ruling​

The Trump administration said it is moving quickly to purge the military of about 1,000 service members who have self-identified as having gender dysphoria.


“… About 1,000 troops have self-identified as having a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, the Pentagon said in a statement accompanying Hegseth’s memo to senior military leaders, but advocates for transgender service members have said the number is higher. It was not immediately clear from the guidance Hegseth issued Thursday how the Pentagon may attempt to remove any transgender troops who have not disclosed such a diagnosis.

… Transgender personnel serving on active duty have a month to voluntarily leave the service while reservists will have 60 days, and they may be eligible for separation pay, Hegseth’s guidance says. Once those deadlines pass, the Pentagon will move to involuntarily separate those who remain, he said. …”


“… Trump’s executive order grants exceptions for service members directly supporting “warfighting capabilities.” Those who do obtain a waiver must prove they have never attempted to physically transition from one gender to another and will face certain restrictions prohibiting them from changing rooms, bathrooms and showers designated for people of the opposite sex. They also will have to meet the fitness standards associated with their birth sex. …”
 


Flashback yesterday, this was treated as a quip:





“You know what would be good? Library of Congress.”
 


Flashback yesterday, this was treated as a quip:





“You know what would be good? Library of Congress.”



“… Hayden, whose 10-year term was set to expire next year, had come under backlash from a conservative advocacy group that accused her and other library leaders of promoting children’s books with “radical” content and literary material authored by Trump opponents.

“The current #LibrarianOfCongress Carla Hayden is woke, anti-Trump, and promotes trans-ing kids,” the group, American Accountability Foundation, said on its X account earlier Thursday, just hours before the firing was made public. “It’s time to get her OUT and hire a new guy for the job!” …”
 
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