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The GMO mosquitos are limp dicks.
Appeals court panel quashes Judge Boasberg’s contempt proceedings over Alien Enemies Act deportations
A divided federal appeals court panel has thrown out U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s bid to pursue criminal contempt for Trump administration officials he says defied his orders in March by sending 130 Venezuelan men to a prison in El Salvador.
The ruling can be appealed further. If it remains in place, it appears to sharply diminish — but not completely rule out — the possibility that lawyers or other officials in the administration could face contempt charges over their conduct during the high-profile deportation showdown.
In the 2-1 decision Friday, D.C. Circuit Judges Gregory Katsas and Neomi Rao — both Trump appointees — overturned an order Boasberg issued in April initiating the potential contempt proceedings.
The episode began when President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used wartime authority, to deport the Venezuelan immigrants to a notorious Salvadoran prison with just a few hours notice. When a handful of the men sued to block the deportations, Boasberg hastily convened a March 15 hearing and tried to halt them, saying they appeared to violate due process.
He ordered Justice Department lawyers to ensure that deportees who had already been loaded onto airplanes were not transferred out of U.S. custody. The administration nevertheless continued the deportations, deplaning the men before a bank of TV cameras that captured them being forcibly transferred to Salvadoran officials.
A month later, Boasberg found probable cause to hold the administration in contempt. The administration filed an unusual type of emergency appeal, arguing it had not defied Boasberg because his oral orders were not legally binding and he lacked authority over the planes once they left U.S. airspace.
The D.C. Circuit panel quickly paused Boasberg’s contempt-related order while the judges considered the administration’s appeal. And on Friday, the panel issued its formal ruling on the matter.
While both Katsas and Rao voted to “vacate” the contempt-related order, they disagreed about how far to go in limiting Boasberg’s future options. Katsas wrote in a solo opinion that he wanted to rule out any further criminal contempt proceedings stemming from the El Salvador deportations. Rao, by contrast, wrote her own solo opinion stopping short of foreclosing that possibility.
The third member of the appeals panel, Judge Cornelia Pillard, an Obama appointee, dissented. She said the majority’s ruling was legally unjustified and “a grave disservice” to Boasberg.
The full 11-member bench of the D.C. Circuit — which has seven Democratic appointees and four Republican appointees — could reconsider the panel’s ruling and revive Boasberg’s contempt proceedings. Lawyers for the deported men, who have since been moved to Venezuela as part of a prisoner swap brokered by the Trump administration, could also take the issue to the Supreme Court.
Advocates for the deportees rejected the panel’s decision as misguided but didn’t immediately indicate whether they would appeal.
“We strongly disagree with the ruling and are considering all options going forward,” ACLU Attorney Lee Gelernt said. “The opinion brushes aside the considerable evidence that has emerged that DOJ’s lawyers understood the order at the time and simply ignored it.”
Katsas adopted a key Trump administration argument in the dispute: that “ambiguity” in Boasberg’s directives left it unclear whether he intended to block the Trump administration from deporting only the men who remained on the U.S. mainland or whether it also applied to those who had left U.S. airspace at the time he issued the order. And Katsas said Boasberg’s contempt bid “would provoke many grave conflicts between the Judicial Branch and the Executive Branch at its highest levels.”
“The government is plainly correct about the merits of the criminal contempt, and our saying so now would prevent long disputes between the Executive and the Judiciary over difficult, contentious issues regarding the courts’ power to control foreign policy or prosecutions,” wrote Katsas, who was a deputy White House counsel during Trump’s first term.
Rao said Boasberg’s contempt order improperly intruded on the executive branch’s foreign policy powers and amounted to an attempt to strongarm the government into affording the deportees relief they’re not legally entitled to.
“Dangling this sword of Damocles to compel the Executive to exercise its foreign affairs powers exceeds the court’s authority and is an abuse of discretion,” she wrote. “What a court lacks the power to do directly, it cannot accomplish indirectly.”
Watch: The Conversation
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Both Katsas and Rao noted that the Supreme Court ultimately rejected Boasberg’s original order, which they said eliminated his power to try to coerce the government into complying with it.
If the lawyers for the deportees appeal the panel’s ruling, they’re likely to draw inspiration from Pillard’s blistering dissent, which argued that Boasberg’s effort to pursue criminal contempt proceedings was more than justified by the Trump administration’s apparent defiance of his order.
“Our system of courts cannot long endure if disappointed litigants defy court orders with impunity rather than legally challenge them,” Pillard wrote. “That is why willful disobedience of a court order is punishable as criminal contempt.”
Pillard also said her colleagues’ ruling amounted to a slap in the face to Boasberg, an Obama appointee who became the D.C. District Court’s chief judge in 2023.
“Chief Judge Boasberg faced immense pressure to make a quick decision in a rapidly evolving, high-stakes situation. He performed that task calmly and with an even hand,” Pillard wrote.
“Even when faced with what reasonably appeared to him to be footdragging, evasion, and outright disregard for his jurisdiction and his orders, he responded with unfailing composure,” she continued. “The majority does an exemplary judge a grave disservice by overstepping its bounds to upend his effort to vindicate the judicial authority that is our shared trust.”
In a related development, another three-judge D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday to end Boasberg’s effort to continue to seek due process for the men deported to El Salvador.
Citing the recent deal by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to transfer them to Venezuela, the panel found those events had overtaken Boasberg’s original order. It sent the matter back to him to reconsider his ruling in light of the development.
That appeals panel included Katsas and Rao along with Trump’s only other appointee to the D.C. Circuit, Justin Walker.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/08/boasberg-contempt-trump-administration-deportations-00499861
The University of San Diego, a Catholic institution, encourages community to avoid ‘men and women’ language
-The University of San Diego is advancing a broad slate of gender ideology initiatives through its official policies, housing, and staff training programs.
-One university guideline recommends eliminating binary phrases like 'the men and women in this room' and encourages faculty to interrupt microaggressions and normalize pronoun sharing.
The University of San Diego (USD), a Catholic institution, is advancing a broad slate of gender ideology initiatives through its official policies, housing, and staff training programs.
The school’s “Guidelines for Gender Inclusive Design” instruct faculty and staff to adapt all programming and marketing to avoid causing “a painful reminder” for individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community.
The guidelines recommend that pronouns such as “they/them/theirs” be standard on university forms and appear “all the time.”
A custom pronoun option is also encouraged, alongside reminders that school officials should “lead by sharing your own pronouns.” Students are to be asked what name they “go by” rather than their legal first name to avoid misgendering through the use of a “deadname.”
USD also states in its guidelines that gender identity “is a deeply personal and sometimes fluid social construct” and should be asked for “on occasion.”
Additionally, the university recommends adding affirmation statements to forms, such as: “We honor our trans participants and want to evaluate the experience for specific underrepresented communities.”
Gender identity response options on forms are expected to include “nonbinary,” “gender nonconforming,” and multiple custom options. A glossary included in the document defines terms such as “misgender,” “gender expression,” and “cisgender.”
The university also recommends eliminating binary phrases like “the men and women in this room” on its “Gender Affirming Strategies” page that encourages faculty to interrupt microaggressions and normalize pronoun sharing.
Despite these policies, the university claims its gender ideology is rooted in Catholic doctrine, stating that the initiative is “grounded in cura personalis (care for the whole person)” and part of a broader institutional commitment to “Diversity, Inclusion, & Social Justice.”
USD’s Gender Inclusive Housing policy also accommodates students living with individuals “who share their identity or who are affirming of their identity,” regardless of sex, effectively permitting men and women to share rooms.
Additional DEI-aligned programming at USD includes Rainbow Educators and Safe Space Allies.
The Rainbow Educators group, made up of students, faculty, and alumni, hosts LGBT workshops on “inclusion,” sexual orientation, and visibility for athletic teams, residence halls, and clubs.
Meanwhile, Safe Space Allies requires participants to complete a two-and-a-half-hour training on LGBTQIA+ language and bias. Despite claiming to be “Grounded in Catholic Social Thought,” the group openly promotes and validates gender ideology.
Campus Reform reached out to the University of San Diego for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/catholic-university-encourages-community-avoid-men-women-language/28394
Ed Martin chosen to investigate Adam Schiff and Letitia James for mortgage fraud
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has appointed a “special attorney” to probe mortgage fraud allegations against Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and New York Attorney General Letitia James, two administration officials told NBC News.
The Justice Department is also in the initial stages of an investigation of James over her successful civil fraud case against President Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Bondi tapped Ed Martin, a conservative activist and former interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., as special attorney to investigate Schiff and James, both prominent Democratic opponents of the president, the two administration officials said.
A senior law enforcement official said a grand jury seated in the Eastern District of Virginia will investigate the James mortgage fraud allegations and a grand jury in Maryland will investigate the allegations against Schiff.
Martin met Friday morning with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, who sent a criminal referral for the California senator to the Justice Department in May, the administration officials said. Pulte sent a referral for James in April, prompting the Justice Department to open an investigation into allegations that she made false statements on mortgage loan applications.
Trump had previously called for both Democratic officials to be prosecuted because of the mortgage fraud allegations.
Schiff and James have denied wrongdoing.
Preet Bharara, who is representing Schiff, said in a statement Friday that the allegations against the senator “are transparently false, stale, and long debunked.”
Schiff previously blasted Trump’s claims in a video statement in July. “This is the kind of stuff you see tinpot dictators do. It is designed to intimidate his political opponents and somehow try to silence them,” he said then.
The U.S. attorney’s probe of James is focused on whether her office used its authority to violate Trump’s legal rights through its civil lawsuits against the president and his businesses, according to three people familiar with the matter.
That investigation is also looking at whether the National Rifle Association’s rights were violated by her civil suits, the three sources said. It is being run out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, two of those sources said.
In response to an NBC News inquiry, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said: “Any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American. We stand strongly behind our successful litigation against the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association, and we will continue to stand up for New Yorkers’ rights.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office did not return a request for comment.
James, a Democrat, successfully sued Trump and his company over what her office said were fraudulent misrepresentations of his wealth and financial statements. A judge awarded James’ office over $300 million in the case, an amount that’s since swelled to over $500 million with interest. Trump is appealing the judgment.
James’ office also sued the NRA and its leadership with mixed results. The attorney general had sought the dissolution of the NRA in what is commonly referred to as the corporate “death penalty,” but a judge struck down those claims.
In 2024, James’ office did win its civil fraud case against the longtime head of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, with a jury convicting him of diverting millions of dollars from the gun group for his own personal lifestyle.
The gun group said it was “gratified” to find out about the investigation.
“She uses her powers as an elected official to try, in her words, to ‘dissolve the organization in its entirety,’ thus silencing the voice of millions of our members,” NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Doug Hamlin said in a statement. “That she now expresses concerns over ‘weaponization’ is the height of hypocrisy — an utter lack of self-awareness at the very least.”
It is not immediately clear how far along the DOJ investigation into James’ office is and what evidence, if any, the Justice Department has gathered in the probe.
An attorney for James, Abbe Lowell, said the probe of James’ fraud case against Trump and his businesses “has to be the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”
“Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration,” he added.
The FBI and Justice Department began its probe of the mortgage fraud allegations against James in the spring. It’s unclear why Martin is now in charge of the review.
Martin served as Trump’s interim U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., earlier this year, but his nomination was withdrawn after Republican senators expressed concerns over his association with Jan. 6 rioters. Trump then announced in May that Martin was moving to the Justice Department to serve as director of a “weaponization working group.”
Martin did not comment on the Friday appointment.
In his statement defending Schiff, Bharara criticized Martin, calling him “the most brazenly partisan and politically compromised person possible for the task.”
“Any supposed investigation led by him would be the very definition of weaponization of the justice process,” said Bharara, who served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York before being fired by Trump during his first term in office.
Lowell pushed back on the allegations against James in an April letter to Bondi, acknowledging there were some mistaken forms while noting contemporaneous letters and forms showing that James submitted the correct information.
The letter called the “threadbare allegations” the “next salvo in President Trump’s revenge tour against Attorney General James.”
In addition to her fraud case against Trump and his companies, James and her office have launched a number of successful legal challenges to his administration’s agenda, dating back to his first term in office.
Trump has maintained that James is biased against him. In 2021, he sued to stop her from proceeding with her fraud investigation, saying, “Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent.” The lawsuit also alleged that Trump was the victim of “viewpoint discrimination.”
Trump later dropped the suit, but has continued to criticize James, including in an April Truth Social post that called her a “wacky” and “totally corrupt politician” who should immediately resign.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/doj-opens-investigation-new-york-ags-office-brought-fraud-case-trump-rcna223731
Rutgers deletes race-based scholarships after civil rights complaint
-Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey has deleted four scholarships from its website after being hit with a civil rights complaint on Friday.
-The Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed the Aug. 1 complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey has deleted four scholarships from its website after being hit with a civil rights complaint on Friday.
The Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed the Aug. 1 complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The complaint argues that the four scholarships violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by giving preference based on race.
The university has since deleted all four of the scholarships from its website. However, the complaint provides archived links for each award: the GEM Fellowship Program, the NACME Renewable Scholarships, the EEOC/General Motors Endowed Scholarship, and the Albert W. Dent Graduate Student Scholarship for minority students.
For instance, the EEOC/General Motors Endowed Scholarship offered preference to “students of underrepresented minorities,” while the GEM Fellowship Program prioritized “underrepresented students.”
Similarly, the NACME Renewable Scholarships required recipients to “Identify as under-represented (African American, American Indian, or Latino) and/or first generation.”
In a statement to The New York Post, the university distanced itself from the scholarships while reiterating its commitment to federal civil rights law.
“The university will closely review the complaint, but based on preliminary information, two of the scholarships are not administered by the university and the remaining two are no longer being awarded,” the statement read.
In a Monday blog post, EPP founder William A. Jacobson responded to the university’s claim, pointing to the complaint’s archived links and screenshots.
“[A]s of the date of our complaint, all of the challenged scholarships were actively promoted on and active according to the Rutgers website (see screenshots and links in Complaint),” he wrote. “It is irrelevant whether Rutgers ‘administered’ the scholarships (though we believe it did) since it promoted them, and the application was made through Rutgers.”
“[W]e are calling on Rutgers to live up to its own set of rules — that shouldn’t be controversial,” Jacobson said in comments provided to Campus Reform.
The Equal Protection Project has filed similar complaints against Florida State University, Western Michigan University, and the University of Miami.
Campus Reform has contacted Rutgers University for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
https://www.campusreform.org/article/rutgers-deletes-race-based-scholarships-civil-rights-complaint/28403
Disney, Lucasfilm Settle Lawsuit From Gina Carano Over ‘Mndalorian’ Firing
The actress accused the entertainment giant of discriminating against her for voicing certain opinions on hot-button issues.
Disney and Lucasfilm have settled a lawsuit from Gina Carano, who accused the studios of discrimination and wrongful termination over her firing from The Mandalorian.
In a statement, a Lucasfilm spokesperson said, “With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
“We have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies,” it added. “Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect.”
Carano said in a statement that the deal is the “best outcome for all parties involved” and “my desires remain in the arts.”
Terms of the settlement, announced on Thursday, weren’t disclosed.
In a lawsuit filed last year, Carano alleged she was fired for voicing right-wing opinions on social media and sought a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her. Elon Musk, making good on a promise to foot the legal bill for users who claim they have been discriminated against due to their activity on his platform, helped fund the suit through X.
“I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me,” Carano said.
The legal action came after Lucasfilm announced in 2021 that Carano would not return to the hit series after sharing a post in which she said, “most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”
It was the latest in a long string of posts in which the former MMA fighter drew the ire of social media users for positions seen as right-wing on hot-button issues. Carano, who was dropped by UTA following the controversy and didn’t respond to a request for comment on the settlement, previously mocked government mandates to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and falsely suggested that voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election.
According to the complaint, Disney and Lucasfilm harassed and defamed Carano, who was paid $25,000 per episode as a guest actor and later negotiated a one-time $5,000 bonus, for refusing to conform with their viewpoints on issues relating to Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns and disproven claims of election interference. While she was allegedly fired for her cultural and religious beliefs, Carano said that the entertainment giant turned a blind eye to her male co-stars, who allegedly made offensive and denigrating posts directed toward Republicans. She pointed to Pedro Pascal’s 2017 post comparing former President Donald Trump to Hitler.
Carano was terminated from The Mandalorian — as well as other titles in the Star Wars universe, including Rangers of the New Republic — shortly after declining to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+, the lawsuit said.
Last year, the court declined to dismiss the lawsuit, rebuffing arguments from Disney that it has the right not to associate with talent who imbue the Star Wars series with views that could turn fans away from the show.
Potential witnesses in the case included Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau, Bear Grylls, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Lynne Hale, the engineer of the publicity campaign behind Star Wars.
''Carano’s full statement:
I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved. I hope this brings some healing to the force.
I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit.
Thank you Mr. Musk and X for backing my case and asking for nothing in return.
To my lawyers at Schaerr|Jaffe who walked me through this unknown territory, thank you for your wisdom and guidance.
I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome.
I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career, you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud.
I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.
Yes, I’m smiling.''
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-lucasfilm-settle-lawsuit-gina-carano-mandalorian-firing-1236339825/
Disney, Lucasfilm Settle Lawsuit From Gina Carano Over ‘Mndalorian’ Firing
The actress accused the entertainment giant of discriminating against her for voicing certain opinions on hot-button issues.
Disney and Lucasfilm have settled a lawsuit from Gina Carano, who accused the studios of discrimination and wrongful termination over her firing from The Mandalorian.
In a statement, a Lucasfilm spokesperson said, “With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.”
“We have reached an agreement with Gina Carano to resolve the issues in her pending lawsuit against the companies,” it added. “Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect.”
Carano said in a statement that the deal is the “best outcome for all parties involved” and “my desires remain in the arts.”
Terms of the settlement, announced on Thursday, weren’t disclosed.
In a lawsuit filed last year, Carano alleged she was fired for voicing right-wing opinions on social media and sought a court order that would force Lucasfilm to recast her. Elon Musk, making good on a promise to foot the legal bill for users who claim they have been discriminated against due to their activity on his platform, helped fund the suit through X.
“I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me,” Carano said.
The legal action came after Lucasfilm announced in 2021 that Carano would not return to the hit series after sharing a post in which she said, “most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?”
It was the latest in a long string of posts in which the former MMA fighter drew the ire of social media users for positions seen as right-wing on hot-button issues. Carano, who was dropped by UTA following the controversy and didn’t respond to a request for comment on the settlement, previously mocked government mandates to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and falsely suggested that voter fraud occurred during the 2020 presidential election.
According to the complaint, Disney and Lucasfilm harassed and defamed Carano, who was paid $25,000 per episode as a guest actor and later negotiated a one-time $5,000 bonus, for refusing to conform with their viewpoints on issues relating to Black Lives Matter, preferred pronouns and disproven claims of election interference. While she was allegedly fired for her cultural and religious beliefs, Carano said that the entertainment giant turned a blind eye to her male co-stars, who allegedly made offensive and denigrating posts directed toward Republicans. She pointed to Pedro Pascal’s 2017 post comparing former President Donald Trump to Hitler.
Carano was terminated from The Mandalorian — as well as other titles in the Star Wars universe, including Rangers of the New Republic — shortly after declining to meet with Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and 45 employees who identify as LGBTQ+, the lawsuit said.
Last year, the court declined to dismiss the lawsuit, rebuffing arguments from Disney that it has the right not to associate with talent who imbue the Star Wars series with views that could turn fans away from the show.
Potential witnesses in the case included Pedro Pascal, Jon Favreau, Bear Grylls, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy and Lynne Hale, the engineer of the publicity campaign behind Star Wars.
Carano’s full statement:
I have come to an agreement with Disney/Lucasfilm which I believe is the best outcome for all parties involved. I hope this brings some healing to the force.
I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit.
Thank you Mr. Musk and X for backing my case and asking for nothing in return.
To my lawyers at Schaerr|Jaffe who walked me through this unknown territory, thank you for your wisdom and guidance.
I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome.
I’d like to thank you all for your unrelenting support throughout my life and career, you’ve been the heartbeat that has kept my story alive. I hope to make you proud.
I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.
Yes, I’m smiling.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-lucasfilm-settle-lawsuit-gina-carano-mandalorian-firing-1236339825/
Washington State launches new LGBTQ Business Enterprise certification program
Washington state has launched the LGBTQ Business Enterprise program, offering free certification to help LGBTQ-owned businesses access government contracts.
The program, announced by Governor Bob Ferguson, aims to support the thriving and diverse business community in Washington by recognizing and aiding LGBTQ business owners.
“It’s a particularly important moment to show our support as a state for the LGBTQ community,” Governor Bob Ferguson said.
The Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (OMWBE) has been certifying small minority- and women-owned businesses since 1983 to participate in public contracting and procurement.
All OMWBE-certified businesses, including those in the new LGBTQ program, are listed in a certified business directory used by state agencies, educational institutions, and local governments to find small and diverse firms for business.
Washington state agencies are incentivized to contract directly with OMWBE-certified businesses, and OMWBE will start reporting on state spending with LGBTQ-owned businesses in 2026.OMWBE also offers free consultations and training to certified businesses.
Lekha Fernandes, Director of OMWBE, expressed excitement about partnering with the Washington State LGBTQ Commission to launch one of the nation’s first statewide LGBTQ Business Enterprise programs.“
This certification allows us to build business solutions that truly improve equity in public spending, by recognizing LGBTQ+ owned businesses in government contracting,” Fernandes said.
Matt Landers, Washington State LGBTQ Commissioner and Secretary, noted the significance of the program after more than a decade of advocacy from the community.
“We know that the LGBTQ+ community faces economic disparities, and this recognition — along with the ongoing work of many individuals and organizations from community — can help move the needle toward a fairer economy for all Washingtonians,” Landers said.
Lisa Keating, executive director of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission, highlighted the importance of reducing barriers and increasing access within state government.
“The LGBTQ+ Business Enterprise program is yet another example of the commitment Washington state has for improving the lives of 2SLGBTQIA+ Washingtonians,” Keating said.
The new program is expected to enhance economic opportunities for LGBTQ-owned businesses in Washington, fostering a more inclusive and equitable business environment.
LGBTQ Business Enterprise is one of several certifications in OMWBE’s State Certification program. Washington state also offers a certification for Veteran Owned Businesses.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/state-launches-lgbtq-business-enterprise-004024630.html
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Based SecDef Pete Hegseth retweets vid of pastor saying women shouldn't be allowed to vote
https://x.com/PeteHegseth/status/1953626931234054558
Mexico's Sheinbaum arrests 300 migrants moving from South to Northern Mexico
TAPACHULA, Mexico – Escorted by police and accompanied by a Catholic priest, about 300 migrants began walking north on Wednesday from southern Mexico, even as the activist who helped organize them remained in police custody over allegations of human trafficking.
On Tuesday, authorities arrested Luis García Villagrán, the leader of a local nongovernmental organization in the city of Tapachula, in the state of Chiapas, for alleged crimes related to his work with migrants.
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her daily news briefing on Wednesday that he was “not an activist” but was tied to trafficking people — and “that is the crime.”
Sheinbaum said there had been an arrest order pending for García Villagrán for years. It was not known why the outspoken and very public figure had not been arrested earlier.
Later Wednesday, Mexican authorities said in a statement that investigators had identified a network of migrant smugglers that used various organizations and foundations as a front to move migrants and drugs through Mexico. They did not provide any details.
The joint statement from the Attorney General’s Office and security forces said García Villagran’s alleged role was obtaining false documentation for migrants to allow them to cross Mexico.
The group of migrants that left Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala, was small in comparison to migrant caravans in years past. There has been very little movement of migrants in public since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January, though migration numbers had been falling even prior to that.
Those walking Wednesday said their goal was not to reach the United States, but rather central Mexico. They complained that they had been waiting for months to legalize their status or receive asylum.
In recent years, the Mexican government has worked to contain migrants in southern Mexico — far from the border with the U.S. At times, this strategy has swollen migrant numbers in Tapachula until hundreds set out walking in protest. Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest state and migrants complain there is little work or available housing.
On Wednesday, Johnny López of Ecuador walked with his wife and three children, including a baby born in Tapachula. They had waited in the southern city for the outcome of their asylum application, which was eventually rejected. Now they planned to travel to Mexico City, where López hopes to find work to support his family.
The migrants were escorted by immigration agents, police, marines and paramedics.
Heyman Vázquez, a Catholic priest who accompanied the migrants, called García Villagran’s arrest “unjust.”
Vázquez said it showed the Mexican government’s concern over migrant caravans, which he said would be resolved by making it easier for migrants to legalize their status.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/wireStory/300-migrants-start-walk-north-southern-mexico-goal-124419541
The Vigilant Fox 🦊
@VigilantFox
LOL: Stephen A. Smith delivers a brutally simple explanation for why 0% of Black people say they would vote for Pete Buttigieg.
Bill Maher was stunned by the number.
“Black voters, zero. Zero! You don’t usually see zero anywhere. Zero’s low!”
He asked Smith to explain why this is the case, and Smith’s blunt reply had Maher cracking up.
https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/1954024407686369324
NYC to shut down last migrant hotel after shelling out $170 million to crime-ridden shelter
It’s the end of an error.
New York City’s last-standing — and most notorious — migrant hotel will soon stop housing illegal border crossers, The Post has learned.
The once-four-star Row NYC hotel on Eighth Avenue in Midtown was repurposed in October 2022, so its 1,331 rooms could be used as a shelter while the Big Apple dealt with the crippling migrant crisis, but Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the city’s $5.13 million-a-month contract with the hotel won’t be renewed in April.
The deal has allowed the hotel — which is owned by Boston-based real estate titan Rockpoint Group — to already rake in more than $170 million.
It’s unclear what the future holds for the establishment, which once charged $414 to $435 per weeknight for standard rooms before becoming a shelter. Reps for the company did not return messages.
“We are proud to share that we will be closing another site — the Row Hotel, the last hotel in the city’s emergency shelter system — marking yet another major milestone in our administration’s recovery from this international humanitarian crisis,” Adams told The Post Friday.
The Row, which boasts on its website that it is “more New York than New York,” was the first hotel to be enlisted by the city to take in migrants after Adams declared the city’s existing homeless shelter system had reached a “breaking point.”
Since then, it’s been magnet for stabbings and other crimes, with rowdy Tren de Aragua-linked gangbangers among its tenants, including one 25-year-old Venezuelan migrant who allegedly broke into a Manhattan prosecutor’s apartment, robbed her at gunpoint and pleasured himself in front of her.
Other thugs staying there also attacked cops on numerous occasions, including a July 2024 incident where one officer was bitten and another had a moped hurled at them.
Workers there have also complained the hotel has become a wild “free-for-all” of sex, drugs and violence after the city began housing migrants there.
The Midtown South Precinct, that includes Row NYC and the Times Square area, has long had among the highest crime rates in the city. Although the precinct saw a nearly 10% decline in crime this year compared to 2024, burglaries are up nearly 16% and felony assaults 2%, NYPD data as of Aug. 3 show
The migrant crisis has cost city taxpayers more than $8 billion since spring 2022 to provide food, shelter and other services to over 238,000 migrants who flooded into the country because of former President Joe Biden’s lax border policies.
Local residents and workers in the Times Square business district hailed the news Saturday that the migrants would soon be leaving Row NYC.
“Hallelujah. I’m happy that it’s happening,” said a resident of The Camelot rental apartment complex across the street. “We pay a lot of money to live here, and it doesn’t seem fair.”
“There are people sitting here all day, littering, leaving food waste, water bottles…,” the resident said. “A lot of them have children, and there are women sitting around here smoking weed all day, the children are just playing on the street, on the bike lanes.
“It’s killed a lot of the business in this neighborhood. I would much rather see the Row filled with tourists who are supporting business rather than migrants who are draining it.”
Others who work for local businesses blamed the migrants’ arrival on declining profits, with one security guard saying he started wearing a wedding ring to fend off migrant hookers living at the hotel because they’ve propositioned him twice.
At its peak, NYC used 220 hotels and other contracted sites to house the newcomers.
As of June 25, 2024, the city was operating 193 migrant shelters of which 153, or nearly 80%, were former hotels and other lodging establishments like The Roosevelt in Midtown that were being subsidized by taxpayer dollars, according to an internal list active shelters then reviewed by The Post.
Others included houses of worship, recreation centers, and controversial pop-up “tent city” complexes, including one erected to house 3,000 migrants on Randall’s Island; nearly 2,000 at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn; and another 1,000 outside Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.
However, the city is now down to just four contracted shelters, with the Row NYC being the last remaining lodging establishment.
The Department of Homeless Services has slowly absorbed remaining migrants into the city-run shelter system, which as of last week was caring for 92,000 residents, including 35,400 migrants.
“Three years ago, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers began streaming into our city every week — and the Adams administration stepped up,” the mayor said Friday.
“We opened hundreds of emergency migrant shelters to ensure no family slept on the street. Since then, we have successfully helped more than 200,000 migrants leave our shelter system and take the next step toward self-sufficiency, the migrant population in our care continues to decline, and we have closed 64 emergency migrant sites, including all of our tent-based facilities.”
“We have skillfully and humanely managed a national humanitarian crisis — and have done what no other city could do,” he added.
https://nypost.com/2025/08/09/us-news/nyc-to-shut-down-last-migrant-hotel-after-shelling-out-170-million-to-crime-ridden-shelter/
NYC to shut down last migrant hotel after shelling out $170 million to crime-ridden shelter
It’s the end of an error.
New York City’s last-standing — and most notorious — migrant hotel will soon stop housing illegal border crossers, The Post has learned.
The once-four-star Row NYC hotel on Eighth Avenue in Midtown was repurposed in October 2022, so its 1,331 rooms could be used as a shelter while the Big Apple dealt with the crippling migrant crisis, but Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the city’s $5.13 million-a-month contract with the hotel won’t be renewed in April.
The deal has allowed the hotel — which is owned by Boston-based real estate titan Rockpoint Group — to already rake in more than $170 million.
It’s unclear what the future holds for the establishment, which once charged $414 to $435 per weeknight for standard rooms before becoming a shelter. Reps for the company did not return messages.
“We are proud to share that we will be closing another site — the Row Hotel, the last hotel in the city’s emergency shelter system — marking yet another major milestone in our administration’s recovery from this international humanitarian crisis,” Adams told The Post Friday.
The Row, which boasts on its website that it is “more New York than New York,” was the first hotel to be enlisted by the city to take in migrants after Adams declared the city’s existing homeless shelter system had reached a “breaking point.”
Since then, it’s been magnet for stabbings and other crimes, with rowdy Tren de Aragua-linked gangbangers among its tenants, including one 25-year-old Venezuelan migrant who allegedly broke into a Manhattan prosecutor’s apartment, robbed her at gunpoint and pleasured himself in front of her.
Other thugs staying there also attacked cops on numerous occasions, including a July 2024 incident where one officer was bitten and another had a moped hurled at them.
Workers there have also complained the hotel has become a wild “free-for-all” of sex, drugs and violence after the city began housing migrants there.
The Midtown South Precinct, that includes Row NYC and the Times Square area, has long had among the highest crime rates in the city. Although the precinct saw a nearly 10% decline in crime this year compared to 2024, burglaries are up nearly 16% and felony assaults 2%, NYPD data as of Aug. 3 show
The migrant crisis has cost city taxpayers more than $8 billion since spring 2022 to provide food, shelter and other services to over 238,000 migrants who flooded into the city because of former President Joe Biden’s lax border policies.
Local residents and workers in the Times Square business district hailed the news Saturday that the migrants would soon be leaving Row NYC.
“Hallelujah. I’m happy that it’s happening,” said a resident of The Camelot rental apartment complex across the street. “We pay a lot of money to live here, and it doesn’t seem fair.”
“There are people sitting here all day, littering, leaving food waste, water bottles…,” the resident said. “A lot of them have children, and there are women sitting around here smoking weed all day, the children are just playing on the street, on the bike lanes.
“It’s killed a lot of the business in this neighborhood. I would much rather see the Row filled with tourists who are supporting business rather than migrants who are draining it.”
Others who work for local businesses blamed the migrants’ arrival on declining profits, with one security guard saying he started wearing a wedding ring to fend off migrant hookers living at the hotel because they’ve propositioned him twice.
At its peak, NYC used 220 hotels and other contracted sites to house the newcomers.
As of June 25, 2024, the city was operating 193 migrant shelters of which 153, or nearly 80%, were former hotels and other lodging establishments like The Roosevelt in Midtown that were being subsidized by taxpayer dollars, according to an internal list active shelters then reviewed by The Post.
Others included houses of worship, recreation centers, and controversial pop-up “tent city” complexes, including one erected to house 3,000 migrants on Randall’s Island; nearly 2,000 at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn; and another 1,000 outside Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.
However, the city is now down to just four contracted shelters, with the Row NYC being the last remaining lodging establishment.
The Department of Homeless Services has slowly absorbed remaining migrants into the city-run shelter system, which as of last week was caring for 92,000 residents, including 35,400 migrants.
“Three years ago, thousands of migrants and asylum seekers began streaming into our city every week — and the Adams administration stepped up,” the mayor said Friday.
“We opened hundreds of emergency migrant shelters to ensure no family slept on the street. Since then, we have successfully helped more than 200,000 migrants leave our shelter system and take the next step toward self-sufficiency, the migrant population in our care continues to decline, and we have closed 64 emergency migrant sites, including all of our tent-based facilities.”
“We have skillfully and humanely managed a national humanitarian crisis — and have done what no other city could do,” he added.
https://nypost.com/2025/08/09/us-news/nyc-to-shut-down-last-migrant-hotel-after-shelling-out-170-million-to-crime-ridden-shelter/
"interesting" and the [y].
"interesting" and the [y].
Has POTUS made a statement found not to be true?
Nothing stated should be discounted.
B2 Boomer.
Maybe Azerbaijan gave Trump some closet skeletons.
Azerbaijan begins producing artillery shells for Ukrainian armed forces
Azerbaijan has begun serial production of 122 mm and 152 mm artillery shells intended for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as the war in Ukraine continues to intensify and Kyiv struggles with critical ammunition shortages.
Production is taking place at the Avia-Agregat plant in Baku, where industrial equipment supplied by Turkey’s Makin ve Kimya Endüstrisi Şirketi is currently being installed and calibrated. Two models—Lasko-1000 and Lasko-350 presses—are being adjusted to begin high-volume output of artillery components.
In parallel, officials from Azerbaijan’s military-industrial sector are in talks with Bulgarian defense manufacturer Rais. The negotiations aim to purchase and set up two production systems for artillery shell casings, further strengthening the country’s capacity to supply ammunition to Ukraine.
https://www.defensemirror.com/news/39983/Azerbaijan_Begins_Producing_Artillery_Shells_for_Ukrainian_Armed_Forces