The Political Thread

[Chris]

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html

The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the college to fall in line with the president’s agenda.

The administration notified Harvard about the decision after a back-and-forth in recent days over the legality of a sprawling records request as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation, according to three people with knowledge of the negotiations.

“I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked,” according to a letter sent to the university by Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary. A copy of the letter was obtained by The New York Times.

 

[Barry Poppins]

That's one way to kill education in the country, I guess.

 

[Chris]

Dunno if we have any hardcore penny loyalists here but I've been for this for ages since money has become more digital

https://www.wsj.com/finance/penny-coin-mint-ending-2026-b1717de0

The Treasury Department will stop putting new pennies into circulation by early next year. Afterward, there won’t be enough pennies to use in everyday cash transactions, and businesses will need to start rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents, the Treasury said in a statement.

 

[CraigPelton]

Latest

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/21/politics/individuals-connected-to-israeli-embassy-shot-in-dc-sources-says

Two Israeli Embassy staff members were shot and killed by a gunman who later yelled “Free Palestine!” while being arrested in Washington, DC, Wednesday night, authorities said.

The slain staffers, who the Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs named as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were a couple who officials say were soon to be engaged.

The two were attending an event for young professionals at the Capital Jewish Museum hosted by the American Jewish Committee. At around 9 p.m. outside the museum, they were approached by a gunman who opened fire and killed them, officials said.

The suspect, whom DC police identified as 30-year-old Chicago native Elias Rodriguez, pretended to be a bystander after the shooting, an eyewitness told CNN.

Their social medias were exposed. They were zealously pro-IDF genocidal freaks just like most Israeli Jews. They had it coming 100%, though it is obviously not helpful for the Palestinian cause. Now our pro-Israel media who couldn't give a shit for Palestinians being massacred en masse will use these killings to portray Israelis as victims and paint a narrative about "Jews being unsafe". Personally, I think if you are an open supporter of the Israeli government, let alone working in an official capacity for the genocidal ethnosupremacist apartheid state of Israel, you should fear for your life. You are the modern equivalent of a Nazi.

 

[Chris]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/05/22/us/israel-embassy-shooting-dc

The suspect in the shooting deaths of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington was charged with first-degree murder and other crimes on Thursday, according to an F.B.I. affidavit filed in federal court.

The defendant, Elias Rodriguez, told police officers, “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” when he was taken into custody after the shooting on Wednesday night, according to the affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

 

[Barry Poppins]

Dunno if we have any hardcore penny loyalists here but I've been for this for ages since money has become more digital

https://www.wsj.com/finance/penny-coin-mint-ending-2026-b1717de0

The Treasury Department will stop putting new pennies into circulation by early next year. Afterward, there won’t be enough pennies to use in everyday cash transactions, and businesses will need to start rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents, the Treasury said in a statement.

This is classic Abraham Lincoln erasure, Trump can't stand the fact black people are free, after all.