Volunteer rescuers describe horror at India plane crash site


ByAFP
June 13, 2025


Many of the first responders at the crash site were volunteers workimng in the neighbourhood - Copyright AFP Sam PANTHAKY

Aishwarya KUMAR

Volunteers who rushed to help after a passenger jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood of India’s Ahmedabad city described Friday the intense fireball they faced — and the challenge ahead to identify the bodies of at least 265 victims.

Bharat Solanki, 51, was working at a fuel station when the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — carrying 242 passengers and crew — took off from nearby Ahmedabad airport around lunchtime on Thursday.

Less than a minute later it ploughed into a residential area, bursting into searing flames with what residents described as an ear-splitting blast.

All but one aboard the plane was killed, and at least 24 others died on the ground.

Solanki and a couple of friends rushed to the site.

“We saw bodies everywhere — they were in pieces, fully burnt,” he said, recalling the horror of the scene.

“We took out dead bodies”, he said, adding that he also helped bring out those injured from the medical hostel and nearby buildings that the plane smashed into.

“Everywhere just bodies, parts, body parts. The bodies were totally burnt. It was like coal.”



– ‘Didn’t get a chance’ –



Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the crash site on Friday morning, called it a “scene of devastation”.

He was seen peering up at a fire-blackened multi-storey building with the plane’s wheels and tail embedded in a wall.

Authorities have set up DNA testing for relatives of passengers and those killed on the ground to identify the scorched bodies and body parts.

It may be weeks before a final death toll is confirmed.

Home Minister Amit Shah, speaking after visiting the crash site on Thursday, said the plane was carrying 125,000 litres (27,500 gallons) of fuel.

The “temperature was so high that one didn’t get a chance”, he said.

Air India said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.

Sona Prakash, who was close to the residential blocks of the medical accommodation, described how the “hostel was destroyed”, adding that “so many doctors were injured, so many died”.

Another witness, 35-year-old labourer Patani, who uses only one name, said those around him thought a bomb had gone off before they realised it was a plane crash.

“There was black smoke everywhere, plumes of smoke”, added Vinod Bhai, another labourer.

“The sky was only black, that’s how much smoke was there.”

Forensic teams are searching for the black box flight recorders that will detail the last moments of the flight for crash investigators.

India plane crash: What we know so far


By AFP
June 12, 2025


Authorities don't believe any of the 242 people on an Air India flight survived a plane crash - Copyright AFP Sam PANTHAKY

A London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner carrying 242 people crashed on Thursday in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, with all passengers and crew believed killed.

Here’s what we know so far:



– What happened? –



The Gatwick Airport-bound plane left Ahmedabad, the main city of India’s Gujarat state, with 242 people on board.

Air India’s flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed “immediately after takeoff”, around 1:40 pm (0810 GMT), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

Several videos posted on social media, which AFP was not able to immediately verify, showed an aircraft rapidly losing altitude — with its nose up — before it hit a building and exploded into a ball of fire.

Air India said the passengers included 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and a Canadian. Two pilots and 10 cabin crew were also aboard.



– Scenes of horror –



The plane smashed into a building in a crowded residential area of Ahmedabad, a city home to about eight million people.

At the site of the crash, an AFP journalist saw people recovering bodies and firefighters trying to douse the smouldering wreckage.

A resident, who declined to be named, said: “We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames.”

“When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” another resident, Poonam Patni, told AFP, adding that many of the bodies were burned.



– ‘No survivor’ –



A city police commissioner told AFP there “appears to be no survivor” and that since the plane had crashed in a residential area, he expected “more casualties”.

India’s aviation ministry deployed all aviation and emergency response agencies “to take swift and coordinated action”.

The airport was shut with all flights suspended until further notice.

The airline’s chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said an emergency centre had been activated and a support team set up for families seeking information.



– Boeing investigating the incident –



US planemaker Boeing said it was “working to gather more information” on the incident and that it was ready to support Air India.

A source close to the case said this was the first time a 787 Dreamliner had crashed.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the pride of the US company’s catalog for long-distance planes: a fuel-efficient, wide-body, lightweight aircraft able to transport up to 330 people.

Air India ordered 100 more Airbus planes last year after a giant contract in 2023 for 470 aircraft — 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing.


Flames and smoke in aftermath of crashed India passenger jet


ByAFP
June 12, 2025


This handout picturfrom the Central Industrial Security Force shows the tailpiece of the plane jutting from a building - Copyright CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORCE (CISF)/AFP Handout

Thick black plumes of acrid smoke towered high above India’s Ahmedabad airport Thursday after a London-bound passenger jet with 242 people aboard crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday.

Several videos posted on social media, which AFP was not able to immediately verify, showed an aircraft rapidly losing altitude — with its nose up — before it hit a building and exploded into an orange ball of fire.

An AFP reporter in the city said the plane crashed in an area between a hospital and the city’s Ghoda Camp neighbourhood.

Authorities said it went down outside the airport perimeter, in a crowded residential area, which local media said included a hostel where medical students and young doctors live.

“When we reached the spot there were several bodies lying around and firefighters were dousing the flames,” Poonam Patni told AFP.

“Many of the bodies were burned.”

Another resident, who declined to be named, said: “We saw people from the building jumping from the second and third floor to save themselves. The plane was in flames.

“We helped people get out of the building and sent the injured to the hospital.”

Air India’s flight 171 — a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, crashed shortly after takeoff around 1:40 pm (0810 GMT), officials said.

The passengers included 169 Indian nationals, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian. Two pilots and 10 cabin crew were also aboard.



– ‘Massive sound’ –



At the crash site, firefighters could be seen trying to control flames on the burning plane debris that also charred trees.

One video, from social media but posted by the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency, showed what appeared to be a chunk of fuselage — larger than a car — that had smashed onto the roof of a multi-storey building.

Photographs released by India’s Central Industrial Security Force, a paramilitary police force, showed a large chunk of the plane that had smashed through the brick and concrete wall of a building.

“I was at home when we heard a massive sound,” one Ahmedabad resident told PTI.

“When we went out to see what had happened, there was a layer of thick smoke in the air. When we came here, dead bodies and debris from the crashed aircraft were scattered all over.”

Outside Ahmedabad airport, a woman wailing inconsolably in grief said that five of her relatives had been aboard the plane.

Rescue teams comb site of Air India crash that killed at least 265


By AFP
June 12, 2025


The tailpiece of the crashed Air India Dreamliner juts from a building in Ahmedabad - Copyright AFP Sam PANTHAKY

Aishwarya KUMAR

Rescue teams with sniffer dogs combed the crash site Friday of a London-bound passenger jet which ploughed into a residential area of India’s Ahmedabad city, killing at least 265 people on board and on the ground.

One man aboard the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner — carrying 242 passengers and crew — miraculously survived Thursday’s fiery crash, which left the tailpiece of the aircraft jutting out of the second floor of a hostel for medical staff from a nearby hospital.

The nose and front wheel landed on a canteen building where students were having lunch, witnesses said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kanan Desai said that 265 bodies had so far been counted — suggesting at least 24 people died on the ground — but the toll may rise as more bodies and body parts are recovered.

“The official number of deceased will be declared only after DNA testing is completed”, Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement late Thursday, adding that “families whose relatives are abroad have already been informed, and their DNA samples will be taken”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the crash of Air India flight 171 as “heartbreaking beyond words”.

The airline said there were 169 Indian passengers, 53 British, seven Portuguese, and a Canadian on board the flight bound for London’s Gatwick airport, as well as 12 crew members.

Air India said the sole survivor from the plane — a British national of Indian origin who local media named as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh — was being treated in hospital.

“He said, ‘I have no idea how I exited the plane'”, his brother Nayan Kumar Ramesh, 27, told Britain’s Press Association in Leicester.



– ‘Last call –



In Ahmedabad, disconsolate relatives of passengers gathered Friday at an emergency centre to give DNA samples so their loved ones could be identified.

Ashfaque Nanabawa, 40, said he had come to find his cousin Akeel Nanabawa, who had been aboard with his wife and three-year-old daughter. They had spoken as his cousin sat in the plane, just before takeoff.

“He called us and he said: ‘I am in the plane and I have boarded safely and everything was okay’. That was his last call.”

One woman, too grief-stricken to give her name, said her son-in-law had been killed.

“My daughter doesn’t know that he’s no more”, she said, wiping away tears.

“I can’t break the news to her, can someone else do that please?”

The plane crashed less than a minute after takeoff, around lunchtime Thursday, after lifting barely 100 metres from the ground.

The plane issued a mayday call and “crashed immediately after takeoff”, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

Ahmedabad, the main city in India’s Gujarat state, is home to around eight million people and its busy airport is surrounded by densely packed residential areas.

“One half of the plane crashed into the residential building where doctors lived with their families,” said Krishna, a doctor who did not give his full name.

US planemaker Boeing said it was in touch with Air India and stood “ready to support them” over the incident, which a source close to the case said was the first crash for a 787 Dreamliner.

The UK and US air accident investigation agencies announced they were dispatching teams to support their Indian counterparts.

Tata Group, owners of Air India, offered financial aid of 10 million rupees ($117,000) to “the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy”, as well as funds to cover medical expenses of those injured.



– Rapid growth –



India has suffered a series of fatal air crashes, including a 1996 disaster when two jets collided mid-air over New Delhi, killing nearly 350 people.

In 2010, an Air India Express jet crashed and burst into flames at Mangalore airport in southwest India, killing 158 of the 166 passengers and crew on board.

Experts said it was too early to speculate on what may have caused Thursday’s crash.

“It is very unlikely that the plane was overweight or carrying too much fuel,” said Jason Knight, senior lecturer in fluid mechanics at the University of Portsmouth.

“The aircraft is designed to be able to fly on one engine, so the most likely cause of the crash is a double engine failure. The most likely cause of a double engine failure is a bird strike.”

India’s airline industry has boomed in recent years with Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), last month calling it “nothing short of phenomenal”.

The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

Boeing Jet Crashes Weeks After 'Sweetheart Deal' With Trump DOJ to Avoid Criminal Prosecution


"If Trump's DOJ hadn't worked out a deal to help Boeing avoid going to trial for its crimes, that trial would be starting on Monday."


A view of the site where a Boeing plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India's western state of Gujarat on June 12, 2025.
(Photo: Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Jun 12, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner jet carrying 242 passengers and crew members crashed in a residential area in western India shortly after takeoff on Thursday afternoon local time, a catastrophic incident that occurred weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump's Justice Department cut a deal allowing the aircraft manufacturer to avoid criminal responsibility for two deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019.

"If Trump's DOJ hadn't worked out a deal to help Boeing avoid going to trial for its crimes, that trial would be starting on Monday," Public Citizen researcher Rick Claypool pointed out following the crash.

The cause of the crash wasn't immediately clear, and Boeing said in a statement that it was "working to gather more information." India's health minister said that "many people" were killed when the London-bound plane crashed on the campus of a local medical college, and a local police commissioner told reporters that no one who was aboard the jet appeared to have survived.

(Update: It was later reported that at least one passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived.)

India's minister of civil aviation wrote on social media that "rescue teams have been mobilized, and all efforts are being made to ensure medical aid and relief support are being rushed to the site."

The crash was believed to be the first deadly incident involving the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a wide-body aircraft that entered commercial service in 2011.

Boeing's stock plummeted following news of the crash, which is certain to heighten scrutiny of the company's safety record.

Whistleblowers and experts have accused Boeing of cutting corners on safety to meet production quotas and maximize profits. Last year, an engineer who worked on the 787 Dreamliner told members of Congress that Boeing was "taking shortcuts" to "speed up production and delivery" of the jet.

"Boeing adopted these shortcuts in its production processes based on faulty engineering and faulty evaluation of available data, which has allowed potentially defective parts and defective installations in 787 fleet," the engineer, Sam Salehpour, alleged in written testimony presented to a Senate committee in April 2024.

"This isn't just a betrayal of the victims and their families, but sends a chilling message: Even the most egregious corporate misconduct will be tolerated if a company is powerful enough and backs the right administration."

Last month, Boeing—a major federal contractor in the U.S.—reached what critics decried as a "sweetheart deal" with the Trump Justice Department to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading American regulators about the 737 MAX, two of which crashed in 2018 and 2019, killing nearly 350 people in total.

Boeing, which donated $1 million to U.S. President Donald Trump's inaugural fund, agreed to pay $1.1 billion in exchange for avoiding criminal responsibility.

"The deal marks one of the most shocking lapses of criminal enforcement against a major corporation in memory," Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said after the deal was announced. "The Trump administration touts how it is tough on crime, but when it comes to the world's most powerful institutions, it is an all-time patsy."

William McGee, a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, said earlier this month that "more than six years after two horrific Boeing 737 MAX accidents claimed 346 lives, the Trump DOJ is letting the company pay its way out of any accountability."

"Despite a trove of new evidence from whistleblowers, inspectors, and aviation experts, and even after another terrifying MAX incident last year, the Trump-Vance admin is once again siding with a massive and politically-connected corporation over public safety," said McGeen. "This isn't just a betrayal of the victims and their families, but sends a chilling message: Even the most egregious corporate misconduct will be tolerated if a company is powerful enough and backs the right administration."

787 Dreamliner is Boeing’s flagship long-distance plane


By AFP
June 12, 2025


Boeing's 787 Dreamliners were dogged by quality issues a couple of years ago, prompting US authorities to step up checks - Copyright AFP Sam PANTHAKY

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner that crashed in India on Thursday is the pride of the US company’s catalogue for long-distance planes: a fuel-efficient, wide-body aircraft able to transport up to 330 people.



– Lightweight –



After first entering service in October 2011, with Japan’s All Nippon Airways, 2,598 of the planes have been ordered by more than 80 airlines around the world, with 889 still awaiting delivery.

Its appeal is its lightweight structure, half of which is made from composite materials, allowing it to burn up to 20 percent less fuel over long distances than older, equivalent-sized passenger planes.

It can be used for “point-to-point” services, meaning it can fly direct to a destination instead of relying on a “hub” system used by heavier aircraft.

Boeing says the use of the 787 has opened up 180 such “point-to-point” routes, more than the 80 initially banked upon.



– Three versions –



There are currently three versions of the 787: the 787-8, which can carry up to 248 passengers over distances up to 13,530 kilometres (8,400 miles); the 787-9, carrying up to 296 passengers up to 14,010 kilometres; and the 787-10, with up to 330 passengers, up to 11,910 kilometres.

The one that went down in Ahmedabad, India on Thursday was the 787-8 version, carrying 242 passengers and crew. It was scheduled to fly to London, but crashed shortly after taking off from the western Indian city.

Boeing said it was “aware” of the reports of of the crash and was “working to gather more information”.

It was the first deadly crash of a 787 Dreamliner.



– Boeing setbacks –



Boeing’s programme for the plane had suffered several setbacks, including repeated and costly delivery suspensions between 2021 and 2023, mainly due to assembly faults and manufacturing quality issues.

The US Federal Aviation Administration ended up reinforcing quality assurance checks and inspections on the production lines.

In April this year, the FAA authorised Boeing to step up its production pace to make seven planes a month, from five previously.

In terms of sales, Boeing is facing headwinds.

The manufacturer did not deliver any aircraft to China in May, despite having a green light from Beijing, which the month before had temporarily barred Chinese airlines from dealing with the company because of the trade war unleashed by Washington.

Air India crash latest test for new Boeing leadership

By AFP
June 12, 2025


This handout photograph from the Central Industrial Security Force shows the back of an Air India passenger plane after the Boeing jet crashed in a residential area near the airport in Ahmedabad, India 

- Copyright CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORCE (CISF)/AFP Handout

John BIERS

The devastating Air India crash seems certain to embroil Boeing in further rounds of negative headlines at a time when it has shown progress under new leadership.

Shares of the American plane manufacturer slumped more than four percent Thursday as the pope, King Charles and the president of India expressed sorrow over the Boeing 787 Dreamliner carrying 242 people.

Boeing pledged to support a probe.

“We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them,” the company said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected.”

The crash comes just before aerospace giants converge at Le Bourget Airport for next week’s Paris Air Show, a major industry gathering attended by Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg and other top executives.

Prior to Thursday’s calamity, industry insiders expected the focus at Le Bourget to include the aviation sector’s adaptation to trade tensions, the latest state-of-the-art flying technologies and the outlook for any improvement in the supply chain that has slowed deliveries from Boeing and rival Airbus.

But the crash is also certain to be a major topic of conversation, a source of speculation as sobriety.

“A week from now there probably will be one or two operating hypothesis of what happened that people at the show and the public will be talking about,” said Morningstar analyst Nicolas Owens, who noted that investigations into crashes normally take “several months” and typically involve multiple factors.

Only time will tell what the accident means for Boeing, but Owens still expects the company to rack up additional 787 orders next week in Paris.

“It’s highly improbable that people conclude that it’s a systemic problem with the engine or the plane,” he said.



– MAX crashes different –



Air India’s flight 171 issued a mayday call and crashed “immediately after takeoff,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said.

British and US investigators were en route to western India for a probe expected to involve reviews of flight data, maintenance records and the background of the crew.

The ill-fated plane was delivered to Air India in 2014 and had more than 41,000 hours of flying time, according to consultancy Cirium.

That makes Thursday’s tragedy different from the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that involved planes Boeing had only recently delivered to airlines.

A central factor in both MAX crashes was the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS), a flight handling system that badly malfunctioned, pointing to design flaws.

The MAX crashes plunged Boeing into a years-long slump extended by fresh safety problems early in 2024. Boeing has reported annual losses the last six years.

Available video of the Air India crash suggests “some form of power or flight control loss,” said Robert Clifford, a Chicago attorney representing some family members of the 346 MAX victims.

“The Indian government investigators should have flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder information within a couple of days that will provide vital information.”

Since introducing the Dreamliner into service in 2011, Boeing has had to do some rework, mainly due to assembly faults and manufacturing quality issues.

The plane was also scrutinized in an April 2024 US Senate hearing that aired criticism from a whistleblower who testified that he was blackballed after reporting serious manufacturing defects on the 787 and the 777.

But Thursday marked the first deadly crash of a 787 Dreamliner, a plane that has enjoyed a strong reputation within the industry.

On May 29, Ortberg told a financial conference that the recent approval by US aviation authorities to allow increased 787 output was “an important milestone” in the company’s comeback.

Ortberg, who relocated to Seattle to be closer to key manufacturing operations, has generally won plaudits from aviation watchers since joining in August 2024, navigating Boeing through a labor strike and joining President Donald Trump’s Middle East delegation.

Richard Aboulafia, managing director at consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory, said there is no indication of a 787 design flaw.

“There’s inevitably fear,” Aboulafia said of Thursday’s stock market reaction.

“It’s a tragedy but it’s unlikely to affect perceptions of the 787 because there’s nothing known at this point and it’s got a very good record,” he said.


India and its vast booming aviation sector


ByAFP
June 12, 2025


An airplane flies over Chennai in India in June. The aviation sector in India has grown at rapid pace in recent years - Copyright AFP R.Satish BABU

Anuj SRIVAS

Air India’s London-bound flight 171 that crashed on Thursday with 242 people on board was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, part of India’s bold push to radically expand its air industry sector.

The growth of its economy has made India and its 1.4 billion people the world’s fourth-largest air market — domestic and international — with IATA projecting it will become the third biggest within the decade.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called the crash “heartbreaking beyond words”, has made the development of the air sector a priority since coming to power in 2014.

Modi, who has said he wants to “bring air travel to the common people”, began a plan in 2016 to boost air links between small towns and megacities in the world’s most populous nation.

“A common man who travels in slippers should also be seen in the aircraft — this is my dream,” Modi was quoted as saying by the aviation ministry at the time.

Air India, the country’s former national carrier, was taken over by the Tata Group in 2022.

The sprawling salt-to-software conglomerate has since sought to turn around the airline by ordering new aircraft and upgrading its existing fleet.

The airline currently operates a fleet of over 190 planes, according to latest available data on its website, including 58 Boeing aircraft.

Over the last two years it has placed orders for 570 new aircraft.

In September 2024, Air India kicked off a $400 million refit programme to revamp 67 legacy aircraft in its fleet.

The airline’s global network spans 31 countries across five continents, connecting India with destinations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The airline says it operates about 5,000 flights a week “to and from 49 destinations within India and 43 destinations outside of India”.

Domestic air passengers have more than doubled in the past decade, according to government figures, as Indian airlines quickly ramp up their fleets.

This has partly helped the number of airports more than double in the past decade — from 74 in 2014 to 157 in 2024, according to ministry figures.

The government is pouring in millions of dollars and is promising to increase the number of airports to between 350 and 400 by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence.

At the same time, the government has opened programmes to train some 30,000 pilots and at least as many mechanics over the next 20 years.

Latest GM investments in US in line with slowing EV demand: exec


By AFP
June 11, 2025


General Motors announced plans to add capacity in Tennessee to build the Chevrolet Blazer, which is currently imported from Mexico and subject to US tariffs under President Trump's policies - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File SCOTT OLSON

General Motors’ latest $4 billion investment into US factories in light of tariffs fits with the auto giant’s shift towards slower growth of electric vehicles, a top GM executive said Wednesday.

GM late Tuesday announced plans to invest $4 billion over two years to expand production of plants in Michigan, Kansas and Tennessee, making use of unused capacity in its home market as President Donald Trump’s tariffs penalize imports of finished vehicles.

At a financial conference Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson emphasized that the investments also come as GM sees robust US demand for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and slowing growth in EVs compared with the outlook a few years ago.

“This is a great example of how we can pivot, how we can adjust, how we can be resilient in the face of an environment that’s changing around us,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson said GM had revised its plan for the Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, which had been envisioned as a home to new EV investments but would instead build ICE sport-utility vehicles and pickups.

On Orion, “we had planned for that to be a big EV plant, as we were thinking about rapid expansion of electric vehicles, and clearly we haven’t seen that happen,” Jacobson said.

The other two plants will be capable of producing both ICE and EV vehicles, depending on how demand evolves.

GM’s announcement added capacity for the Chevrolet Equinox in Kansas and the Chevrolet Blazer in Tennessee. Both of those vehicles are currently imported to the United States from Mexico, exposing them to a 25 percent tariff following Trump’s policies.

The announcements mean GM will build about 300,000 more vehicles in the United States, Jacobson said.

GM’s announcement was applauded by the United Auto Workers, which has backed some of Trump’s trade policies while urging automakers to shift production to the United States, where many plants are underutilized.

“GM’s decision to invest billions in American plants and prioritize US workers is exactly why we spoke up in favor of these auto tariffs,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.

“The writing is on the wall: the race to the bottom is over,” Fain said. “We have excess manufacturing capacity at our existing plants, and auto companies can easily bring good union jobs back to the US.”

Shares of GM were up 2.6 percent in late-morning trading.

'Bleachers are back!' Support for ingesting toxic chemicals explodes under Trump

Sarah K. Burris
June 9, 2025   

RAW STORY

Online communities that advocate the use of a "toxic bleach solution" to treat diseases like cancer, HIV, and even prevent things like autism think they have finally found an ally who will listen to them: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

For years, the Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about the dangers of using chlorine dioxide to fight illness. The FDA had long issued a warning against it, but in May, that warning disappeared — and so-called "bleachers" are excited that it could be a sign, Wired's David Gilbert reported Monday.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump was ridiculed after he suggested injecting bleach to fight off the virus.

"And then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks it out in one minute," Trump said after suggesting ultraviolet light be "brought inside the body" could fight the virus. "And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning, because you see it gets in the lungs and it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it’d be interesting to check that, so that you’re going to have to use medical doctors with, but it sounds interesting to me. So, we’ll see, but the whole concept of the light, the way it kills it in one minute. That’s pretty powerful."

Michelle Herman, who sells chlorine dioxide in a nasal spray, told Wired, “We are thrilled that RFK Jr is in charge."

The report said that she was photographed "along with other bleach enthusiasts and activists" at an event at Trump's Doral resort in Miami.

There are several different names for chlorine dioxide, Gilbert explained. "Miracle Mineral Solution, Chlorine Dioxide Solution, Water Purification Solution, and God’s Detox," to name a few. It has been a cure-all since the mid-1990s, though there's no evidence of that.

Kennedy hasn't specifically promoted chlorine dioxide or bleach for any cures, but he did reference it when he talked about Trump "looking at all of the different remedies” for COVID.

“The bleachers are back, making connections with powerful people, reaching RFK and Trump,” lamented Ireland-based activist Fiona O’Leary, who has children with autism. She's been fighting the "bleachers" for years.

“Bleachers want RFK to approve chlorine dioxide as a treatment for autism, cancer, and other conditions. It is like watching a horror show," she said.

Having the warning removed was called a "huge boon" for activists "promoting the toxic bleach solution," the report said. But it's also a "first step" in part of a broader effort to mainstream chlorine dioxide.

Herman wants to see the Trump administration hold a roundtable to discuss researching chlorine dioxide and creating standards.

“We know that there is awareness and support for repurposed drugs and what are termed ‘alternative’ therapies, and we hope that the restraints and prosecutions will cease,” Herman said when speaking to Wired.

Meanwhile, scientists have been speaking out about it "for more than a decade now," said O’Leary.

Read the full report at Wired.

'Damage': WSJ's conservative editors scorch RFK and his 'eccentric' new crew

Matthew Chapman
June 12, 2025
RAW STORY

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)


The Wall Street Journal editorial board trashed Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for appointing a slew of anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists to one of the nation's most important vaccine advisory boards in a blistering takedown published on Thursday evening.

"We didn’t think anyone could do more to damage trust in public health institutions than Anthony Fauci, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is giving it a whirl," wrote the board. "See the eccentric crew the Health and Human Services Secretary has tapped to advise the department on vaccines."

Kennedy announced this month he was dismissing all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), a vaccine panel for the Centers for Disease Control that sets childhood vaccine schedules and determines which vaccines are covered under the federal vaccine injury compensation program.

Now, he has announced the people who will replace them — almost none of whom have actual experience with vaccines.

"Two of his new members have served as 'expert' witnesses paid by plaintiff attorneys in lawsuits against vaccine makers. Conflicts, anyone?" wrote the board. "Biostatistician Martin Kulldorff backed claims against Merck over its HPV vaccine. Mr. Kennedy held a financial stake in one of the cases, which after he became secretary he bestowed to his son, who works at the law firm suing Merck, Wisner Baum." He also appointed biochemist Robert Malone, who opposes COVID mRNA vaccination, and "served as a paid expert in litigation against Merck’s mumps vaccine, which was rejected by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Dr. Malone has downplayed the Texas measles outbreak and said two deaths of unvaccinated children owed to medical errors."

One of Kennedy's appointments, Retsef Levi, isn't even involved in medicine or biology, but is a business school professor at MIT, a sharp break from the practice of appointing doctors to ACIP.

"The secretary appears to have picked some vaccine advisers out of a Make America Healthy Again hat," the board jabbed. "Take Joseph Hibbeln, a nutritional neuroscientist whose research focus is omega-3 fatty acids. Another is emergency medicine physician James Pagano, who has written two novels and denounced a study finding that ivermectin was an ineffective Covid treatment."

The board noted that the only one of the appointees with any actual vaccine experience is Cody Meissner, a pediatrician who has advised other government vaccine panels and has promoted the benefits of immunization. "Consider him the committee’s contrarian," they continued.

"Mr. Kennedy claimed in his op-ed in these pages that reconstituting the advisory committee would restore public trust in vaccines," the board concluded. "He’s on a path to do the opposite."

'Clean sweep!' RFK ousts CDC's vaccine advisors to 'earn back' public trust

Sarah K. Burris
June 9, 2025   

RAW STORY

A pharmacist looks through a microscope. (Shutterstock)

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. penned an announcement in the Wall Street Journal opinion section that he forced the “retiring” of all 17 members of a panel of crucial government vaccine advisors in a dubious attempt to "restore public trust in vaccines."

"Vaccines have become a divisive issue in American politics," he wrote, "but there is one thing all parties can agree on: The U.S. faces a crisis of public trust. Whether toward health agencies, pharmaceutical companies or vaccines themselves, public confidence is waning."

In fact, most Americans aren't divided on vaccines. A 2024 health survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania showed "28% of survey respondents mistakenly believed that COVID-19 vaccines have caused thousands of deaths, up from 22% in June 2021."


In the survey, about 66% of Americans viewed the COVID-19 vaccine as safe. Meanwhile, an exceptionally high number of Americans have faith in other vaccines, "MMR (81% safe, 83% effective), flu (81%, 75%), shingles (78%, 73%), and pneumonia (74%, 69%)."

Kennedy claimed, "Under my direction, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is putting the restoration of public trust above any pro- or antivaccine agenda. The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies. This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible."

To do that, he's removing all of the members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), claiming it's a "reconstitution" of the panel.

Kennedy revealed that usually, a president wouldn't be able to appoint new members until 2028 because they're appointed for a non-partisan four-year term. Under President Donald Trump, however, they're getting around it by eliminating everyone.

"ACIP evaluates the safety, efficacy and clinical need of the nation’s vaccines and passes its findings on to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Kennedy said. He claims that they all have conflicts of interest and have "become little more than a rubber stamp." They're required to disclose all conflicts of interest publicly, and it's displayed online.

Kennedy cited an investigation from 25 years ago to allege corruption.

“The public must know that unbiased science—evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest—guides the recommendations of our health agencies,” Kennedy continued.

He concluded: "A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science. In the 1960s, the world sought guidance from America’s health regulators, who had a reputation for integrity, scientific impartiality and zealous defense of patient welfare. Public trust has since collapsed, but we will earn it back."

As CNBC explained, the agencies and advisory panels "have had rigorous policies for conflicts of interest, and there have been no related issues for years."

Yet, over the years, Kennedy has been criticized for his significant changes to immunization practices since taking over HHS. Meanwhile, scientists, public health experts, and physicians have been critical that Kennedy is undermining confidence in vaccines.

As one health policy expert previously told CNBC, firing the advisory committee could "produce politicized recommendations that highlight the harms rather than the benefits of shots."

For the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe in vaccines, the new panel's "recommendations could also create greater distrust in the CDC and Trump administration among scientists and public health experts."

‘Mouthpiece for the Kremlin’: Rubio scorched for ‘Russia Day’ congratulations

David Badash, 

The New Civil Rights Movement
June 12, 2025 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on U.S. President Donald Trump's State Department budget request for the Department of State, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is being sharply criticized for his message to the Russian people, congratulating them on “Russia Day.” While it is common for the Department of State to issue such proclamations to various nations, they are typically issued with a purpose—to inform, and to advance American interests, including democracy. Secretary Rubio appears to have chosen a different approach than his predecessors, ignoring the war crimes Russia stands accused of committing.

“On behalf of the American people, I want to congratulate the Russian people on Russia Day,” Rubio’s short statement begins.

“The United States remains committed to supporting the Russian people as they continue to build on their aspirations for a brighter future. We also take this opportunity to reaffirm the United States’ desire for constructive engagement with the Russian Federation to bring about a durable peace between Russia and Ukraine. It is our hope that peace will foster more mutually beneficial relations between our countries.”

By contrast, for example, during the Biden era, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made very clear in his 2022 message to the people of the Russian Federation what their President and government were actually doing.

“Russian citizens, like people everywhere, deserve to live their lives free of repression and to be able to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms without fear of retribution,” Secretary Blinken wrote. “This includes being able to voice their opinions and peacefully participate in civil and political activities in their own country.”

Blinken accused the Kremlin of having “intensified its crackdown against civil society and independent media,” while lamenting that “many Russian citizens are behind bars for the ‘crime’ of speaking truth to power,” which he described as “internal repression.”

He also told them that the “Kremlin is waging an unprovoked and unjustified war against a sovereign, neighboring state. Russia’s government is attempting to keep its citizens in the dark about the atrocities it is committing against the people of Ukraine.”

“The Kremlin’s war, he continued, “has left Russia isolated internationally, and it is robbing Russian citizens of the possibility of building a better future in harmony with their neighbors. This isolation is not inevitable, but results from the decisions of Russia’s leaders.”

The Atlantic Council, an American think tank, in February wrote: Russia stands accused of committing a vast array of crimes in Ukraine. Russians have allegedly engaged in the systematic targeting of Ukrainian civilians with the bombardment of civilian homes, infrastructure, churches, and schools. Alleged Russian crimes also include rape, torture, mass trafficking of adults and children, forcible disappearances, and the execution of surrendering Ukrainian soldiers.”

Critics blasted Secretary Rubio.

Calling the Secretary “just another mouthpiece for the Kremlin,” Professor of Economics Roman Sheremeta wrote that the “greeting from Marco Rubio on ‘russia day’ — a country waging a genocidal war against Ukraine — is an insult to the millions of Ukrainians who suffer daily from russian aggression.”

“Let’s be clear,” Professor Sheremeta continued, “this isn’t about ‘supporting the russian people.’ It’s about legitimizing a regime that kills, deports, tortures, and bombs civilians every day. A regime that is still committing genocide.”

Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis, a Russia expert, wrote that “Rubio’s State Department sending congratulations on Russia National Day and pining for better relations” was “an unusual way of condemning Russia’s invasion.”

Former Ukraine government official Olena Tregub is the co-founder of an anti-corruption non-governmental organization.

“A few months ago,” she wrote, “I got an email from Secretary of State Marco Rubio: our work was suspended – not in the U.S. national interest. Today, another email: congratulations to Russia on its National Day. As a Ukrainian, I got the message loud and clear.”

Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, asked: “Can you imagine the U.S. Secretary of State in 1943 congratulating Nazi Germany and wishing them a bright future?”

Department Of Homeland Security Predator B Drones Are Orbiting Over Los Angeles

Department of Homeland Security is using its most powerful and persistent eyes in the sky as part of its response to the unrest in Los Angeles.


Howard Altman, Joseph Trevithick
Updated Jun 11, 2025 

The TWZ News

thewarzone.com

CBP

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been flying its Predator B drones, also commonly referred to by their military variant designation of MQ-9 Reapers, over Los Angeles as part of the U.S. government’s response to the unrest there, the agency confirmed to us on Wednesday. The flights are in response to protests that escalated to violence on multiple occasions, following a massive operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last Friday.

Persistent aerial surveillance like this has long been controversial, with civil rights advocates saying it violates the right to privacy and undermines the Constitution. At the same time, the fact that a drone is doing it largely evokes a uniquely upsetting response. While using the Predator Bs over urban locales is rare, it’s not unprecedented, and manned platforms do this kind of work every day across the country.


CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) “MQ-9 Predators are supporting our federal law enforcement partners in the Greater Los Angeles area, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with aerial support of their operations,” spokesman John Mennell told us Wednesday afternoon in response to our query earlier this week. “Additionally, they are providing officer safety surveillance when requested by officers. AMO is not engaged in the surveillance of First Amendment activities.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that its Predator B drones have been flying over Los Angeles in connection to the unrest there.(CBP) CBP

CBP had been mum about the issue for days, even though open-source reporting on social media had already presented compelling evidence of the drones’ orbits. On June 9, user @Aeroscout on X posted air traffic control (ATC) audio stating that two “Q-9s” – call signs TROY 703 and TROY 701, had passed each other in airspace over Yuma, Arizona, as one was replacing the other over Los Angeles. @Aeroscout had previously posted ATC audio of TROY 701 checking in on Los Angeles Center Sector 09. A short time later, Alaska Flight 1020 was given a traffic advisory for “drone traffic.”

While there has not yet been any explicit identification of the “Q-9s” as CBP Predator Bs, TROY is a known Department of Homeland Security (DHS) callsign. TROY 314, a CBP Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) based on the Beechcraft King Air 350ER twin-engine turboprop, and a CBP Black Hawk helicopter using the callsign TROY 212, were also tracked over Los Angeles this weekend.

Furthermore, plane trackers using online software first began noticing aircraft flying hexagonal patterns over Los Angeles on Sunday. Though not always the case, this is indicative of CBP Predator B surveillance patterns observed in the past. This includes the use of one of the CBP Q-9s over Minneapolis back in 2020.

CBP has MQ-9s at three locations: the National Air Security Operations Centers in Sierra Vista, Arizona (located on Fort Huachuca), San Angelo in Texas, and Grand Forks in North Dakota.

What specific version or versions of the CBP Predator B have been flying over Los Angeles is unclear. The TROY 701 callsign was tied to a particular tail number, CBP-113, back in April, but it is not clear if that same drone has been using the callsign in the past few days.

CBP-113 is what CBP has referred to in the past as a Guardian Maritime Mission version of the Q-9, which features a Raytheon SeaVue multi-mode radar under the central fuselage, and includes surface search and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery modes. SAR images are highly detailed maps of the surface below, which can be produced day or night, despite any cloud cover, smoke, or dust. Guardian Maritime Mission drones also have electro-optical and infrared full-motion video cameras in a turret under the nose, as well as data links capable of sending imagery and radar tracks back to control stations on the ground in near real-time.

A briefing slide discussing the features of the Guardian Maritime Mission version of the Predator B that CBP operates. CBP

CBP’s Predator B fleet, which consists of around eight drones, includes at least two other versions. There are baseline types that feature the same sensor turret as the Guardian Maritime Mission versions, but with a smaller Lynx SAR-capable radar rather than the more powerful SeaVue. It is also worth noting here that these drones, as well as CBP Predator B in general, are sometimes confusingly referred to as Predator Bs. This is a holdover from manufacturer General Atomics’ original nomenclature for the drone, which evolved from the iconic MQ-1 Predator A. One of these Predator Bs was identified as the type that flew over Minneapolis in 2020.

Another briefing slide with details about the capabilities of CBP’s baseline ‘Predator Bs.’ CBP

CBP also has a variant that blends features of the other two types. All CBP Predator Bs are unarmed, but can carry additional podded sensors under their wings.

Multi-role versions of the Predator B are also known to be in CBP’s fleet, as discussed here. CBP

The drones are part of a much larger response to the ongoing unrest, as protesters clashed with law enforcement who appeared to use tear gas and fired non-lethal rounds toward some groups of demonstrators. Some rioters pelted the LA police with rocks.

Responding to President Donald Trump’s directives, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) on Monday said it was activating a Marine infantry battalion that was placed in an alert status over the weekend.

“Approximately 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area,” the command said in a statement.

The activation of the Marines “is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,” the statement continued.

Task Force 51 “is U.S. Army North’s Contingency Command Post, which provides a rapidly deployable capability to partner with civil authorities and DoD entities in response to Homeland Defense and Homeland Security Operations. It is commanded by Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman.”

Task Force 51 is comprised of approximately 2,100 National Guard soldiers in a Title 10 status and 700 active-duty Marines. “Task Force 51 forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force,” NORTHCOM explained.

The activation of Marines follows a directive Trump issued Saturday, invoking a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard, The Associated Press reported.

CNN reported that as of Wednesday, the 700 Marines mobilized by the Pentagon had not yet been sent to Los Angeles and are still training, according to Sherman.

“Meanwhile, approximately 2,000 National Guard troops are currently on active duty and helping ICE agents during demonstrations, Sherman said,” according to the network. “An additional 2,000 Guard members will be ready for duty Thursday afternoon, Sherman added.”


California Gov. Gavin Newsom has decried Trump’s response, as you can see in the following video posted by CBS News

.


There is precedent for the use of these unarmed surveillance assets to watch over large demonstrations. As we reported at the time, and noted earlier in this piece, a Predator B orbited around Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May 2020 as the city saw increasingly violent protests in response to the killing of resident George Floyd while he was being arrested by members of the Minneapolis Police Department.

The use of persistent aerial surveillance for law enforcement purposes has long been a controversial topic. Civil liberties advocates say these and other mass surveillance activities violate rights to personal privacy and undermine constitutional protections against unlawful searches.

On Wednesday, CBP attempted to address those concerns.

“AMO does not possess or use facial recognition technology on any of its aircraft,” the agency said. “AMO does not own or have access to any facial recognition algorithms or software.”

In addition, “on-board cameras cannot provide enough resolution or detail to identify a person (that is to discern physical characteristics such as height, weight, eye color, hairstyle, or a facial image), or to discern a vehicle license plate number,” CBP further explained. “These cameras can be used to discern rough details such as clothing color, the presence of a backpack, or in some cases whether an individual is carrying an unconcealed weapon that may pose a threat.”

Still, the use of these drones over areas of civil unrest is almost certain to further fuel that debate. With protests against the Trump administration’s immigration actions spreading to other cities, we will likely see the use of these and other aerial surveillance assets employed elsewhere, as well.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com



Howard Altman
Senior Staff Writer
Howard is a Senior Staff Writer for The War Zone, and a former Senior Managing Editor for Military Times. Prior to this, he covered military affairs for the Tampa Bay Times as a Senior Writer. Howard's work has appeared in various publications including Yahoo News, RealClearDefense, and Air Force Times.


Joseph Trevithick
Deputy Editor
Joseph has been a member of The War Zone team since early 2017. Prior to that, he was an Associate Editor at War Is Boring, and his byline has appeared in other publications, including Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defense Journal, Reuters, We Are the Mighty, and Task & Purpose.

National Guard in LA left hanging with no pay and no support from locals: report

Tom Boggioni
June 12, 2025 

RAW STORY


Members of the California National Guard stand guard, as a demonstration against federal immigration sweeps takes place, outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building, after their deployment by President Trump, in Los Angeles, June 8. REUTERS/Mike Blake

In the Donald Trump administration's haste to federalize California National Guard troops to hit the streets of Los Angeles to protect ICE agents grabbing immigrants, the Pentagon has dropped the ball on providing the paperwork that would get them paid and activate their benefits, according to a report.

In interviews with more than a dozen of those deployed, Military.com found frustration that the Department of Defense, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, is not upholding its obligation to provide their "formal activation orders, the critical paperwork that not only authorizes their duty status, but also unlocks pay, Tricare health benefits and eligibility for Department of Veterans Affairs benefits."

The report notes that the hasty move to send the Guard to LA, bypassing a request from Gov. Gavin Newsom, is a contributing factor to the snafu.

ALSO READ: Trump ordered troops to LA because he's still angry city voted against him: Rep

Add to that, the unpopularity of the militarized occupation of an American city has put off local merchants who are normally supportive of the military.

According to the report, the failure of the administration is "... indicative of a slapdash mission where the welfare of troops has not been a priority. Several service members described inadequate living conditions at staging areas such as the military facility at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, where soldiers are sleeping outside on cots due to a shortage of space. Others cited intermittent issues with food and fuel supplies."

The report adds that traditionally, when the National Guard is deployed to assist in distressed communities, they are welcomed with open arms. But soldiers are getting the cold shoulder this time.


"One midlevel officer said their unit would receive 'extremely generous' help when deployed to combat wildfires, including water, sports drinks and food, which played a significant role in morale and tightened the Guard-community relationship," the report notes, before adding one officer conceded, "This is a situation [where] we're against the community."

You can read more here.


‘Morale is not great’: Troops say they feel 'used' by Trump's LA deployment

Erik De La Garza
June 12, 2025  

RAW STORY

Police officers and members of the California National Guard stand next to demonstrators outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal building during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 10, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

California National Guard troops and Marines sent to Los Angeles amid ongoing protests say their deployment feels more like political theater than a meaningful national service assignment, according to a new Guardian report.

“Morale is not great, is the quote I keep hearing,” said Chris Purdy of the Chamberlain Network, who’s spoken with multiple National Guard members since their sudden deployment.

Marine veteran Janessa Goldbeck, who runs the Vet Voice Foundation, reported similar findings among troops she’s been in contact with.

“Among all that I spoke with, the feeling was that the Marines are being used as political pawns, and it strains the perception that Marines are apolitical,” Goldbeck told the Guardian.

Military advocacy groups say they’ve heard dozens of complaints from service members upset about being drawn into domestic policing roles.

“The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn’t the kind of national security we signed up for,” Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative told the Guardian.

In an “unusual step,” President Donald Trump activated 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines – bypassing California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s consent, according to the report. A federal judge temporarily blocked the deployment Thursday night.

Trump has described Los Angeles as a “trash heap” at risk of being “obliterated” by protesters.

But the reality, according to the Guardian, was that the anti-Trump protests “have been largely peaceful and restricted to just a few blocks around downtown federal buildings.”


The dissatisfaction with the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement is also showing up in a pair of public polls – from YouGov and the Washington Post – that show disapproval of both the deployment and immigration crackdown.

“The overall perception was that the situation was nowhere at the level where Marines were necessary,” Goldbeck concluded.

In 'Disservice to the Public', Trump Fires Content Team for Climate.Gov

"Hiding the impacts of climate change won't stop it from happening, it will just make us far less prepared when it does," one fired contractor said.




The front page of the Climate.gov website is seen on June 11, 2025.
(Photo: NOAA/Screengrab)

Olivia Rosane
Jun 11, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

In its latest attack on climate science, the Trump administration has fired everyone who produced content for Climate.gov, the public-facing website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Program Office.

A former contractor who asked to be anonymous told The Guardian that their entire team had been let go from their government contract on May 31, the outlet reported Wednesday.

"It's targeted, I think it's clear," Tom Di Liberto, a former NOAA spokesperson who was fired earlier in the year, told The Guardian. "They only fired a handful of people, and it just so happened to be the entire content team for Climate.gov. I mean, that's a clear signal."

"I would hate to see it turn into a propaganda website for this administration, because that's not at all what it was."

The site's former program manager Rebecca Lindsey, who lost her job in the Trump administration's mass firing of probationary employees, agreed.

"It was a very deliberate, targeted attack," Lindsey told The Guardian, explaining that her former boss had told her that the orders came "from above" to cut the team's funding from a larger NOAA contract slated for renewal in May.

Climate.gov is currently well-respected for providing accurate, accessible information about the causes and consequences of the climate emergency.

"We were an extremely well-trusted source for climate information, misinformation, and disinformation because we actually, legitimately would answer misinformation questions," the anonymous contractor said. "We'd answer reader emails and try to combat disinformation on social media."

Oliver Milman, an environmental correspondent for The Guardian U.S. who did not break the news, described it as "one of world's leading sources of information on climate change."

Now, its ultimate fate is uncertain. The contractor said that a few pre-written pieces were scheduled to be posted on the site during June, but after that, it is unclear whether the site would continue to update or remain visible to the public.

There is also what Lindsey termed a more "sinister possibility": that the administration would use the site to publish false or misleading information dismissing the reality and risks of the climate emergency.

"I would hate to see it turn into a propaganda website for this administration, because that's not at all what it was," the contractor said.

The administration did keep two web developers on staff, which means it is possible it intends to keep the website running with new content.

In either case, however, the firing of the content team builds on a pattern in which President Donald Trump and his administration are making it harder for the public to access accurate scientific information, thereby impeding people from making informed decisions. It follows moves such as the dismissal of all of the scientists working on the National Climate Assessment and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's purging of a panel of vaccine experts.

"To me, climate is more broad than just climate change. It's also climate patterns like El Niño and La Niña," the contractor said. "Halting factual climate information is a disservice to the public. Hiding the impacts of climate change won't stop it from happening, it will just make us far less prepared when it does."

Outside scientists responded to the news with dismay.

"Sigh," wrote Robert Rohde, the chief scientist at Berkeley Earth.

Eliot Jacobson, a retired professor of mathematics and computer science, called the firings "your 'moment of kakistocracy' for today," referring to government by the least qualified.

The move comes amid other attacks on Americans' ability to prepare for and respond to the climate emergency and the many extreme weather events—from heatwaves to more extreme hurricanes—that it fuels.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) warned on Tuesday that the Trump administration's firings of heat experts at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the National Integrated Heat Health Information System would make it harder to respond to heatwaves—the deadliest type of extreme weather in the U.S.—as summer intersects with global heating to increase risk.

"Instead of investing in keeping people safe as temperatures spike, the Trump administration's staff and budget cuts to NOAA have left local weather service offices serving millions of people in hundreds of U.S. counties without the experienced leadership of meteorologists in charge. And firing federal heat health experts will further jeopardize protections for people," Juan Declet-Barreto, a bilingual senior social scientist for climate vulnerability at UCS, said in a statement.

"The president's proposed budget calls for more massive cuts to agencies like NOAA doing lifesaving work," Declet-Barreto continued. "And its regulatory rollbacks and cuts to climate and clean energy funding are aimed at increasing the use of fossil fuels, which are largely responsible for these rising temperatures. So, while the country suffers in what could be record-breaking temperatures, especially outdoor workers and vulnerable populations, fossil fuel executives will sit back in their air-conditioned offices watching President Trump do their bidding and grow their profits."

Meanwhile, Trump on Tuesday offered a timeline for winding down the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—which he has long threatened to eliminate.

"I'd say after the hurricane season we'll start phasing it out," Trump said, as NBC News reported. In the future, Trump said, more responsibility would fall with the states, any federal disaster relief would be dispersed directly from the president's office, and less money would be offered.

However, a FEMA higher-up toldCNN that the president's proposal was unrealistic.

"This is a complete misunderstanding of the role of the federal government in emergency management and disaster response and recovery, and it's an abdication of that role when a state is overwhelmed," they said. "It is clear from the president's remarks that their plan is to limp through hurricane season and then dismantle the agency."

Amnesty Condemns Trump Threat of 'Very Heavy Force' Against Military Parade Protesters


The far-right Republican president, warned the human rights group, "is continuing to send a clear and chilling message: dissent will be punished."


Protesters continue to march and chant in an approximately one-square mile area of downtown Los Angeles in response to a series of immigration raids, on June 11, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)


Jon Queally
Jun 12, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

The human rights advocacy group Amnesty International USA has issued a strong rebuke and warning in response to President Donald Trump's public threat to aim "very heavy force" at law-abiding protesters voicing their constitutionally-protected free speech during organized 'No Kings' protests scheduled for Saturday nationwide.

In Tuesday remarks to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he didn't know of any planned protests timed to coincide with his $134-million parade, taking place on his birthday, but said if there are, "these are people that hate our country."

"For those people who want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force," Trump said, making no distinction between peaceful demonstrators and those who might be more confrontational or even violent.

"Now is a good moment to remind President Trump that protesting is a human right and that his administration is obligated to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly–not suppress them," said Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, in a statement on Wednesday.

Trump's threat arrived after he overrode California Gov. Gavin Newsom to call up 4,000 National Guard troops in that state last weekend—and subsequently U.S. Marine forces—to confront large protests in Los Angeles that erupted in response to raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the violent arrest of union leader David Huerta, president of SEIU California.

"The militarized response to protests, including the deployment of the National Guard and the Marines in Los Angeles, further escalates tensions and is a chilling preview of even more human rights violations that could be coming," warned O'Brien. "The U.S. military is not trained or equipped to police civilians. It increases the risk of excessive force, arbitrary arrests, and other violations of free expression and peaceful assembly. The Trump administration has already shown us that it will use any tool of the state, including ICE, police, and military forces to target immigrants, asylum seekers, protesters, and anyone who dares to defend their rights."

Over 1,800 coordinated 'No Kings' protests are being organized for July 14 to counter Trump's growing authoritarianism and to coincide with the military parade Trump is throwing for himself in Washington, D.C., at an estimated cost of $134 million.

A new poll released Thursday shows a majority of Americans believe the parade is a waste of taxpayer money.

Approximately 6 in 10 Americans also say Trump's parade is "not a good use" of taxpayer funds, according to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. That number of disapproving voters includes a number of people surveyed who have no particular criticism of the parade itself.






Beyond the wasted cost, critics of the president warn that the more dangerous aspect of the parade is how the spectacle dovetails with Trump's broader authoritarianism, including his militarized response to dissent and weaponizing state power against his perceived political enemies.

"Make no mistake," said Amnesty's O'Brien. "President Trump’s response to protests has nothing to do with public safety. This is his administration’s way of stoking fear and suppressing opposition. By sending police, ICE, or the military into neighborhoods to silence voices calling for justice and human rights, President Trump is continuing to send a clear and chilling message: dissent will be punished."

Amnesty called for an immediate halt to Trump's "militarized response" to public protest.

"The task of any law enforcement is to facilitate—not to restrict—a peaceful public assembly," said O'Brien. "This must be clearly understood by all law enforcement officials taking part in the management of the assembly. Law enforcement must also not use violent acts of a few as a pretext to restrict or impede the human rights of others to peacefully protest."