The White House posted  an AI-generated image of US President Donald Trump  as the Pope

The White House on Saturday posted an AI-generated image of US President Donald Trump shows as the leader of the Catholic Church.

Trup had jokingly said a few days earlier that he would "like to be pope", and originally posted the image on his own social media network, Truth Social. This was later shared by the White House.

The image was posted by the US president just a few days before the conclave to elect a new pontiff is set to begin on 7 May following Pope Francis' death on Easter Sunday.

The death of a pope and election of another is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics, for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth. That is all the more true in Italy, where the papacy is held in high esteem even by nonreligious Italians.

The image featuring Trump in a white cassock and pointed miter, or bishop’s hat, was the topic of several questions during the Vatican’s daily conclave briefing Saturday. Italian and Spanish news reports lamented its poor taste and said it was offensive, given that the period of official mourning is still underway.

The post caused considerable outrage online, with the official New York State Catholic Conference account saying in a post of its own that "there is nothing clever or funny about this image."

The organisation, which represents New York state bishops, added that the US President should not "mock us".

When asked to respond to the criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that, “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty.”

Trump most recently visted the Vatican last Saturday, in what was his first foreign trip during his second term, in order to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

Shortly before the funeral began, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss further steps towards ending the war with Russia, as well as a minerals pact that was later signed between the US and Ukraine.



Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and President Donald Trump, talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican, Saturday, April 26, 2025 AP/Ukrainian Presidential Press Office

Trump's pick for pope

Whilst speaking to reporters last Tuesday, Trump joked that he himself would be his "number one choice", before adding "I must say we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who's very good."

Trump was referring to New York Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, one of 10 US cardinals who will be voting in the conclave.

Trump’s pitch might have cost Dolan support, however, as the reason conclaes are held in secrecy, with cardinals sequestered for the duration, in order to prevent outside secular power from influencing their choice.

Trump is a troll – but his 'ugly' pope selfie demands a damning response

D. Earl Stephens
May 3, 2025

 RAW STORY

Donald Trump (Photo via Reuters)

The America-attacking Donald Trump descended further into the sewer on Friday, once again proving that his singular talent during his long, miserable life has been the ability to somehow always go lower, while dragging the willing accomplices who kiss his ample a-- down into the stink and the bilge with him.

I debated about whether to write about this one, because as we all know that while narcissists and 11-year-old bullies don’t love negative attention, they are absolutely terrified of getting no attention at all.

The White House

@WhiteHouse

9:07 PM · May 2, 2025

·

59.3M

Views

pic.twitter.com/x2HrR939tn
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025


So when I saw the White House fly the hideous post (above) with no comment Friday night, I was repulsed and angered, which I know is exactly what the America-attacker and his odious enablers want.

Look, I am not a religious man, and in fact have some serious issues with the Catholic Church, so the trumpeting of this childish crap by Pope Felon the 1st and his ghastly followers doesn’t offend my senses from that standpoint. I won’t be pounding on the Bible and citing any of what I am sure are 1,473 passages in the good book that address this kind of sacrilegious gunk.

That would be sanctimonious on my part.

I will defend Catholics who take offense to it, though, because it is no doubt intentionally hurtful, which is the other thing the dead-inside Trump is effortlessly good at. Whether it be the disabled, our fallen, women, or people of color, the grotesque man-child will always gleefully manufacture any opportunity he can find to pile insult onto tragedy.

I’ll take it the woman-abusing felon who a judge said is an adjudicated rapist is butt-hurt that the recently deceased Pope Francis had the good taste to distance himself as much as possible from the devil himself.

Like most human beings, Francis knew Trump to be an abuser, not a healer ... a liar, not a truth-teller ... an unrepentant felon, not a law-abiding citizen.

Ugly.

The normal, decent and God-fearing folks across the world will never understand how any of this is OK, or far, far worse, how this kind of unholy hell was able to ascend to power not once, but twice, while violently attacking America in between.

So for that reason, and that reason alone, I decided to take public issue with this taxpayer-funded, childish display of insult and hate, and alert you in the event you didn't see it.

I know this will only fill the veins of the attention-seeking monster with the poison that fuels him, but as sure as I am typing this, sooner or later it is going to kill him. The religious true-believers, and wise-guy columnists like myself will align to tell you that when he finally goes the way of Francis, it will be straight down not up.

Remember: It’s his singular talent.

Can I get an amen?

(D. Earl Stephens is the author of “Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump’s Very Important Letters” and finished up a 30-year career in journalism as the Managing Editor of Stars and Stripes. You can find all his work here, and follow him on Bluesky here.)

Trump says he's 'OK' with a recession in order to achieve his long-term goals

President Donald Trump and NBC News' "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker (Image: Screengrab via CNN / NBC News / YouTube)

Carl Gibson

May 02, 2025

ALTERNET

President Donald Trump didn't write off the possibility of an economic recession during a recent interview with Kristen Welker of NBC News' "Meet the Press."

On Friday, CNN host Erin Burnett played the clip of Trump's comment about a potential recession, before the full interview airs this Sunday. When Welker asked Trump directly whether he was "OK" with the economy temporarily dipping into a recession if it meant his long-term goals would be achieved, the president paused and then appeared to accept that as a possibility.

"Are you comfortable with the country potentially dipping into a recession for a period of time, if you are able to achieve your long term goals?" Welker asked.

"I'll tell you something else: Some people on Wall Street say that we're going to have the greatest economy in history," Trump said. "Why don't you talk about them? Because some people on Wall Street say—"

"—That's what I'm getting at," Welker interjected. "That's what i'm getting at. It's the same question ... the long term. Is it okay in the short term to have a recession?"

"Look, yeah. Everything's okay. What we are, I said this is a transition period," Trump said. "I think we're going to do fantastically."

Watch the clip below, or by clicking this link.

 

'Worst is yet to come': MSNBC host predicts major economic pain in coming months

MSNBC screenshot
Alex Henderson

May 02, 2025

ALTERNET

Major retailers, from Walmart to Dollar Tree to Home Depot, are being candid about having to raise their prices because of President Donald Trump's steep new tariffs. And some chains are already raising prices.

During an Friday morning, May 2 appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Stephanie Ruhle — who hosts MSNBC's late-night show "The 11th Hour" — warned that for U.S. consumers, things are going to get much worse in the weeks and months to come.



Ruhle told "Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough and his colleague Willie Geist, "What we're doing with China mano a mano is devastating for businesses. And when you talk about the unemployment number, we don't know what it's going to be yet. But the worst is yet to come."

Ruhle added, "When you've got Apple, one of the most profitable countries in the world, that got one of the first exemptions from the president….. When they're telling you they're going to take a $900 million hit, what do you think it's going to do for the toy store in your downtown?"

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is echoing Trump's claim that even if the tariffs create some short-term financial pain, they will lead to widespread prosperity in the long run. Geist asked Ruhle if Bessent really believes that, and the "11th Hour" host didn't hesitate to question his sincerity.

Ruhle told Geist, "From the sources that I speak to, who are Scott Bessent's former colleagues, competitors, peers — no, not one word of it. And I think that's the hardest thing. We all know it's difficult to be on TV, but the reason he might appear awkward on television is because he knows he's not telling the truth. And, you know…. he just said earlier this week: we're not going back to the jobs of the past. We're bringing back industrial jobs of the future. "

Ruhle continued, "Willie, if that were the case, then wouldn't we see exemptions for apparel companies? Because the jobs of the future are not bringing back sweatshops, clothing manufacturers. We are a manufacturing hub. We're the second largest manufacturer in the world. What we have figured out over time is how to optimize our manufacturing."

Watch the full video below or at this link.

'Act of war': Warren Buffett is rocking financial world with a new Trump warning

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett 

(The White House/Wikimedia Commons)

Alex Henderson

May 03, 2025

ALTERNET

On Saturday morning, May 3, one of Wall Street's most prominent billionaires — Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett — sounded the alarm about President Donald Trump's steep new tariffs during the company's annual shareholder media.

Buffett, according to Forbes, told attendees that "trade should not be a weapon" for the United States, which "should be looking to trade with the rest of the world." And he described tariffs as "an act of war, to some degree."

Some economists fear that Trump's trade war will lead to a weakening of the U.S. dollar, but Buffett said, "We wouldn't want to be owning anything in a currency we really thought was going to hell."

Buffett's comments are drawing plenty of responses on X, formerly Twitter.

Joe Wiggins tweeted, "Warren Buffett has issued a massive warning on the dangers of protectionism, arguing that trade should not be used as a political weapon and calling tariffs 'an act of war' that can lead to damaging consequences."

Quasar Markets said of Buffett, "He warns that protectionism is a strategic error — risking U.S. prosperity and global goodwill. Tariffs = economic warfare Markets = stabilized only after a 90-day pause Buffett's holding cash ($347B!) His moves say it all. Global cooperation > economic isolation…. Buffett's stance: Strong anti-tariff; believes trade promotes mutual prosperity and security. Direct jab at Trump's policy: Though not by name, he critiques the administration's 'weaponization' of trade. Tariff shockwave: Trump’s 145% tariff on Chinese goods, countered by China’s 125% levy, rattled markets. Buffett’s defensive posture: 10 straight quarters of stock selling; record $347B cash pile signals caution. Market read: Investors are watching Berkshire as a macro bellwether — this speech confirms major concern over trade friction."

X user Pramod Sharma wrote, "Warren Buffett, the sage of sensible economics, just eviscerated Trump's reckless trade wars, calling tariffs a 'big mistake' and warning they sabotage growth. Meanwhile, Trump's chaotic policies tank markets, strangle businesses, and betray Buffett's wisdom: 'Trade should not be a weapon.' Yet the fraud in Mar-a-Logo keeps wielding it like a club, proving he's an economic illiterate whose tariffs are self-inflicted wounds on America."

Another X user, Art Candee, commented, "Warren Buffett, billionaire chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, on Donald Trump's tariffs: Tariffs are 'an act of war, to some degree.' Over time, they are a tax on goods. I mean, the Tooth Fairy doesn't pay 'em!' Spot on, as usual."

KrassenCast's Ed Krassenstein noted that Buffett "came out against Trump's Tariffs in a major way."

"Warren Buffett has been such a great investor because he understands human psychology so well," Krassenstein posted. "He also gets the psychological effects that Tariffs have on people, leaders and other nations."

'Doesn't work in any way': Finance expert exposes 'fantastical math' at heart of GOP plan

David McAfee
May 3, 2025 

RAW STORY

Donald Trump has teased a tax plan that one finance expert deemed likely impossible.

Ron Insana, a finance reporter, author and former hedge fund manager, appeared on MSNBC on Saturday to discuss Trump's latest policy proposal for eliminating income tax altogether. Trump said the money coming in from tariffs on foreign trade would make up the difference.

When asked by host Alex Witt, "Does this add up for you?" Insana replied, "Not even in the least."

Regarding Trump's proposal, Insana said, "If we wanted to do that, not that it would be possible," the Trump White House would have to engage in some "fantastical math."

Pointing out that the tariff amount on every nation would have to be incredibly high to pay for what the government gets from income taxes, Insana noted that there would have to be some gymnastics if Trump's administration is going to "make any of those numbers work."

Going even further, Insana said of Trump's ultimate goals, "This is not the way you do it," because the tariffs will also reduce demand "because prices go up and products disappear."

"It doesn't work any way shape or form," he added.

Watch below or click here.

The bizarre-looking dinosaur challenging what we know about the evolution of fingers

The oviraptorosaur looked like a large bird. Danny Ye/Shutterstock

The Conversation

April 27, 2025


Oviraptorosaurs are weird dinosaurs, which look a bit like flightless birds. But these ancient animals aren’t just funny looking fossils. As my team’s new research shows, they can help us understand how our own forelimbs evolved and challenge what scientists think about the T rex.


Covered in feathers and equipped with a strong, sharp beak, oviraptorosaurs ranged in size from a house cat to a giraffe. They could easily be mistaken for birds if not for the sharp claws on their hands. The oviraptorosaurs lived during the Cretaceous period (between 145 and 66 million years ago) and belonged to a group of dinosaurs called theropods. This is a group of mainly meat-eating dinosaurs with hollow bones that includes the T rex and velociraptor.

Theropod dinosaurs and humans share a common feature: we walk on two legs and use our front limbs for functions other than walking. Although some dinosaurs – the birds – stretched their forelimbs into wings and used them for flight, others, shrunk them instead. Short forelimbs, missing one or more fingers are most famous in the T rex, but many other theropods also evolved shorter arms and hands.

Fossil of an oviraptorosaur.

vipinrajmg/Shutterstock

The widespread view among scientists of their shrunken forelimbs as “useless” comes from a 1979 paper. It argues evolution selected for increased head and hindlimb size in the T rex and the arms became smaller as an evolutionary byproduct. So, when my team at the University of Edinburgh analysed patterns of arm evolution in a group of oviraptorosaurs, we expected to find that forelimb reduction and finger loss would be linked.

Instead, we found the opposite. Our study is the latest example of growing evidence that the reduced forelimbs of certain theropods retained some kind of function. Until now, many palaeontologists assumed dinosaurs which evolved shorter arms and lost their fingers did so because they weren’t using them.

Oviraptorosaurs are the perfect group to study finger loss in theropods. Although modern birds did not evolve directly from oviraptorosaurs, they share many features with them. Oviraptorosaurs had toothless beaks, they were covered in feathers, and they sat on carefully constructed nests, with their eggs arranged in neat rings and partly buried. Most of these dinosaurs had long arms with three clawed fingers on each hand, perfect for grasping prey. With one exception.

Oksoko avarsan had stumpy arms and only two functional fingers. It lived in Mongolia during the Late Cretaceous period (about 72-66 million years ago) and would have shared its habitat with a gigantic relative of the T rex called Tarbosaurus. Oksoko did – technically – have a third digit but it was a useless leftover from a time when their ancestors needed all three fingers. In fact, Oksoko’s hands and forelimbs are far more similar to a T rex or a Tarbosaurus than to any of its oviraptorosaurian cousins.

Oksoko avarsan had stumpy arms

.Ddinodan/Wikimedia, CC BY-NC




It’s important to understand how theropod forelimbs evolved because they are some of the only animals, alongside humans, to become bipedal. This means they no longer rely on their forelimbs for moving around, whether that’s by walking, climbing, or flying. Their arms were free to evolve new functions. Many of them used their long arms and fingers for grasping. Others, like Oksoko, explored different and more specialised functions.

My team’s research, which analysed how the length of each arm bone changed over time, shows that these dinosaurs lost their third finger in a separate process to the shortening of their arms. This goes against the idea that their arms were functionless. If their forelimbs shrunk because the oviraptorosaurs were not using them, their fingers and forelimbs should have become shorter at the same time. Instead, their arms seem to have shrunk first.

Previous research shows one group of oviraptorosaurs, called the Heyuanninae, expanded their range during the Late Cretaceous (about 100-94 million years ago). They moved from the area that is now southern China into the Gobi Desert in northern China and southern Mongolia. The reduction in arm length coincided with this expansion in their range.

Then Oksoko lost its third finger. Although some other closely related oviraptorosaurs had relatively short third fingers, in none of them was it as reduced as in Oksoko.

Forelimb reduction and finger loss in this group of dinosaurs could have been caused by the new habitat. Once they had moved into the Gobi Desert, they would have come up against new survival challenges. For example, they might have had to adapt to new food sources or different predators. Something about their new habitat favoured dinosaurs with shorter arms and fewer fingers, causing them to evolve their stumpy, two-fingered forelimbs.

We think they started using their arms for a whole new purpose. It’s possible Oksoko used its arms for digging. Oksoko might have lost its third finger, but its first finger is another story. This digit is thick and strong-looking, with a large claw on the end. We can see scars and ridges where its muscles used to be attached to its bones. These show that Oksoko had strong arms.

Rather than reaching and grasping like other oviraptorosaurs, Oksoko could have used its small but mighty forelimbs for scratch-digging. This could have been useful for finding food, such as plant roots and burrowing insects, or for building nests in the ground.

The holotype fossil (the fossil which leads to the naming of a new species) of Oksoko was the most important fossil in our analysis. Originally found by poachers in Mongolia, this fossil was nearly lost to science. Authorities rescued it at the border of Mongolia in 2006 and it was taken to the Institute of Palaeontology, but wasn’t fully studied until 2020. It was Oksoko’s strange two-digit forelimbs that made us want to investigate finger evolution.

Despite the similarities in the size and shape of their forelimbs, it unlikely that T rex and Oksoko used their arms for the same thing. Oksoko was a small herbivore. T rex was a giant carnivore – it was so massive that it couldn’t have reached the ground to dig, even if it tried. But Oksoko shows us that theropod forelimbs can get shorter and lose digits without becoming functionless. And that begs the question: are T rex’s arms as useless as they’re often portrayed?

My team’s new research shows that our initial assumption – that forelimb and digit reduction are caused by function loss in oviraptorosaurs – is probably wrong. Instead, arm-shrinking and finger loss seem to be caused by adaptation to a new environment and the adoption of a new function. This is an example of how evolution can mould forelimbs to suit different habitats and uses.

It is also a step forward in understanding how theropods evolved such an amazing diversity of forelimb shapes and sizes.

Milly Mead, PhD student in Palaeontology and Evolution, University of Edinburgh

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Democrats Call for Probe Into 'Golden Dome' Defense Contract That Could Benefit Musk

SpaceX has emerged as a front-runner for the contract.


Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on April 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Julia Conley
May 01, 2025

COMMON DREAMS

Democratic lawmakers on Thursday wrote to the acting inspector general of the U.S. Department of Defense, warning that SpaceX emerging as a front-runner to win a contract to build a proposed missile defense system raises major concerns over whether the proposal is "an effective way to protect Americans" or is simply "meant to enrich" Trump ally Elon Musk.

As Reutersreported last month, Musk's rocket and satellite company is partnering with two other firms on a bid to build parts of the Golden Dome, which would launch at least 400 and as many as 1,000 satellites across the globe to detect and track missiles.

A separate component of the Golden Dome, which could be put to use starting as early as 2026, would launch 200 attack satellites to bring enemy missiles down.

The Democrats, led by Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), called on DOD acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins to examine "any involvement" by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk—now a "special government employee" of the Trump administration and a top donor to the president's 2024 campaign—in the Pentagon's process of awarding the defense contract for the Golden Dome.




The news that Musk's company is a front-runner to build key parts of the system, which is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars, raises "serious concerns about potential conflicts of interest in the process," reads the letter sent by the lawmakers, who also included Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

The lawmakers noted that in the "deeply troubling" Reuters report two weeks ago, a source was quoted as saying the talks surrounding the Golden Dome contract were "a departure from the usual acquisition process."

"There's an attitude that the national security and defense community has to be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk because of his role in the government," the source told Reuters.

The letter also notes that as a special government employee, Musk is subject to Office of Government Ethics regulations such as 5 CFR § 2635.702, which prohibits using public office for private gain.

"Mr. Musk is also subject to the criminal prohibition in 18 USC § 208 against participating in a particular matter in which he has a financial interest, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison," said the Democrats.

As the lawmakers wrote to the DOD inspector general's office, government watchdog Public Citizen also spoke out against the "useless and wasteful contract."

Experts have raised concerns about the feasibility of creating the Golden Dome system, especially on the accelerated timeline that has been reported—one that could benefit Musk's company but "result in a faulty end product that wastes billions of dollars and leaves our country with a false sense of security," wrote the lawmakers.

They quoted retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, who toldCNN recently that creating a ballistic missile defense system "could take 7-10 years, and, even then, would have severe limitations."

Reuters also reported last month that SpaceX has proposed a "subscription service" for its involvement in the creation of the Golden Dome, with the government paying for access to the technology rather than owning the system. The proposal could allow the system to be rolled out faster by circumventing Pentagon procurement rules.

"The Golden Dome contract comes at a time when the Pentagon has failed to ever pass an audit, and this year's budget is already expected to top $1 trillion," said the Democrats.

The lawmakers called on Stebbins to refer the case to the Department of Justice for a criminal investigation, should his office find that Musk used his role in the federal government to secure a contract for SpaceX.

Federal Judge Rules Trump Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act 'Unlawful'


Also Thursday, Human Rights Watch released a report calling on Congress to repeal the wartime authority, the statute invoked by the U.S. President Donald Trump in March to deport over 130 Venezuelan nationals.


In this handout photo provided by the Salvadoran government, guards escort the inmates allegedly linked to criminal organizations at CECOT, a megaprison in El Salvador, on March 16, 2025. The Trump administration Salvadoran and Venezuelan nationals to CECOT on March 15.
(Photo: Salvadoran Government via Getty Images)

Eloise Goldsmith
May 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS

A federal judge ruled on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump has illegally invoked the Alien Enemies Act and barred further deportations under the statute, a centuries-old wartime authority used to justify the deportation of over 130 Venezuelan nationals in March to a megaprison in El Salvador.

"The court concludes that the president's invocation of the AEA through the proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful," according to U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr., a Trump appointee.

The judicial rebuke comes the same day that the group Human Rights Watch issued a report making the case that the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) is "entirely incompatible" with modern international law that constrains the United States with respect to human rights, and therefore should be repealed.

The report from Human Rights Watch, titled United States: Repeal the Alien Enemies Act, A Human Rights Argument, explains that the AEA was codified in 1798 and gives the president authority to detain and expel noncitizens who are nationals of a foreign country considered hostile.

The president can draw on these powers when there is a "declared war" between the U.S. and a foreign power, or when an "invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened" against the U.S. by a foreign nation.

When invoking the AEA, Trump accused the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) of "perpetrating, attempting, and threatening an invasion or predatory incursion" in the U.S., and said that the men targeted for deportation under the AEA have ties to TdA—though available reporting also casts doubt on this assertion.

The judge in his ruling on Thursday said that the government's evidence that TdA's presence in the U.S. constitutes an "invasion" or "predatory incursion" as characterized by the AEA fell short.

The American Civil Liberties Union cheered the court's decision. ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt said in a statement on Thursday: "The court ruled the president can't unilaterally declare an invasion of the United States and invoke a wartime authority during peacetime."

While the ruling is likely also welcome to Human Rights Watch, which has already spoken out against the administration's use of AEA, in their latest report the group argues that the law should be outright repealed.

"Congress has an important role in challenging the Trump administration's use of this outdated law to supercharge its mass deportation machine," said Akshaya Kumar, crisis advocacy director at Human Rights Watch and lead author of the report, in a statement on Thursday, prior to the release of Thursday's court ruling.

Since 2020, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) have repeatedly introduced the "Neighbors Not Enemies Act," which would repeal the Alien Enemies Act. The duo reintroduced it again on January 22, days after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The report recommends immediate debate and consideration of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act of 2025. With Republican majorities in both chambers, passage of the Neighbors Not Enemies Act is highly unlikely.

The report argues that the United States is not engaged in any war or armed conflict that is relevant to the administration's current use of the AEA, and that the law "was drafted, and has always been applied and interpreted, in a manner that is adversarial to modern-day international human rights law frameworks and the laws of war."

The U.S. is a part of multiple human rights treaties that compel the government to ensure respect for rights like due process, and protection from removal from the U.S. to countries where a person would likely face persecution or torture, according to the report.

For example, in 1994 the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) was ratified by the U.S. with the understanding the treaty "was not self-executing and required implementing legislation to be enforced by U.S. courts," according to a 2009 Congressional Research Service report.

The U.S. did enact statutes and regulations to prohibit the transfer of people to countries where they may be tortured, including the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998.

According to Human Rights Watch, CAT prohibits "the U.S. from expelling, returning, or extraditing any person to a state where there are 'substantial grounds' for believing that he would be in danger of being subject to torture.'"

In Thursday's court ruling, the judge noted the petitioners had invoked this protection under CAT as one of their legal arguments, but the court concluded that it does "not possess jurisdiction to consider petitioners' challenges" to Trump's AEA executive order based on CAT.

'Grotesque Spectacle' on May Day: CEO Pay Up 50% Since 2019 Compared to 0.9% for Workers


"This isn't a glitch in the system—it's the system working exactly as designed, funneling wealth ever upwards while millions of working people struggle to afford rent, food, and healthcare."



An organizer shouts through a megaphone as hundreds of people march on the streets for International Workers' Day May 1, 2025 in Bilbao, Spain.
(Photo: Gari Garaialde/Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
May 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS


As people worldwide filled the streets Thursday to celebrate International Workers' Day and mobilize against attacks on the working class, a new analysis showed that average global CEO pay has surged 50% since 2019—56 times more than the pay of ordinary employees.

The Oxfam International analysis examined figures from nearly 2,000 corporations across 35 countries where CEOs were paid more than $1 million on average last year, including bonuses and stock options. Across those companies, the average pay of chief executives reached $4.3 million in 2024, up from $2.9 million just five years ago.

By contrast, average worker pay in those 35 nations rose just 0.9% between 2019 and 2024.

"Year after year, we see the same grotesque spectacle: CEO pay explodes while workers' wages barely budge," said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam's executive director. "This isn't a glitch in the system—it's the system working exactly as designed, funneling wealth ever upwards while millions of working people struggle to afford rent, food, and healthcare."

According to Oxfam, global billionaires "pocketed on average $206 billion in new wealth over the last year," or $23,500 an hour. That's more than the average annual income globally—$21,000—in 2023.

To begin redressing global economic inequality, Oxfam called for top marginal tax rates of at least 75% on the highest earners and wage increases to ensure worker pay keeps up with inflation.

"It's time to end the billionaire coup against democracy and put people and planet first."

Luc Triangle, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, said in a statement that the "outrageous pay inequality between CEOs and workers confirms that we lack democracy where it is needed most: at work."

"Around the world, workers are being denied the basics of life while corporations pocket record profits, dodge taxes, and lobby to evade responsibility," Triangle added. "Workers are demanding a New Social Contract that works for them—not the billionaires undermining democracy. Fair taxation, strong public services, living wages, and a just transition are not radical demands—they are the foundation of a just society."

"It's time to end the billionaire coup against democracy and put people and planet first," he added.

In addition to spotlighting the growing chasm between CEO and worker pay, the Oxfam analysis warned that the global working class "is now facing a new threat" in the form of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff regime. The humanitarian group argued that "these policies pose significant risks for workers worldwide, including job losses and rising costs for basic goods that would stoke extreme inequality everywhere."

"For so many workers worldwide, President Trump's reckless use of tariffs means a push from one cruel order to another: from the frying pan of destructive neoliberal trade policy to the fire of weaponized tariffs," said Behar. "These policies will not only hurt working families in the U.S., but especially harm workers trying to escape poverty in some of the world's poorest countries."

Unions: Trump Attack on Labor Safety Agency 'Will Take Working Conditions Back Centuries'

The coalition urged Congress to "ask President Trump to reinstate all NIOSH divisions and their staff," and warned "that "the cost of inaction will be severe and excruciating for individuals and society."

Scott Laney—a research epidemiologist for the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health who recently was placed on administrative leave—stands outside the Iron Senergy plant on April 16, 2025 in Kirby, Pennsylvania.
(Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Jessica Corbett
May 01, 2025

COMMON DREAMS

The AFL-CIO and 27 labor unions on Thursday marked May Day with a letter calling on members of Congress to push U.S. President Donald Trump to reverse his gutting of a key federal agency.

The Trump administration last month made major cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a "small but mighty agency" that "aims to ensure safety in a wide variety of occupations, such as mining, construction, agriculture, firefighting, and among healthcare, service, and office workers," according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

While May 1 is International Workers' Day, April 28 is Workers' Memorial Day, "a poignant reminder of the real human cost of unsafe workplaces," notes the letter to U.S. lawmakers. "We remember all we have lost on the job and recommit ourselves to fulfill the promise of a safe job, so that every loved one returns home unharmed at the end of each shift."

"The most recent data show that 385 people still die each day in the U.S. because of their jobs—more than 5,000 from job injuries and an estimated 135,000 from job illnesses, annually," the coalition continued. "These staggering numbers are completely unacceptable and entirely preventable; these deaths are a systemic failure. Behind every life lost each day is a family across the United States mourning a parent, sibling, child, neighbor, or friend."




The letter highlights that Congress created NIOSH alongside the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and how it "saves lives daily, in ways that OSHA and MSHA cannot."

NIOSH has the expertise to "provide initial and ongoing certification of respirators and other lifesaving equipment," and to "test other equipment like cleaning booths in mining, fluid resistance of gowns in healthcare, hydraulic winches in fishing, and robotic equipment in manufacturing, as well as explosive environments, dangerous mining conditions, and rescue technologies, and many others."

The agency also helps "employers and worker representatives identify unknown exposures in workplaces such as clusters of cancers, digestive issues, respiratory disease, and other phenomena that occur closely in one worksite," and facilitates "medical care and compensation for workers under the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP) for 9/11 responders and survivors and the Energy Workers Program for (Cold War civilian veterans) exposed to deadly hazards."

Yet, Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency "functionally dismantled NIOSH—one of the most critical and impactful agencies to every worker in America, their families, and to industries alike," the letter states. "More than 85% of NIOSH staff were placed on administrative leave, to be terminated in June."

The labor coalition argued that "this decision must be immediately reversed as it will take working conditions back centuries, when chronic occupational diseases and fatalities skyrocketed with no government agency to help identify causes and research interventions."

"On this week of Workers' Memorial Day, we urge you to take immediate action by sending letters and making phone calls to ask President Trump to reinstate all NIOSH divisions and their staff," the coalition urged lawmakers. "The cost of inaction will be severe and excruciating for individuals and society. Safe jobs are a fundamental right for every worker in America, and NIOSH is necessary to make this right a reality."



Demonstrating how pressure from Congress may be effective on this front, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) told The Washington Post that she implored Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reverse job cuts that led to NIOSH suspending the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program—and on Tuesday, the newspaper reported, the admistration "temporarily reinstated dozens of fired federal workers who help screen coal miners for black lung."

"Capito said between 30 and 40 fired NIOSH employees would be temporarily brought back to the agency. She added that she had heard from coal miners who were anxiously awaiting word from NIOSH about whether they could receive federal black lung benefits," according to the Post, which noted the administration's plans to ultimately "form a new entity called the Administration for a Healthy America."

Unions that signed on to the new letter include the American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Communication Workers of America (CWA), National Nurses United (NNU), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Auto Workers (UAW), United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), and United Steelworkers (USW).

Some signatories have challenged other Trump administration policies in federal court, such as the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).