*headdesk*
Minnesota Pride group raises $50,000 after dropping Target as a sponsor
Non-profit that organizes annual Minneapolis festival cut ties with retailer after 18 years after it drops DEI policies
The Guardian
Elon Musk’s X sues Lego, Nestlé and more brands, accusing them of advertising boycott
“But collective action among competing advertisers to dictate brand safety standards to be applied by social media platforms shortcuts the competitive process and allows the collective views of a group of advertisers with market power to override the interests of consumer,” the complaint said.
NPR
Here’s what will get more expensive from Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China
About one-third of US imports come from the three countries Trump targeted Saturday. Their products are among some of the most commonplace and critical items used by Americans, including fruits and vegetables, meat, gas, automobiles, electronics, toys, clothing, lumber, and beer and spirits.
CNN
Exclusive: Musk aides lock workers out of OPM computer systems
The systems include a vast database called Enterprise Human Resources Integration, which contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades and length of service of government workers, the officials said.
“We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems,” one of the officials said. “That is creating great concern. There is no oversight. It creates real cybersecurity and hacking implications.”
Reuters
‘I won’t regret this’: young women turn to sterilization as Trump intensifies war on reproductive rights
Madison Clark did not celebrate when Donald Trump won the 2024 election. But one thought gave her solace: “At least I don’t have to worry about having a baby.”
The Guardian
Things to know about how Trump’s policies target transgender people
The document calls on government agencies to use the new definitions of the sexes, and to stop using taxpayer money to promote what it calls “gender ideology,” the idea broadly accepted by medical experts that gender falls along a spectrum.
AP News
Trump Vowed to ‘Immediately’ Bring Down Egg Prices. His New Press Secretary Says Sudden Spike Is Biden’s Fault
“There’s a lot of reporting out there that’s putting the onus on this White House for the increased cost of eggs,” Leavitt said. “I’d like to point out to each and every one of you that in 2024 when Joe Biden was in the Oval Office — or upstairs in the residence sleeping, I’m not so sure — egg prices increased 65 percent in this country.”
People
Pentagon Bans Black History Month, Juneteenth And More Celebrations To Comply With Trump Order
An order from Donald Trump‘s administration has ordered the Pentagon to stop Black History Month activities and many more celebrations. In a memo to the Pentagon’s intelligence agency, the White House revealed that all activities related to Black History Month are now banned. According to MSNBC, the Defense Intelligence Agency followed up with a statement, saying the department is pausing all activities related to 11 “special observances” in compliance with Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The agency has also made plans to eliminate several other celebrations dedicated to minority groups. That includes banning Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National American Indian Heritage Month, LGBTQ Pride Month, Women’s History Month, Juneteenth, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Blavity
Trump moves to cancel recent union agreements with federal workers
In a memo addressed to the heads of all executive departments and agencies, Trump said former U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration purposefully finalized collective bargaining agreements with federal employees in its final days “in an effort to harm my administration by extending its wasteful and failing policies beyond its time in office.”
Reuters
On the frontline against bird flu, egg farmers fear they’re losing the battle
“It’s not saying for sure there’s gonna be a pandemic” of H5N1, Swayne said, “but it’s saying the more human infections, the spreading into multiple mammal species is concerning.”
NPR
‘Very retaliatory’: the federal workers caught up in Trump’s DEI purge
Employees condemn ‘unprecedented and scary’ effort to push out those who had worked on diversity programs
The Guardian
‘Heartbreaking’: Venezuelans in U.S. blast Trump announcement that Maduro will take back deportees
“It’s heartbreaking that after seven years of hard work, studying for my degree, I’m still being targeted,” said Grecia Pacheco, 27, who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 2017 and lives in North Miami. “I’d rather seek refuge in another country than go back to Venezuela.”
Miami Herald
*Benny Hill Theme*
Russia is building an electronic registry of LGBTQ+ citizens
Citing anonymous sources at the Interior Ministry, the outlet reported that the Orwellian plan has been in discussion since last year after Russia’s Supreme Court outlawed the so-called “international LGBT movement” as an “extremist organization” at the urging of President Vladimir Putin.
LGBTQ Nation
Canadians are ‘perplexed’ by Trump’s tariffs, ambassador to the US says
“We’re hopeful that they don’t come into effect on Tuesday,” she said. “We’re ready to continue to talk to the Trump administration about that, and in particular about all the work that we’re doing with them and on our own, with respect to the border.”
ABC News
Congo says 773 dead in week of fighting as military battles Rwanda-backed rebels
At least 773 people have been killed in and around eastern Congo’s largest city of Goma in the past week during fighting between the military and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, according to Congolese authorities.
ABC
Thousands demonstrate in Germany against working with the far right
Thousands of people took to the streets in Germany on Saturday to protest the conservative party’s move to get legislation passed in the German parliament with help from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
dpa International
Syria leader says Saudis want to help rebuild war-torn country
Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa said Saudi Arabia had a “genuine desire” to support his war-torn country, after meeting on Sunday with the oil-rich Gulf state’s crown prince.
Al-Monitor
Bihar, India banned alcohol nine years ago. It’s failing just like American Prohibition
Banning booze in Bihar has empowered gangs and illicit markets in an echo of the 1920s. Here’s what went wrong
Salon
