List of All Articles with Tag 'politics'

In recent days, social media has been flooded with videos of truck drivers claiming they are boycotting Florida after the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, signed into law a strict immigration enforcement bill. According to the social media posts, truckers across the United States had decided en masse to cease deliveries to the Sunshine State, citing the tough immigration policies. One TikToker who made a video about his own concerns about the law, sanchezmanuel33, told The Independent that he thought “thousands” of truckers were participating. However, it does not appear that such a mass demonstration has been taking place as of yet. The Florida Trucking Association, which lobbies on behalf of the state’s trucking industry at the Florida statehouse, was able to shed some light on the situation. The group’s president told The Independent that she was aware of the TikTok videos but as of yet was not noticing any impacts on trucking businesses operating in the state. “I’m aware of the reports, but have not heard of any issues,” Alix Miller said. Other news reports indicate that there were no shortages reported at grocery stores in the state as of yet. One immigrants’ rights advocate who spoke to a local Florida news outlet said that she had spoken to several local organisations about pulling together a possible boycott, but those plans had not materialised so far. A series of TikTok videos quickly spread across left-leaning accounts on Twitter, boasting of a looming boycott. One TikTok video of a man recording a line of empty store shelves at a grocery store was viewed hundreds of thousands of times as evidence of shortages supposedly cropping up in the state. Aiding the growing story was a series of TikToks from individual truckers making bold claims about how they themselves would participate in a boycott, circulated on Twitter by an independent journalist focused on the immigration beat. His thread has been viewed more than 3 million times. “Do not enter Florida. Let’s support immigrants. What they’re doing in Florida is not okay. I’m going to say it again, I won’t enter Florida and neither will my truck. Let’s not pretend like we’re not all immigrants here,” one driver said in Spanish on TikTok. “Look at all the truck drivers here, there are long long lines. If we stand together and say ‘F*** it, we are not going to Florida.’ Let’s see who is going to bring (goods) to Florida? ... There’s more being imported to Florida than being exported. If we don’t bring anything to Floridians, what are they going to do? What’s the governor going to do?” another driver added. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also appeared to voice support for a trucker boycott. “Anti-immigrant policies reap what they sow. DeSantis’ Florida is about to find that out,” she said on Twitter, adding, “No más. Time to stop biting the hands that feed.” The issue has even received media coverage: A local newspaper, the Tallahassee Democrat, covered the TikToks and explained the basics of the immigration law, adding that “we don’t know for sure that (drivers) are” boycotting the state. A review of various Publix locations – Florida’s largest supermarket chain – across the state indicated no service disruptions or shortages, and there was no evidence on social media of any stores with empty shelves beyond the one TikTok filmed by a user named “PJ’s Journey”. The Independent has contacted a number of grocery chains in the state and made multiple attempts to reach Publix for comment. Read More Schoolboy almost dies from swallowing magnets for TikTok challenge Woman shares honest review of New York City apartment TikTok mom slammed after making 5-year-old son run in 104 degree heat Florida school district hit with lawsuit over ‘unconstitutional’ book bans Supreme Court refuses to block Illinois assault weapons ban Biden says he’s ‘confident’ US won’t default on debt

With work requirements for safety net programs emerging as a central issue in the debt ceiling negotiations, President Joe Biden's past support of such mandates is a point of optimism for Republicans and of concern for his fellow Democrats.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday sought to lay out how he'll continue to negotiate with congressional leaders on the budget to raise the debt ceiling -- underscoring that all parties agreed that the United States would not default.

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Daniel Werfel acknowledged in a letter to the US Senate on Monday that Black taxpayers are audited at significantly higher rates than non-Black taxpayers, a revelation he said has left the agency "deeply concerned."

Former president Donald Trump’s attorney Timothy Parlatore is leaving the former president’s legal team, CNN reported on Wednesday. Mr Parlatore played a key role in the investigation into Mr Trump keeping classified documents at his private Mar-a-Lago estate, and Mr Parlatore even testified before the grand jury in the case. The departure comes as Special Counsel Jack Smith reaches the end of his investigation into Mr Trump’s possible mishandling of classified documents. “It’s been an incredible honor to serve and work through interesting legal issues. My departure was a personal choice and does not reflect upon the case, as I believe strongly the (Justice Department) team is engaging in misconduct to pursue an investigation of conduct that is not criminal,” Mr Palatore told CNN in a statement. Mr Parlatore also organised searches for additional classified documents at Trump Tower as well as other Trump properties, including a storage unit. He also testified before a grand jury in December when the Justice Department sought to hold Mr Trump in contempt for failing to hand over classified documents after he received a subpoena. “They repeatedly tried to ask me about my conversations with President Trump, which is totally outside the scope of what I was there for,” he said in March. Mr Parlatore also recently sent a letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner that asked the Justice Department to step aside and instead let the intelligence community determine what happened with the documents. The departure comes as Mr Trump faces multiple investigations on the federal and local levels. Last month, he was arraigned in Manhattan for charges related to alleged hush money payments. The Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney is also investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the Peach State. Similarly, along with the documents, Mr Smith is investigating Mr Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and his actions on January 6. Read More Trump news – live: John Durham’s report on Trump-Russia probe attacks FBI as Giuliani accused of sexual abuse DeSantis reacts to Trump implying Florida abortion ban is ‘too harsh’ as 2024 fight heats up

President Joe Biden has cut short a foreign trip as both sides race to strike a deal before 1 June.

Rachael Rollins, the US attorney for Massachusetts, leaked sensitive Justice Department information to a journalist in an effort to influence a local election, according to a report released Wednesday by the department's inspector general.

The federal courts' policy-making body is defending its decision in 2011 to not refer Justice Clarence Thomas to the Justice Department to investigate allegations that his pattern of nondisclosure on his financial reports broke federal law.

Lawmakers in South Carolina will reconvene Wednesday morning after debating for more than 12 hours on a bill that would ban most abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy.

The White House says it is not currently planning to ask Congress for new Ukraine funding before the end of the fiscal year at the end of September, pitting administration officials against some lawmakers and congressional staffers who are concerned that the funds could run out by mid-summer.

ISLAMABAD Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said police had surrounded has his house and that

By Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) -Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in a decree on Wednesday, bringing forward