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Rapper Kendrick Lamar, one of the big success stories of the Grammys last week, said Thursday his fans should expect “storytelling” at the Super Bowl halftime show this weekend.Lamar will headline the halftime show at Sunday’s showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, and has announced SZA will join him as a featured guest.He had a clean sweep at last Sunday’s Grammys, winning in all five categories for which he received nominations — Record of the Year, Song of the Year, best rap song, best rap performance and best music video.”I think I’ve always been very open about storytelling through my catalogue and history of music … I like to always carry on that sense of people listening but also thinking,” he said in an interview ahead of the NFL’s season finale.Lamar said had never imagined he would perform at the Super Bowl when he was starting out. In 2022, he appeared as a featured performer in a hip-hop showcase but this will be his first headline show.”I wasn’t thinking about no Super Bowl — I was thinking about the best verse… It wasn’t no Super Bowl,” he said.”What I know is the passion I have now is still the passion I had then.”He and SZA will head out on tour in April. The big question on everyone’s mind is whether Lamar will perform his Grammy-winning scathing diss track “Not Like Us,” which is part of a feud with fellow rapper Drake that has landed in court.He did not address that issue directly but said he was “just thinking about the culture, really.””When people talk about rap, man, the conversations out there they think it’s just rapping — (like) it’s not an actual art form,” Lamar said. “So when you put records like that at the forefront, it reminds people that this is more than just something that came 50 years ago.”Lamar released “Not Like Us” in May 2024, the fifth of a collection of songs skewering the Canadian rapper that dropped less than a day after his previous single, “Meet the Grahams.”A record-breaking streaming giant, “Not Like Us” catapulted to the top of the charts and quickly became a West Coast rap anthem, beloved for its pounding bass line, rhythmic strings and exaggerated enunciation.Drake has filed a defamation suit against their shared label, saying Universal Music Group’s release and promotion of “Not Like Us” amounted to defamation and harassment.UMG has called the accusations “illogical.”

US President Donald Trump’s trade envoy nominee Jamieson Greer told his confirmation hearing Thursday that universal tariffs were worth studying, adding that he would work to restructure global trade ties.On the campaign trail, Trump raised the idea of across-the-board tariffs on all US imports, and Greer would be a crucial figure in implementing the president’s trade and tariffs agenda if confirmed as US trade representative.A universal tariff “is something that should be studied and considered” to see if it can reverse the direction of the US trade deficit and offshoring, said Greer, a trade lawyer and official in Trump’s first administration.He was responding to concerns over sweeping duties, which some lawmakers warned could drive up prices.Addressing the Senate Finance Committee, Greer added that “we have a relatively short window of time to restructure the international trading system to better serve US interests.”Greer, a partner at law firm King & Spalding, served as chief of staff to Trump’s former trade representative Robert Lighthizer during his first presidential term.During that time, he helped to see through a trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada — although Trump has since announced, and then paused, fresh tariffs on both partners as talks continue.Asked about potential trade wars with neighboring countries, Greer said “the action that the president is talking about is about fentanyl, where we don’t want another single fentanyl death.””We need to come to an agreement on that,” he said, adding that Mexico and Canada appear willing to do so.Trump has cited illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl across US borders as a reason for seeking 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico — though a lower rate on Canadian energy.Canada for its part has countered that below one percent of undocumented migrants and fentanyl entering the United States comes through its border.Greer also stressed the need for the country to have a “robust manufacturing base” and innovation economy, warning it would have “little in the way of hard power to deter conflict and protect Americans” otherwise.- Fairness with China -On US trade ties with the world’s second biggest economy, China, Greer said Washington and Beijing need to have a “balanced relationship” overall.He said it was important that if China wanted to trade with the United States and have healthy economic ties, much of this will need to be premised on fair market access.If confirmed, Greer said he would swiftly assess and enforce China’s compliance with a Phase One trade deal Washington and Beijing inked in 2020, marking a truce in the escalating trade war between both sides.During Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021, the United States introduced tariffs on billions of dollars worth of imports — notably on China but also America’s allies.In particular, the first Trump administration imposed levies on some $300 billion in Chinese goods as Washington and Beijing engaged in a tit-for-tat tariffs war.Trump’s trade representative at the time, Lighthizer, emerged as a strongman in talks as he sought to force changes in Beijing’s economic policies.Greer added Thursday that the United States should be a “country of producers.””We need to create incentives to produce in America, and we need to create incentives to get market access overseas,” he said.He also noted that the United States needs to gain market access, calling for the use of “all the tools at our disposal” to do so.Greer additionally said he was committed to looking at other unfair trade practices if confirmed as USTR.

The UN’s climate chief, seeking to shore up solidarity on combating global warming as the United States retreats from its leadership role, appealed to nations’ self-interest in a speech Thursday.Speaking at a university in Brazil’s capital, Simon Stiell said global heating was “dangerously high,” but that real progress had been made since the landmark Paris Agreement.He conceded many countries would miss a February 10 deadline to submit their next round of climate plans — giving them until September to deliver “first-rate” emissions roadmaps.Brazil is set to host the next global climate conference, COP30, in November.”We are already headed in the right direction. We just have to implement, and implement more and faster,” said the former Grenadan environment minister.Quickly after his White House return, President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris deal for the second time. “A country may step back –- but others are already stepping into their place to seize the opportunity, and to reap the massive rewards: stronger economic growth, more jobs, less pollution and far lower health costs, more secure and affordable energy,” said Stiell. He said economic reality would drive action, with climate investment now at $2 trillion.Self-interest, he said, “above all other factors, is why the clean energy shift is now unstoppable: because of the colossal scale of economic opportunity it presents.”- Climate costs -Only a handful of countries have so far submitted their climate plans, including Brazil and Britain, with big emitters China and the European Union expected to follow later in the year.A UN official said that over 170 countries had indicated they were working on their new emissions goals and planned to submit them this year, most of them before COP30.When the Paris deal was signed ten years ago, the world was heading for 5 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels.That was “a death sentence for humanity as we know it,” said Stiell, noting that the current trajectory of 3C was still catastrophic.     The safer limit under the Paris deal is 1.5C, but scientists say that is slipping out of reach.Last year was the hottest on record, and the combined average temperature of 2023 and 2024 exceeded the 1.5C threshold for the first time. On Thursday, Europe’s climate monitor said last month was the hottest January on record.Last year’s contentious COP29 meeting in Baku ended with richer countries agreeing to provide at least $300 billion annually by 2035 to help poorer nations progress their green transition and build resilience. The actual need has been estimated at $1.3 trillion in developing countries — many of whom are facing crushing debts.Stiell said the focus this year would be to find other sources of money to plug the gap.  He stressed the funding was “not charity” but a way to curb inflation caused by climate disasters. “Just take rising food prices, which have the fingerprints of climate-driven droughts, floods, and wildfires all over them,” he said.

Israel’s defence minister ordered the army on Thursday to prepare for “voluntary” departures from Gaza, as US President Donald Trump ruled out sending troops to the territory.Trump had earlier proposed moving Palestinians out of Gaza, sparking uproar from leaders in the Middle East and beyond.Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to formulate a plan for Palestinians to leave Gaza, which has been ravaged by more than a year of war.”I have instructed the IDF (military) to prepare a plan to enable voluntary departure for Gaza residents,” Katz said, adding they could go “to any country willing to accept them”.Trump announced his proposal to audible gasps on Tuesday at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first foreign leader to meet him at the White House since his inauguration.The United Nations warned any forced displacement of Palestinians would be “tantamount to ethnic cleansing”.Trump insisted “everybody loves” the plan, saying it would involve the United States taking over Gaza, though he offered few details on how more than two million Palestinians would be removed.His administration later appeared to backtrack, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying any transfer of Gazans would be temporary.Trump doubled down on his proposal on Thursday, however.”The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he said on his Truth Social network.”No soldiers by the US would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”Rubio also said later that those denouncing Trump’s plan should “step forward and provide a solution and answer to that problem”.Hamas’s spokesman condemned Trump’s statements as “absolutely unacceptable”.”Trump’s remarks about Washington taking control of Gaza amount to an open declaration of intent to occupy the territory,” Hazem Qassem said.”Gaza is for its people and they will not leave.- ‘Greatest friend’ -Netanyahu, speaking to Fox News on Wednesday, called the proposal “remarkable” and hailed Trump as Israel’s “greatest friend”.”I think it should be really pursued, examined, pursued and done, because I think it will create a different future for everyone.”Katz said Trump’s plan “could create broad opportunities for Gaza residents who wish to leave… and also facilitate the advancement of reconstruction programs for a demilitarised, threat-free Gaza”.Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who vowed Wednesday to “definitively bury” the idea of a Palestinian state — said he welcomed Katz’s move.Palestinians residing in the coastal territory have vowed to remain. For them, any attempt to push them out of Gaza recalls the “Nakba”, or “catastrophe” — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.”They can do whatever they want, but we will remain steadfast in our homeland,” said 41-year-old Gazan Ahmed Halasa.Israelis in Jerusalem largely welcomed Trump’s proposal, though some doubted it could be carried out.”I really like what he said, but in my wildest dreams… it’s hard for me to believe it will happen, but who knows,” said 65-year-old Refael.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump wanted Palestinians to only be “temporarily relocated” out of Gaza.”It’s not a liveable place for any human being,” she said.But Trump, who also suggested he might visit Gaza, implied it would not be rebuilt for Palestinians.- ‘Ethnic cleansing’ -Even before Tuesday’s announcements, Trump had suggested residents of Gaza should move to Egypt and Jordan, both of which have flatly rejected any resettlement of Palestinians on their territory.Egypt’s foreign ministry on Thursday said Israeli support for Trump’s plan “weakens and destroys the negotiations on a ceasefire agreement and incites a return to fighting”.Egypt, Qatar and the United States mediated the fragile January 19 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Talks resumed this week for the second phase of the truce, expected to herald a more permanent end to the fighting.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people… to simply live as human beings in their own land”.His spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: “Any forced displacement of people is tantamount to ethnic cleansing.”The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Phillipe Lazzarini, tweeted: “The rights of the Palestinians continue to be violated. Since the war began, people in Gaza have undergone systematic dehumanization.””Palestinians do matter, including those in Gaza. Their rights, lives & futures matter. Human rights cannot be applied selectively,” he added.Israel’s military offensive in response to Hamas’s attack has left much of Gaza in ruins, including schools, hospitals and most civil infrastructure.In a bid to address the dire humanitarian situation, aid has been rushed into the territory since the ceasefire took effect.UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said Thursday that more than 10,000 aid trucks had crossed into Gaza since the truce went into effect, calling it “a massive surge”.burs-dv/jsa/ysm

Panama on Thursday rejected the United States’ claim of securing free passage for its government vessels through the Panama Canal, while bowing to US pressure to quit a key Chinese project.Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino told reporters the US assertion about the waterway was “intolerable,” adding that he rejected “bilateral relations based on lies and falsehoods.”Since winning the US election in November, President Donald Trump has refused to rule out the use of force to seize the canal built by Washington over a century ago and later handed over to Panama.Around 40 percent of US container traffic passes through the narrow body of water linking the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.The new row between Panama and Washington erupted after the US State Department claimed that Panama had agreed to let American government vessels through the canal for free after talks last weekend between Mulino and Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio.In a post on the social media platform X, the State Department claimed the decision would save the US government “millions of dollars a year.”Speaking Thursday in the Dominican Republic, Rubio argued that it was “absurd” for US naval vessels to have to pay “to transit a zone we are obligated to protect in time of conflict.”He stopped short however of claiming that an agreement had been reached. The Panama Canal Authority (PCA), an independent body that runs the waterway, said it had “not made any adjustments” to its tariffs but that it was open to dialogue on the matter.- ‘Not breaking the US’ -US government vessels — primarily from the navy — make up a small portion of the ships that pass through the canal.Trump has loudly complained that US vessels are being overcharged to use the shipping route.Mulino said that US government vessels, including navy vessels, paid “$6-7 million a year” for the right of passage.”It’s not as if the canal toll is breaking the economy of the United States,” he remarked.Beyond the tolls, Washington has appeared chiefly concerned about Chinese investment in the 50-mile (80-kilometer) long canal, which handles five percent of global maritime trade.CK Hutchison Holdings — owned by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing — has a concession to manage two of the canal’s five ports.Trump, who is scheduled to hold telephone talks on Friday with Mulino, has claimed that Beijing could close the canal to the United States in a crisis — a claim Panama strenuously denies.But in a key concession to Washington, Mulino on Thursday confirmed that Panama had pulled out of China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure program.- Chinese project torpedoed -Mulino said that the Panamanian Embassy in Beijing had given China the required 90-day notice of its decision not to renew its involvement in the program, which it joined in 2017.Panama is the first Latin American country to announce its withdrawal from President Xi Jinping’s signature, trillion-dollar program, which operates in over 100 countries.On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Affairs spokesman, Lin Jian, had argued that the partnership was yielding “fruitful results” and urged Panama to “resist external interferences.”The latest controversy over the Panama Canal comes at the end of Rubio’s week-long visit to Central America, his first as the US top diplomat.He had threatened action against Panama unless it made immediate changes to reduce Chinese influence on the canal but later appeared more conciliatory, hailing Mulino’s pledge to quit China’s infrastructure program as a “great step forward” for bilateral relations.Following Trump’s canal takeover threat, Mulino last month ordered an audit of Hutchison Holdings.”If they violate the terms of the concession or cause imminent economic harm to the country, we will act accordingly, but for now the audit is ongoing,” he said Thursday.

Mexican armed troops guard the fence snaking along the US border as part of a deal with President Donald Trump, who delayed tariffs on Mexico in exchange for increased efforts against illegal migration and fentanyl smuggling.But locals are skeptical the soldiers will make a difference so far as drug trafficking is concerned.”It’s just a way of trying to look good so they don’t raise tariffs. They are political agreements,” said Armando Jauregui, a 35-year-old Mexican who works at a duty-free shop next to the Tijuana-San Diego border crossing, one of the world’s busiest.”It will be business as usual, even with more police here. If you catch one Chapo, tomorrow another Chapo will appear,” he told AFP, referring to infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.Almost 2,000 extra troops were assigned to Tijuana, just south of California, as part of the 10,000-strong border reinforcement that President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged on Monday under the deal with Trump.Members of the National Guard were seen arriving by plane in Tijuana and other cities along the frontier.They quickly got to work guarding and patrolling the border, searching for clandestine tunnels used to smuggle migrants and drugs including the deadly opioid fentanyl.In return, Trump agreed to put 25-percent tariffs on Mexican goods on pause for a month.Mexico has pledged to successive US administrations to tackle illegal flows of drugs and migrants, and US border states already had a heavy security presence including thousands of troops.- ‘Pretty pointless’ -Tijuana is on the frontline of this high-profile effort to reduce the illegal flow of drugs and migrants across a border that stretches nearly 3,150 kilometers (2,000 miles).Equipped with assault rifles and with their faces covered, members of the National Guard stood watch near Tijuana’s beach — a popular spot for locals and tourists.Jose Luis Zuniga, an arts and crafts vendor, said there had been a noticeable increase in the security presence since Trump took office.”There’s a lot of National Guard around at the moment,” as well as members of other branches of the security forces, the 73-year-old said.Baja California, which is home to Tijuana, was Mexico’s second most violent state in 2024 with 2,368 murders — 7.9 percent of the national total, according to official figures. Several hundred thousand people have been killed since Mexico deployed the army to combat trafficking in 2006, according to official figures.Faced with the spiraling violence and power wielded by ultra-violent drug cartels, Zuniga said he thinks having extra troops on patrol in Tijuana “is pretty pointless.””They are just checking people don’t try to cross (the border). But you don’t see drugs going across here or anything like that… There must be another way to cross,” he said.US Marines have also been seen unrolling barbed wire to strengthen the border fence since Trump took office.The Republican ordered the deployment of 1,500 additional soldiers to the frontier, declaring a “national emergency.”Araceli Lopez, a restaurant worker, had a front-row view of the marines’ work, which took place in front of her home along the border fence.”They are here welding, putting up barbed wire. They have been here for four days now, and it’s so noisy,” the 35-year-old said, adding that she opposed Trump’s migration policies.”We Mexicans are hard-working. We go (to the United States) in search of a better life,” Lopez said.”They don’t see it that way. But the truth is we only go there to work.”

US tariffs on Chinese imports and the closing of a customs loophole will wreak disruption on the business models of e-commerce giants Shein and Temu, with consumers potentially bearing the brunt of the cost, analysts say.Boasting an enormous selection of ultra-cheap items at a time when inflation has shrunk household spending power almost everywhere, Shein and Temu have become a global phenomenon.The companies send out tens of billions of dollars worth of clothes, gadgets and other items from their vast network of factories in China annually — with the United States a crucial market. But over the weekend US President Donald Trump introduced additional levies of 10 percent on all Chinese imports, and scrapped a customs exemption for goods valued under $800. Before Trump’s announcement, the system allowed “Chinese exporters to deliver small parcels at low costs, a benefit that has translated directly into lower prices for US consumers,” Peking University’s Mingzhi Jimmy Xu told AFP.”Disrupting this system would impose higher shipping costs, leading to either higher retail prices or lower profit margins — both of which could fundamentally alter the business models of these platforms.”On Tuesday it seemed the damage could worsen when the US Postal Service announced it would suspend all parcels from China and Hong Kong in light of the tariffs — only to backtrack the next day.But losing the $800 “de minimis” exemption means e-commerce firms now face import duties, potentially more frequent inspections, and the need to meet regulations on issues like food safety and national security.Some items previously imported under the exemption might never have been allowed to enter the United States at all if they had had to follow these standards, Nomura analysts said.Trouble could be ahead elsewhere, too — on Wednesday the European Commission announced it would seek to impose new fees on e-commerce imports, though it said its actions were not coordinated with Washington.- ‘Not many other alternatives’ -In 2024, $46 billion dollars worth of small parcels were shipped to the United States under the de minimis exemption, according to Nomura. Between 20-30 percent of Temu’s sales come from the United States, and Shein relies on the country for 30-40 percent of its revenue, e-commerce expert Laetitia Lamari told AFP.It is such an important market that the closing of the loophole “would more likely mean continuing selling at a higher cost in the US rather than stopping”, Allison Malmsten from Beijing-based Daxue Consulting told AFP.That cost is likely to eventually pass on to the customer.”The American consumer doesn’t have many other alternatives: even Amazon Haul, Amazon’s low-cost offering of products under $20, gets its supplies… from China,” said Lamari. The closing of the loophole has been expected, Nomura analysts said, as scrutiny of the e-commerce sector’s quality control, workforce practice and environmental impact has increased.But the crackdown came earlier than expected, they wrote.- Adapting ‘not without risks’ -The effect will be “devastating for hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized (SME) e-commerce businesses” in China and the United States, said the University of Delaware’s Sheng Lu.Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Chinese retailers selling on Shein and Temu have been asked to start paying an additional 30 percent levy to their logistics agents.The larger companies have other options for adaptation too.Rui Ma, founder of the Tech Buzz China newsletter, told AFP that Temu, Shein and others have already begun restructuring their operations in anticipation of the change. “Temu, for example, is rapidly expanding its semi-managed model, where goods are shipped in bulk to overseas warehouses instead of directly to customers,” she said.”The de minimis rule helped Temu break into international markets, but to truly dominate them, it was not a foundation they could rely on exclusively long-term.” Other options might include partnerships with American distributors, or trans-shipment — sending items via a third country that remains qualified for the de minimis exemption.But adapting “is not without risks”, said Peking University’s Xu, as the investment in warehouses and inventory management could hurt flexibility. “In the long run, platforms like Shein and Temu are likely to adapt,” he said. “But this adaptation may come at the expense of the very affordability and product diversity that have defined their success.”

More than two million US federal workers were hours away from a deadline Thursday to quit with eight months’ pay or risk being fired on the spot in a plan by billionaire Elon Musk to gut the civil service.Musk, the world’s richest person and a top donor to President Donald Trump, is in charge of a free-ranging Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that aims to radically downsize federal agencies.The most dramatic element so far has been a push to encourage employees to leave by midnight Thursday. According to US media, a small proportion of staffers — up to 40,000 — had so far accepted the deal.The initiative has caused consternation among government workers, who face daily verbal attacks by Trump administration officials.Unions and Democrats have challenged the legality of threats to fire civil servants.A federal judge in Massachusetts was to hold a hearing Thursday on a lawsuit by labor unions requesting an injunction against Musk’s midnight deadline. The unions backing the suit represent some 800,000 civil servants.But the campaign has already severely disrupted the huge departments and agencies that for decades have run everything from education to national intelligence.USAID, the government’s huge agency for distributing aid around the world, has been crippled, with foreign-based staff ordered home and the organization’s programs lambasted as wasteful by the White House and right-wing media.Trump has also repeatedly said he wants to shut down the Department of Education, while Musk aides have stoked controversy by accessing a tightly guarded Treasury Department payment system.The inducements to resign have even been extended to the CIA.According to a report in The New York Times, the agency sent a list of the most junior — and easiest to fire — officers to the White House.The Times reported that the list gave only their first names and initials of their surnames, but was sent in an unclassified email, sparking concerns that their identities could easily be discovered by foreign adversaries.In another sign of the scale of cuts intended by Musk’s team, an official with the agency that manages government property said the real estate portfolio, barring Department of Defense buildings, should be cut by “at least 50 percent.”- Buyout questions -Workers considering the buyout offer face considerable uncertainty, including over whether Trump has the legal right to make the offer and whether the conditions will be honored.The plan was first announced in an email sent across most of the vast government and titled “Fork in the road” — the same as one Musk sent to all employees at Twitter when he bought the social media platform in 2022 and renamed it X.Musk says the paid departures are a chance to “take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill, while receiving your full government pay and benefits.”But unions warn that without Congress signing off on the use of federally budgeted money, the agreements may be worthless. “Federal employees shouldn’t be misled by slick talk from unelected billionaires and their lackeys,” Everett Kelley, president of the large American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said in a swipe at Musk.”Despite claims made to the contrary, this deferred resignation scheme is unfunded, unlawful and comes with no guarantees. We won’t stand by and let our members become the victims of this con.”The Massachusetts lawsuit also casts doubt on assertions that workers would be free to look for other jobs during their deferment periods, citing ethics regulations. An employee in the US Office of Personnel Management, where Musk has put his own staff in key positions, said the plan was to encourage resignations through “panic.””It’s not like we’re pursuing some orderly measure to reduce the size of government,” the employee told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.”We’re trying to instill a panic so that people just walk out the door and leave government in a crippled state, which is partly their objective.”

US Democrats forced a delay Thursday in a key vote on Kash Patel’s nomination to lead the FBI amid a mushrooming scandal over Republican “enemies lists” allegedly drawn up to help US President Donald Trump take revenge on his perceived adversaries.The right-wing former lawyer has a long history of promoting misinformation about election fraud and public health, and published a list of 60 Trump critics in a recent book that Democrats say put a target on their backs.His nomination became even more contentious with the eruption of a second “enemies list” controversy this week, as the FBI was forced to identify agents who investigated the 2021 insurrection that led to Trump being impeached and indicted.The Judiciary Committee was set to advance Patel’s nomination to a full vote of the Senate floor but Democrats demanded a second hearing with the nominee, whom they claim withheld information about Trump’s FBI revenge plans.”These actions have political retribution written all over them, and it will get worse if Kash Patel is named FBI director,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer as he slammed the FBI list and the nomination. “The Senate should not rubber-stamp a patently partisan nominee like Kash Patel to lead the FBI… Either Mr. Patel serves the interests of the American people or serves the interests of Donald Trump.”The minority party took advantage of a rule in the Republican-led committee allowing a single delay of a week in any nomination vote.Democrats accused Patel after the hearing of misleading members by downplaying his involvement in a song recorded by insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 — and noted that he reposted a social media video depicting him butchering Trump’s critics.”Setting aside how grotesque that is, the idea that a man with the kind of judgment — that he thinks it’s okay to repost imagery of himself chainsawing his political enemies — (it) is not appropriate for an FBI director,” said Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.- ‘Innuendo and misinformation’ -Patel is among a number of Trump intelligence and law enforcement nominees who have been assailed over character flaws, their lack of experience and poor judgment in a series of showstopping Senate confirmation hearings.Patel’s committee approval hearing will now likely take place next Thursday, with two Republican “no” votes enough to stop his nomination from making it to the Senate floor with a favorable report.But Trump has enormous sway over Republicans in Congress and the party’s senators have shown little appetite for objecting to the figures picked to staff the Republican leader’s national security team.There were fiery exchanges at Patel’s confirmation hearing on January 30 as Democrats brought up a list of 60 supposed “deep state” actors — all critics of Trump — he included in a 2022 book, whom he said should be investigated or “otherwise reviled.”Patel has denied that he has an “enemies list” and told the committee he was merely interested in bringing lawbreakers to book.Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz slammed what he termed “baseless attacks and political theater” targeting Patel as he accused the nominee’s critics of having “peddled innuendo and misinformation.””At the end of the day, what is really striking, is none of them made a serious argument that Kash Patel is not qualified,” he told Fox News.”His experience is extensive and what they are afraid of is that Kash Patel will do exactly what Donald Trump promised.”

US President Donald Trump announced Thursday the creation of a task force to “eradicate anti-Christian bias” in government, intensifying a right-wing crackdown since returning to power.The Republican billionaire said he was putting new Attorney General Pam Bondi at the head of the force to end “persecution” of the majority religion of the United States.Trump said its mission would be to “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination” in the Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI and other government agencies.He also said it would prosecute “anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society.””We will protect Christians in our schools, in our military and our government, in our workplaces, hospitals and in our public squares,” Trump told a national prayer breakfast at a Washington hotel.He also announced the creation of a “White House faith office” led by his spiritual advisor, the televangelist Paula White. The announcements came amid a wider purge of the federal government at the start of Trump’s second term.Trump has unveiled a slew of orders backing a conservative agenda, including several targeting diversity programs and transgender people. Despite a criminal conviction for hush money payments in a porn star scandal and sexual assault allegations, Trump has long made himself a champion of right-wing Christians.Trump’s cabinet contains several members with links to Christian nationalists, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.And while Trump is not seen as particularly religious, he said he had become more so after surviving an assassination attempt at an election rally in June 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.”It changed something in me, I feel even stronger. I believed in God, but I feel much more strongly about it,” Trump told a separate prayer breakfast at the US Capitol on Thursday.”We have to bring religion back.”Trump said in his inauguration speech on January 20, referring to the assassination attempt, that he had been “saved by God to Make America Great Again.”