After the Trump administration charged a sitting judge and a sitting mayor in separate cases, a Democratic member of Congress has joined the list.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has arrested a sitting judge and a sitting mayor, leaving many to wonder whether a member of Congress might soon join the list. Wonder no more.

The acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, Alina Habba, announced on Monday that her office was charging Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., with "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement."

The basic elements of the story are straightforward. Earlier this month, a group of Democratic officials, including three members of Congress, visited Delaney Hall, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in New Jersey. The point, according to the lawmakers, was to conduct oversight, which is a core congressional responsibility.

Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver charged after visiting ICE facility in New Jersey

After the Trump administration charged a sitting judge and a sitting mayor, a sitting member of Congress, Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, has joined the list.

^{Steve Benen (MSNBC)}

MEXICO CITY — Leading human rights activist, Ruth López, has been arrested in El Salvador, after the Attorney General's office accused her of embezzlement of state funds. López leads the anti-corruption and justice program for the human rights organization Cristosal.

López has been an outspoken critic of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. She and her organization have documented human rights abuses in El Salvador — including inhumane conditions in jails and the extended state of emergency, during which the government has suspended many constitutional rights and imprisoned tens of thousands of suspected gang members without following due process.

Mass Incarceration and Democratic Deterioration: Three Years of the State of Exception in El Salvador - WOLA

On March 27, 2022, at the request of President Nayib Bukele, the Legislative Assembly passed a state of exception, limiting constitutional guarantees and granting unrestricted powers to the security forces of El Salvador.

^{Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)}

U.S. drugmaker Pfizer, said it would license an experimental cancer treatment from China's 3SBio Inc, paying $1.25 billion upfront and up to another $4.8 billion if developmental milestones are met.

Pfizer also plans to make a $100 million equity investment in 3SBio after the transaction closes, which is expected to happen in the third quarter.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-signs-up-6-billion-licensing-deal-with-chinas-3sbio-cancer-drug-2025-05-20/

NBC News, citing five unnamed US officials, reported on Friday that the Trump administration plans to permanently "relocate" up to one million Palestinians to Libya.

In exchange, the US would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that were frozen more than a decade ago, NBC said.

US planning to 'relocate' up to one million Palestinians to Libya: Report

^{Middle East Eye}

from #TheSeattleTimes
May 19, 2025 at 12:42 pm
Updated May 19, 2025 at 4:32 pm

"Seattle police arrested one demonstrator after a crowd of dozens tried to push into the Seattle Convention Center, where hundreds had gathered for Microsoft Build. Several demonstrators were doused with pepper spray.

Demonstrators ultimately left the convention center at 1:30 p.m., returning to downtown Seattle’s Westlake Park where they had rallied earlier in the day."

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/pro-palestinian-activists-clash-with-security-at-seattle-microsoft-event/

from #AssociatedPress #APNews
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ
Updated 5:46 PM EDT, May 19, 2025

"NEW YORK (#AP) — Less than three weeks after his release from an immigration jail, the #Palestinian activist #MohsenMahdawi strode across the graduation stage at #ColumbiaUniversity on Monday morning, savoring a moment the #Trump administration had fought to make impossible.

Draped in a keffiyeh, Mahdawi, 34, paused to listen to the swell of cheers from his fellow graduates. Then he joined a vigil just outside #Columbia’s gates, raising a photograph of his classmate Mahmoud Khalil, who remains in federal custody."-

https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-graduation-mohsen-mahdawi-b17b3d7514d760af8835eaf909fb83ac

Johana Bhuiyan
Mon 19 May 2025 14.27 EDT

"“As one of the largest companies in the world, Microsoft has immeasurable power to do the right thing: demand an end to this senseless tragedy, or we will cease our technological support for Israel,” read the email... “If leadership continues to ignore this demand, I promise that it won’t go unnoticed. The world has already woken up to our complicity and is turning against us. The boycotts will increase and our image will continue to spiral into disrepair.”"

Microsoft employee interrupts CEO’s keynote with pro-Palestinian protest

Protester is engineer who worked on Azure software, which enabled Israeli surveillance of Palestinians

^{Johana Bhuiyan (The Guardian)}

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/19/politics/trump-adminstration-approached-qatar-jet

President Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters are motivated by their prejudices, not economic concerns, social scientists contend. Will Democrats stop trying to win their votes?

In January, Smith and his University of Kansas colleague, associate sociology professor Eric A. Hanley, published a 47-page paper deconstructing the Republican president’s appeal. Building on decades of scholarship about the lure of authoritarianism and their own analysis of American voting psychology in 2012 and 2016, the social scientists make an argument that some may find offensive and others unsurprising.

It goes something like this: Trump’s biggest supporters are motivated by bigotry and want him to hurt the people they dislike.

Note: There's a lot to unpack in this article, and this just seems to be the hook.

Why Trump’s biggest supporters can’t be swayed by economic concerns

Is President Donald Trump’s base racist? Social scientists are beginning to weigh in

^{Raheem Hosseini (San Francisco Chronicle)}