Trump Order

• President Trump ordered the Pentagon to "substantially reduce" joint military exercises with South Korea, a critical ally in the Asia Pacific region. • In a social media post on Sunday, the President justified the decision by citing his "very good relationship" with South Korean leadership. • Separately, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio has begun demanding documents from a legal firm following allegations of wrongdoing.

Heavy machinery seen operating in famous Santa Elena Canyon amid outcry over new wall infrastructure in beloved Texas parkBulldozers have begun plowing up ground at the mouth of Big Bend national park’s famed Santa Elena Canyon as part of the Trump administration’s multibillion-dollar “smart wall” expansion on the US-Mexico border, according to new footage taken by activists who have been monitoring the site.Tensions have run high since the Trump administration announced plans to erect new border security infrastructure in the roughly 500-mile Big Bend region of south-west Texas, which includes the Lone Star State’s largest and most-visited national park. Continue reading...

• Donald Trump has issued orders directing the Department of Justice to target states and localities whose childhood immunization rules conflict with parental authority, religious freedom, and medical exemptions. • The orders include a call for the CDC to revise its vaccine recommendations to align with those of other developed nations and revive claims linking vaccines to autism, despite scientific refutation. • Critics argue these directives are dangerous as they encourage vaccine refusal, potentially placing millions of children at risk of preventable diseases.

The order cannot affect change, and is only ‘undermining trust in vaccines’ as CDC guidance remains the sameDonald Trump’s executive order on vaccines does not change the US recommendations for the shots – but experts say it does create confusion and doubt about vaccines, which will lead to more illness and possibly deaths among children and will make it harder for families and pediatricians to protect them.The executive order was an attempt to reinstate sweeping changes to the vaccine schedule made earlier this year by Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services and a longtime vaccine opponent – changes that were later halted by a federal judge. Continue reading...

Ruling expands on earlier order that prevented implementation in 23 mostly Democratic-led statesSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA federal judge on Tuesday blocked ⁠the US Postal ⁠Service ​(USPS) from implementing part of Donald Trump’s executive order that aims ⁠to tighten rules for mail-in voting ahead of November midterm elections that ⁠will decide control of Congress.The ruling by ​US district ‌judge Indira ‌Talwani in Boston in effect expanded on an ‌earlier order she had issued in June that had prevented Trump’s administration from implementing it in 23 mostly Democratic-led states. Continue reading...

Order also recommends all shots be given at separate medical visits though cost of doing them together is lowerDonald Trump has signed an executive order with plans for sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule that attempts to override the authority of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).It’s an attempt to undergird the changes made earlier this year to CDC vaccination recommendations, which were halted by a federal judge. The CDC is the federal agency tasked with recommending vaccines, not the White House. Continue reading...

Move to raise levy on goods made with polysilicon aims to protect domestic US supply chains from China, the major producerDonald Trump has ordered a new 15% tariff on imported products made of polysilicon, an important ingredient in microchip manufacturing that is primarily produced by China.The new tariff, which will take effect on 4 December, is aimed at supporting US chip and solar panel supply chains to compete with Beijing on artificial intelligence and energy. Continue reading...

• The ACLU has condemned President Trump's new executive orders targeting birthright citizenship, arguing the measures are unconstitutional and destined to fail in court. • These orders follow a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down a previous administration attempt to restrict citizenship rights enshrined in the US Constitution. • In separate developments, leaked emails suggest Palmer Luckey engaged in political fundraising while his company secured sole-source government contracts.