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Jul 30, 2026 - World

With Ohio’s Haitian refugees losing their protected status Monday, Springfield’s large population has begun being terminated from their jobs, a pastor who works with the community said on Tuesday.Without legal status, their work permits become invalid. They also face being forced to return to a nation that the International Rescue Committee says is “in the grip of an overwhelming humanitarian crisis.”Right now, gangs control Haiti. Kidnapping, murder, and rape are rampant. And the pastor, Carl Ruby, said one Springfield 12-year-old faces having to return to a place where he saw animals feeding on murdered corpses when he was just five.‘Thousands of people are now going to die violent deaths,’ says attorney for Ohio Haitian community“They’re just terrified for their physical safety,” Ruby said during a virtual press conference. “Many of them have already been traumatized… Some of them have been in prison. Some of them have been tortured. Some have been beaten. Some had been raped. Nearly all of them have seen friends or family members killed.”And some of those families — those who have had children since coming to the United States — face an excruciating choice: whether to take their children with them into the violent chaos that is Haiti or leave them behind in a relatively peaceful, prosperous place where their children’s citizenship gives them the right to stay.More than 330,000 Haitians have received temporary-protected status since an earthquake devastated the impoverished Caribbean country in 2010. Once in the United States, their status has been renewed as conditions in Haiti continued to deteriorate.Early last year, Ohio’s then-Attorney General Dave Yost and 27 other Republican state AGs wrote a letter to the Trump administration stressing the word “temporary” in temporary protected status.They claimed without evidence that it was safe for some with protected status to return to those home countries and urged a review.Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in November announced that she was terminating protected status for Haitians who had qualified, including about 45,000 in Ohio and roughly 15,000 in Springfield.Lawyers for the Haitians sued, arguing that Noem had failed to follow the 1990 law creating temporary protected status. It requires that the government conduct a mandatory review of conditions in a group’s home country to certify that it’s safe to return before forcing them to go.Lower courts blocked the termination.But in June, in a 6-3 ruling the U.S. Supreme Court reversed them, ruling that the TPS law itself barred most court challenges to the way its provisions were or were not applied.Attempt to halt imminent deportations of Haitians and Syrians blocked in US SenateThe court didn’t bar constitutional challenges, however, and SCOTUS Blog on Tuesday reported that some of those are in the works.But for Haitians in Ohio, that might seem a thin reed on which to lean. They and many others are bracing for a mass-deportation such as those conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in other regions. Ruby, the Springfield pastor, said no such operation has happened yet.“It could happen as soon as this week,” he said. “What we’re hearing from other reporting is that they’re planning on deporting them directly back to Haiti. There have been cases in the community where they have been picked up one day. Sent to a detention center the next day. And on the third or the fourth day they’re back in Haiti. It’s obviously not safe for them to go there.”The pastor added that jobs and support services are almost nonexistent when deportees get to Haiti.In addition to terror over what might happen in Haiti are worries about what’s next for Springfield.Ruby said that he and his colleagues have been working for the past 18 months to build “a very large coalition of faith leaders not only here in Springfield, but across the state of Ohio and across the nation who will stand with us if we have anything like what took place in Minneapolis.”He was referring to a mass-enforcement operation last winter in which masked ICE officers shot and killed two protestors, both of them citizens. Analysis of videos taken at the scene showed that neither protester posed the threat that Trump administration officials claimed after the shootings.Ruby stressed that he and other faith leaders want any protests of ICE enforcement actions to be peaceful, and that protesters have to be ready for the possible consequences of civil disobedience, such as going to jail.Gov. Mike DeWine has criticized some of his Republican colleagues for falsely demonizing Springfield’s Haitian immigrants.On Tuesday, his spokesman reiterated a statement DeWine issued last month when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling that effectively revoked their protected status.“Today’s decision is a legal decision,” DeWine said. “As I have stated in the past, the policy to remove these individuals from this country is a mistake.”DeWine later added, “The situation in Haiti could hardly be much worse. The violent gangs run most of the country. The government barely functions. And, the economy is in shambles.”Lynn Tramonte, founder of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, questioned whether DeWine would instruct the Ohio Highway Patrol not to assist ICE in enforcement operations.In the past, the Highway Patrol has worked with U.S. Border Patrol to apprehend undocumented immigrants, the American Immigration Council reports.Dan Tierney, DeWine’s press secretary, didn’t answer directly when asked if the Highway Patrol would assist ICE with enforcement operations in Springfield.Tramonte said DeWine could do more to help Haitians who suddenly find themselves without status.“The governor might claim he is powerless to do anything in the face of federal agents invading our state to take our people, but here are two things he can do,” Tramonte said in a text message.“He can instruct the Highway Patrol not to assist ICE in the enforcement of civil immigration laws. That’s not their job and they shouldn’t have to get involved. He can also underscore the same point for local police who often seem to think they should be on the hunt for immigrants instead of focusing on crime.”

Jul 30, 2026 - World

The Trump administration State Department is issuing a mea culpa for using a bizarre map of Africa that mislabeled every country that was highlighted."A video of the presentation given at the AIDS 2026 conference in ⁠Rio de Janeiro ... shows the errant map displayed halfway during a presentation about the State Department’s new health agreements," reported The Guardian, noting the original image was caught by Reuters.The map highlights Nigeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, and Cameroon all in completely the wrong parts of the continent, and often with made-up borders that don't resemble the real ones. Nigeria, for instance, was depicted as in the middle of the Sahara Desert instead of its correct position on the Gulf of Guinea, while Mozambique was depicted where Ethiopia is near the Horn of Africa, instead of its real location in the southern part of the continent.In response to the viral controversy, a State Department spokesperson apologized, per The Washington Post."This was an unfortunate error caused by a team member who hastily altered the slide deck immediately before the presentation at the AIDS 2026 Conference," said the spokesperson. "We take full responsibility for the confusion and misrepresentation it caused for attendees, including our African partners." The statement did not clarify how these "hasty alterations" could have led to the fictional borders as well as the mislabeled locations.The State Department has endured a number of recent humiliations, including Brazil denying visas to two high-ranking Trump administration officials over allegations of election meddling.

Jul 29, 2026 - World

President Donald Trump erupted Wednesday following a surprise Iranian attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan earlier that morning, vowing to respond with a curse-laden threat.“We are going to beat the f------ s--- out of them,” Trump told Fox News, according to Trey Yingst. “We'll be hitting them hard, they're going to get a beating.”Following a brief lull in strikes between the United States and Iran, the U.S. Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan came under fire early morning Wednesday from a barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles. No casualties have been reported as of Wednesday morning.“So clearly, the United States is going to respond to what the president described as a 'surprise attack,' he says U.S. forces had just minutes to shoot down these incoming Iranian ballistic missiles,” Yingst said. “The president says he has reviewed video of the shoot down, and it was U.S. forces conducting this operation to defend that area. He said it was real time, they were calling out coordinates and ensuring that none of this incoming Iranian fire got through.”Iran’s Revolutionary Guard acknowledged it had launched strikes at the U.S. base, according to the Associated Press, setting the stage for another round of escalation between the United States and Iran.“Again, President Trump telling Fox News 'we are going to beat the f-ing S out of them,' and that U.S. strikes will take place against Iran in response to the surprise attack overnight against U.S. forces in Jordan,” Yingst said."We are going to beat the f****** s*** out of them"- Trump in response to Iran's suprise attack on US base in Jordan pic.twitter.com/aDuzi9j1bB— Alexander Willis (@ReporterWillis) July 29, 2026

Jul 29, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is running into a brick wall as he begs U.S. allies for support, according to a new report.After months of browbeating European nations to join his Iran war, Hegseth is now desperately seeking their assistance—only to discover that his previous bullying has consequences, Politico reported Wednesday.The Defense Secretary is proposing an international coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz, according to Politico. "Hegseth is urging the U.K. and France to help lead the naval coalition," according to the report. "But even with the assistance of U.K. Defense Minister Wes Streeting, he’s facing skepticism across Europe, according to four British officials and one U.S. official."European officials have expressed "deep frustration" over the President Donald Trump administration's treatment so far, stemming back to when the president launched airstrikes on Iran in February without consultation—no heads-up to Congress, no warning to longstanding partners."There was no consultation with Congress, no consultation with allies, just boom," Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told Politico.Even America's closest ally is drawing firm lines. U.K. Defense Minister Wes Streeting cautiously agreed to help with maritime security but explicitly rejected further offensive operations. "The U.K. has 'not joined and will not join offensive U.S. military action in Iran,'" Streeting said, maintaining distinction between defending shipping lanes and supporting Trump's escalation agenda.Coons articulated the deeper problem, stating Trump is "deeply frustrated that Congress isn't supporting it, the American people aren't supporting it, our core allies aren't supporting it. You can't be surprised when you throw a party and you don't invite anybody."

Jul 28, 2026 - World

American diplomats walked out of a United Nations meeting after they were confronted with harsh criticism about President Donald Trump, The Guardian reported.During a U.N. Security Council meeting on the Ukraine-Russia war, United States diplomats staged a walkout after months of foreign diplomats and U.N. officials blasting Trump's human rights record, according to reporting by The Guardian.The condemnation came after the Trump administration imposed sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries it alleged were using "forced labor," The Guardian reported, noting that U.S. lawmakers also took issue with the tariffs. Critics dismissed the allegations as a "convenient" justification for Trump's tariffs, The Guardian added.The Trump administration has also come under fire for criticizing the U.N. human rights system and opposing the reappointment of U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk, according to The Guardian.Türk said in March that he was "deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction" in the US. In June, Türk called for "prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations" into immigration custody during the Trump administration.The U.S. was one of ten countries that voted against Türk's reappointment last week. The U.S. voted against Türk's reappointment alongside Russia, North Korea, Nicaragua, Israel, and Mali, which led French diplomats to call it out via a social media post, per The Guardian."The U.S. used to be a beacon of human rights. Not anymore," French diplomats wrote in a post on X. "Today, it stands alongside North Korea, Nicaragua, Mali & Russia, isolated. And the world no longer listens to it."