Author: Reporter

Immigration crackdown: Trump’s return fuels stock surge for private prisons ahead of mass deportations

As private prison stocks soar in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, the U.S. faces a potentially transformative economic and human rights crisis. With the president-elect’s plan to execute the “largest mass deportation operation” in U.S. history, the private prison industry has seen unprecedented gains, stoking fears of a costly humanitarian purge that will reshape the American labor force and burden taxpayers. In the days following the election, GEO Group and CoreCivic, two of the country’s largest private prison companies, experienced dramatic stock surges of 56% and 57%, respectively. These numbers dwarf the growth seen in the months...

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Second Trump Presidency sparks worry for migrants abroad but his return will not halt migration

Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential election instantly changed calculations for millions of migrants or potential migrants across the globe. But perhaps not in the way Trump imagined. Trump has pledged to reduce immigration. But by narrowing the already limited legal pathways into the U.S., migrants will just recalibrate their plans and resort in greater numbers to hiring smugglers, experts say. In many cases that will mean turning to organized crime groups that increasingly profit from migrant smuggling. Those potentially affected come from dozens of countries and many have already sold their homes and their possessions to...

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1984 in 2024: Trump’s election renews interest in “The Handmaid’s Tale” and other dystopian books

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is selling again. Since convicted felon Donald Trump clinched his return to the White House, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic about a country in which women are brutally repressed has been high on the Amazon.com bestseller list. In Atwood’s chilling story, readers are thrust into the oppressive world of Gilead, a totalitarian regime that has supplanted the United States government, enforcing a brutal hierarchy where women are stripped of their rights and autonomy. The story centers on Offred, a Handmaid whose sole purpose is to bear children for the ruling elite amidst widespread infertility. Through Offred’s harrowing...

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A theocratic dream: Why White Evangelical voters show staggering support for a Trump presidency

After convicted felon Donald Trump gave his victory speech on November 7, at the Palm Beach Convention Center, dozens of his supporters gathered in a lobby to sing “How Great Thou Art,” reciting from memory the words and harmonies of a classic hymn, popular among evangelical Christians. It was a fitting coda to an election in which Trump once again won the support of about 8 in 10 white evangelical Christian voters, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 120,000 voters. That level of support — among a group that represented about 20% of the total...

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Republican Trifecta: GOP wins 218 U.S. House seats giving the party absolute control of government

Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump. A House Republican victory in Arizona, alongside a win in slow-counting California on November 13, gave the GOP the 218 House victories that make up the majority. Republicans earlier gained control of the Senate from Democrats. With hard-fought yet thin majorities, Republican leaders are envisioning a mandate to upend the federal government and swiftly implement Trump’s vision for the country. The incoming president has promised to carry out the country’s largest-ever deportation...

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Tammy Baldwin: Re-elected Wisconsin Senator pledges to work with Trump and calls for less division

Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin pledged during her reelection victory speech on November 7 to work with President-elect Donald Trump when possible, but she also vowed to fight him to protect the national health care law and abortion rights. Baldwin narrowly won reelection to a third term over Republican businessman Eric Hovde, who was endorsed by Trump. Hovde has yet to concede in a race where the margin is so close he could seek a recount. “We deserve a politics with less vitriol, less division, less hatred and fewer lies. Actually, no lies,” Baldwin said to a room...

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