Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him; The New York Times, July 24, 2026

Tony Romm and Brad Plumer, The New York Times ; Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him

Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.

[Kip Currier: Think about how completely unbalanced and destructive this scorched-earth behavior is: Trump 2.0's admission of "canceling grants to states that did not vote for him".

Trump's vindictive, ruthless actions -- against states that didn't vote for him in the 2024 election -- impact not just citizens who oppose him in those states but also his own voters and supporters who live, work, and have businesses and financial interests in those states!

I envision a not-too-distant time when many people (not just historians) will ask "how was this behavior enabled to happen? How could so many in positions of power, authority, and privilege support someone who continually engages in such clearly unethical, corrupt conduct that debases and damages our democracy, country, and world?"

The law firms that capitulated to baseless threats.

The university leaders and their boards of trustees who said and continue to say nothing.

The media organizations and journalists who have folded and disseminate and amplify misinformation and disinformation.

The oligarchs and corporations that have enriched themselves, while lobbying against basic standards of living and access to healthcare and medicines for human beings throughout the world. 

The government officials, legislators, and judges who took oaths of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The religious leaders and institutions who support administrative policies that go against the most basic tenets of their respective faith teachings and traditions.]

"When the Trump administration canceled more than $7.5 billion in Biden-era federal grants for clean energy projects in October, it framed the move as an urgent corrective to protect taxpayer funds from waste.

But it wasn’t true.

In little-noticed court documents, federal officials acknowledged this month that they had terminated the funding “based solely” on political criteria, targeting projects in states that were represented by Democrats and had voted for Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee, in the 2024 election.

The admission showed how President Trump has weaponized the provision of federal education, energy, health, housing and infrastructure aid in his second term. Far from rooting out the sort of misspending that Mr. Trump sees as rife in Washington, the White House has instead sought to leverage the budget as a tool to assist its allies — or as a cudgel to hurt the president’s foes."

Somali Referee Says His World Cup Dream Is Dashed After U.S. Denies Entry; The New York Times, June 9, 2026

Matthew Mpoke Bigg, The New York Times ; Somali Referee Says His World Cup Dream Is Dashed After U.S. Denies Entry

I had the right papers and everything,” Omar Abdulkadir Artan said in his first interview since he was turned back. He would have been the first Somali to referee a game in the tournament

"A referee from Somalia said on Tuesday that the biggest dream of his professional life had been shattered after the American authorities denied him permission to enter the United States to participate in the World Cup soccer tournament.

The referee, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, was one of 52 selected for this summer’s World Cup in North America. He was one of seven African referees to be chosen for the tournament and would have been the first Somali to referee a World Cup game.

Speaking for the first time since he was denied entry to the United States, Mr. Artan told The New York Times that officiating a World Cup game would have been a symbol for all Somalis of what they could achieve in spite of their country’s difficulties.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Mr. Artan said in a telephone interview from Istanbul, the city he had been flown to after he was refused entry. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.”...

The immigration interview ended after 11 hours, Mr. Artan said, and he was then taken to a separate holding cell where he was detained for several further hours before being put on a flight back to Istanbul. He said that officials did not give him a reason for refusing him entry."