Trump attacks baseball, Trade war with the E.U., GOP is shocked, Trump is ignored on climate, and more

By Robert A. Vella

Here’s more evidence that Donald Trump is a madman.  As president, he has made more enemies than a herpes sore at a kissing booth.  The man is so widely reviled that his only “friends” are racists, homophobes, xenophobes, bible-thumpers, a few business partners, anti-democratic despots, and his Romanov-like family.  To any sane person, making even more enemies would at the very least warrant second-thoughts especially if the new target of their hate was something rather innocuous such as professional baseball.  But, Trump apparently cannot have enough enemies.  If anyone or anything disagrees with whatever impulses are coursing through his short-circuited brain, then it must be destroyed.

Trump attacks baseball

From:  White House scuttles MLB’s Cuban agreement

The Trump administration scuttled Major League Baseball’s historic agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation, arguing that the sport’s governing body is part of the Cuban government and that the agreement violates United States trade law.

In December, MLB and the MLB Players Association announced an agreement with the Cuban federation similar to those for players under contract to clubs in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan — one the league believed would end the defection of players and erase the human trafficking of Cuban players that has become the standard as they attempt to join MLB.

[…]

MLB requested a meeting with government officials, though no meeting was granted, sources told ESPN.

Trade war with the E.U.

From:  Trade war with EU escalates over disputed aviation subsidies

The European Union is preparing retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. over subsidies to Boeing Co., significantly escalating transatlantic trade tensions hours after Washington vowed to hit the EU with duties over its support for Airbus SE.

The two sets of punitive measures are the latest twists in a 14-year-old dispute that the U.S. and EU have fought at the World Trade Organization, with each side accusing the other of illegally subsidizing their main aircraft makers. President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday said it would impose tariffs on $11 billion in imports from the EU because of the European aid.

GOP is shocked

From:  Trump’s DHS purge shocks Republicans

President Donald Trump’s congressional allies are alarmed by his purge at the Department of Homeland Security — urging him not fire more top officials and warning him how hard it will now be to solve twin crises at the border and at the federal agencies overseeing immigration policy.

The president’s frantic four days of bloodletting at DHS and other agencies blindsided senior Republicans, who are already fretting about difficult confirmation battles ahead. Some are worried about the rising influence of top White House aide Stephen Miller. And after a November election where suburban voters soundly rejected Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, the president is once again making it the centerpiece of the GOP’s platform.

“It’s a mess,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), summing up the current dynamic on the border and in Washington.

Trump is ignored on climate

From:  As White House questions climate change, U.S. military is planning for it

In February, the White House devised a plan to challenge the scientific consensus that the burning of fossil fuels is a main driver of climate change and poses increasingly serious economic and health threats to the United States and the world.

But so far, the rest of the federal government hasn’t helped the Trump administration in its quest.

Several agencies have informed the National Security Council, which launched the initiative, that they do not anticipate taking part. Others, including some spearheading the government’s climate research, such as NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, say that no one has contacted them about it. And last week, four top U.S. military officials testified before Congress that they continue to see climate change as a significant security threat.

In other news

From:  Feds break up $1.2B Medicare orthopedic brace scam

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal authorities said Tuesday they’ve broken up a $1.2 billion Medicare scam that peddled unneeded orthopedic braces to hundreds of thousands of seniors via foreign call centers.

The Justice Department announced charges against 24 people across the U.S., including doctors accused of writing bogus prescriptions for unneeded back, shoulder, wrist and knee braces. Others charged included owners of call centers, telemedicine firms and medical equipment companies.

From:  Judge blocks Trump policy forcing asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s policy requiring Central American asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases are decided in the U.S., ruling that Department of Homeland Security overstepped its legal authority.

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U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco ordered the Trump administration to allow the plaintiffs in the case — 11 migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras — to enter the U.S. within two days. He issued a nationwide preliminary injunction that prevents the administration from forcing future asylum-seekers back into Mexico. The order goes into effect on Friday.

From:  Judge denies request for speedy release of Mueller report

A federal judge on Tuesday denied a request from a First Amendment advocacy group to quickly get special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and his underlying materials via the Freedom of Information Act.

U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton said in his ruling from the bench that he understands the public clamor to see Mueller’s findings on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But he explained that the lawsuit filed by the Electronic Privacy and Information Center didn’t meet the threshold requirement for him to make such an extraordinary emergency move.

“I can appreciate this is an extremely important subject matter to the nation,” said Walton, a senior judge appointed by President George W. Bush.