Category: World

Recently, a claim went viral online saying that former President Donald Trump signed a new rule to raise the minimum wage to $25 an hour. This rumor spread quickly on platforms like TikTok and Facebook, with videos mimicking news reports showing Trump in the Oval Office, making it seem real. The videos claimed, “As of April 8, 2025, no American worker will earn less than $25 per hour.”

                                                                                It sounds dramatic, but it’s completely false!

                                                                              On April 8, 2025, Trump did sign four executive orders, but none of them had to do with raising the minimum wage. In fact, a month earlier, he signed something that actually rolled back a rule set during President Biden’s time, which was meant to increase the pay for federal workers to $15 an hour.

                                                                           This step was meant to help workers feel better and stay in their jobs.

                                                                            The videos made it look like Trump made an important change, but they were misleading and created using real footage mixed with pretend news voices. The same accounts posted other false claims, such as Trump saying he would create a 32-hour work week, which is also not true.

                                                                   Members of Trump’s team have made it clear they do not plan on raising the minimum wage right now, which has been stuck at $7.25 since 2009. During his confirmation hearing in January 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he does not support any increase. Vice President JD Vance even avoided talking about it clearly in a speech.

                                                                              On the same day that Trump signed his orders, two lawmakers, Bernie Sanders and Bobby Scott, proposed a new bill to raise the minimum wage to $17 gradually. However, since the Senate is controlled by Republicans, it seems unlikely to pass.

                                                                               In conclusion, there is no new law for a $25 minimum wage. This claim is simply a well-designed hoax.

SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Cuba – Jose Daniel Ferrer stood on his porch in Santiago de Cuba one morning, warmly greeting a small group of elderly and sick people who had come for help. Inside his home, Ferrer, his wife Nelva Ismarays Ortega, and their small team were serving hot meals of boiled potatoes, yucca, pumpkin, chicken, rice, and spaghetti, all cooked on an open fire.

Ferrer, 54, is not just a kind-hearted neighbor; he is a leading voice against the Cuban government. He founded a group called the National Patriotic Union (Unpacu) in 2011 to push for democratic change in Cuba. He believes that the only way to solve the hunger problem in Cuba is through democracy. “Political activism is my reason for being,” Ferrer shared confidently.

Since starting his kitchen at the beginning of the year, he has been serving over 1,000 meals a day. However, the government has made it hard for him. They threatened people who came to his kitchen, warning them of detention or losing government benefits. Ferrer claims that state security has made it difficult for him and his team to get food ingredients. The Cuban government has not commented on these claims.

One volunteer, Josefina Reyes, said she started helping Ferrer a couple of months ago but was recently threatened by the authorities for doing so. She maintained, “I haven’t done anything wrong.”

Ferrer regularly shares updates about the challenges they face through videos and social media. The U.S. State Department has publicly supported him, stating, “We stand with Jose Daniel as he provides life-saving aid to the people of Santiago de Cuba.”

Cuba’s government argues that a long-standing U.S. trade embargo is the reason for the island’s economic struggles. They run nearly 1,500 state soup kitchens, providing meals at low prices. However, many consider Ferrer’s kitchen to provide better food.

Ferrer sees his aid program as a way to inspire a bigger movement for change, but that’s a tough goal in a country where many dissidents have been jailed or forced to flee. Ferrer was released from prison this year as part of an agreement between the U.S. and Cuba.

Despite government criticism, Ferrer insists he receives no funding from the U.S. government. Most of his support comes from independent Cuban donors in the U.S. He hopes for financial assistance to continue his work. “To help here, we need policies that let us ease shortages and suffering,” he stated.

On April 13, President Donald Trump spoke while flying back to Washington, D.C., from Florida. He made it clear that he doesn’t want a foreign company to buy U.S. Steel, which is the American steel company. His comments follow a proposal that Japan’s Nippon Steel wants to buy U.S. Steel for $14 billion.

Last Wednesday, Trump said he does not want to see U.S. Steel “go to Japan,” which caused the company’s stock value to drop by 7%. After this, both U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel said they are working with the U.S. government to get a major investment.

When talking to reporters on Sunday, Trump repeated his view: “I don’t think a foreign company should control U.S. Steel.”

A 17-year-old named Nikita Casap from Wisconsin is facing serious charges for allegedly killing his parents. Authorities say he shot his mother, Tatiana, and stepfather, Donald, at their home near Milwaukee in February. Their bodies were found on February 28, after family members requested a well-being check. Investigators believe they had been dead for weeks and that Nikita lived with their bodies before leaving home with $14,000 in cash, jewelry, passports, and their family dog.

Nikita was arrested in Kansas during a traffic stop. Police found the cash, more than $14,000 in jewelry, and a revolver belonging to his stepfather in his car. That’s not all – he is also accused of planning to kill President Trump to overthrow the government. His plan was described in a three-page manifesto filled with hate, referencing extremist views and praising Adolf Hitler.

According to federal authorities, Nikita communicated with other people about his plans to assassinate the President. His manifesto mentioned wanting to bring chaos by getting rid of both Trump and the Vice President.

Nikita faces nine felony charges, including two counts of first-degree murder. He is now in jail with a $1 million bond and will appear in court to enter a plea. His public defender argues that he is still a minor and has not had a fair trial yet. A classmate reported that Nikita had once talked about killing his parents but claimed he didn’t have a gun.

The case has drawn a lot of attention due to the serious nature of the allegations against a teenager.

On Friday, four men were publicly executed in Afghanistan. This was the highest number of executions in a single day since the Taliban returned to power. With these four executions, a total of ten people have been publicly executed since the Taliban took control in 2021, according to a report by AFP.

During their previous rule from 1996 to 2001, the Taliban often executed people in public, especially in sports stadiums. In one place called Qala-i-Naw, two men were shot multiple times by family members of the victims in front of a crowd. A 48-year-old man named Mohammad Iqbal Rahimyar who watched the execution said the convicted men were made to sit and were shot by the victims’ relatives.

The Supreme Court stated that these men were punished for shooting others, and their cases were carefully reviewed before the actions were taken. The families of the victims chose not to forgive the convicted men, which is why the punishment was carried out.

A 35-year-old spectator named Zabihullah said that the punishment must be implemented if the family didn’t offer forgiveness, calling it God’s order. The Taliban encouraged people to come and watch the event by sending out official invitations.

The third man was executed in the city of Zaranj in Nimroz province and the fourth in Farah city. A witness named Javid expressed approval of the Taliban’s actions, saying it showed power and discipline.

The last public execution before this took place in November 2024 when a man was shot by a victim’s family member in front of thousands, including Taliban officials. The Taliban has been using corporal punishment, like flogging, for crimes such as theft and drinking alcohol.

All orders for executions are made by the Taliban’s Supreme Leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, who resides in Kandahar. He has told judges to enforce strict Islamic law, which includes the death penalty for murder. The Taliban believes in strong law and order, stemming from the chaos of Afghanistan’s past civil wars.

Their past rule includes infamous incidents, such as the 1999 public execution of a woman accused of killing her husband. Groups like the United Nations and Amnesty International have condemned the Taliban’s use of severe punishments. Amnesty’s reports indicate that Afghanistan is among countries where executions happen without fair trials.

In 2024, there were 1,518 recorded executions worldwide, not counting countless others believed to take place in China, the world’s leading executioner.

The US Supreme Court has sided with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a man from Maryland who was wrongly sent back to El Salvador last month. This happened because of a mistake made by the government. An immigration judge had already decided that sending him to El Salvador was dangerous because he might face harm from a gang.

Kilmar was deported after being held in the US for over ten years. He entered the US illegally in 2011. Even though local police thought he might be involved with gangs based on his clothes, an immigration judge found he was not connected to any gang and had granted him protection from being sent back.

Now, Kilmar is held in a tough prison in El Salvador with bad conditions. The Supreme Court told the government to help bring him back home and to make sure his case is treated fairly, as if he had never been sent away. US District Judge Paula Xinis gave the government a deadline to bring him back, but Chief Justice John Roberts put a pause on that deadline for now.

The justices emphasized that the government must share its plan to bring Kilmar back soon. The Department of Justice commented that judges should respect the government’s choices regarding how they handle foreign policy.

Although there’s no date for Kilmar’s return yet, this ruling puts pressure on the government to fix the error and help him get back to Maryland.