Trump Opens JFK Vault: 60,000 Pages Later, Are We Closer to Answers?
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Chart of the week: Americans wagered ~$150B on sports bets in 2024.
Astronaut rescue mission: Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were successfully rescued from the International Space Station where they have been stranded since June 2024. Initially, their mission was planned to last just one week. Due to technical difficulties with the spacecraft and NASA's subsequent assessment that the return journey was not safe, Wilmore and Williams were forced to stay put and out of the mind of the American people. Upon assuming office, President Trump directed Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, to launch a rescue mission. (video)
More: Musk said President Biden had rejected his offer to rescue the astronauts during his term.
Humanoid robots: Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA, said he believes humanoid robots are just a few years away from being common. Asked by reporters when he thinks AI will be ubiquitous, Jensen said, “when, literally, humanoid robots are wandering around, which is not five years away.” At an industry conference this week, NVIDIA showcased new AI software that will allow humanoid robots to more easily “see” and navigate through the world. Jensen demonstrated the technology with a Star Wars-esque robot that responded in real time to his prompts (video).
El Salvador mega prison arrangement: The Trump administration flew 238 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), to El Salvador this week. The individuals were promptly sent to the country’s mega prison (CECOT), which was built in 2023 and can hold more than 40,000 prisoners (video). Shortly after becoming president, Trump designated Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization. The administration invoked a 1798 law - the Alien Enemies Act - to deport a majority of the individuals. A federal judge ordered the deportations halted, but the Trump administration said the flights had already departed. The judge’s ruling is now being appealed as further flights are suspended. The White House said it was sure all of the detainees were TdA gang members (often identified by their tattoos), but some family members of the deportees have insisted on their innocence.
More: The U.S. paid about $6M to El Salvador to detain the individuals, or about $25,000 per person, which is about half what it costs to hold people in U.S. prisons. Earlier this year, Marco Rubio met with President Bukele to make a deal for detaining certain migrants the U.S. deports.
Russia-Ukraine: President Trump and Putin had a 90 minute phone call on Tuesday to discuss a potential ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Although the U.S. and Ukraine-backed 30-day ceasefire was not agreed to, Putin said he would stop all attacks on energy infrastructure sites and return 23 wounded Ukrainian soldiers to Kiev. According to Russian state media, Putin will only agree to the full ceasefire once all U.S. military aid to Ukraine is stopped. After the call, Trump said, "many elements of a final agreement” to end the war "have been agreed to, but much remains."
Federal judge blocks DOGE and Musk: A federal judge in Maryland, appointed by President Obama in 2014, has ruled that the Trump administration's cuts of USAID are unconstitutional. Judge Chuang said the actions "not only harmed the plaintiffs, but also the public interest, because they deprived the public’s elected representatives in Congress of their constitutional authority to decide whether, when, and how to close down an agency created by Congress." The ruling is likely to be appealed and raised to the Supreme Court.
Insight: The ruling questions whether Musk needs to be confirmed by the Senate in order to run such consequential programs.
Israel resumed fighting with Hamas as the ceasefire broke down. Israel’s ground operations and airstrikes in Gaza this week have reportedly killed more than 500 people and injured hundreds more. Prime Minister Netanyahu said “Israel will take growing action against Hamas with greater intensity. Negotiations will continue only under fire.” He re-emphasized that Israel will not stop until all of its goals are achieved: returning all hostages, destroying Hamas, and ensuring Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. Hamas responded by firing a handful of rockets into Israel, which did not inflict damage. The ceasefire, which lasted two months, had shown signs of deteriorating for weeks, in part due to how the hostage releases were handled.
More: WH Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said President Trump fully supports the actions taken by Israel this week.
Department of Education cuts continue: President Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to begin disbanding the Department of Education, though a vote from Congress is needed to eliminate it. Trump cites the poor academic ranking of U.S. schools compared to much of Europe and says education would be better run by the states. The EO directs the department head, Linda McMahon, to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the states.”
More: Layoffs were announced last week for nearly 50% of the Department of Education’s staff.
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Trump Opens JFK Vault: 60,000 Pages Later, Are We Closer to Answers?
On Tuesday night, President Trump and his administration released a large amount of the John F. Kennedy files. About 60,000 pages are now accessible online at the government archive website. Still, the number falls short of the 80,000 pages promised, with some documents still being withheld.
Trump campaigned saying he would release everything, leaving some people frustrated.
The day was exciting to many who have waited eagerly for the release of more documents, some of which date back to the 1950s and which might shed light on how one of America’s most popular presidents was killed.
Millions of people scoured the internet to learn more and draw any connections as to whether JFK was murdered as a part of a conspiracy (a theory most Americans believe already), or by a lone gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald.
Editor note: [The trove of documents was released in bulk with no categorization and zero explanation as to what is new or old. For these reasons, along with the 60,000 pages of notes, we won’t be analyzing the contents].
Files unlikely to shift people’s opinions
It’s not clear anyone’s mind will be changed as to what actually happened on November 22, 1963. Ever since the tragic killing of one of America’s most popular presidents, most Americans have believed something was off:
Today, 65% of Americans believe JFK was murdered as a part of a conspiracy vs. being a one man (Lee Harvey Oswald) job.
Of those, 20% say the co-conspirator was the U.S. Government and 16% say the CIA (both of these numbers have jumped from 13% and 7% since 2013)
Insight: When you move closer to the years of the actual assassination, you find that more Americans than today believed there was conspiracy involved. In 1976, for example, 81% of Americans believed there was a conspiracy at play.
President John F Kennedy is popular today
From Gallup’s earliest polling data, Kennedy remains the most popular president in modern U.S. history.
Gallup’s question reads: “From what you have heard, read or remember about some of our past presidents, please tell me if you approve or disapprove of the way each of the following handled their job as president.”
90% of Americans say they approved of Kennedy. For context, President Nixon has a 32% approval and Obama has a 63% approval.
Trump and Allies Push Back Against Judges, Call for Impeachments
President Trump is clashing with federal judges over rulings that have challenged or blocked many of his executive orders (EOs). Trump has signed over 90 EOs in his first two months in office, the fastest past of a president in multiple decades.
Some of the more high-profile orders that have been blocked include the unwinding of USAID, the deportations of alleged Venezuelan gang members, and ending birthright citizenship.
In response, President Trump, VP JD Vance, and Elon Musk have been more vocal about the need to push back against judges, including impeachment, claiming they are abusing their judicial authority by actively opposing the administration instead of applying the Constitution. This week, Trump posted on Truth Social against Judge James Boasberg, who issued a ruling suspending the deportation of suspected Venezuelan gang members:
“Judge James Boasberg is doing everything in his power to usurp the Power of the Presidency. He is a local, unknown Judge, a Grandstander, looking for publicity, and it cannot be for any other reason, because his “Rulings” are so ridiculous, and inept. SAVE AMERICA!”
Chief Justice speaks out
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts put out a rare statement to the president this week, writing, “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision…the normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
Notwithstanding his frustration, asked whether he would go against a judge’s order, President Trump said, “No, you can’t do that.” He added, however, “we have bad judges…at a certain point, you have to start looking at what do you do when you have a rogue judge.”
The Trump administration has been accused of going against Judge Boasberg’s ruling related to the Venezuela deportations (the litigation is ongoing).
There are currently more Democrat-appointed judges
Among all active federal judges, 57% were appointed by Democrat presidents, compared to 43% from Republican presidents. This may be one reason why Trump’s executive orders are facing more challenges.
Can judges be impeached?
Yes, but since 1789 only 15 federal judges have been impeached and just 8 of them have actually been convicted and removed. Impeachment requires a simple majority vote in the House and a two-thirds majority in the Senate to convict. Judges can be impeached for “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” per the Constitution. If they are not impeached, judges hold office for life (or retirement).
How are judges held accountable for rulings?
In short, through the appeals process. The federal court system is divided into three levels:
District Court - This is the lowest level of federal courts where cases originate and are tried. There are 94 district courts spread throughout the U.S., consisting of more than 650 judges.
Circuit / Appeals Court - The circuit court’s role is to hear cases that are appealed in the lower district courts. They don’t try cases but rule on legal errors or interpretations. Consists of 13 circuits and roughly 180 judges.
Supreme Court - Cases that are appealed again at the circuit level can be elevated to the Supreme Court, which consists of 9 justices. The Supreme Court only reviews 2% or less of all appealed cases.
GetSmart: President John F Kennedy Grabbed 1,200 Cuban Cigars Before Signing Trade Embargo
"Pierre, I need some help," President Kennedy told his Press Secretary.
"I need a lot of cigars."
"How many, Mr. President?"
"About 1,000 Petit Upmanns."
"And, when do you need them, Mr. President,” he asked nervously.
"Tomorrow morning."
The next day, he walked into the White House.
"How did you do, Pierre?" Kennedy asked as he walked through the door.
"Very well," Pierre answered, carrying 1,200 Cuban cigars.
President Kennedy smiled as he pulled out a long piece of paper and immediately signed it.
It was the decree banning all Cuban products (including cigars) from the United States.
(read the full article from Secretary Pierre who recalled the moment)
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