Despite Trump’s Total Fuel Blockade, Cuba Won’t Surrender
Cuba is running out of fuel to power hospitals, schools, harvest crops, and transport basic goods — because Donald Trump has implemented a total fuel blockade against the island nation. Brian Becker is joined by Manolo De Los Santos, the executive director of The People’s Forum in New York, to discuss why Trump and the U.S. empire have targeted Cuba, and why people in Cuba are refusing to surrender.
Meanwhile:
Trump named “undisputed champion of beautiful clean coal” in White House event touting coal power
President Donald Trump highlighted his administration’s dedication to coal-power in an East Room event at the White House Wednesday, pledging to a room of coal industry leaders, “You’ve never had a better friend in the Oval Office than me.”
Speaking from the White House, Trump touted the approval of 70 permits for coal mines under his administration and announced he’d directed the Department of Energy to issue funds to coal-fired power plants in West Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and Kentucky “to keep them online and keep those plants open.”
In addition, the president signed a new executive order directing the Department of Defense to enter into power purchasing agreements with coal plants in an effort to safeguard the Pentagon’s access to reliable power.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, Trump was presented with the inaugural “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal” award from the Washington Coal Club for his efforts to bolster the coal industry, the latest in a slew of awards tailor-made to appeal to the president.
Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” will fuel $1.4 trillion widening of federal budget deficit, CBO projects
President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and other policy changes are driving a $1.4 trillion increase in the projected federal budget deficit over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s latest estimate, released Wednesday.
The cumulative deficits from 2026 to 2035 are forecast to total $23.1 trillion, up 6% from its January 2025 projection, the CBO said.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act – Trump’s domestic agenda package that included massive cuts to both taxes and social safety net spending – increases CBO’s projection by $4.7 trillion over a decade, while his immigration crackdown will add $500 billion. But these changes are offset by higher tariffs, which are expected to reduce the deficit by about $3 trillion. The estimates account for these policies’ impact on the economy and on interest costs.
However, the forecast assumes that these policies will be in effect for the entire 10-year period. The Supreme Court is now considering whether Trump has the authority to issue emergency tariffs, and future administrations may change the levies.
