Donald Trump Pays Tribute to Fallen Troops While Airing Political Grievances in Memorial Day Speech

President Donald Trump delivered a Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday that combined solemn tributes with pointed political remarks and self-congratulatory rhetoric, in a speech that diverged from the traditional tone of presidential remembrance.

The holiday, which was established to honor the fallen service members who served during the American Civil War, is typically celebrated with a presidential address and the holiday tradition of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier—a landmark at Arlington National Cemetery honoring the unidentified servicemembers who died in warfare.

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Read more: Russia Accuses Trump of ‘Emotional Overload’ After Putin Called ‘Absolutely Crazy’

During his speech, Trump honored what he called the nation’s “great, great warriors,” but at times veered into political rhetoric. He referenced what he described as “hard four years” of national decline, blamed political opponents for border insecurity and promised his current administration was “fixing” the country.

“Who would let that happen? People pouring through our borders, unchecked, people doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss,” he said.

Striking a more reverent note, Trump paid tribute to Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, who was killed in Syria in 2019, leaving behind her husband and two young children. He also honored Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Elroy Harworth, who died during the Vietnam War, and Army Cpl. Ryan McGhee, who enlisted after the September 11 attacks.

The President’s speech also included references to the “big, big celebration” planned for next year for the 250th anniversary of the United States, and he boasted about the upcoming FIFA World Cup and the Olympics Games, which will be held in Los Angeles in the coming years.

Vice President J.D. Vance, who spoke before Trump, reflected on the human cost of war, saying political leaders must treat the lives of soldiers as “the most precious resource.”

Earlier in the day, Trump struck a more combative tone, disparaging his political opponents as “scum” who had “spent the last four years trying to destroy our country,” in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. 

He also labeled some federal judges who have issued orders against elements of the Administration’s deportation efforts as “monsters who want our country to go to hell.” While the Supreme Court delivered him a recent win regarding the revocation of legal protections for Venezuelan migrants, the nation’s highest court also unanimously ruled in April that Trump had to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was deported to El Salvador due to an “administrative error.” The administration has said it lacks the authority to bring him back.

How other presidents have commemorated Memorial Day

U.S. Presidents typically celebrate the holiday by giving remarks that touch on both the grief and remembrance felt by those who have lost loved ones in battle.

President George W. Bush’s 2002 speech in France, marking the first Memorial Day celebration following 9/11, remains among the most resonant in recent memory: “The day will come when no one is left who knew them. When no visitor to this cemetery can stand before a grave remembering a face and a voice,” Bush said. “The day will never come when America forgets them. Our nation and the world will always remember what they did here, what they gave here, for the future of humanity.”

Read more: 10 Surprising Facts About Memorial Day

Another of the most moving tributes in U.S. military history came from General Lucian Truscott Jr., who turned his back to the crowd and instead delivered his speech directly to the deceased soldiers he had commanded. Truscott apologized to the men for their passing, and said that while leaders tell themselves that the deaths of their soldiers is not their fault, they know in their hearts that that is not entirely true.

Why is Memorial Day celebrated

Memorial Day became a federal holiday in 1968, though records indicate it has been celebrated across numerous cities and towns following the end of the 1865 Civil War. Some historians date back Memorial Day’s origins to a tradition in Charleston, where formerly enslaved Black residents held a ceremony and parade at a former racetrack where more than 250 soldiers were buried. The celebration was then-known as “Decoration Day.”

Read more: The Overlooked Black History of Memorial Day

The holiday is commemorated with numerous solemn traditions, including flying the flag at half-mast, and having a moment of silence at 3 p.m. local time. It always falls on the last Monday in May, and is also seen as the start of the summer season. 

source https://time.com/7288691/trump-memorial-day-speech-arlington/

Did Brigitte Macron Push the French President in the Face? What to Know About Their Moment on the Plane

The office of French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed suggestions of discord after footage emerged appearing to show his wife, Brigitte Macron, pushing him in the face before the couple disembarked from a plane in Vietnam.

The video, filmed on Sunday as the Macrons arrived in Vietnam to mark the start of his Southeast Asia tour, shows the President standing in the doorway of the aircraft when a pair of hands—belonging to a person wearing a red blazer, later identified as Brigitte—reach out and appear to shove him away.

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Macron briefly recoils, turns his head, and then smiles and waves at the press.

Bizarre moment Emmanuel Macron is slapped by his wife Brigitte pic.twitter.com/kYsE5MCDV1

— The Sun (@TheSun) May 26, 2025

Brigitte did not take her husband’s arm as the couple walked down the plane’s steps together.

Read more: In Gently Correcting Trump, Macron Sends a Message on Ukraine Peace Deal

The moment was widely circulated in French media and sparked commentary about the nature of the interaction, with the headline of the daily newspaper Le Parisien asking: ‘Slap or Squabble?’ 

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Macron said he had been “joking” with his wife, adding that “everyone needs to calm down.”

His office issued a similar response, saying “it was a moment of closeness” between the pair.

“It was a moment where the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by horsing around. It’s a moment of complicity. It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists,” his office said, according to AP.

The French president used the episode to caution against misinterpretations online, pointing to false claims circulated earlier this month that a crumpled up tissue he picked up during a train trip to Ukraine was a bag of cocaine.  

Here’s what we know about the couple.

How did Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron meet?

The Macrons’ relationship has long attracted scrutiny in France.

The couple first met when Macron was a 15-year-old student at La Providence, a French private school in Amiens, where Brigitte worked as a teacher. The pair reportedly grew close while co-writing a play together, when Brigitte oversaw a theatre workshop. 

The president’s parents initially thought that their son had feelings for Brigitte’s daughter, a classmate. But once they discovered the nature of the relationship between Emmanuel and Brigitte, who was married to André-Louis Auzière at the time and had three children, they sent their son to finish his final school year at Lycée Henri-IV in Paris.

“When Emmanuel met Brigitte, we certainly did not say, ‘How wonderful!,’” said Jean-Michel Macron, father of Emmanuel Macron, according to a biography of the President.

The then-schoolboy reportedly told Brigitte, before leaving: “Whatever you do, I will marry you.”

The couple eventually married in 2007, when he was 29 and she was 54, one year after her divorce.

What role has Brigitte Macron played as First Lady?

Following his presidential election in 2017, Macron released a “charter” to clarify his partner’s role within government.

Under the new direction, the President stated that Brigitte would work to represent France at international summits and meetings, support Macron’s endeavors as head of state, and work with charities and other cultural organizations in the “fields of disability, education, health, culture, child protection and gender equality,” according to the Elysee Palace.

The First Lady regularly holds Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes, a charity event in Paris to raise funds for sick and hospitalized children.

France’s First Lady has also been outspoken against cyberbullying. During a 2019 meeting, she read letters sent to her from parents and students explaining the dire effects online bullying can have.

“It’s relentless. Before, we went home at 4:00 pm and that was it, we could relax,” she said. “Now, it’s day and night.”

source https://time.com/7288678/macron-wife-brigitte-plane-shove/

What to Watch After The Last of Us

There was a time when the idea of a video game adaptation sounded alarm bells, with all but guaranteed audience disappointment and critical dismissal. But the times have changed, especially with the success of HBO’s The Last of Us, based on the video game of the same name. The series earned massive acclaim from fans and critics alike, including 8 Primetime Emmys. The game-changing show follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they survive a harsh and unforgiving America that’s been taken over by the undead—and the other humans who have survived aren’t exactly friendly.

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It’s not hard to see why The Last of Us has broken the video game curse. The adaptation takes the game’s hugely engaging story and expands it for the screen, bringing tremendous performances, stunning effects, and impeccably shot action. It’s a tale of humanity’s survival at its most desperate, the unshakable bond between two unlikely people, and a zombie horror all in one. As the second season of the series comes to an end on Sunday, we’ve got some suggestions on how to fill that Last of Us-shaped hole in your lives. From other world-building epics and post-apocalyptic dramas to other worthy video game adaptations, these choices should fit the needs of every kind of Last of Us fanatic.

Post-Apocalyptic Dramas

Silo

A mysterious and unknown event means that all of humanity now lives deep underground in a Silo, a complex and gigantic 144-level community with firmly entrenched class systems and plenty of intrigue. Juliette (a sensational Rebecca Ferguson), an engineer working at the very bottom of the Silo, begins to unravel a theory that may change everything that’s understood about their way of life. The AppleTV+ series benefits from spectacular world-building, with carefully layered details that reveal more and more about life in the Silo as episodes progress. Silo is a wicked and bingeable slow burn with a tantalizing central mystery. And there’s no fear of it being cancelled too soon, as the show has been confirmed for Season 3 and plans to conclude the story in Season 4. 

Chernobyl

A miniseries with universal acclaim, including winning 10 Primetime Emmys, Chernobyl hones in on the nuclear fallout in the Soviet Union city of Chernobyl. Created and written by Craig Mazin (who went on to co-create and write The Last of Us), the series is bleak, heartbreaking, and utterly haunting, yet nearly impossible to look away from. Like The Last of Us, it’s a provocative exploration of humanity on the brink, fighting back against what feels like an impossible force. The impressive ensemble cast includes Jessie Buckley, Jared Harris, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter, and Stellan Skarsgård. 

Station Eleven

The 10-episode miniseries uses multiple timelines to explore the lives of those who survived a vicious and widespread flu that wiped out much of humanity as they strive to rebuild society. What’s fascinating about Station Eleven, created by Patrick Somerville (Maniac), is that it doesn’t follow the kind of people you might expect, like societal leaders or rebellious groups. Instead, we see the world through a theatre troupe known as the Traveling Symphony, which performs Shakespeare in the new world as they attempt to make sense of the carnage that took so much life. This is a magical series about the healing power of art and how the key to survival lies in community.

World-building Epics

The Walking Dead

Both an apocalyptic drama and a world-building epic, AMC’s The Walking Dead has everything a fan of The Last of Us could want: a horde of undead, beloved characters, and great action. The series begins with Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), a sheriff’s deputy who wakes from a coma to find the world taken over by creatures called “walkers,” and goes from there. As a bonus, once you get into the series, you may not need to look for your next show for many months; on top of the 11 seasons of The Walking Dead, there’s an array of spinoffs, including Fear the Walking Dead, World Beyond, and The Ones Who Live.

The Leftovers

A shocking event changes the world forever when 2% of the entire world’s population vanishes without a trace.Created by Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen) HBO’s The Leftovers examines the impact of the event, dubbed the “Sudden Departure,” on a series of people in a small New York town. There’s police chief Kevin (Justin Theroux), Reverend Matt (Christopher Eccleston), and his sister Nora (Carrie Coon), grieving the loss of her husband. The impressive ensemble cast also includes Regina King, Margaret Qualley, Amy Brenneman, Liv Tyler, and Ann Dowd. At just three seasons, epic might not be the best world to describe The Leftovers, but this unpredictable, thought-provoking series is so expansive in its ideas that it deserves to be discussed alongside the biggest and best of them. 

Other Video Game Adaptations

Twisted Metal

The number of video game adaptations are fairly limited, and the ones that are actually worth recommending are even fewer. But Peacock’s Twisted Metal is genuinely fun, and a much lighter look at a post-apocalyptic landscape than The Last of Us, though there’s still plenty of thrilling action sequences. Writers had a lot less to work with here, adapting a game where you drive a car around and blow stuff up into an intriguing story about John Doe (Anthony Mackie) who’s saddled with a strange package he must deliver across a ruthless America with foes that try to wipe him out at every turn. 

Fallout

Created in 1997 by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky of Interplay Entertainment, Fallout has emerged as one of the most beloved role-playing game franchises in history. The retro futuristic games have been given TV series treatment, which Amazon has already renewed for two additional seasons. Occurring hundreds of years into the future, Lucy (Ella Purnell) leaves her very secure home in Vault 33 (most people live in bunkers called Vaults after a nuclear war in 2077), heading into unforgiving wastelands to try and find her kidnapped father. It looks and sounds terrific, and delivers exciting action and intriguing characters with a welcome comic edge. 

Devil May Cry

Perhaps the show most tonally opposite to The Last of Us on this list, Netflix’s Devil May Cry is a riotous, colorful blast of punk energy. Based on the extremely popular (and fun) action series from Capcom, Devil May Cry follows mercenary demon hunter Dante (voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch) as he tries to take down a terrorist known as the White Rabbit (Hoon Lee). This animated series helmed by Adi Shankar is visually adventurous and stylish, and its action sequences are fast paced and inventively choreographed. The first season’s sixth episode is a particularly strong standout, and a great example of why the show is so damn fun. 

source https://time.com/7288019/watch-after-the-last-of-us/

What The Last of Us Season 2 Finale’s Shocking Cliffhanger Means for the Future of the Show

Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 finale.

The vicious cycle of revenge is cycling on in The Last of Us. What began with Joel (Pedro Pascal) wiping out the Fireflies in Salt Lake City, progressed into Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) torturing and killing Joel, and more recently evolved into Ellie (Bella Ramsey) setting out on her own warpath, has now resulted in Abby and Ellie coming face to face in a blaze of violence.

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After a penultimate episode made up entirely of flashbacks, the finale of the show’s second season played out over the course of Day 3 of Dina (Isabela Merced) and Ellie’s stay in Seattle. In the aftermath of Ellie torturing Nora (Tati Gabrielle) for information about Abby’s whereabouts, Ellie and Jesse (Young Mazino) spent the following morning trying to make it to the rendezvous point Jesse had agreed on with Tommy (Gabriel Luna) while a wounded and pregnant Dina remained behind at the theater. But after hearing a report on their stolen radio that the Wolves were under attack by a sniper—i.e. Tommy—at the marina, Jesse pushed to change course.

In the process of surveying the city, Ellie realized the two words Nora had given up, “whale” and “wheel,” were likely in reference to Seattle’s aquarium, and decided to instead make her way there to finish what she’d started. However, it wasn’t Abby she found at the aquarium, but Abby’s friends, Owen (Spencer Lord) and Mel (Ariela Barer). Although Ellie insisted she would let them live if they told her where Abby was, Owen tried to pull a gun on her and Ellie fired off a shot that went straight through Owen’s throat, killing him instantly, before also nicking Mel’s neck. It was a fatal wound, but Mel was still alive for long enough to reveal she was heavily pregnant and try to convince Ellie to perform an emergency C-section on her to save the baby. It was clear Ellie was devastated about what she had done and wanted to help, but had no idea how to do the surgery before Mel bled out. Tommy and Jesse then showed up to bring a distraught Ellie back to the theater.

Unfortunately for the Jackson crew, just as they were getting ready to get the hell out of the war zone of Seattle, Abby finally showed back up and didn’t waste any time getting down to business. After subduing Tommy and killing Jesse, she recognized Ellie and realized who she was dealing with. Ellie begged her to let Tommy go and she responded by instead pointing the gun at Ellie and telling her that she had let her live and Ellie had “wasted it” before we hear her fire a shot. However, we didn’t see if the bullet hit its mark, as the show flashed back in time to three days earlier in Seattle—except this time we were seeing things from Abby’s perspective. The episode then cut to black, meaning Ellie’s fate will remain up in the air for a few years until Season 3 eventually rolls around.

“Now, we’re actually in more of a traditional cliffhangery mode, where you’re telling a story, and then you end the season with something that says, ‘Whoa, this is going to change a whole bunch of things, and we’ll see you when we get back and pick it up from there,'” series co-creator Craig Mazin told Collider. “I’m always thinking about, what are the things that only The Last of Us does? Let’s do those as much as we can. And then, you go for it and you make your decisions and mostly just try as best as you can to think about the audience experience and how they’re going to feel when they arrive at the end of something. Hopefully, we set them up to want to return when we come back for the next run.”

In the meantime, however, The Last of Us Part II video game can provide some insight about what’s likely to come in the show. So, for those who don’t already know what happens in the game, now’s your chance to stop reading before we get into some spoilers.

This cliffhanger ending heralds a major switch-up in the Last of Us story, as it marks the controversial moment in the game when the main playable character flips from Ellie to Abby. And while Ellie does survive this encounter with Abby, it’s likely that won’t be revealed in the show until at least a few episodes into Season 3, as we’ll first need to see everything that happened to Abby during those same three days in Seattle.

The change is intended to show you things from Abby’s point of view and make you empathize with her as well as Joel and Ellie. However, that’s not always the reaction it prompted in the game, seeing as some fans hated Abby so much that the actor who voiced and provided the motion-capture performance for her in the game, Laura Bailey, was subjected to significant harassment and death threats directed not only at her, but at her infant son. On a 2024 episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Isabela Merced revealed that HBO also felt the need to increase security for Dever during filming due to concerns over the toxicity directed at Abby. However, Mazin has said he was pleasantly surprised by how much better Joel’s death went over with fans of the show than it originally did with the gaming community.

“They understood, ‘Oh, my God, no! Somebody that we loved is dead. What will happen now?’ It was not, ‘Let’s go stand in front of HBO and throw eggs or blame Kaitlyn Dever.’ No. People reacted like a normal audience would theoretically react,” he told Collider. There are people who are angry at the video game who will stay angry forever, and they will be angry at the show. If Neil [Druckmann] hands out free money, they’ll be angry about the denominations that the cash was in. It was amazing, actually, to see how many people were like, ‘I hate Abby. Kaitlyn Dever should win an Emmy.’ They understood what that’s about, and that was actually quite encouraging.”

How the show will handle Abby’s POV is obviously still up in the air. But, according to Mazin, it won’t be possible to finish telling the Last of Us story in just three seasons of television. “There’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome.”

source https://time.com/7287147/the-last-of-us-season-2-finale-abby-ellie-cliffhanger/

Zelensky Says America’s ‘Silence’ Encourages Putin After One of Largest Air Assaults of the War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a strong statement addressing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, after Russia bombarded Ukraine with one of the largest air assaults of the war thus far.

In an update shared via social media on Sunday morning, Zelensky said “nearly 300 attack drones” and “almost 70 missiles of various types” were launched by Russia overnight. At least 12 people have been reported killed.

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Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed 95 Ukrainian drones. “From 08:00 p.m. Moscow time of May 24 to 00:00 a.m. of May 25, air defenses on duty destroyed and intercepted 95 Ukrainian fixed-wing type unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry said.

“Russia is dragging out this war and continues to kill every day. The world may go on a weekend break, but the war continues, regardless of weekends and weekdays,” Zelensky said on X. 

The Ukrainian leader then went on to call out America over its “silence,” saying Russia’s actions—and those of its leader, President Vladimir Putin—“cannot be ignored.”

“Silence of America, silence of others around the world only encourage Putin,” he said. “Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped. Sanctions will certainly help. Determination matters now—the determination of the United States, of European countries, and of all those around the world who seek peace.”

Some time later, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, took to X and called for an immediate cease-fire.

“This is Kyiv. The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Cease-fire now,” he said.

This is Kyiv. The indiscriminate killing of women and children at night in their homes is a clear violation of the 1977 Geneva Peace Protocols designed to protect innocents. These attacks are shameful. Stop the killing. Ceasefire now. pic.twitter.com/89XRWZcP21

— Keith Kellogg (@generalkellogg) May 25, 2025

The overnight strikes cast a shadow over the prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine on Sunday. “303 Ukrainian defenders are home. The third part of the 1000-for-1000 exchange deal, agreed upon in Turkey, has been completed,” Zelensky said.

Each country agreed to release 1,000 prisoners of war—the largest swap of the war so far—during peace talks between Russia and Ukraine delegates in Turkey on Friday, May 16. The countries’ respective leaders were notably absent from the talks, after Putin rejected Zelensky’s offer for an in-person sit-down and did not accompany the Russian delegation to Turkey.

Amid global efforts to procure a cease-fire in the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump spoke to Putin on the phone for two hours on Monday, May 19. The U.S. President said the “tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent, and that it “went very well.” He then announced that cease-fire conversations would begin “immediately.” As planned, Trump went on to call Zelensky and other European leaders.

After speaking with Trump, Zelensky said on social media that it was “a defining moment.”

“The world can now see whether its leaders are truly capable of securing a cease-fire and achieving real, lasting peace,” he said on X. “I reaffirmed to President Trump that Ukraine is ready for a full and unconditional cease-fire… It is important not to dilute this proposal. If the Russians are not ready to stop the killings, there must be stronger sanctions. Pressure on Russia will push it toward real peace—this is obvious to everyone around the world.”

Meanwhile, Zelensky’s latest comments calling out the “silence of America” mark the latest development in the often tense relationship between U.S. and Ukrainian leaderships. On Feb. 28, Zelensky and Trump engaged in a heated discussion in the Oval Office, which was filmed for the world to see. The pair clashed when discussing efforts for a Russia-Ukraine cease-fire.

The two have since moved forward and have held productive talks, most notably when they sat down together ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral in the Vatican on April 26, sharing their first face-to-face conversation since the White House debacle. Following that conversation in Rome, Zelensky took to social media and expressed hope for future talks and relations.

“Good meeting. We discussed a lot one-on-one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people,” Zelensky said. “Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results.”

source https://time.com/7288567/zelensky-putin-russia-ukraine-war-silence-america-trump-conflict/

What to Know About the Kids Online Safety Act and Where It Currently Stands

Congress could potentially pass the first major legislation related to children’s online safety since 1998, as the Kids Online Safety Act, sometimes referred to as KOSA, was reintroduced earlier this month after stalling last year.

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The bill has proven to be a major talking point, garnering bipartisan support and the attention of tech giants, but it has also sparked concern re: targeted censorship from First Amendment rights groups and others advocating for LGBTQ+ communities.

Now, it will have another shot, and the bill’s Congressional supporters will have a chance to state why they believe the legislation is needed in this ever-evolving digital age.

The revival of the Kids Online Safety Act comes amid U.S. and global discussions over how to best protect children online. In late 2024, Australia approved a social media ban for under-16s. It’s set to come into effect later this year. In March, Utah became the first state to pass legislation requiring app stores to verify a user’s age. And Texas is currently moving forward with efforts regarding an expansive social media ban for minors. The Kids Off Social Media Act (KOSMA)—which would ban social media platforms from allowing children under 13 to create or maintain accounts—was also introduced earlier this year, but has seen little movement since.

Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, May 25, during a special mental health-focused episode, former Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, a Democrat who served Rhode Island, expressed a dire need for more protections surrounding children online.

When asked about the Kids Online Safety Act, and if it’s the type of legislation America needs, Kennedy said: “Our country is falling down on its own responsibility as stewards to our children’s future.” He went on to explain why he believes passing bills is just one factor of what needs to be addressed, citing online sports betting as another major concern.

“We can’t just pass these bills. We’ve got to stop all of these intrusive addiction-for-profit companies from taking our kids hostage. That’s what they’re doing. This is a fight,” he said. “And we are losing the fight because we’re not out there fighting for our kids to protect them from these businesses [whose] whole profit motive is, ‘How am I going to capture that consumer and lock them in as a consumer?’”

Calling out giant social media platforms, in particular, Kennedy went on to say: “We, as a country, have seen these companies and industries take advantage of the addiction-for-profit. Purdue, tobacco. Social media’s the next big one. And unfortunately, it’s going to have to be litigated. We have to go after the devastating impact that these companies are having on our kids.”

Amid these ongoing discussions, here’s what you need to know about the Kids Online Safety Act in light of its reintroduction.

What is the Kids Online Safety Act?

The Kids Online Safety Act aims to provide further protections for children online related to privacy and mental health concerns exacerbated by social media and excessive Internet use.

The bill would create “duty of care,” meaning that tech companies and platform giants would be required to take steps to prevent potentially harmful encounters, such as posts about eating disorders and instances of online bullying, from impacting minors.

“A covered platform shall exercise reasonable care in the creation and implementation of any design feature to prevent and mitigate the following harms to minors: anxiety, depression, eating disorders, substance use disorders, and suicidal behaviors… patterns of use that indicate or encourage addiction-like behaviors by minors…” the bill reads.

Health organizations including The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, have pushed Congress to pass KOSA to better protect young people online—and see the bill as a potential way to intervene with the detrimental impact social media and Internet usage in general can have on one’s mental health.

Newer versions of the bill have narrowed regulations to apply to limiting “design features” such as notifications, “infinite scrolling or autoplay,” and in-game purchases.

It would also allow for more parental tools to manage the privacy settings of a minor, and ideally enable a parent to limit the ability for adults to communicate with their children via online platforms.

Read More: 6 Red Flags About the Mental-Health Content You’re Being Bombarded With on Social Media

What is the history of the bill? 

In 2024, KOSA seemingly had all the right ingredients to pass into law. It had bipartisan support, passed the Senate, and could have been put in front of President Joe Biden, who had indicated he would sign the bill.

“There is undeniable evidence that social media and other online platforms contribute to our youth mental health crisis,” President Biden wrote in a statement on July 30, 2024, after KOSA passed the Senate. “Today our children are subjected to a wild west online and our current laws and regulations are insufficient to prevent this. It is past time to act.”

Yet, the bill was stalled. House Speaker Mike Johnson cautioned Republicans against rushing to pass the bill.

“We’ve got to get it right,” Johnson said in December. “Look, I’m a lifelong advocate of protection of children…and online safety is critically important…but we also have to make sure that we don’t open the door for violations of free speech.”

The bill received support across both aisles, and has now been endorsed by some of the “big tech giants” it aims to regulate, including Elon Musk and X, Microsoft, and Apple.

“Apple is pleased to offer our support for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA). Everyone has a part to play in keeping kids safe online, and we believe [this] legislation will have a meaningful impact on children’s online safety,” Timothy Powderly, Apple’s senior director of government affairs, said in a statement earlier in May after the bill was reintroduced.

But other tech giants, including Facebook and Instagram’s parent Meta, opposed the bill last year. Politico reported that 14 lobbyists employed directly by Meta, as well as outside firms, worked the issue.

The bill was reintroduced on May 14 by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who were joined by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

“Senator Blackburn and I made a promise to parents and young people when we started fighting together for the Kids Online Safety Act—we will make this bill law. There’s undeniable awareness of the destructive harms caused by Big Tech’s exploitative, addictive algorithms, and inescapable momentum for reform,” said Blumenthal in a statement announcing the bill’s reintroduction. “I am grateful to Senators Thune and Schumer for their leadership and to our Senate colleagues for their overwhelming bipartisan support. KOSA is an idea whose time has come—in fact, it’s urgently overdue—and even tech companies like X and Apple are realizing that the status quo is unsustainable.

Read More: ‘We’re In a New World’: American Teenagers on Mental Health and How to Cope

What is the controversy around KOSA?

Since KOSA’s first introduction, it’s been the site of controversy over free speech and censorship concerns. In 2024, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) discouraged the passage of KOSA at the Senate level, arguing that the bill violated First Amendment-protected speech.

“KOSA compounds nationwide attacks on young peoples’ right to learn and access information, on and offline,” said Jenna Leventoff, senior policy counsel at the ACLU. “As state legislatures and school boards across the country impose book bans and classroom censorship laws, the last thing students and parents need is another act of government censorship deciding which educational resources are appropriate for their families. The House must block this dangerous bill before it’s too late.”

Some LGBTQ+ rights groups also opposed KOSA in 2024—arguing that the broadly worded bill could empower state attorneys general to determine what kind of content harms kids. One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Blackburn, has previously said that one of the top issues conservatives need to be aware of is “protecting minor children from the transgender in this culture and that influence.” Calling out social media, Blackburn said “this is where children are being indoctrinated.”

Other organizations including Center for Democracy & Technology, New America’s Open Technology Institute, and Fight for the Future joined the ACLU in writing a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee in 2024, arguing that the bill would not—as intended—protect children, but instead threaten young people’s privacy and lead to censorship.

In response to these concerns, the newly-introduced version of the bill has been negotiated with “several changes to further make clear that KOSA would not censor, limit, or remove any content from the internet, and it does not give the FTC [Federal Trade Commission] or state Attorneys General the power to bring lawsuits over content or speech,” Blumenthal’s statement on the bill reads.

Where do things currently stand?

Now, KOSA is back where it started—sitting in Congress waiting for support.

With its new changes, lawmakers argue that they have heard the concerns of opposing advocates. KOSA still needs support and passage from Congress—and signing from President Donald Trump—in order to pass into law.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has previously voiced strong support of the bill. “We can protect free speech and our kids at the same time from Big Tech. It’s time for House Republicans to pass the Kids Online Safety Act ASAP,” Trump Jr. said on X on Dec. 8, 2024.

source https://time.com/7288539/kids-online-safety-act-status-what-to-know/

Trump Takes Credit for ‘Most Powerful Army World Has Known’ During West Point Speech: ‘I Rebuilt the Military’

President Donald Trump returned to the United States Military Academy at West Point on Saturday to give the commencement speech to the graduating class of 2025. Adorned in his trademark “Make America Great Again” hat, Trump spoke to the 1,002-strong class for just under an hour. 

During his address, he lauded the United States Army as the “greatest and most powerful Army the world has ever known.” Beyond this, he stated that he is the one responsible for the Army’s might. 

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“And I know because I rebuilt that army, and I rebuilt the military,” Trump told the crowd.  “We rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.”

Trump went on to push his American-first ethos, saying: “We’re getting rid of the distractions and we’re focusing our military on its core mission: crushing America’s adversaries, killing America’s enemies, and defending our great American flag like it has never been defended before.”

In his rally-style speech, Trump celebrated the achievements of the students, while also lauding his own presidency—including his cracking down on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

West Point has found itself in the center of the DEI-related pushback, especially related to the banning of books and educational programs that the Trump Administration says promote DEI.

In February, West Point disbanded its Society of Black Engineers club as well as multiple other clubs listed under “affinity” groups on the club directory. This followed Trump’s Jan. 20 Executive Order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing” and a Jan. 21 Executive Order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” A subsequent Jan. 29 instruction from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saw the announcement of a new task force.

“I direct the establishment of a multi-functional ‘Restoring America’s Fighting Force’ task force charged with overseeing the Department’s efforts to abolish DEI offices and any vestiges of such offices that subvert meritocracy, perpetuate unconstitutional discrimination, and promote radical ideologies related to systemic racism and gender fluidity,” Hegseth said.

Beyond clubs, West Point has reportedly purged work by diverse authors from its libraries and has removed discussions of systemic inequities from its classrooms, leading aWest Point professor to resign, saying: “I am ashamed to be associated with the academy in its current form.”

Trump addressed his DEI measures during his West Point commencement speech, saying he has “liberated our troops from divisive and demeaning political training.”

“There will be no more critical race theory or transgender for everybody, forced onto our brave men and women in uniform or on anybody else, for that matter, in this country,” Trump said. “And promotions and appointments will not be based on politics or identity. They’ll be based on merit…We’re a merit-based country again.”

Trump claimed that his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, “subjected the armed forces to all manner of social projects”—something he says is no longer. The President’s speech comes after he and Hegseth have fired multiple senior military officers who were known to endorse DEI efforts. The Trump Administration has also once again banned transgender people from serving in the military and has ordered new physical standard tests which will require the same standards for both men and women. The change in requirements to serve in combat roles is expected to drastically cut the number of women in said roles.

source https://time.com/7288516/trump-west-point-speech-rebuilt-military-dei-comments/