One of Donald Trump's holiday greetings sparked rumors that he and his wife Melania could be heading for a split.
The couple have never been especially affectionate in public, but the president-elect's Christmas post on Instagram recycled a photo of them from more than a half decade ago, and that prompted social media users to question the health of their relationship, reported The List.
" Trump recycled a picture of himself and Melania that, per the X page Melania Trump 45 Archived, was apparently taken back in December 2018," the website reported. "Using an old picture rather than taking a new one might have been a matter of convenience, given the president-elect's imaginably packed schedule, but some believe his failure to pause and take a new photo with his wife is a telling indicator that Donald and Melania might be on the rocks."
Many social media users noticed the low-effort post and wondered why they hadn't posed together for a new Christmas photo.
"Trump tried to pass off an old 2018 White House photo of himself with Melania as a 'Merry Christmas! 2024' post today," noted the X account Patriot Takes, which says it is dedicated to "researching and monitoring" right-wing extremism "and other threats to democracy."
"Was the last time she was next to him and coincidentally the last time she smiled for a photo," said business owner Sean McDaniel, adding a gif showing Trump and Elon Musk laughing together. "He has a new love now."
"Did she even spend a minute with him on Christmas?" added the X account Diego Dog & Barbara. "She really can’t stand him."
"He has no idea where she is," said the X user called jltdawg.
Don't expect Matt Gaetz to make any mischief at the start of the next Congress, as he's suggested he might do after the release of an incriminating ethics report on his alleged sexual misconduct.
The former lawmaker resigned the seat to which he had just won re-election during his ill-fated nomination by Donald Trump as attorney general, but Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke tamped down speculation that he might attempt to take part in the Jan. 3 vote for speaker of the House after the next Congress was sworn in.
"Per a source familiar, the Florida secretary of state sees Gaetz’s resignation for the 118th and 119th as irrevocable and is expected to send over a vacancy instead of his name ahead of swearing in on Jan. 3," Brufke reported. "There are, however, some legal questions over whether Gaetz can resign from a seat he hasn’t taken which could make the process interesting should he choose to show up for the start of the new Congress."
Michael Thorning, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center, said that House precedents were clear and there is no question that members may resign before assuming office, but some questions remain over his resignation.
"What matters is whether the House (and in this case the State of Florida) consider the ambiguous language of his letter to constitute an actual resignation," Thorning said. "The language of his resignation was ambiguous, stating he did not 'intend' to take the oath for the 119th. Ultimately, the House will have to contend with whether or not that constitutes resignation."
Gaetz has suggested he may attempt to vote in the House speaker election next week and then "file a privileged motion to expose every 'me too' settlement paid using public funds before resigning again to begin hosting a prime time show on One America News."
Reacting to a flurry of Donald Trump Truth Social attacks launched on Christmas day, MSNBC host Chris Jansing asked her panel how Republican lawmakers plan to deal with four more years of erratic proclamations from president-elect.
Speaking to NBC political correspondent Jonathan Allen, she asked, "Jonathan, look, he's not even president yet, obviously he is the president-elect. But if you're a member of the U.S. Senate and you just got re-elected to a six-year term and he's going to be gone in four years, I mean, do you think that there's any doubt that we're going to have these situations where Donald Trump wants something and it's either going to be fish or cut bait?"
"Well, Chris, let me say if I was a United States senator who just got elected to a six-year term, I'd be asking for time off for good behavior because that seems like a terrible body to be serving in right now," he replied which led to laughter from the panel.
"Yeah they going to have to make determinations all the time about not only what do they do in terms of the places where they have power but what do they say about what the new president is now doing himself," he added. "We have seen moments where they stood up to him and basically told him to take a flying leap when he nominated Matt Gaetz to be attorney general."
"We may see other nominees fall by the wayside," he predicted. "You have to wait and see what happens in January. But, yeah, I mean these senators are going to be put in a bad position and for the Republican senators they're going to be put in a bad position of, you know, having to break with the Trump base every time they break with him and his outside allies, which have seen this before, Steve Bannon and others, who put tremendous pressure on those senators who are breaking with him every time they do it."
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance have yet to be sworn in as president and vice president respectively after their 2024 victory and Fox News is already looking towards the 2028 presidential election when Trump will be ineligible to run.
According to Fox's Paul Steinhauser, the Ohio Republican who Trump tapped as his running mate has the inside track to the 2028 GOP nomination but it is not a done deal with the current head of Republican National Committee (RNC) saying they won't put their finger on the scale for any candidate.
By all accounts, Vance is the heir to the MAGA crown, with Republican consultant Dave Carney calling the Ohio Republican "the guy to beat," and adding, "The vice president will be in the catbird seat. No question about it."
GOP strategist David Kochel, agreed, but cautioned, "There will be no shortage of people looking at it. But most people looking at it are seeing the relative strength of the Trump victory and the movement."
According to Fox's Steinhauser, there will likely be others in the GOP who have long had their eye on the White House who will be testing the waters after having made previous runs.
With Carney suggesting a "possible rough four years for the Trump/Vance administration" would hand challengers to Vance "opportunities," Fox's Steinhuaser pointed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX), Arkansas Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 2024 runner-up Nikki Haley and far-right Sen. Tom Cotton, also of Arkansas, as possible candidates.
According to the Fox report, "DeSantis, who sources say Trump has considered as a plan B for Defense secretary if his nominee Pete Hegseth runs into trouble, has his eyes on another White House run," adding that Cruz, once thought to be in trouble in 2024 waltzed away with a six-point win in his re-election bid.
As for Huckabee Sanders, Steinhauser wrote, "The first-term conservative governor of Arkansas is a well-known figure in MAGA world, thanks to her tenure as Trump's longest-serving White House press secretary during his first administration. The 42-year-old Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas governor and former two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, has also grabbed national attention for delivering the GOP's response to President Biden's 2023 State of the Union address."
Also popping up on the list are Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy who will be part of Trump's unfunded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Jan. 20th.
Residents of unincorporated New Castle, Pennsylvania, drove a surge in support for Donald Trump in 2024. Now, they're counting on him not to cut their Social Security benefits, The Washington Post reported.
New Castle used to be a booming industrial town, and a century ago it was a bastion of support for Democratic politicians, said the report: "Before Trump won New Castle, the city had last backed a Republican presidential candidate in 1956, when voters narrowly supported Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) over Adlai Stevenson (D), according to Andrei Pagnotta, a resident who has spent years studying the region’s election results. But the city changed dramatically as factories closed and younger residents moved to more vibrant urban areas ... The city’s population of 21,000 is roughly half what it was during its peak in the 1940s."
One resident who plans to switch to the Republican Party and backed Trump despite disagreeing with him on social issues, Lori Mosura, says that she was driven to do so by money being tight. “He is more attuned to the needs of everyone instead of just the rich,” she said. “I think he knows it’s the poor people that got him elected, so I think Trump is going to do more to help us.”
Trump is infamous for having run a series of scams on the vulnerable, including a fake university that defrauded people with promises of training to become a real estate tycoon. His nominee to be attorney general is a former Florida law enforcement official who dropped a probe into that case around the same time a group supporting her candidacy accepted a gift from Trump's charitable foundation, since shut down.
As for her message to Trump now, Mosura said: “We helped get you in office; please take care of us. Please don’t cut the things that help the most vulnerable.”
For his part, Trump has repeatedly pledged not to touch Social Security or Medicare. However, his "Department of Government Efficiency" task force headed up by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to cut more than $2 trillion from the federal budget, and experts have warned there is no possible way to do this without cutting key entitlement programs like Social Security.
A loyal Donald Trump ally on Thursday signaled a "divorce" between the MAGA base and the "tech bros" the president-elect has been recently flirting with.
Trump recently chose internet entrepreneur Sriram Krishnan, who has contributed to the campaign of at least one Democratic lawmaker, as a senior policy advisor for Artificial Intelligence. The former and incoming president has also held dinners and accepted major donations from tech leaders and billionaires.
After the Christmas holiday, Trump ally Laura Loomer, who accompanied Trump on parts of the 2024 campaign, spoke out about it.
The outrage began with the appointment of Krishnan, to which Loomer responded, "I can’t imagine someone donating to a Democrat who said Trump should be impeached over Ukraine then getting a promotion to go advise Trump in the White House. Truly shocking."
Loomer later questioned, "Should MAGA stay home in 2026?"
"I want [Team Trump] to let us know who is a priority," the far-right influencer added on X. "The MAGA base or an anti-Trump Democrat congressman who gets donations from tech bros and voted to impeach Trump? I just want to know what to tell voters in 2026 when they ask me if they should vote."
Loomer also spoke out after Trump announced at a right-wing event that he'd support a run for Arizona Governor by Karrin Taylor Robson.
Republicans are worried that a rebellion against House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) could put the start of Donald Trump's presidency in jeopardy.
The Louisiana Republican could face a leadership challenge after angering and frustrating his fellow Republicans during last week's negotiations over a stopgap government funding measure, and some of his GOP allies are urging the president-elect to publicly affirm his support to avoid a prolonged fight to replace him, reported Newsweek.
"If we have some kind of protracted fight where we can't elect a speaker — the speaker's not elected, we're not sworn in, and if we're not sworn in, we can't certify the election," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL).
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) suggested that Trump should invite Johnson to celebrate Christmas with him at Mar-a-Lago to affirm his support, and other GOP lawmakers agreed that replacing him as speaker could throw the start of Trump's second term into chaos.
"To ensure President Trump can take office and hit the ground running on Jan. 20," said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY), "we must be able to certify the 2024 election on Jan. 6. However, without a speaker, we cannot complete this process."
Johnson has not said he's worried about the leadership vote, although Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has already said he would vote against him and several other Republicans say they're undecided.But the speaker should not expect Democrats to bail him out.
"There will be no Democrats available to save him or the extreme MAGA Republicans from themselves based on the breaching of a bipartisan agreement that reflected priorities that were good for the American people," said Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
Lawmakers are set to vote on electing a speaker Jan. 3, right after they're sworn in, and the House will meet again three days later to certify the results of November's election.
Trump was indicted in the District of Columbia for attempting to interfere with the certification of Joe Biden's election win four years ago, although that case was ended after his re-election. He and some of his allies were also indicted on similar state charges in Georgia.
Donald Trump vowed to "vigorously pursue the death penalty" immediately upon his inauguration.
The president-elect reacted to President Joe Biden commuting the sentences of 37 of the 40 federal prisoners on death row with a social media attack Tuesday morning, saying Biden's decision "makes no sense."
About two hours later he issued his own pledge.
"As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters," Trump posted on his Truth Social website. "We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!"
Trump, who is a convicted felon himself, posted a screenshot to a New York Postreport whose headline read that Biden commuted the "death sentences of child killers and mass murderers 2 days before Christmas," providing lurid descriptions of their crimes and photos of their victims.
"Biden, who opposes the death penalty, lowered each of the 37 sentences to life in prison without parole," the report stated. "He did not say why specifically he considered the original penalties unjust."
The report further stated that "Christmas also came early" for one convicted killer and noted that another was "getting some holiday cheer" from the president, whose term ends next month. It reminded readers that Biden had pardoned his own son earlier this month and commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 people who had been temporarily released from prison during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The retiring president on Dec. 1 issued a blanket pardon for his own son Hunter Biden, 54 — wiping the slate of his June conviction of three federal gun felonies and his September guilty plea to $1.4 million in tax fraud from foreign business dealings in which he repeatedly involved his father," the Post reported.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is filing a legal complaint to try to block release of the House Ethics Committee's report into him, reported NBC News — but he's probably too late for it to matter.
This comes after reports that the committee, which has been wrestling with whether to release the full details of the report, is finally moving to do so — and after large portions of its content were already leaked, including confirmation the committee found substantial evidence for accusations that Gaetz engaged in statutory rape and illicit drug use.
Gaetz has continually denied all of these allegations, which have floated around for years, but which he claims were part of an extortion racket against himself and his family.
Gaetz's request for a restraining order "accuses the committee of an 'unconstitutional' attempt 'to exercise jurisdiction over a private citizen through the threatened release of an investigative report containing potentially defamatory allegations, in violation of the Committee’s own rules,'" noted the report. His legal team further asserts that the release of the report "represents an unprecedented overreach that threatens fundamental constitutional rights and established procedural protections."
The former congressman was initially Trump's pick for attorney general, but he withdrew amid the controversy over releasing the report, and indications that Senate Republicans did not have the votes to confirm him.
CHICAGO — The Aid for Women pregnancy clinic in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood might be one of the nicest offices I’ve visited for medical advice.
The clinic is located in the storefront of a newly constructed modern apartment building. Its windows are adorned with images of beautiful, diverse women, advertising free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. With tasteful neutral tones throughout, the lobby has a cascading wall fountain with the nonprofit’s logo and a woman’s silhouette image, creating a peaceful atmosphere.
Yet, the clinic is not a medical office even though medical procedures and tests are offered there. Aid for Women is one of as many as 4,000 crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, operating throughout the country that present as healthcare clinics but are typically nonprofits with an agenda to stop women from getting abortions.
Aid for Women pregnancy center in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood in December 2024 (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
A new study from the University of California San Diego published on Dec. 2 analyzed the websites of 1,825 crisis pregnancy clinics, including Aid for Women, and created a database, choicewatch.org, to provide unbiased data about the services provided by these groups.
“We just want to start a policy debate around these issues,” John W. Ayers, leader of the study, told Raw Story. “With the new administration, there's a chance CPCs could be federally funded, and if those federally funded dollars are going to CPCs, under what conditions can they be given to maximize society benefits and reduce the harms?”
Ultimately, the paper’s authors are calling for greater scrutiny of these clinics, particularly around the services offered, provider qualifications and conformity with regulations and medical best practices. Generally, such pregnancy centers are exempt from the licensing, regulations and credentialing requirements of healthcare facilities.
“When it comes to crisis pregnancy centers, there's a lot of unknown unknowns,” said Ayers, who is an adjunct associate professor of medicine and epidemiologist at the University of California San Diego. “Our study is independent of your position on abortion, and so, we just want to give data and solve this problem of there being no data.”
Doctors like Kristyn Brandi, an OB-GYN in New Jersey, often find crisis pregnancy centers to be “angering” and “annoying," requiring reeducation of patients after visiting a clinic, she said.
The clinics can also be dangerous to women’s health if unsafe and unproven procedures like “abortion pill reversals” are offered (Aid for Women advertises such a procedure on its website). Ayers and Brandi both pointed out that abortion pill reversals are not recommended by medical professionals and put patients at risk for hemorrhaging and sepsis as they involve pumping the body with progesterone after a first abortion pill is taken, even though the process of ending the pregnancy is likely already underway and no longer likely to be viable.
A screen shot from the Aid for Women website about abortion pill reversals
“At crisis pregnancy centers, they are not healthcare centers, and so they aren’t under the same regulations and rules that doctors and other healthcare providers have to abide by, which is really concerning as a healthcare provider knowing that I have many patients that go there first and then come to me for healthcare,” Brandi told Raw Story. “Hearing the stories about what these patients encounter when they go to these centers is really disturbing.”
Susan Barrett, executive director of Aid for Women, did not respond to Raw Story’s requests for comment.
‘Very weird and off’
When I first visited an Aid for Women clinic, I was just shy of five weeks pregnant. Several at-home early detection pregnancy tests came up positive, but I figured it didn’t hurt to have professionals confirm for me as I waited for my regular OB-GYN appointment at 10 weeks pregnant.
But rather than having a doctor or nurse confirm the pregnancy for me, I conducted the test myself at Aid for Women.
Instead of leaving a urine sample behind a mini door in the bathroom for technicians to grab as I was used to at doctor’s offices, I brought my sample back to a meeting room with an advocate and was told that I would be administering my own pregnancy test since there wasn’t a nurse on site at the time to do so.
I used a dropper to apply a sample to my test and had to write down that, yes, I understood my test was positive.
Brandi said typically patients at a medical practice are “not running their own samples” due to regulations requiring that collection and testing is accurate and a “real result” is being reported.
“It's weird for going to a healthcare center and having to do the stuff you would just do at home,” she said when told about my experience.
At the appointment, I spoke with an advocate about my “pregnancy intention,” a question also asked on an intake form where clients indicate whether they’re planning on parenting, abortion, adoption or are undecided.
The advocate made it clear that the center does not offer abortions but did not explicitly express disapproval for those seeking abortions.
However, the 20-plus-page informational booklet provided to me featured several pages on the risks and drawbacks of abortions, alongside photos of depressed-looking women.
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about abortion
Raw Story shared the pamphlet with Brandi, an abortion provider, who said she was “struck” by the language in the brochure and found it to be “very focused on misleading information” and “very graphic depictions” of procedures like a dilation and evacuation surgical abortion, also known as a D&E.
“It was very much leading with all the risks, which I will not say that there are no risks to abortion care, but the risks are incredibly low and much lower than things like live births and C-sections,” Brandi said. “I make sure that when I counsel patients, I do absolutely tell them the risks, but I make sure to balance that information with all the benefits if they seek abortion, what are the health benefits to them versus continuing the pregnancy … there wouldn't be a field of OB-GYN, if pregnancy was always safe.”
Brandi also took issue with other components of the Aid for Women brochure, calling some parts “just very weird and off.”
For instance, the brochure’s timeline of the pregnancy does not reflect the “medically accurate” dating method, she said, and milestones noted such as the beginning development of a baby’s brain, spinal cord and heart at four weeks is misleading, she said.
“Usually at that time we have maybe three or four cells that are cardiac cells that eventually will turn into a heart in some time,” Brandi said. “It's not inaccurate, but it's misleading to say that those things are developed yet when they're definitely not developed in a significant way.”
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about fetal development
Brandi noted that as an abortion provider, she looks at fetal tissue after a procedure, which typically isn’t seen until about 10 weeks pregnant, and it’s not visible to the naked eye at that point. The brochure said “a little face, fingers and toes” appear as early as six weeks and included images.
A first ultrasound experience
After my first visit, I decided to return to the clinic for another free service offered: an ultrasound. I didn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars or use insurance, so I decided to get an early sneak peek before my regular 10-week appointment.
I brought my husband with me to the clinic when I was just shy of eight weeks pregnant, and we heard our baby’s heartbeat for the first time, which was an exciting, emotional moment. I can imagine hearing a heartbeat that early for an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy might evoke upsetting emotions instead.
A sonographer conducted the ultrasound to check for basic criteria of a viable pregnancy such as noting if a heartbeat was present and that the pregnancy was located in the uterus. She produced two ultrasound images that didn’t look like much yet — I’d say the image resembled a small shrimp-shaped blob.
At barely eight weeks, I had a long way to go until the baby had any chance at surviving outside of the uterus. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that premature births at 23 weeks have a 23 percent to 27 percent survival rate, which grows to 67 percent to 76 percent by 25 weeks of gestation and continues to go up from there.
I showed my ultrasound to one of my regular OB-GYN doctors, who accurately predicted the sonographer wanted to show me the heartbeat. Brandi reviewed the ultrasound and corresponding report, calling it “similar” to a typical report.
My report was signed off for review by an OB-GYN, Robert Lawler — something Brandi said is rare to find at crisis pregnancy centers.
Lawler was featured in a 2013 article by the Chicago Catholic, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Chicago, about a new OB-GYN practice he opened in the southwestern Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Ill., to conform to the teachings of the church.
“I had visions of meeting the Lord at Judgment Day and him saying to me, 'OK, Robert, what part of 'intrinsically evil' did you not understand about contraception?'" Lawler said in the article.
The practice seems to have since closed as it has both an inactive phone number and web domain. A handful of negative Yelp reviews for the practice complain about lack of transparency about Lawler’s religious influence on his practice.
“He lets his personal religious beliefs undermine the health and well-being of the victims he lures into his office,” wrote one reviewer in March 2018.
Lawler appeared on an episode of the “Family Talk” show by Evangelical Christian author and psychologist James Dobson, where he discussed his opposition to a 2017 Illinois abortion bill that “forces pro-life doctors and nurses to violate their consciences and advocate for the murder of babies in the womb,” according to the video description.
As of January 2024, Lawler is now the medical director for labor and delivery at OSF Little Company of Mary Medical Center, a healthcare system in Illinois founded by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.
Lawler could not be reached at his OSF office in the southwestern Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn, Ill. He did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment through Aid for Women.
‘Lying to women in vulnerable positions? Let's cut that out.’
For comparison I also visited a Planned Parenthood clinic a mile away from Aid for Women to confirm my pregnancy there as well.
The Planned Parenthood clinic was certainly not as stylish and welcoming as the Aid for Women office. It was located in a small strip mall next to a Dollar General. The waiting room was dark, and front office staff were seated behind plexiglass.
But the experience reflected that of a typical doctor’s office visit, where I entered a room with an exam chair (I was brought to a room that resembled a personal office with a desk, chair, side tables and sink at Aid for Women).
I answered some medical questions at Planned Parenthood and got my test result through a MyChart portal. I was given some informational materials that included statistics and risks of different procedures, and I was told that if I proceeded with the pregnancy to start taking a prenatal vitamin.
Scan from "Abortion Options" brochure from Planned Parenthood
I chose not to go through the ultrasound experience at Planned Parenthood because I didn’t want to prematurely use my insurance benefits before visiting my regular doctor.
Planned Parenthood clinics are regulated as healthcare facilities and must abide by regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to protect patient privacy.
When I went to Aid for Women, I asked about HIPAA and was told my information would be protected. I was given a "care and competence" commitment agreement that promised to hold client information in "strict and absolute confidence;" however, there was no mention of HIPAA on the form, and the Aid for Women privacy policy does not mention HIPAA.
"One thing that really worries me, especially in this Dobbs moment, is privacy," Brandi said, referencing Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the 2022 landmark Supreme Court decision that overturned the right to abortion protected by Roe v. Wade. "I think many people when they go to a healthcare center, they expect that the healthcare providers are not going to like share their information and talk about them to other people because we abide by rules like HIPAA that protect patients’ privacy. Because these centers aren't health care centers — they look like health care centers — but they have no reason to protect your privacy."
Spokespeople for Planned Parenthood did not respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
The intake form I filled out during my visits at Aid for Women had me initial that I understood all questions on the form were optional, but when I didn’t fill in some information, such as my address, I got pushback from staff to include those details.
“I think when people are pretending to be doctors and have no legal liability if something bad happens, that's really concerning and scary to think about, that patients are trusting these centers when they don't necessarily get the health care that they deserve in these moments,” Brandi told Raw Story.
I returned to the Aid for Women Clinic months later at 37 weeks pregnant to learn about what support services the center offered. When I requested my medical records, I was required to give my address and was given a two-page report from my ultrasound, nothing else from the first visit or any other paperwork.
At this visit, like all my previous visits, the advocate asked me about my housing situation and made sure I had support and wasn’t experiencing any abuse. The nonprofit runs maternity homes and offers referrals for healthcare and community support resources.
I signed up to watch videos from the clinic’s "Earn While Your Learn" program to prepare for my impending labor and delivery experience. Clients who complete various tasks such as watching lessons and doing homework, participating in the nonprofit's newsletters and reviewing the center online can earn points to enter a monthly raffle to win essential baby supplies like a stroller or a crib set. The videos were produced by a group called True to Life Productions, who did not immediately respond to Raw Story’s request for comment.
Aid for Women’s nonprofit tax filing is transparent that it’s a pro-life organization, describing itself as an operator of “pregnancy help centers, pregnancy medical clinics and residential programs to assist women in difficult and unexpected pregnancy situations so that they might choose life.” The nonprofit reported more than $2.5 million in contributions in 2023 and paid Barrett a salary of $101,519.
According to the data provided on choicewatch.org, Aid for Women is affiliated with Heartbeat International, an international pro-life group that supports the largest network of crisis pregnancy centers.
A screen shot about Aid for Women from choicewatch.org
While I visited Aid for Women knowing what type of facility it was, clients in crisis might not be aware of its pro-life mission and could be susceptible to misinformation.
“I think what our study does is it shows some of these crisis centers are bad actors, and CPCs can get behind getting rid of them," Ayers said. "Pro-life, pro-choice, lying to women in vulnerable positions? Let's cut that out."
A copy of the House Ethics Committee's report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) obtained by CBS News alleges that the Florida Republican engaged in a number of illegal activities.
The 37-page report, which is due to be released on Monday, writes that "there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress."
The report relies on a combination of witness testimony, text message exchanges, and Venmo receipts to make the case that Gaetz repeatedly violated the law while serving as a Florida congressman.
Among the damning findings in the report are that Gaetz paid multiple women for sex in the past, including a girl who at the time was only 17 years old.
The report refers to the then-17-year-old girl whom Gaetz allegedly paid for sex as "Victim A," and it details her own direct testimony to the House Ethics Committee.
"Victim A recalled receiving $400 in cash from Representative Gaetz that evening, which she understood to be payment for sex," the committee writes. "Victim A said that she did not inform Representative Gaetz that she was under 18 at the time, nor did he ask her age."
Gaetz last week denied that he ever had sexual contact with a minor, although he did acknowledge that "in my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated -- even some I never dated but who asked."
Gaetz also said that "it’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life" and insisted that "I live a different life now."
Gaetz had originally been President-elect Donald Trump's choice to serve as United States attorney general, though he quickly withdrew his candidacy after it became clear that he would not have the votes to be confirmed.
"I am beyond honored to have his support," she wrote on Sunday. "Thank you Mr. President for everything you do for our country and for the great State of Arizona."
But Laura Loomer, who has spent time with Trump and even flew to events with him during the presidential campaign, wasn't happy about it.
"Hey President Trump, Why did you endorse Karrin Taylor Robson for Governor of Arizona today if you are anti-Ruben Gallego? Did none of your transition team 'vetters' let you know that Karrin was one of [Gallego's] biggest bundlers? Why would a woman who raised money for a radical, cartel affiliated, Democrat named Ruben Gallego who is pro open borders and pro mass amnesty get your endorsement?" Loomer asked. "Respectfully, who is doing the vetting for you?"
Loomer also said, "This vetting crisis needs to be addressed."
Loomer also addressed Robson directly, saying, "Why are you pretending to be a Trump supporter, and who on [Team Trump] told President Trump to endorse Trump hater Karrin Taylor Robson for Governor of Arizona?"
Aid for Women pregnancy center in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood in December 2024 (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
A screen shot from the Aid for Women website about abortion pill reversals
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about abortion
Scan of pages in Aid for Women brochure about fetal development
Scan from "Abortion Options" brochure from Planned Parenthood
A Planned Parenthood clinic in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story)
A screen shot about Aid for Women from choicewatch.org