SmartNews

Dem challenger vows to take down Joni Ernst after 'we're all going to die' gaffe

Iowa State Rep. J.D. Scholten is throwing his hat in the ring to challenge U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) following her controversial remarks at a recent town hall. Ernst sparked outrage when she flippantly responded, "We're all going to die," to constituents voicing concerns over proposed Medicaid cuts.

Scholten, a 45-year-old former professional baseball player, told Politico, "I just felt, you know, I have to do this. Now's the time, and rather than being perfect with everything, I just feel like you got to do it."

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GOP rep who promised voters he'd end stock trading now 'most prolific' investor

Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), who campaigned on banning stock trading among lawmakers, is now one of the House's "most prolific traders," according to Business Insider.

The report said that Bresnahan wrote an op-ed in a local paper in March 2021 "stating that if elected, he would co-sponsor legislation to ban stock trading in Congress."

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Scandal-plagued former Florida police chief arrested on grand theft charges

Former Hialeah Police chief Sergio Velázquez has been arrested on a battery of fraud and theft charges, 7 News Miami reported on Monday morning.

61-year-old Velázquez, who served from 2012 to 2021 has been working as an electrician since leaving the department, "was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Monday and faces charges of money laundering and evading registration reports involving more than $100,000, organized fraud exceeding $50,000, and first-degree grand theft involving more than $100,000," said the report.

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Homeland Security’s list of ‘sanctuary cities’ pulled down after sheriffs object

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security over the weekend took down a public list of cities and jurisdictions that the Trump administration labeled as “sanctuary” cities, after a sharp rebuke from a group representing 3,000 sheriffs and local law enforcement.

On Saturday, National Sheriffs’ Association President Sheriff Kieran Donahue slammed the list as an “unnecessary erosion of unity and collaboration with law enforcement.”

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Horrific details revealed after 'King of the Hill' voice actor shot to death

Voice actor Jonathan Joss, best known for his role as John Redcorn on the animated series "King of the Hill" and Ken Hotate in “Parks and Recreation," was killed Sunday night outside of his home.

According to his family, it was part of an ongoing attack.

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'Math is hard': Senator trolls Trump budget chief for lying about Medicaid cuts

Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) has little patience for the false claims President Donald Trump's budget director is making about the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump's sweeping budget measure that slashes hundreds of billions from Medicaid and food stamps.

In a recent interview on CNN, Russ Vought, Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget and the former architect of the Project 2025 agenda, was pressed by anchor Dana Bash, who noted there is "pushback" over the Medicaid cuts. She also mentioned criticism of the bill from Trump's longtime ally, tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has slammed it as making the national deficit worse.

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'Growing alienation': Fetterman praises Trump as GOP openly woos him

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) continued to rankle fellow Democrats Monday by appearing at a bipartisan event in Boston as Republicans try to woo him to join their side of the aisle, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Fetterman, whose mental health struggles came under renewed scrutiny in a recent New York Magazine article, appeared alongside Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) at an event celebrating bipartisanship.

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'Hottest brand': 2025 Trump Org deals far surpass total from first presidency

The Trump Organization has announced more international deals in the first five months of President Donald Trump's second term than were made in the whole of his first term, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

“During Trump’s first presidency, his company only announced two new overseas projects,” the outlet reported. They also backed away from projects in more than 10 countries.

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'Trolling': Trump's Garden of Heroes plan leaves artists offended

Artists see a President Donald Trump’s plan to create a National Garden of American Heroes as “trolling” and not “very serious,” according to a Politico report.

“It seems completely unworkable,” Daniel Kunitz, editor of Sculpture magazine, told Politico.

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'Toxic': Vietnam vet so sickened by Trump he can't bear to fly American flag

An 84-year-old Vietnam veteran is taking a stand against President Donald Trump by taking down the American flag that used to hang outside his California home, according to a report from the Guardian.

“The American flag won’t fly again until things get straightened out down the line and administrations change,” said Morgan Akin.

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Trump-appointed judge hands president a loss — but also a win

A California judge appointed by President Donald Trump ruled on Monday to block the administration from deporting a Venezuelan national under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) — but not for the reason other judges have ruled in the past.

Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney cited the judge on Bluesky, explaining that the administration hasn't provided adequate notice to Darwin Antonio Arvealo Millan or given him due process under the law.

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'My tolerance with the American Jews' has 'completely run out': Charlie Kirk

MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk reacted to a Sunday attack on pro-Israeli demonstrators in Colorado by saying his "tolerance with the American Jews" had "run out" because they support Democrats.

On his Monday podcast, Kirk insisted that American Jews and Christians should not be in public without a firearm.

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Trump demands emergency Supreme Court ruling to force layoffs

The Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court order blocking mass firings at federal agencies.

Administration attorneys filed an emergency appeal Monday of an order last week by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals that kept on hold Trump's sweeping reductions in force as part of his plans to dramatically reshape the federal government, reported CNN.

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