SmartNews

‘Maybe go to the grocery store’: CNN conservative cuts off congressman in fiery clash

CNN conservative Scott Jennings sparked an on-air clash with Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) as the two found themselves on opposite sides of the brewing debate over the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia – and the Democratic efforts to retrieve him.

The heated exchange unfolded Wednesday on CNN’s “The Arena” as Jennings, a longtime GOP strategist, continued to insist that the Maryland father deported to an El Salvadoran mega-prison by President Donald Trump last month did not have a legal right to remain in the United States.

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'Ridiculous': Expert astounded by RFK's new autism claim

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave a speech in which he called autism "preventable" and vowed to prioritize a hunt for environmental causes, drawing ire and condemnation from researchers into neurodivergence, reported The New York Times on Wednesday.

Kennedy has long pushed conspiracy theories linking autism to vaccination, an idea based on a long-discredited, fraudulent study that has no evidence to support it. He has halfheartedly tried to show his support for vaccination, in the midst of a deadly Texas measles outbreak, and did not mention vaccines at his autism speech, but still pushed a number of ideas scientists dispute.

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'Pulling it out of their rear ends': DeSantis reacts angrily as Florida House defies him

With no debate, the House voted 111-1 on Wednesday to prohibit unelected state employees from conducting campaign-type activities during working hours and require agency heads to live in Tallahassee.

Similar legislation is advancing in the Senate, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled that he will veto the proposal if it reaches his desk.

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Justice Department suggests Minnesota in sights after Maine lawsuit

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday suggested the Justice Department is considering legal action against Minnesota for allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls’ and women’s sports.

The Trump administration on Wednesday sued Maine over policies that allow some trans athletes to compete in women’s sports. Bondi said Maine is violating federal law intended to prevent discrimination based on sex.

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'No': White House Press Sec'y Karoline Leavitt snubs reporter seeking to ask question

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt flatly rejected a reporter seeking to ask a question after the mother of Rachel Morin finished delivering emotional remarks during a news briefing at the White House.

Patty Morin gave a deeply emotional and graphic account of her daughter's brutal killing at the hands of an undocumented immigrant. She recounted the evidence presented at the trial, including the physical injuries Rachel endured.

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Trump and Musk ‘functionally destroying’ historic Yellowstone grizzly bear science team

A dismayed Chris Servheen is raising the alarm about what’s become of federal scientists who have kept watch over the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzly bear population for the last 55 years.

The group of research biologists and technicians, known as the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team, are being hamstrung at best and arguably dismantled, he told WyoFile. For decades, until his retirement in 2016, Sevheen worked closely with the study team while coordinating grizzly bear recovery for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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'Disappeared overnight': DOGE quietly deletes $1 billion from its reported savings

The savings that have come from cuts in government staff and funding were being tracked online, but there was a substantial change in the numbers overnight, a new report said.

Before President Donald Trump was sworn into office, he and tech billionaire Elon Musk promised Americans they would cut $2 trillion in government spending to reduce the deficit.

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‘Damaging’: 'Frustration grows' in red states as farmers brace for 'hard hit' from Trump

The international trade war unleashed by Donald Trump’s massive set of tariffs on China is starting to present a growing dilemma for U.S. soybean farmers – and it could come at a political cost to the president.

That’s according to a new report in the Atlantic, which detailed Wednesday how Trump’s tariffs not only have the ability to weaken soybean production in the U.S., but also could “turbocharge deforestation in the Amazon” in the process.

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Judge can jail Trump officials — and he's 'calling the government’s bluff': analysis

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has the tools to proceed with criminal contempt charges against President Donald Trump's administration — and can also enforce a sentence if they are found guilty, a legal analyst said Wednesday.

Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern addressed Boasberg's ruling regarding the government's response to his court order.

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$2 billion a day? Trump's own customs agency vastly undercuts his tariff boast

President Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted that his tariffs are collecting $2 billion in revenue per day — but that doesn't appear to be true, reported NBC News, and his own officials are contradicting the claim.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection told CNBC in a statement, “Since April 5, CBP has collected over $500 million under the new reciprocal tariffs, contributing to more than $21 billion in total tariff revenue from 15 presidential trade actions implemented since Jan 20, 2025,” per the report.

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Trump’s $5M 'Gold Card' visa scheme brought to life by Elon Musk’s DOGE team: report

President Donald Trump's scheme to earn revenue by selling "gold card" immigrant visas is being brought to life by Elon Musk's DOGE team, according to a new report in The New York Times.

Trump first discussed the notion in February to sell the exclusive visas for $5 million a piece to give “very high-level people” a “route to citizenship.”

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Former Ron DeSantis spokesman arrested on charges of indecent exposure: report

A former spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, who until this week served as an administrator for his infamous "anti-woke" college, was arrested and relieved of his position for indecent exposure, the Tampa Bay Times reported on Tuesday.

Fred Piccolo, 47, is in jail as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, on charges of "exposure of sexual organs," which constitutes a third-degree felony under Florida law. After his communications role for the governor and some other state communications positions, he was hired as the Director of Marketing and Media for the New College of Florida in Sarasota; a spokeswoman for the college "confirmed that Piccolo was fired Wednesday after the school removed him from its website," according to the article.

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Trump and DOGE to end free tax filings through IRS Direct File system: report

President Donald Trump's administration, in consultation with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), will reportedly shut down the free tax filing system known as Direct File.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration would eliminate the popular program developed under Joe Biden's presidency.

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