US News

J6 attacker pardoned by Trump convicted in child porn case

Kyle Colton was convicted Thursday of possession of images that exploited a child, and he marks the fourth person pardoned by President Donald Trump to face charges involving some form of child abuse.

The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, posted the note Friday on Bluesky, citing Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney.

Keep reading... Show less

Columnist uses Trump's own words to catch him in lie

As the fallout continues from the Wall Street Journal’s bombshell report revealing new details about President Donald Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the president’s own words in response to the allegations appear to only make things worse for him, one columnist said Friday.

The Journal claimed to have come into possession of a 2003 album of letters sent to Epstein, who died under mysterious circumstances in 2019 while facing human trafficking charges, one of which came from Trump. That letter included a crudely-drawn picture of a naked woman, the Journal reported, and a message wishing for Epstein that “every day be another wonderful secret.”

Keep reading... Show less

'Goes too far': GOP senators raging over Trump admin attack on clean energy

President Donald Trump's administration is poised to attack the clean energy industry with new permitting rules that would affect "scores of projects on private land," and "even Republicans say it goes too far," wrote Joshua Siegel and Zack Colman for Politico on Friday.

The memo, issued on Wednesday, requires "Secretary Doug Burgum’s personal approval for even the most routine activities related to wind and solar projects on federal lands" — which would also require any project that is primarily on private land that must run through or link up with infrastructure on land managed by the federal government to go through the same burdensome process.

Keep reading... Show less

ICE is offering a massive sign-up bonus as agents fail to meet Trump's hefty quota

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is failing to meet the quotas that Donald Trump's White House set for deportations, so they're now offering extra cash.

ICE is recruiting former employees to return to work, offering a signing bonus of up to $50,000, CNN reported on Friday.

Keep reading... Show less

Thorn in Trump's side exposes 'limits to his political power': report

A Senate Republican who frequently butts heads with President Donald Trump and his agenda has exposed the “limits of Trump’s political power,” two Politico reporters wrote Friday.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was one of the very few Republicans to object to Trump’s pick for Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, opposed Trump’s budget reconciliation package known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and even defied Trump during his first term by opposing the repeal of Obamacare. Yet despite Trump actively discussing ways to replace Collins, it’s become apparent, Politico writes, that he lacks the leverage to tip the scales against her.

Keep reading... Show less

'Unchecked sadism': Psychiatrist warns ICE inundated by recruits with shocking traits

An explosive new piece in Salon claims that recruits signing up to become ICE agents under President Donald Trump are motivated more by power and aggression rather than "a sense of noble duty."

Dr. Geoffrey Grammer, a retired U.S. Army colonel and psychiatrist, wrote that before Trump, "ICE agents were typically motivated by integrity, courage, resilience, and a strong sense of duty and allegiance to the Constitution."

Keep reading... Show less

‘Would the president say this?’ Rubio demands diplomats parrot Trump

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after cutting 1,300 employees last week, is now ordering diplomats not to comment on foreign elections and internal affairs, limiting official communications to congratulating the declared winner.

“Rubio has instructed U.S. diplomats not to comment on the legitimacy or fairness of foreign elections, breaking with decades of American diplomatic practice,” The Daily Beast reports. In a memo, the Secretary stated that U.S. missions will no longer issue election-related statements unless there is a “clear and compelling” foreign policy reason for doing so.

Keep reading... Show less

Mike Johnson hammered for spewing 'obvious lies' to 'soothe' Trump's bruised ego

After weeks of mounting scrutiny and days of growing scandal surrounding President Donald Trump—culminating Thursday night with a bombshell Wall Street Journal exposé revealing a “bawdy,” innuendo-laced letter he reportedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday—the White House appears to be circling the wagons, as allies hit the airwaves in his defense.

On Friday, Republican former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy appeared on Fox News, where he twice defended Donald Trump as “the most transparent president.” But it was his successor’s remarks that drew the most attention.

Keep reading... Show less

Musk rages as arch enemy takes his place in Trump’s circle

A fellow tech titan has replaced tech billionaire Elon Musk in the eyes of President Donald Trump.

Musk's "nemesis," Sam Altman, is Trump's new pal, The Daily Beast reported Friday.

Keep reading... Show less

Senator uncorks stunning claim that FBI 'pressured' to flag Trump mentions in Epstein docs

FBI agents who reviewed investigative files in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein were instructed to "flag" any information involving President Donald Trump, according to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Durbin sent letters Friday to the Department of Justice and the FBI seeking an explanation for allegations about possible mishandling of the Epstein files and findings from a July 7 DOJ memorandum and instructions given to FBI personnel about the matter.

Keep reading... Show less

'Mystery' surrounding firing of key DOJ lawyer stumps legal expert

The abrupt firing this week of a top Justice Department lawyer who prosecuted the Jeffrey Epstein case amid denials about the "files" by the DOJ and the Trump administration caught the attention of a legal expert.

That prosecutor, Maurene Comey, secured the only conviction of Epstein in a Florida-specific case. She was at work to bring those charges to federal courts, given that the alleged activity took place over several states and jurisdictions.

Keep reading... Show less

'The jig is up:' Conservative says Trump faces a 'dormant virus that could flare up again'

The marriage between Donald Trump and a wide array of his MAGA supporters is coming apart at the seams as they finally begin to see that he is not the "drain the swamp" reformer he has led them to believe he was.

That is the opinion of longtime conservative columnist Matt Lewis in a column for the Los Angeles Times, where he claims: "The spell is broken. The jig is up."

At issue, he notes. is Trump trying to blow off the Jeffrey Epstein files as unimportant despite harping on the "deep state" for years.

According Lewis, Trump spent years playing a large part creating a culture of conspiracy as a central tenet among his most avid followers and now, with the slow-walking of the Epstein files, he "got out-conspiracy-theoried" and is finding himself in the crosshairs.

Chief among his problems is that he was responsible for elevating a collection of "alt-right B-listers" like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson and rabble-rouser Nick Fuentes, who have peeled off their factions.

With Epstein front and central, they "have caught the scent of blood in the water," Lewis suggested.

"The incentives have changed for MAGA influencers. Trump finally feels like a lame duck, and the knives are out, not just to inherit the throne, but for the whole spoils system of the MAGA grift," he wrote before posing the question: "How does it end?"

"Eventually, this story will be suppressed or at least professionally ignored. But it won’t be fully memory-holed," he predicted before adding more battles are sure to come by writing, "So Trump survives — but he carries with him a dormant virus that could flare up again."

You can read more here.

'Murdered': Critics aren't buying CBS' effort to gloss over Stephen Colbert firing

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among those calling into question the official story behind CBS' cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Thursday—suggesting that the decision to end the show's 32-year run wasn't driven by finances but by "political reasons."

The announcement from CBS executives came just three days after Colbert spoke out on his show about a recent $16 million settlement reached by CBS parent company Paramount over an interview that "60 Minutes" aired with former Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election, in which Harris ran against President Donald Trump.

Keep reading... Show less