News From Around the Web
#1 Treasury Secretary Bessent Faces Heated Exchanges with Democrats in House Hearing - CSPAN, The Patriot Oasis, de, brian king, Janice Sullivan, Ronald K. Hanzel, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on X
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testified on the U.S. economy, with a focus on the annual report by the Financial Stability Oversight Council. He provided an optimistic outlook on the economy in his prepared remarks and challenged House Financial Services Committee Democrats, who accused him in their questioning of hurting the economy by executing President Trump's agenda. Members also questioned Bessent on a variety of additional topics such as inflation, housing affordability, the effects of immigration enforcement on the economy and investigations into financial fraud and abuse...
#2 ‘This Job Sucks,’ Overwhelmed DHS Lawyer Says in Court Hearing Over ICE’s Response to Judicial Orders - ABC News, Monica, Homolander, Terry Elliot, See the definition of PATHOCRACY, and Only Trump Can Do This on X
An exasperated and frustrated Department of Homeland Security attorney declared in a stunning moment in court that her job "sucks," the existing legal process "sucks," and that she sometimes wishes that the judge would hold her in contempt so she "can have a full 24 hours of sleep." Julie Le, who, according to public records, is a Department of Homeland Security attorney who had been detailed to the U.S. Attorney's office, was called to testify Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minn., about why the government has been nonresponsive to judicial orders regarding people in ICE detention. "What do you want me to do? The system sucks," Le told Judge Jerry Blackwell, according to a court transcript obtained by ABC News. "This job sucks. And I am trying [with] every breath that I have so that I can get you what you need."
#3 Justice Department Under Scrutiny for Revealing Victim Info and Concealing Possible Enablers in Epstein Files - CNN, Today Stance, Rhyno, Bill Madden/T. Grace Stone, JB, and Zena on X
The Justice Department failed to black out identifying information about many of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and redacted the details of individuals who may have aided the convicted sex offender, prompting an outcry from survivors who accuse the DOJ of botching the release of more than 3 million documents last week. A CNN review of the Epstein documents identified several examples of people whose identities were blacked out, possibly helping to connect him with women, including redacted co-conspirators in a much-anticipated draft indictment of Epstein from the 2000s. A redacted individual wrote in one 2015 email to Epstein: “And this one is (I think) totally your girl.”
#4 Bill Gates: ‘Foolish’ That He Spent Time With Epstein - Sam Barron for Newsmax, JioNews, The Federal, Kaitlan Collins/Booie, Cinderelement/Liz Churchill, and Thomas Register on X
Bill Gates said in an interview that he regrets spending time with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Microsoft founder's name appears several times in the latest release of documents related to the New York financier, who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail for federal sex trafficking charges. Gates denied any allegations of wrongdoing. Emails attributed to Epstein in 2013 suggest Gates had additional affairs and sought medication for a sexually transmitted infection without his then-wife's knowledge. "Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. Ah, that email was never sent," Gates said in an interview with 9News Australia. "The email is false. So I don't know what his thinking was there," he continued...
#5 Epstein Files Spark Pizzagate Revival In 2026 - by Evrim Ağacı GRAND PINNACLE TRIBUNE, Holden Cullota, Ben Swann, Tracy Beanz, Ella Maulding (community note), Cobb, Kim Coulter, Dr Russell McGregor, and MJTruthUltra on X
Hundreds of pizza references in Epstein court documents have reignited the thoroughly debunked Pizzagate conspiracy, fueling another wave of online speculation and real-world consequences. It began with a word as innocuous as dinner: pizza. In 2016, during the heated U.S. presidential election, a handful of casual references to pizza in hacked emails from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, were plucked from their ordinary context and transformed into the foundation for one of the most persistent conspiracy theories of the digital age—Pizzagate. According to the BBC, the theory falsely alleged that Democratic elites were running a child trafficking ring out of a Washington, D.C., pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong. The idea was not only baseless, but spectacularly resilient, weaving symbols and emotions into a narrative that refused to die, no matter how thoroughly it was debunked....
#6 Trump Talks Minneapolis, Joe Rogan, the Fed, AI, and 2028 in a Wide-Ranging Interview - NBC News, NBC Bay Area, ꧁Just Plain Ol’ Steve꧂, kj martin/Daniel Dale, WE THE PEOPLE/Mehdi Hasan, Meet the Press, and MrTomDurante on X
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he hopes to push his immigration crackdown into five more cities, previewing an ongoing and growing footprint for federal agents around the country. “We have five cities that we’re looking at very strongly, but we want to be invited,” Trump told “NBC Nightly News” anchor Tom Llamas in an exclusive interview, signaling a reluctance to go into places where he would face resistance from local officials, as he has in Minnesota. He declined to name the cities. At the same time, he said his experience with Minneapolis taught him that he may need “a softer touch” after federal agents shot and killed two American citizens last month...#7 Baltimore’s Progressive Mayor Calls Reporter ‘Racist’ in Heated Exchange Over Luxury Taxpayer Vehicle - Andrew Mark Miller for Fox News, Jon Holloway, Anthony Rosato, New Rules50, BLN ENTERTAINMENT TV and Patriot on X
Brandon Scott, the Democratic mayor of Baltimore, is facing questions about the taxpayer funds he uses for his transportation, as well as social media pushback over a press conference where he suggested racism was a factor. Scott, a progressive who has served as mayor since 2020, is facing pressure over a Fox Baltimore report showing his primary vehicle, a 2025 Jeep Grand Wagoneer, is the most expensive government-issued vehicle operated by any mayor, governor, county executive, or county commissioner in the state, costing taxpayers $163,495. Scott has responded to the report, which claims his SUV costs nearly twice as much as the next most expensive taxpayer vehicle in the state, by pointing to the cost of President Donald Trump’s "Beast" vehicle, arguing that inflation is not being factored in and suggesting politics are at play...
#8 JD Vance Rips NY Dem for ‘Openly Calling’ to Shoot ICE AgentsJD Vance Rips NY Dem for ‘Openly Calling’ to Shoot ICE Agents - 107.1 550 KTSA, Eric Daugherty, JD Vance, Rapid Response 47 (community note), Brian Craig, Palmer, and MaryfromMarin on X
Vice President JD Vance went on the offensive Tuesday, tearing into New York Democrat Jerry Nadler over comments he says dangerously legitimize violence against federal law enforcement, the New York Post reports. “Jerry Nadler is one of the highest ranking Democrats in the House of Representatives and he is openly calling for people to shoot federal law enforcement,” Vance posted on X Tuesday, adding, “This is despicable behavior from an elected official and I’m sure the leftwing media will cover it extensively.”
#9 ‘My Home Is Making Me Sick’: East Palestine Residents Abandoned After Train Derailment - Maximillian Alvarez for Real News Network, Rich McHugh, Nick Sortor,
Ralph Staphylococcus, and Terry Vee on X
Everything changed for Laurie Harmon and her neighbors on Feb. 3, 2023, when a Norfolk Southern “bomb train” carrying hazardous chemicals derailed less than a mile away from her home in the small town of East Palestine, Ohio. Three days later, Norfolk Southern pressured local authorities to dump and burn five tanker cars full of vinyl chloride, blasting a massive chemical plume into the air and exposing residents to toxins that have poisoned their bodies and homes. Three years later, Harmon and other residents are still suffering the toxic fallout from one of the worst industrial disasters in US history...#10 Georgia’s Fulton County Seeks Return of 2020 Election Documents Seized by FBI - Kate Brumback and Nicholas Riccardi for Associated Press/ABC News, Kevyn Stewart FOX 5 Atlanta, Robert Gouveia Esq., #primalscreamgrammy, joe t, and Buchanan Brigade/Hans Mahncke on X
Officials in Georgia's Fulton County said Wednesday they have asked a federal court to order the FBI to return ballots and other documents from the 2020 election that it seized last week, escalating a voting battle as President Donald Trump says he wants to “take over” elections from Democratic-run areas with the November midterms on the horizon. The FBI had searched a warehouse near Atlanta where those records were stored, a move taken after Trump's persistent demands for retribution over claims, without evidence, that fraud cost him victory in Georgia. Trump's election comment came in an interview Monday with a conservative podcaster, and the Republican president reaffirmed his position in Oval Office remarks the next day, citing fraud allegations that numerous audits, investigations, and courts have debunked...
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