News From Around the Web
#1 Biden to Fight DOJ Plan to Release Audio of His Talks With Ghostwriter - Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney for Politico, NEWSMAX, JamesDoran, The Gateway Pundit, and Axios on X
Former President Joe Biden intends to intervene in litigation to block the Trump administration’s effort to release 70 hours of partially redacted audio recordings of interviews he conducted in 2017 with a ghostwriter who worked with Biden on his memoirs, the Justice Department indicated in new court papers. DOJ lawyers told a federal judge in Washington on Friday that they expected Biden would seek to “prevent any such disclosures” of the audio tapes to Congress and to the conservative Heritage Foundation, which sued last year to access the materials. Justice Department attorneys advised U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich that they set a deadline of Tuesday for Biden to take legal action to block the release and agreed to hold off any disclosure until June 15 if Biden does go to court before this week’s deadline...
#2 Trump Says He ‘Wouldn’t Pay It Either’ in Response to USMNT World Cup Ticket Prices - Dan Sheldon for The Athletic, Transfer News Live, Nathan Lewis, Mirror US Sports, Chuck Jordan, and The One News on X
President Donald Trump has responded to ticket prices for the USMNT’s World Cup opener against Paraguay in June by saying he “wouldn’t pay it either”. The Athletic previously revealed how ticket sales for the USMNT’s opening game in Los Angeles are lagging behind other games being staged at SoFi Stadium. FIFA, world football’s governing body, has been widely criticized for ticket prices at this summer’s tournament, with the cheapest ticket in its three main categories for U.S.-Paraguay initially costing $1,120 (£823)...
#3 The Cage Match Is on for Tickets to Trump’s UFC Fight at the White House - NBC News, NBC 15 News, Fernando Oliver, Esq., The Pioneer, DocAnderson, Whiplash347, and Tirth Sharma on X
As something of a professional Republican, April Melton has attended her fair share of ho-hum events in the nation’s capital. But there’s one coming up that the chair of the Black Hawk County, Iowa, GOP is dying to see up close: an Ultimate Fighting Championship extravaganza on the South Lawn of the White House next month. “How do we get tickets? Can you get me tickets?” Melton said, her eyes lighting up. She was waiting for Vice President JD Vance to arrive at a midterm campaign rally in Des Moines on Tuesday. “I want to go!” So does nearly everyone else in the heavily overlapping worlds of President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again movement and mixed martial arts fandom...
#4 A Data Center Drained 30M Gallons of Water Unnoticed — Until Residents Complained About Low Water Pressure - Arianna Skibell for Politico, Digital Brain, BarkinBoss/DulceBiatch, Francis Flandro, News News News, and Smokey Okie (Tim) on X
The neighbors of a data center in Georgia are steaming after they discovered the facility had sucked up nearly 30 million gallons of water — without initially paying for it. Outrage started bubbling up last year when residents of an affluent subdivision named Annelise Park in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed their water pressure was unusually low. When the county utility investigated, officials discovered two industrial-scale water hookups feeding a data center campus located 20 miles south of downtown Atlanta. One water connection had been installed without the utility’s knowledge, and the other was not linked to the company’s account and therefore wasn’t being billed...
#5 Ohio Gov Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Sounds Alarm About Medicaid Fraud — After 288 Companies Found Registered to Same Address - Chris Nesi for New York Post, The Voter's Guide: to politics, Frank (Hawkeye), DeVory Darkins, and Luke Rosiak/Peter Brumbaugh on X
Ohio gubernatorial hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is calling for a major crackdown on Medicaid fraud in the state after a probe allegedly uncovered millions of dollars in taxpayer funds being funneled to nonexistent home-healthcare companies. The investigation found 288 separate Ohio home-healthcare companies with the same address — while listed locations for some of the supposed businesses appeared run-down or abandoned with no evidence any services were actually being provided. “We’re going to have to take a deep, hard look at the way the $40-plus billion in state Medicaid dollars are being spent,” Ramaswamy told Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany during an appearance on “Saturday in America.”
#6 Iran Vows to Fight On, Oil Prices Surge as Trump Rejects Peace Proposal as “Unacceptable” - Frank Andrews for CBS News, Civic Duty, Masu Zafi, VanX, Mark and Mohale FM on X
The Iranian Government Insists It Demanded Only the Country’s “Legitimate Rights” and No “Concessions” in Its Response to the Latest u.s. Peace Proposal. President Trump Has Rejected Iran’s Reply as “Totally Unacceptable.”
Oil Prices Surged Again Monday After Mr. Trump’s Dismissal of the Iranian Counter-Proposal, With International Benchmark Brent Crude Topping $100 a Barrel in Early Trading.
Mr. Trump Is Expected to Encourage China to Pressure Iran Into Making a Deal to End the Costly War During His Visit to Beijing Later This Week, When He Will Meet With President Xi Jinping.
#7 Donald Trump Drops Comments on Babies Receiving Vaccines - Devanshi Basu for MANDATORY, Leading Report, Liz Wheeler, Aaron Rupar (community note), Eric Daugherty, and Nicholas Hulscher, MH on X
President Donald Trump has defended his administration’s push to reduce childhood vaccine recommendations, describing babies receiving what he called a “vat of stuff” during routine immunizations. Speaking to reporters, Donald Trump expressed support for vaccines while questioning the current schedule administered to young children. “I look at these beautiful little babies, and they get a vat, like a big glass, of stuff pumped into their bodies,” Trump said. “I think it’s a very negative thing to do.” The president stated he would prefer to see “much smaller shots” given over a longer period. He suggested such a change could lead to “a much better result with the autism,” repeating a theory that medical authorities have consistently rejected. Extensive scientific studies have found no link between vaccines and autism...
#8 Hegseth Calls for Sen. Mark Kelly to Be Investigated by Pentagon for Second Time - Aleena Fayaz for CNN, Sixxtoes, Matt Tardio, Liam Nissan™/Awe Hell Naw/Senator Mark Kelly/The Political Teabagger, Raven Black/Big Daddy, and Marlon East Of The Pecos on X
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday called for Sen. Mark Kelly to be investigated over comments he made about US weapon stockpiles, marking the second time the Pentagon chief has opened a review into the Democratic senator. Hegseth slammed the retired Navy captain and former astronaut for expressing concern on CBS’s “Face the Nation” over US weapons stockpiles amid the Iran war, saying Kelly was “blabbing on TV” about a classified Pentagon briefing. “Did he violate his oath…again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will review,” Hegseth posted on social media Sunday evening...
#9 Trump Lauds April Jobs Gains, Swipes at Democrats in Mother’s Day Post - Sarah Davis for The Hill, Maria Munera Martinez, BenYount1130, Dayle Winston Brand, Whiplash347, and George Leroy Tirebiter on X
President Trump touted the latest job’s report late Friday while lobbying criticism at his political opponents in a social media post for Mother’s Day weekend. “Happy Mother’s Day weekend to all, especially to the 115 THOUSAND AMERICANS who found jobs in the month of April alone!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday evening. “As usual, over 90 percent of Bloomberg Economists (nearly all of whom have a ‘Terminal’ case of TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME!) underestimated the strength of the Trump Economy.”
#10 This Week on the Hill: Congress Returns From Recess Facing High-Stakes Fights - Sudiksha Kochi for The Hill, News 4 Buffalo, Tractor Report, WMTV 15 News, and Myss T on X
Congress returns from its one-week recess to a packed agenda, diving back into many of the same high-stakes issues that dominated lawmakers’ attention last month. Among the most pressing on GOP leaders’ to-do list is passing the bill to fund immigration enforcement, which they aim to advance through the budget reconciliation process that bypasses the need for Democratic buy-in. President Trump had set a June 1 deadline for lawmakers to deliver the bill to his desk. The Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Homeland Security Committee last week released legislative text for the $72 billion budget reconciliation bill that includes funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through 2029...
