There’s a battle brewing over pesticides. 

Some in the Republican Party say they’re worried about farmers in their districts who rely on pesticides. And there are apparent concerns within the White House that abrupt regulatory action could trigger supply chain issues. 

But at the same time, Republicans are bought in on Making America Healthy Again, and the MAHA movement wants pesticides banned in other countries to be similarly banned here. Or, at the least, they want their constituents to be able to sue makers of popular weed killers like RoundUp, which has been linked to cancer. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former Democrat presidential candidate who’s become a superstar with President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters, seems to have figured out how to toe the line between the two camps.

Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

On Thursday, RFK released the highly anticipated MAHA Commission report, which detailed a variety of potential causes of the childhood chronic illness epidemic. Though the report takes on pesticides — its authors order a study on the chemicals by next year — there’s a clear effort by RFK and his top allies to quell fears of quick regulatory action. 

“American farmers rely on these products, and actions that further regulate or restrict crop protection tools beyond risk-based and scientific processes set forth by Congress must involve thoughtful consideration of what is necessary for adequate protection, alternatives, and cost of production,” the report states.

This effort has been in the works since before the report. Top RFK advisor Calley Means signaled last week that while the report will state the “truth” about pesticides, HHS has no desire for “nanny state” regulatory measures on pesticides, especially since abrupt action could spell a “disaster.” 

“This report is on the truth, it’s on the dynamics. It’s a fact that we ingest 25% of the world’s pesticides in the United States, and many of our leading pesticides, in other countries across the world, have chosen to phase them out or ban them, calling them carcinogenic and disruptive to kids. Those are the facts. Those are easily Google-able. The United States government has never recognized those facts,” Means said. “When you get to policy, and I want to make this clear: I don’t think anyone in the Trump administration, I don’t think it’s the right policy, to say that insinuates that we need to have some sort of European anti-growth regulatory nanny state.”

“The policy solutions from this are not obvious,” he continued. “Pesticides are deeply ingrained into the U.S. agricultural system and it would be a disaster to phase them out tomorrow. Nobody is suggesting that.” 

Means also noted that throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump said he wants “the truth” on pesticides, seeming to downplay pushback from the White House. 

Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

On the state level, there’s less of an effort to keep the fight in the background. GOP-led North Dakota and Georgia have both passed laws to shield pesticide manufacturer Bayer (formerly Monsanto) from forthcoming legal action over its “failure to warn” about potential harms associated with its products, specifically RoundUp, which contains glyphosate. 

That’s led to fury from state lawmakers. Republican Blake Bassham of Georgia, for example, is not pleased with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp (GA), who recently signed legislation to shield Bayer. 

“Governor Kemp just signed a liability shield for chemical giants—quietly, behind closed doors, no cameras, no crowds. Why? Because they know it’s crony politics at its worst,” Bassham, who’s the Georgia State Freedom Caucus research director, said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire. “Courts have found real people were harmed, and no amount of lobbyist dinners will erase that.”

“The swamp may have won this round, but the grassroots, the MAHA moms, and freedom-loving Georgians won’t forget who sold them out,” he added. “This draws a clear line: who’s on the Trump Train—and who’s still riding with the corporate cronies of the old GOP.”

There are nearly a dozen states where legislation is pending on Bayer liability, including states like Missouri, Iowa, Idaho, Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. 

The Daily Wire spoke to Missouri lawmaker Nick Schroer, a Republican, who is fighting efforts in his state to shield Bayer from liability. 

“I think it’s atrocious to believe that any company – any company in America or anywhere – should get any form of blanket immunity for the products that they’re putting in the stream of commerce,” Schroer said, later emphasizing that Bayer is a German-based company. “I think the Seventh Amendment guarantees our access to the courts.”

Provided by Nick Schroer

Schroer added that there are almost 200,000 lawsuits nationwide that have been filed over RoundUp allegedly causing different diseases, cancers, and deaths. In his state, Republicans are split on passing a bill to shield Bayer. Schroer told The Daily Wire this has to do with lobbying efforts and worries over farmers, who are also split on the issue. 

“There’s a very strong agriculture community in the state of Missouri. And even with the farmers, some of them are split on whether this is a good bill or not,” he said, noting that some farmers say they want to be able to access recourse if their family members get cancer from these pesticides. 

“Whereas other farmers are saying, ‘Look, if we don’t grant them immunity, this product’s going to go belly up, and we’re not going to have any form of weed killer, herbicide that is going to tackle these issues in our fields,’” Schroer explained. 

The Republican also highlighted lobbying efforts tipping the scales. “I’d say the strongest point is probably the lobbyist influence, the injection of millions of dollars that allegedly Bayer or groups associated with Bayer, associated with glyphosate manufacturers, they targeted nine different senators,” Schroer said. “They put a bunch of mailers, including myself, into our districts – a bunch of commercials. And we’ve seen some of the state reps actually bend the knee and vote yes, even though they had concerns over the bill.”

While RFK and Means are handling the fight diplomatically, some members of their coalition are full-steam ahead. Founder and leader of Moms Across America, Zen Honeycutt, says she wants the active ingredient glyphosate — and dozens of other pesticides — banned in the U.S. 

“The harm from glyphosate has not been acknowledged, even though there are hundreds of independent studies showing harm from glyphosate,” Honeycutt told The Daily Wire in a phone interview on Thursday. She pointed to a study that shows glyphosate “reduces the nutrient uptake into the shoot of the crop, which is the part we eat, by 80-95%, and those nutrients are magnesium, zinc, and iron. Those are the strongholds, those are the essentials for the immune system.”

Zen Honeycutt: Facebook

Honeycutt, who is part of the MAHA Institute, praised Trump and RFK for taking on pesticides in the MAHA Commission report.

“We cannot make America healthy again with any use of glyphosate, and that is a very inconvenient truth that farmers and suppliers do not want to acknowledge,” she said. “I think we are on the pathway to having that acknowledgement by actually having glyphosate included in this report, as well as atrazine, which is contributing to a major reproductive crisis.”

Though she hopes for stronger actions on these pesticides and other health issues, Honeycutt called the MAHA Commission report “a miracle.” 

“We have been working for over 13 years now – some other groups have been working for 20 or 30 years and saying, ‘Hey, we need to get these toxins out of our food,’” Honeycutt said. “It is a dream come true to finally have an administration listening to us.”

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

There’s a battle brewing over pesticides. 

Some in the Republican Party say they’re worried about farmers in their districts who rely on pesticides. And there are apparent concerns within the White House that abrupt regulatory action could trigger supply chain issues. 

But at the same time, Republicans are bought in on Making America Healthy Again, and the MAHA movement wants pesticides banned in other countries to be similarly banned here. Or, at the least, they want their constituents to be able to sue makers of popular weed killers like RoundUp, which has been linked to cancer. 

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former Democrat presidential candidate who’s become a superstar with President Donald Trump’s most fervent supporters, seems to have figured out how to toe the line between the two camps.

Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

On Thursday, RFK released the highly anticipated MAHA Commission report, which detailed a variety of potential causes of the childhood chronic illness epidemic. Though the report takes on pesticides — its authors order a study on the chemicals by next year — there’s a clear effort by RFK and his top allies to quell fears of quick regulatory action. 

“American farmers rely on these products, and actions that further regulate or restrict crop protection tools beyond risk-based and scientific processes set forth by Congress must involve thoughtful consideration of what is necessary for adequate protection, alternatives, and cost of production,” the report states.

This effort has been in the works since before the report. Top RFK advisor Calley Means signaled last week that while the report will state the “truth” about pesticides, HHS has no desire for “nanny state” regulatory measures on pesticides, especially since abrupt action could spell a “disaster.” 

“This report is on the truth, it’s on the dynamics. It’s a fact that we ingest 25% of the world’s pesticides in the United States, and many of our leading pesticides, in other countries across the world, have chosen to phase them out or ban them, calling them carcinogenic and disruptive to kids. Those are the facts. Those are easily Google-able. The United States government has never recognized those facts,” Means said. “When you get to policy, and I want to make this clear: I don’t think anyone in the Trump administration, I don’t think it’s the right policy, to say that insinuates that we need to have some sort of European anti-growth regulatory nanny state.”

“The policy solutions from this are not obvious,” he continued. “Pesticides are deeply ingrained into the U.S. agricultural system and it would be a disaster to phase them out tomorrow. Nobody is suggesting that.” 

Means also noted that throughout the 2024 campaign, Trump said he wants “the truth” on pesticides, seeming to downplay pushback from the White House. 

Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

On the state level, there’s less of an effort to keep the fight in the background. GOP-led North Dakota and Georgia have both passed laws to shield pesticide manufacturer Bayer (formerly Monsanto) from forthcoming legal action over its “failure to warn” about potential harms associated with its products, specifically RoundUp, which contains glyphosate. 

That’s led to fury from state lawmakers. Republican Blake Bassham of Georgia, for example, is not pleased with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp (GA), who recently signed legislation to shield Bayer. 

“Governor Kemp just signed a liability shield for chemical giants—quietly, behind closed doors, no cameras, no crowds. Why? Because they know it’s crony politics at its worst,” Bassham, who’s the Georgia State Freedom Caucus research director, said in a statement sent to The Daily Wire. “Courts have found real people were harmed, and no amount of lobbyist dinners will erase that.”

“The swamp may have won this round, but the grassroots, the MAHA moms, and freedom-loving Georgians won’t forget who sold them out,” he added. “This draws a clear line: who’s on the Trump Train—and who’s still riding with the corporate cronies of the old GOP.”

There are nearly a dozen states where legislation is pending on Bayer liability, including states like Missouri, Iowa, Idaho, Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. 

The Daily Wire spoke to Missouri lawmaker Nick Schroer, a Republican, who is fighting efforts in his state to shield Bayer from liability. 

“I think it’s atrocious to believe that any company – any company in America or anywhere – should get any form of blanket immunity for the products that they’re putting in the stream of commerce,” Schroer said, later emphasizing that Bayer is a German-based company. “I think the Seventh Amendment guarantees our access to the courts.”

Provided by Nick Schroer

Schroer added that there are almost 200,000 lawsuits nationwide that have been filed over RoundUp allegedly causing different diseases, cancers, and deaths. In his state, Republicans are split on passing a bill to shield Bayer. Schroer told The Daily Wire this has to do with lobbying efforts and worries over farmers, who are also split on the issue. 

“There’s a very strong agriculture community in the state of Missouri. And even with the farmers, some of them are split on whether this is a good bill or not,” he said, noting that some farmers say they want to be able to access recourse if their family members get cancer from these pesticides. 

“Whereas other farmers are saying, ‘Look, if we don’t grant them immunity, this product’s going to go belly up, and we’re not going to have any form of weed killer, herbicide that is going to tackle these issues in our fields,’” Schroer explained. 

The Republican also highlighted lobbying efforts tipping the scales. “I’d say the strongest point is probably the lobbyist influence, the injection of millions of dollars that allegedly Bayer or groups associated with Bayer, associated with glyphosate manufacturers, they targeted nine different senators,” Schroer said. “They put a bunch of mailers, including myself, into our districts – a bunch of commercials. And we’ve seen some of the state reps actually bend the knee and vote yes, even though they had concerns over the bill.”

While RFK and Means are handling the fight diplomatically, some members of their coalition are full-steam ahead. Founder and leader of Moms Across America, Zen Honeycutt, says she wants the active ingredient glyphosate — and dozens of other pesticides — banned in the U.S. 

“The harm from glyphosate has not been acknowledged, even though there are hundreds of independent studies showing harm from glyphosate,” Honeycutt told The Daily Wire in a phone interview on Thursday. She pointed to a study that shows glyphosate “reduces the nutrient uptake into the shoot of the crop, which is the part we eat, by 80-95%, and those nutrients are magnesium, zinc, and iron. Those are the strongholds, those are the essentials for the immune system.”

Zen Honeycutt: Facebook

Honeycutt, who is part of the MAHA Institute, praised Trump and RFK for taking on pesticides in the MAHA Commission report.

“We cannot make America healthy again with any use of glyphosate, and that is a very inconvenient truth that farmers and suppliers do not want to acknowledge,” she said. “I think we are on the pathway to having that acknowledgement by actually having glyphosate included in this report, as well as atrazine, which is contributing to a major reproductive crisis.”

Though she hopes for stronger actions on these pesticides and other health issues, Honeycutt called the MAHA Commission report “a miracle.” 

“We have been working for over 13 years now – some other groups have been working for 20 or 30 years and saying, ‘Hey, we need to get these toxins out of our food,’” Honeycutt said. “It is a dream come true to finally have an administration listening to us.”

“}]] 

The post The Looming GOP Food Fight Over Pesticides appeared first on Spin Politico.

The news media and the Democrats — but I repeat myself — are reeling after the release of Jake Tapper’s new book, “Oh My God, I Lied About Everything!” The book is the result of Tapper’s eight-month investigation into Jake Tapper during which Tapper discovered that almost every word out of Tapper’s mouth has been entirely untrue.

Tapper says the break in his investigation came after he managed to isolate Tapper in an interrogation room under a bright light where he continually slapped him, shouting “Confess, you two-faced bastard,” until Tapper broke under the brutal questioning and confessed to Tapper that he’d been deceiving the public for years.

In a searching interview on his CNN Show, “Jake Tapper Investigates,” Jake Tapper told Jake Tapper, “I was absolutely shocked at the depth of my duplicity. I lied about Trump’s collusion with the Russians, I lied about Trump saying there were good people among the white supremacists. You know that time I said that George Floyd’s death indicated widespread racism among police? Total BS! Oh, and how about my panic-mongering during the pandemic unleashed by China with funding from Fauci? So help me, a word of truth in my mouth would die of loneliness. Finally — get this — I actually had the gall to publish a book on the cover-up of Joe Biden’s dementia in which I pretended to take some responsibility for not covering the story. Not covering the story? I covered the hell out of it! The idea that those lies were any different than all the other lies I told — that was the biggest lie of all!”

As Tapper’s book rose on fiction bestseller lists, other journalists and Democrats — but I repeat repeating myself — also began to rake in profits by getting to the bottom of the lies they’d been telling for years.

WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show

At ABC, for instance, George Stephanopoulos, the host of “Good Morning America,” opened the show with a special report blowing the lid off the consistent dishonesty of George Stephanopoulos, the host of “Good Morning America.”

“It’s terrible to think that George Stephanopoulos would have actually gotten away with these lies if I hadn’t exposed him,” said George Stephanopoulos. “I mean, let’s go back to the very beginning of my career. All those women who said Bill Clinton was chasing after them with his wing-wang hanging out? The only one lying was me when I said they were lying. Then, when ABC hired me after all that lying, I figured they just wanted me to keep on lying, so I did. Like, remember how we spiked Amy Robach’s Jeffrey Epstein story during Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and I said I had nothing to do with the decision? Well, I did a deep dive into that incident, let me tell you, and it turned out it was me all along.”

At CBS, News President Wendy McMahon resigned after “60 Minutes” was caught editing an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris so that a learned disquisition on Middle East politics by an AI Kamala voice was dubbed over Harris’s original statement which consisted of a series of random words interrupted by loud cackling laughter. Miss McMahon said that after finding out how dishonest she was, she could no longer work with herself.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

Bob Woodward has published a new 4,000-page book called “Bull,” in which Bob Woodward’s lies are exposed by an anonymous source called Deep Bob. Meeting in a shadowy underground garage, Deep Bob tells Woodward the so-called Watergate scandal was just a lot of minor mischief blown out of proportion to punish Nixon for being right about all the communists in the government. In another interview last week, former President John F. Kennedy told Woodward, “Oh, sure, my behavior was much worse than Nixon’s and no one covered that at all. Why do you think I had to leave town in such a hurry? Frankly, I think the entire history of the 20th century needs to be rewritten.”

Reacting to these revelations, former President Joe Biden said, “The whole thing’s absurd. Now all these journalists are blaming me for Trump’s re-election. What did I do? No, seriously, I can’t remember: what did I do?”

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

The news media and the Democrats — but I repeat myself — are reeling after the release of Jake Tapper’s new book, “Oh My God, I Lied About Everything!” The book is the result of Tapper’s eight-month investigation into Jake Tapper during which Tapper discovered that almost every word out of Tapper’s mouth has been entirely untrue.

Tapper says the break in his investigation came after he managed to isolate Tapper in an interrogation room under a bright light where he continually slapped him, shouting “Confess, you two-faced bastard,” until Tapper broke under the brutal questioning and confessed to Tapper that he’d been deceiving the public for years.

In a searching interview on his CNN Show, “Jake Tapper Investigates,” Jake Tapper told Jake Tapper, “I was absolutely shocked at the depth of my duplicity. I lied about Trump’s collusion with the Russians, I lied about Trump saying there were good people among the white supremacists. You know that time I said that George Floyd’s death indicated widespread racism among police? Total BS! Oh, and how about my panic-mongering during the pandemic unleashed by China with funding from Fauci? So help me, a word of truth in my mouth would die of loneliness. Finally — get this — I actually had the gall to publish a book on the cover-up of Joe Biden’s dementia in which I pretended to take some responsibility for not covering the story. Not covering the story? I covered the hell out of it! The idea that those lies were any different than all the other lies I told — that was the biggest lie of all!”

As Tapper’s book rose on fiction bestseller lists, other journalists and Democrats — but I repeat repeating myself — also began to rake in profits by getting to the bottom of the lies they’d been telling for years.

WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show

At ABC, for instance, George Stephanopoulos, the host of “Good Morning America,” opened the show with a special report blowing the lid off the consistent dishonesty of George Stephanopoulos, the host of “Good Morning America.”

“It’s terrible to think that George Stephanopoulos would have actually gotten away with these lies if I hadn’t exposed him,” said George Stephanopoulos. “I mean, let’s go back to the very beginning of my career. All those women who said Bill Clinton was chasing after them with his wing-wang hanging out? The only one lying was me when I said they were lying. Then, when ABC hired me after all that lying, I figured they just wanted me to keep on lying, so I did. Like, remember how we spiked Amy Robach’s Jeffrey Epstein story during Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and I said I had nothing to do with the decision? Well, I did a deep dive into that incident, let me tell you, and it turned out it was me all along.”

At CBS, News President Wendy McMahon resigned after “60 Minutes” was caught editing an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris so that a learned disquisition on Middle East politics by an AI Kamala voice was dubbed over Harris’s original statement which consisted of a series of random words interrupted by loud cackling laughter. Miss McMahon said that after finding out how dishonest she was, she could no longer work with herself.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

Bob Woodward has published a new 4,000-page book called “Bull,” in which Bob Woodward’s lies are exposed by an anonymous source called Deep Bob. Meeting in a shadowy underground garage, Deep Bob tells Woodward the so-called Watergate scandal was just a lot of minor mischief blown out of proportion to punish Nixon for being right about all the communists in the government. In another interview last week, former President John F. Kennedy told Woodward, “Oh, sure, my behavior was much worse than Nixon’s and no one covered that at all. Why do you think I had to leave town in such a hurry? Frankly, I think the entire history of the 20th century needs to be rewritten.”

Reacting to these revelations, former President Joe Biden said, “The whole thing’s absurd. Now all these journalists are blaming me for Trump’s re-election. What did I do? No, seriously, I can’t remember: what did I do?”

“}]] 

The post Legacy Media Shocked To Discover That Jake Tapper Lied About Everything appeared first on Spin Politico.

WASHINGTON—Internal documents obtained by The Daily Wire reveal the extent of the deficit spending that occurred at The Kennedy Center under the Biden administration — a scheme that left the performing arts center deep in debt and could open leaders up to potential legal action.

Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell this week told the organization’s board of directors that, under the direction of recently departed president Debra Rutter, the group “found $26 million in phantom revenue, fake revenue.”

“It’s criminal,” Grenell said, adding that “We’re going to refer this to the U.S. attorney’s office.”

Rutter denied the allegations, telling the Washington Post that she and her leadership team prepared a budget each year that was approved by the board of directors. But in a letter to Grenell obtained by The Daily Wire, Kennedy Center Chief Financial Officer Donna Arduin says that Rutter’s budget claim is irrelevant.

“Budgets and audits are on vastly different timetables and audits do not review the budgeting process,” Arduin wrote. “Audits are released up to a half year after the conclusion of the fiscal year, whereas budgets are approved well in advance of the fiscal year.”

Arduin, known as one of the nation’s leading budget experts, came to the Kennedy Center after stints in top roles across the country. She’s been brought in to right the budgets of California under Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York under George Pataki, and Florida under Jeb Bush.

In her months at the Kennedy Center, she determined that Kennedy Center leadership “veiled the fiscal year 2025 budget with $26 million in fictitious revenue and did not properly disclose such to the Board,” according to a letter to Grenell. In short, Arduin writes in the letter, “the Board believed that they were in good faith passing a balanced budget.”

Additionally, Arduin notes in her letter to Grenell that “under Rutter’s watch, the Center’s leadership team changed the name of the debt reserve fund that held $54 million of donor contributions for the retirement of our bank loan to the ‘sustainability fund,’ apparently to appear that new funds had been raised for budget sustainability, and spent it to mask deficits.”

This is the latest revelation of trouble at the Kennedy Center, which has become a flashpoint in the second Trump administration. Trump has pledged to make serious improvements to the performing arts center, repairing its outdated facilities and purging its repertoire of drag shows and other “woke” programming.

Program offerings under former Kennedy Center leadership may have contributed to its dire financial straits. Sources with knowledge of the Center’s financial situation tell The Daily Wire that its programming has a net margin of negative $72 million. Under Grenell, The Kennedy Center is focusing on shows that will sell tickets and appeal to a wider audience.

The Kennedy Center operates on a $230 million annual budget. A portion of its revenue, allocated by Congress, is earmarked for capital costs and facilities maintenance. The remainder of the Center’s money comes from donors.

Sources with knowledge of the Center’s financial situation tell The Daily Wire that, under Rutter’s leadership, the organization raised $250 million and took out a $72 million loan to construct The REACH, a multipurpose space that includes rehearsal rooms, studios, and more.  President Donald Trump has criticized the project, which sources described as the “passion project” of Rutter and former Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein, whose portrait adorns the front door of the REACH.

That the Kennedy Center raised and borrowed more than $300 million and did not use it to pay down its debt suggests that previous leadership teams were misguided in their financial priorities.

“The former leadership built a broken budget with an operating deficit of 100 million dollars and a bottom-line deficit of $26 million,” Arduin told The Daily Wire. “We have now truly balanced the budget.”

In March, The Daily Wire reported that Arduin informed staff the Kennedy Center had “no cash to pay our bills.” At the time, Grenell announced that he planned to make staff reductions and slash executive salaries.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

WASHINGTON—Internal documents obtained by The Daily Wire reveal the extent of the deficit spending that occurred at The Kennedy Center under the Biden administration — a scheme that left the performing arts center deep in debt and could open leaders up to potential legal action.

Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell this week told the organization’s board of directors that, under the direction of recently departed president Debra Rutter, the group “found $26 million in phantom revenue, fake revenue.”

“It’s criminal,” Grenell said, adding that “We’re going to refer this to the U.S. attorney’s office.”

Rutter denied the allegations, telling the Washington Post that she and her leadership team prepared a budget each year that was approved by the board of directors. But in a letter to Grenell obtained by The Daily Wire, Kennedy Center Chief Financial Officer Donna Arduin says that Rutter’s budget claim is irrelevant.

“Budgets and audits are on vastly different timetables and audits do not review the budgeting process,” Arduin wrote. “Audits are released up to a half year after the conclusion of the fiscal year, whereas budgets are approved well in advance of the fiscal year.”

Arduin, known as one of the nation’s leading budget experts, came to the Kennedy Center after stints in top roles across the country. She’s been brought in to right the budgets of California under Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York under George Pataki, and Florida under Jeb Bush.

In her months at the Kennedy Center, she determined that Kennedy Center leadership “veiled the fiscal year 2025 budget with $26 million in fictitious revenue and did not properly disclose such to the Board,” according to a letter to Grenell. In short, Arduin writes in the letter, “the Board believed that they were in good faith passing a balanced budget.”

Additionally, Arduin notes in her letter to Grenell that “under Rutter’s watch, the Center’s leadership team changed the name of the debt reserve fund that held $54 million of donor contributions for the retirement of our bank loan to the ‘sustainability fund,’ apparently to appear that new funds had been raised for budget sustainability, and spent it to mask deficits.”

This is the latest revelation of trouble at the Kennedy Center, which has become a flashpoint in the second Trump administration. Trump has pledged to make serious improvements to the performing arts center, repairing its outdated facilities and purging its repertoire of drag shows and other “woke” programming.

Program offerings under former Kennedy Center leadership may have contributed to its dire financial straits. Sources with knowledge of the Center’s financial situation tell The Daily Wire that its programming has a net margin of negative $72 million. Under Grenell, The Kennedy Center is focusing on shows that will sell tickets and appeal to a wider audience.

The Kennedy Center operates on a $230 million annual budget. A portion of its revenue, allocated by Congress, is earmarked for capital costs and facilities maintenance. The remainder of the Center’s money comes from donors.

Sources with knowledge of the Center’s financial situation tell The Daily Wire that, under Rutter’s leadership, the organization raised $250 million and took out a $72 million loan to construct The REACH, a multipurpose space that includes rehearsal rooms, studios, and more.  President Donald Trump has criticized the project, which sources described as the “passion project” of Rutter and former Kennedy Center Chairman David Rubenstein, whose portrait adorns the front door of the REACH.

That the Kennedy Center raised and borrowed more than $300 million and did not use it to pay down its debt suggests that previous leadership teams were misguided in their financial priorities.

“The former leadership built a broken budget with an operating deficit of 100 million dollars and a bottom-line deficit of $26 million,” Arduin told The Daily Wire. “We have now truly balanced the budget.”

In March, The Daily Wire reported that Arduin informed staff the Kennedy Center had “no cash to pay our bills.” At the time, Grenell announced that he planned to make staff reductions and slash executive salaries.

“}]] 

The post Former Kennedy Center Execs Fabricated Financials To Hide Deficit Spending, Internal Docs Show appeared first on Spin Politico.

Wesley Lowery, a media darling of the Left who made a name for himself talking about race after George Floyd, has been accused of habitually sexually assaulting female journalists.

A number of female journalists claim the Pulitzer Prize winner plied them with alcohol at bars until they left with him and then sexually assaulted them, according to a Wednesday report from the Columbia Journalism Review.

Lowery, 34, is a best-selling author and has reported for the Washington Post, CNN, and “60 Minutes.” He was also a tenured professor at American University and executive editor of American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop before he resigned in March amid the sexual harassment allegations.

The alleged encounters happened between 2018 and 2024.

Olivia Messer, now the editor-in-chief of Texas outlet The Barbed Wire, claims that in January 2020, Lowery kept ordering her alcohol at a bar and then pressured her into performing oral sex on him at her apartment. Years later, in 2023, she was again at a bar with Lowery when he was in a supervisory position over her, and the next morning she woke up to find him in bed with her. She said she could not remember having sex with him, but he told her they had.

“Whatever you do, do not tell Cara,” Messer said Lowery told her, referring to American University adjunct professor Cara Kelly, who ended up filing multiple Title IX complaints against Lowery.

Ironically, Lowery also helped Messer with a reporting project about failure to address alleged sexual harassment in the Texas Senate.

Imani Moise, a Wall Street Journal reporter, said she met up with Lowery in December, 2018 at a Washington, D.C., bar where he bought her drinks until she was “sloppy drunk,” and then ordered an Uber and took her back to his apartment where he perpetrated a “full-blown assault” on her.

They had talked about the #MeToo movement beforehand at the bar.

Moise said that when she was assaulted by a different man as a teenager, she refused to give the police the man’s name because “I did not want to see another black man go to jail,” but she now says, “I am done with that.”

Another unnamed journalist, who matched with Lowery on Bumble, said he pressured her to drink more during a spring 2022 date. She woke up in his bed, and “he was inside of me.” She was half-conscious for a few moments, and then things went dark again, she said.

Later, she noticed that she had bruises on her body and a cut on her foot. She hooked up with Lowery a number of times afterwards, and a therapist told her, “Oh, you didn’t have control the first time, so you went back on your terms,” she said.

An unnamed writer-researcher who worked with Lowery claims that during a February 2024 encounter at a Washington, D.C., hotel, Lowery had a drink waiting for her whenever she came back from the bathroom.

They split an Uber, but when the car dropped her off, the female writer said Lowery pressured her to let him up to her apartment, even accusing her of “using him” for a job and saying she “hadn’t done anything for him,” according to a Title IX complaint. She felt her job was on the line and allowed him to come up, where he allegedly tried to get her into the bedroom and pull off her clothes, even when she asked him to go home. She said she pretended to fall asleep, and then he left.

At least three female students at American University said Lowery made them uncomfortable as well.

One student said she went into Lowery’s office during a journalism internship to ask him for advice about how to avoid alarming subjects of a story. He told her to close the door and said, “Well, Sophia, when you go on a date, you don’t just ask ‘Do you want to f—?’ You build up to it.”

Another female student had a similar complaint, claiming Lowery compared making interview subjects comfortable with asking for consent during sex, “Can I do this, can I do that, is this okay?”

A third student said he lit a candle and sat next to her on the couch in his office, which made her uncomfortable.

Lowery sent messages expressing regret to some of the women, but he has also pushed back on the allegations.

“CJR’s portrayal of these periods in my personal life is incomplete and includes false insinuations about complicated dynamics,” Lowery said in a statement to the Columbia Journalism Review.

“Still, I respect the women who have shared their experiences and take their perspectives seriously. As a young professional, I did not always recognize the power imbalances that surfaced as personal relationships evolved into professional ones, and vice versa. I should have better upheld boundaries that would have protected myself and others, particularly during interactions impaired by mutual intoxication. I have committed to sobriety, now approaching one year, and continue to work with professionals on my understanding of the power dynamics that accompany race, gender, and my professional success.”

In 2014, Lowery was named the National Association of Black Journalists’ emerging journalist of the year.

He wrote a book, “They Can’t Kill Us All,” which dealt with racism, police killings, and civil unrest. At one point on Twitter, Lowery said the Tea Party was “essentially a hysterical grassroots tantrum about the fact that a Black guy was president.”

Over the last decade, Lowery has zeroed in on racism and the police, reporting extensively on Black Lives Matter and winning a Pulitzer for a Washington Post database of police shootings called “Fatal Force.”

Lowery really rose to prominence after George Floyd’s death when he published an opinion article titled “A Reckoning over Objectivity, Led by Black Journalists” that criticized news outlets for not “telling hard truths.”

After that, Lowery was in demand and began receiving invitations to serve on nonprofit boards and speak at events.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

Wesley Lowery, a media darling of the Left who made a name for himself talking about race after George Floyd, has been accused of habitually sexually assaulting female journalists.

A number of female journalists claim the Pulitzer Prize winner plied them with alcohol at bars until they left with him and then sexually assaulted them, according to a Wednesday report from the Columbia Journalism Review.

Lowery, 34, is a best-selling author and has reported for the Washington Post, CNN, and “60 Minutes.” He was also a tenured professor at American University and executive editor of American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop before he resigned in March amid the sexual harassment allegations.

The alleged encounters happened between 2018 and 2024.

Olivia Messer, now the editor-in-chief of Texas outlet The Barbed Wire, claims that in January 2020, Lowery kept ordering her alcohol at a bar and then pressured her into performing oral sex on him at her apartment. Years later, in 2023, she was again at a bar with Lowery when he was in a supervisory position over her, and the next morning she woke up to find him in bed with her. She said she could not remember having sex with him, but he told her they had.

“Whatever you do, do not tell Cara,” Messer said Lowery told her, referring to American University adjunct professor Cara Kelly, who ended up filing multiple Title IX complaints against Lowery.

Ironically, Lowery also helped Messer with a reporting project about failure to address alleged sexual harassment in the Texas Senate.

Imani Moise, a Wall Street Journal reporter, said she met up with Lowery in December, 2018 at a Washington, D.C., bar where he bought her drinks until she was “sloppy drunk,” and then ordered an Uber and took her back to his apartment where he perpetrated a “full-blown assault” on her.

They had talked about the #MeToo movement beforehand at the bar.

Moise said that when she was assaulted by a different man as a teenager, she refused to give the police the man’s name because “I did not want to see another black man go to jail,” but she now says, “I am done with that.”

Another unnamed journalist, who matched with Lowery on Bumble, said he pressured her to drink more during a spring 2022 date. She woke up in his bed, and “he was inside of me.” She was half-conscious for a few moments, and then things went dark again, she said.

Later, she noticed that she had bruises on her body and a cut on her foot. She hooked up with Lowery a number of times afterwards, and a therapist told her, “Oh, you didn’t have control the first time, so you went back on your terms,” she said.

An unnamed writer-researcher who worked with Lowery claims that during a February 2024 encounter at a Washington, D.C., hotel, Lowery had a drink waiting for her whenever she came back from the bathroom.

They split an Uber, but when the car dropped her off, the female writer said Lowery pressured her to let him up to her apartment, even accusing her of “using him” for a job and saying she “hadn’t done anything for him,” according to a Title IX complaint. She felt her job was on the line and allowed him to come up, where he allegedly tried to get her into the bedroom and pull off her clothes, even when she asked him to go home. She said she pretended to fall asleep, and then he left.

At least three female students at American University said Lowery made them uncomfortable as well.

One student said she went into Lowery’s office during a journalism internship to ask him for advice about how to avoid alarming subjects of a story. He told her to close the door and said, “Well, Sophia, when you go on a date, you don’t just ask ‘Do you want to f—?’ You build up to it.”

Another female student had a similar complaint, claiming Lowery compared making interview subjects comfortable with asking for consent during sex, “Can I do this, can I do that, is this okay?”

A third student said he lit a candle and sat next to her on the couch in his office, which made her uncomfortable.

Lowery sent messages expressing regret to some of the women, but he has also pushed back on the allegations.

“CJR’s portrayal of these periods in my personal life is incomplete and includes false insinuations about complicated dynamics,” Lowery said in a statement to the Columbia Journalism Review.

“Still, I respect the women who have shared their experiences and take their perspectives seriously. As a young professional, I did not always recognize the power imbalances that surfaced as personal relationships evolved into professional ones, and vice versa. I should have better upheld boundaries that would have protected myself and others, particularly during interactions impaired by mutual intoxication. I have committed to sobriety, now approaching one year, and continue to work with professionals on my understanding of the power dynamics that accompany race, gender, and my professional success.”

In 2014, Lowery was named the National Association of Black Journalists’ emerging journalist of the year.

He wrote a book, “They Can’t Kill Us All,” which dealt with racism, police killings, and civil unrest. At one point on Twitter, Lowery said the Tea Party was “essentially a hysterical grassroots tantrum about the fact that a Black guy was president.”

Over the last decade, Lowery has zeroed in on racism and the police, reporting extensively on Black Lives Matter and winning a Pulitzer for a Washington Post database of police shootings called “Fatal Force.”

Lowery really rose to prominence after George Floyd’s death when he published an opinion article titled “A Reckoning over Objectivity, Led by Black Journalists” that criticized news outlets for not “telling hard truths.”

After that, Lowery was in demand and began receiving invitations to serve on nonprofit boards and speak at events.

“}]] 

The post Race-Obsessed Liberal Star Reporter Accused Of Widespread Sexual Harassment appeared first on Spin Politico.

On Thursday, President Trump took a victory lap over the House passing his “one big, beautiful bill.”

He wrote on Truth Social:

“THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country! The Bill includes MASSIVE Tax CUTS, No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, Tax Deductions when you purchase an American Made Vehicle, along with strong Border Security measures, Pay Raises for our ICE and Border Patrol Agents, Funding for the Golden Dome, “TRUMP Savings Accounts” for newborn babies, and much more! Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste. The Democrats have lost control of themselves, and are aimlessly wandering around, showing no confidence, grit, or determination. They have forgotten their landslide loss in the Presidential Election, and are warped in the past, hoping someday to revive Open Borders for the World’s criminals to be able to pour into our Country, men to be able to play in women’s sports, and transgender for everybody. They don’t realize that these things, and so many more like them, will NEVER AGAIN happen!

As for the content of the “one big beautiful bill,” here is the truth: The American people are not in touch with reality when it comes to fiscal issues.

Yes, it is good that taxes did not massively increase. Yes, we do need funding for border security. 

But — if you are worried about the fiscal health and economic health of America, we need to explode many of the myths that currently surround the American economy. 

Myths, such as the idea that there is no American middle class.

Not true. 

Myths, such as the idea that manufacturing productivity has gone down in the United States.

It has not. 

Myths, such as the idea promoted by both parties, that labor unions in the United States are the good guys, as opposed to businesses that hire people, who are the bad guys.

Axios reported that a brand new poll from the liberal Economic Policy Institute shows that labor unions are now significantly more popular than so-called big business. Labor unions have a popularity rating of about 60%, as opposed to big business, which is below 50% at this point. 

The reason why that’s not good is because it leads to a populist economic policy in which you only get to argue whether you want a government that spends a lot of money and has lower taxes or a government that spends even more money and has higher taxes.

Those are the two options for the parties. 

And that’s why you got a bill that looks like this. It’s a mess. 

There’s some good stuff in it, tax cuts, the border security funding. If I were in Congress, I would have voted for it, because the crap sandwich is still better than a massive tax increase in the middle of what currently is a pretty rocky economy.

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That said, the reason we can’t have nice things in this country is because the American people are fundamentally opposed to the things it would take for us to have actual nice things, like good government policy. 

For example, President Trump made sure that there were no significant restructurings of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. 

The Medicaid changes were on work requirements. Those would not take effect until December of 2026. No changes to Medicare. No changes to Social Security. 

All of these are systemic drivers of America’s debt. 

The reason why there were no significant restructurings of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is that President Trump realizes the political reality, which is that there is no desire from the American people to restructure entitlements.

In order to avoid blowback from the Democrats, President Trump decided not to touch any of that stuff. 

More and bigger social services mean a higher deficit. And the American people, Democrats and Republicans alike, do not want to come to grips with this. They simply do not. 

There is a gigantic series of problems with the American debt, and this bill does not radically change the trajectory of that debt. It changes around the margins. It doesn’t actually get to the core of the matter. 

Our government is a ticking debt bomb. When you talk about America’s debt bomb, let’s talk about the American debt-to-GDP ratio. Right now, we’re already at roughly 100%.

U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 118.5% by 2035 under current policies, based on the CBO projections. This would actually be higher than our post-World War III record of 106%, which is psychotic and crazy, as World War II was really, really expensive.

If the current legislation were to pass, then debt theoretically could climb even higher, maybe reaching almost 130% of GDP by 2034.

Social Security and Medicare, if there were no changes here, would still be bringing our debt-to-GDP ratio to about 120% over the course of the next ten years or so. 

So let’s be real about this. The bill makes sure your taxes don’t radically increase, which is a good thing. You want economic growth. You want to be able to grow your way out of some of this. You are going to need lower taxes and lower regulation. And those two things, lower taxes, lower regulation, that is stuff the Senate is working on.

However, to pretend that we do not have a debt bomb coming is silly. Obviously, we do. And this bill doesn’t solve that. 

The reality is that the American people are not willing to face up to what it would actually take to fix the economy for the long term. So what that means is you are likely to get a bunch of bad bills from here to eternity, or, at least, until the point at which the debt burden becomes so strong that it sinks the ship we are all sailing on together. 

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

On Thursday, President Trump took a victory lap over the House passing his “one big, beautiful bill.”

He wrote on Truth Social:

“THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country! The Bill includes MASSIVE Tax CUTS, No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, Tax Deductions when you purchase an American Made Vehicle, along with strong Border Security measures, Pay Raises for our ICE and Border Patrol Agents, Funding for the Golden Dome, “TRUMP Savings Accounts” for newborn babies, and much more! Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste. The Democrats have lost control of themselves, and are aimlessly wandering around, showing no confidence, grit, or determination. They have forgotten their landslide loss in the Presidential Election, and are warped in the past, hoping someday to revive Open Borders for the World’s criminals to be able to pour into our Country, men to be able to play in women’s sports, and transgender for everybody. They don’t realize that these things, and so many more like them, will NEVER AGAIN happen!

As for the content of the “one big beautiful bill,” here is the truth: The American people are not in touch with reality when it comes to fiscal issues.

Yes, it is good that taxes did not massively increase. Yes, we do need funding for border security. 

But — if you are worried about the fiscal health and economic health of America, we need to explode many of the myths that currently surround the American economy. 

Myths, such as the idea that there is no American middle class.

Not true. 

Myths, such as the idea that manufacturing productivity has gone down in the United States.

It has not. 

Myths, such as the idea promoted by both parties, that labor unions in the United States are the good guys, as opposed to businesses that hire people, who are the bad guys.

Axios reported that a brand new poll from the liberal Economic Policy Institute shows that labor unions are now significantly more popular than so-called big business. Labor unions have a popularity rating of about 60%, as opposed to big business, which is below 50% at this point. 

The reason why that’s not good is because it leads to a populist economic policy in which you only get to argue whether you want a government that spends a lot of money and has lower taxes or a government that spends even more money and has higher taxes.

Those are the two options for the parties. 

And that’s why you got a bill that looks like this. It’s a mess. 

There’s some good stuff in it, tax cuts, the border security funding. If I were in Congress, I would have voted for it, because the crap sandwich is still better than a massive tax increase in the middle of what currently is a pretty rocky economy.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

That said, the reason we can’t have nice things in this country is because the American people are fundamentally opposed to the things it would take for us to have actual nice things, like good government policy. 

For example, President Trump made sure that there were no significant restructurings of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security. 

The Medicaid changes were on work requirements. Those would not take effect until December of 2026. No changes to Medicare. No changes to Social Security. 

All of these are systemic drivers of America’s debt. 

The reason why there were no significant restructurings of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security is that President Trump realizes the political reality, which is that there is no desire from the American people to restructure entitlements.

In order to avoid blowback from the Democrats, President Trump decided not to touch any of that stuff. 

More and bigger social services mean a higher deficit. And the American people, Democrats and Republicans alike, do not want to come to grips with this. They simply do not. 

There is a gigantic series of problems with the American debt, and this bill does not radically change the trajectory of that debt. It changes around the margins. It doesn’t actually get to the core of the matter. 

Our government is a ticking debt bomb. When you talk about America’s debt bomb, let’s talk about the American debt-to-GDP ratio. Right now, we’re already at roughly 100%.

U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to reach 118.5% by 2035 under current policies, based on the CBO projections. This would actually be higher than our post-World War III record of 106%, which is psychotic and crazy, as World War II was really, really expensive.

If the current legislation were to pass, then debt theoretically could climb even higher, maybe reaching almost 130% of GDP by 2034.

Social Security and Medicare, if there were no changes here, would still be bringing our debt-to-GDP ratio to about 120% over the course of the next ten years or so. 

So let’s be real about this. The bill makes sure your taxes don’t radically increase, which is a good thing. You want economic growth. You want to be able to grow your way out of some of this. You are going to need lower taxes and lower regulation. And those two things, lower taxes, lower regulation, that is stuff the Senate is working on.

However, to pretend that we do not have a debt bomb coming is silly. Obviously, we do. And this bill doesn’t solve that. 

The reality is that the American people are not willing to face up to what it would actually take to fix the economy for the long term. So what that means is you are likely to get a bunch of bad bills from here to eternity, or, at least, until the point at which the debt burden becomes so strong that it sinks the ship we are all sailing on together. 

“}]] 

The post Is There A Debt Bomb About To Drop? appeared first on Spin Politico.

Iranian-backed groups and pro-Hamas Islamists celebrated the horrific murder of two Israeli embassy staff at a D.C. Jewish museum on Wednesday, hailing it as “a moment of courage” and a “heroic attack” against “the Zionist entity.”

Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were exiting an event for young Jewish professionals, where they were shot at close range by 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, who is now in custody.

The suspected attacker is reportedly not Muslim, but carried out the attack in support of Hamas, reportedly yelling “Free, free Palestine,” while shooting at the couple.

“I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” Rodriguez told police after the shooting, according to an FBI affidavit.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports that the pro-Hamas Gaza Now media outlet glorified Rodriguez on Telegram, claiming that “in a moment of courage, he decided to make his voice heard and boldly confront the killers.”

“He opened fire, killing an Israeli employee, and stood defiantly, handcuffed, to raise the banner of justice in the face of injustice,” the group said.

The Iranian-backed Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, a terrorist organization separate from Hamas that has claimed responsibility for rocket attacks against Israel, said in a statement that the attack reflected “growing global anger” toward Israel for its supposed “barbaric crimes” in Gaza and declared that Israel’s “ongoing impunity” is a “threat to international stability and peace,” MEMRI reported.

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A Telegram channel called “Unit 10000,” affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, shared a video showing the arrest of the suspect and praised the shooting as a “heroic attack” against “the Zionist entity.”

Syrian jihadi cleric Abu Yahya Al-Shami published a post on Telegram praising the shooter and urging Muslims to follow his example.

The cleric expressed fury at Muslim “indolence” in waging jihad, indignant that “infidels” such as Rodriguez are murdering Israelis while Muslims remain “inactive.”

Federal authorities are investigating the shooting as a domestic terrorism incident with possible international connections.

Rodriguez is being charged with murder of foreign officials, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of first-degree murder, according to an FBI affidavit.

The FBI is currently investigating Rodriguez’s online activities and potential ties to extremist groups, though initial reports suggest he was radicalized primarily through social media content related to the Gaza conflict.

The suspect had no prior criminal record, but had reportedly become increasingly vocal about pro-Palestinian causes on various social media platforms in recent months.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on X, “The FBI is aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect, and we hope to have updates as to the authenticity very soon.”

Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Washington Jeanine Pirro clarified that domestic terrorism charges could likely be added to Rodriguez’s case following the conclusion of the FBI investigation into the suspect.

“Violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not the act of a hero. It is the kind of case that we will vigorously pursue,” Pirro said at a Thursday press conference. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital. We are going to continue to investigate this as a hate crime and a crime of terrorism and we will add additional charges as the evidence warrants.”

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

Iranian-backed groups and pro-Hamas Islamists celebrated the horrific murder of two Israeli embassy staff at a D.C. Jewish museum on Wednesday, hailing it as “a moment of courage” and a “heroic attack” against “the Zionist entity.”

Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, were exiting an event for young Jewish professionals, where they were shot at close range by 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, who is now in custody.

The suspected attacker is reportedly not Muslim, but carried out the attack in support of Hamas, reportedly yelling “Free, free Palestine,” while shooting at the couple.

“I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed,” Rodriguez told police after the shooting, according to an FBI affidavit.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports that the pro-Hamas Gaza Now media outlet glorified Rodriguez on Telegram, claiming that “in a moment of courage, he decided to make his voice heard and boldly confront the killers.”

“He opened fire, killing an Israeli employee, and stood defiantly, handcuffed, to raise the banner of justice in the face of injustice,” the group said.

The Iranian-backed Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, a terrorist organization separate from Hamas that has claimed responsibility for rocket attacks against Israel, said in a statement that the attack reflected “growing global anger” toward Israel for its supposed “barbaric crimes” in Gaza and declared that Israel’s “ongoing impunity” is a “threat to international stability and peace,” MEMRI reported.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

A Telegram channel called “Unit 10000,” affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq, shared a video showing the arrest of the suspect and praised the shooting as a “heroic attack” against “the Zionist entity.”

Syrian jihadi cleric Abu Yahya Al-Shami published a post on Telegram praising the shooter and urging Muslims to follow his example.

The cleric expressed fury at Muslim “indolence” in waging jihad, indignant that “infidels” such as Rodriguez are murdering Israelis while Muslims remain “inactive.”

Federal authorities are investigating the shooting as a domestic terrorism incident with possible international connections.

Rodriguez is being charged with murder of foreign officials, causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and two counts of first-degree murder, according to an FBI affidavit.

The FBI is currently investigating Rodriguez’s online activities and potential ties to extremist groups, though initial reports suggest he was radicalized primarily through social media content related to the Gaza conflict.

The suspect had no prior criminal record, but had reportedly become increasingly vocal about pro-Palestinian causes on various social media platforms in recent months.

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on X, “The FBI is aware of certain writings allegedly authored by the suspect, and we hope to have updates as to the authenticity very soon.”

Interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Washington Jeanine Pirro clarified that domestic terrorism charges could likely be added to Rodriguez’s case following the conclusion of the FBI investigation into the suspect.

“Violence against anyone based on their religion is an act of cowardice. It is not the act of a hero. It is the kind of case that we will vigorously pursue,” Pirro said at a Thursday press conference. “Antisemitism will not be tolerated, especially in the nation’s capital. We are going to continue to investigate this as a hate crime and a crime of terrorism and we will add additional charges as the evidence warrants.”

“}]] 

The post ‘Heroic Attack’: Pro-Hamas Fanatics Cheer Cold-Blooded Killing Of Israelis In D.C. appeared first on Spin Politico.

President Donald Trump said on Friday that U.S. Steel will partner with the Japanese company Nippon Steel, and remain headquartered in Pittsburgh.

The partnership comes after Trump ordered a review of the possible sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel in April. Former President Joe Biden blocked the $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns and risks to U.S. supply chains. Now, the two companies will form a “planned partnership” that will result in 70,000 jobs, according to the president.

“I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh,” Trump said. “For many years, the name, ‘United States Steel’ was synonymous with Greatness, and now, it will be again. This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy.”

U.S. Steel is facing major losses, reporting a net loss of $116 million in the first quarter of 2025, but the steel industry remains an important part of the economy in America, employing over 44,000 people.

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In December, one month before Biden blocked the deal, Trump said he also opposed the sale to the foreign company, vowing to “make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again.” The White House confirmed that Trump received a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviewed the proposed deal between the American and Japanese steel companies, Bloomberg reported.

Trump reportedly spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba over the phone on Friday, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Japan’s top trade negotiator to discuss tariffs. It’s unclear if either of those conversations included talks about the U.S. Steel-Nippon deal. Trump added that he will speak at a “BIG Rally” in Pittsburgh on Friday, May 30.

“The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14 months. This is the largest Investment in the History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Trump added. “My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA. From Pennsylvania to Arkansas, and from Minnesota to Indiana, AMERICAN MADE is BACK. I will see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!”

Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

President Donald Trump said on Friday that U.S. Steel will partner with the Japanese company Nippon Steel, and remain headquartered in Pittsburgh.

The partnership comes after Trump ordered a review of the possible sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel in April. Former President Joe Biden blocked the $14.9 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns and risks to U.S. supply chains. Now, the two companies will form a “planned partnership” that will result in 70,000 jobs, according to the president.

“I am proud to announce that, after much consideration and negotiation, U.S. Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh,” Trump said. “For many years, the name, ‘United States Steel’ was synonymous with Greatness, and now, it will be again. This will be a planned partnership between United States Steel and Nippon Steel, which will create at least 70,000 jobs, and add $14 Billion Dollars to the U.S. Economy.”

U.S. Steel is facing major losses, reporting a net loss of $116 million in the first quarter of 2025, but the steel industry remains an important part of the economy in America, employing over 44,000 people.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

In December, one month before Biden blocked the deal, Trump said he also opposed the sale to the foreign company, vowing to “make U.S. Steel Strong and Great Again.” The White House confirmed that Trump received a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviewed the proposed deal between the American and Japanese steel companies, Bloomberg reported.

Trump reportedly spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba over the phone on Friday, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met with Japan’s top trade negotiator to discuss tariffs. It’s unclear if either of those conversations included talks about the U.S. Steel-Nippon deal. Trump added that he will speak at a “BIG Rally” in Pittsburgh on Friday, May 30.

“The bulk of that Investment will occur in the next 14 months. This is the largest Investment in the History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Trump added. “My Tariff Policies will ensure that Steel will once again be, forever, MADE IN AMERICA. From Pennsylvania to Arkansas, and from Minnesota to Indiana, AMERICAN MADE is BACK. I will see you all at US Steel, in Pittsburgh, on Friday, May 30th, for a BIG Rally. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!”

Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

“}]] 

The post ‘Made In America’: Trump Says U.S. Steel Will Remain In Pittsburgh, Partner With Japanese Company appeared first on Spin Politico.

Elon Musk, who has taken a step back from his role in the Trump administration, said on Friday that he came to the “obvious conclusion” that “accelerating GDP growth is essential” to saving the United States from the national debt crisis.

Musk, whose massive donations to President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2024 helped secure the White House and Congress for the GOP, said earlier this week that he would donate “a lot less in the future” in political contributions. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has also taken a step back from his role guiding the Department of Government Efficiency to focus more on his companies.

Responding to a conversation on X about the Republicans’ “Big, Beautiful Bill,” Musk revealed more of his thinking on his decision, which he confirmed was focused on pushing for “radical” GDP growth through humanoid robots.

The conversation was sparked when one X user wrote, “Given the disastrous GOP bill, the only chance the US has is explosive GDP growth. If that doesn’t happen in the next 2-3 years, we are cooked.”

Another person replied to the post, writing, “I wonder if this [is] why Elon has somewhat moved away from politics in order to accelerate GDP growth with humanoid robots. If he believes this is the only solution then this would be his most logical choice.”

Musk, who goes by the name “Kekius Maximus” on X, responded to the second post and confirmed that it accurately depicted his thinking on the issue.

“I have come to the perhaps obvious conclusion that accelerating GDP growth is essential. @DOGE has and will do great work to postpone the day of bankruptcy of America, but the profligacy of government means that only radical improvements in productivity can save our country,” Musk wrote.

Tesla is currently developing an “autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks.” Musk appears to be re-focusing on the project after spending months around the White House advising President Donald Trump and pushing to cut government spending. Last week, the Tesla CEO posted a clip of a robot dancing with human-like movements.

pic.twitter.com/NzqAmN3F5z

— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) May 13, 2025

In another post in April, Musk showed a video of a humanoid robot speeding up and slowing down while walking.

Accurate actuators accelerate automation pic.twitter.com/5H0uHxf7v2

— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) April 2, 2025

Musk believes that robots will play a major part in the global economy and have an effect on the GDP of some countries within five years. Last year, he predicted that there would be 10 billion humanoid robots on Earth by 2040, sold for $20,000 to $25,000 each. He also said in April that “robots will surpass good human surgeons within a few years and the best human surgeons within ~5 years.”

Musk’s explanation for focusing more on his companies and less on politics comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday morning that he is pushing to grow the economy “faster than the debt.” Bessent argued that Americans concerned with the massive federal debt should focus on the debt-to-GDP ratio “because we can grow our way out of this.”

“If we change the growth trajectory of the country, of the economy, then we will stabilize our finances and grow our way out of this,” Bessent added.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

Elon Musk, who has taken a step back from his role in the Trump administration, said on Friday that he came to the “obvious conclusion” that “accelerating GDP growth is essential” to saving the United States from the national debt crisis.

Musk, whose massive donations to President Donald Trump and Republicans in 2024 helped secure the White House and Congress for the GOP, said earlier this week that he would donate “a lot less in the future” in political contributions. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has also taken a step back from his role guiding the Department of Government Efficiency to focus more on his companies.

Responding to a conversation on X about the Republicans’ “Big, Beautiful Bill,” Musk revealed more of his thinking on his decision, which he confirmed was focused on pushing for “radical” GDP growth through humanoid robots.

The conversation was sparked when one X user wrote, “Given the disastrous GOP bill, the only chance the US has is explosive GDP growth. If that doesn’t happen in the next 2-3 years, we are cooked.”

Another person replied to the post, writing, “I wonder if this [is] why Elon has somewhat moved away from politics in order to accelerate GDP growth with humanoid robots. If he believes this is the only solution then this would be his most logical choice.”

Musk, who goes by the name “Kekius Maximus” on X, responded to the second post and confirmed that it accurately depicted his thinking on the issue.

“I have come to the perhaps obvious conclusion that accelerating GDP growth is essential. @DOGE has and will do great work to postpone the day of bankruptcy of America, but the profligacy of government means that only radical improvements in productivity can save our country,” Musk wrote.

Tesla is currently developing an “autonomous humanoid robot capable of performing unsafe, repetitive or boring tasks.” Musk appears to be re-focusing on the project after spending months around the White House advising President Donald Trump and pushing to cut government spending. Last week, the Tesla CEO posted a clip of a robot dancing with human-like movements.

pic.twitter.com/NzqAmN3F5z

— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) May 13, 2025

In another post in April, Musk showed a video of a humanoid robot speeding up and slowing down while walking.

Accurate actuators accelerate automation pic.twitter.com/5H0uHxf7v2

— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) April 2, 2025

Musk believes that robots will play a major part in the global economy and have an effect on the GDP of some countries within five years. Last year, he predicted that there would be 10 billion humanoid robots on Earth by 2040, sold for $20,000 to $25,000 each. He also said in April that “robots will surpass good human surgeons within a few years and the best human surgeons within ~5 years.”

Musk’s explanation for focusing more on his companies and less on politics comes after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday morning that he is pushing to grow the economy “faster than the debt.” Bessent argued that Americans concerned with the massive federal debt should focus on the debt-to-GDP ratio “because we can grow our way out of this.”

“If we change the growth trajectory of the country, of the economy, then we will stabilize our finances and grow our way out of this,” Bessent added.

“}]] 

The post Musk Reveals More About His Decision To Step Back From Politics … And It Involves Humanoid Robots appeared first on Spin Politico.

Recording artist Billy Joel has canceled all his upcoming shows and shared a health update with fans.

The 76-year-old singer shared a lengthy statement on social media, which included news of his medical diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

Per the Alzheimer’s Association, this condition occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain. This can “disrupt and damage nearby brain tissue, leading to difficulty walking, problems with thinking and reasoning, and loss of bladder control.”

The condition has been exacerbated by his recent tour schedule, and has led to issues with Joel’s hearing, vision, and balance.

The statement on Instagram said the “Piano Man” singer has been “advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”

It also said Joel is “thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health. He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”

“I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding,” Joel said in a statement.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Billy Joel (@billyjoel)

This news comes after Joel took a fall onstage at the Mohegan Sun resort in Montville, Connecticut, in February and subsequently postponed the rest of his tour. Now those rescheduled dates are being canceled indefinitely.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

At the time, Joel said only that the concert tour changes were due to a “medical condition.”

Joel is an iconic American singer-songwriter and pianist known for hits like “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl,” “Tell Her About It,” “The Longest Time,” and “New York State of Mind.” With over 160 million records sold, he’s one of the best-selling artists of all time, with a career that’s been going strong since the 1970s.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

Recording artist Billy Joel has canceled all his upcoming shows and shared a health update with fans.

The 76-year-old singer shared a lengthy statement on social media, which included news of his medical diagnosis of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH).

Per the Alzheimer’s Association, this condition occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up inside the skull and presses on the brain. This can “disrupt and damage nearby brain tissue, leading to difficulty walking, problems with thinking and reasoning, and loss of bladder control.”

The condition has been exacerbated by his recent tour schedule, and has led to issues with Joel’s hearing, vision, and balance.

The statement on Instagram said the “Piano Man” singer has been “advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”

It also said Joel is “thankful for the excellent care he is receiving and is fully committed to prioritizing his health. He is grateful for the support from fans during this time and looks forward to the day when he can once again take the stage.”

“I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for understanding,” Joel said in a statement.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Billy Joel (@billyjoel)

This news comes after Joel took a fall onstage at the Mohegan Sun resort in Montville, Connecticut, in February and subsequently postponed the rest of his tour. Now those rescheduled dates are being canceled indefinitely.

Memorial Day Sale – Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

At the time, Joel said only that the concert tour changes were due to a “medical condition.”

Joel is an iconic American singer-songwriter and pianist known for hits like “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl,” “Tell Her About It,” “The Longest Time,” and “New York State of Mind.” With over 160 million records sold, he’s one of the best-selling artists of all time, with a career that’s been going strong since the 1970s.

“}]] 

The post Billy Joel Cancels All Upcoming Concerts Following Health Diagnosis, Fall Onstage appeared first on Spin Politico.

On Thursday, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, alerting him that he is being investigated for his medical assessments of former President Joe Biden, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the accuracy, transparency, and credibility of your medical assessments of former President Joe Biden given his recent acknowledgment of an advanced physical condition and a publicly apparent cognitive decline,” Comer wrote, noting that the Committee had first written to O’Connor on July 7, 2024, 10 days after the Trump-Biden debate in which Biden had shown clear signs of a mental decline.

“Biden White House officials stalled all attempts by the Committee to obtain your testimony,” Comer recalled. “In light of mounting evidence that confirms the Committee’s initial observation that President Biden was significantly unwell while serving in office, the Committee seeks information to ensure accurate information was provided to the American people and your health reports were not subject to any improper influence.”

Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday if the White House would further scrutinize O’Connor.

.@MaryMargOlohan: “Is there interest in further scrutiny of Kevin O’Connor, the former president’s physician?”@PressSec: “[President Trump] wanted to extend his warmest wishes to the former president … as for any further action, I’ll let the President speak on that first.” pic.twitter.com/XTogdSMjSQ

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) May 19, 2025

In early July 2024, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, “Dr. O’Connor is a world class medical professional” whose “unique expertise is sought across the medical community, in which he is respected for his candor, attention to detail, and work ethic,” The Washington Post reported.

O’Connor, an osteopathic physician who became Biden’s doctor in 2009, said in February 2024 that Biden was “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”

The committee is also investigating whether O’Connor’s “financial relationship with the Biden family affected [his] assessment” of the former president’s fitness to serve. 

“Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee seeks to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people,” Comer warned, mentioning Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden that had depicted Biden as deteriorating mentally.

Looking forward, Comer stated, “The Committee seeks information about your assessment of and relationship with former President Biden to explore whether the time has come for Congress to revisit potential legislation to address the oversight of presidents’ fitness to serve pursuant to its authority under Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.”

In August 2020, Biden, then 77, was asked whether he had taken a cognitive test. “Why the hell would I take a test?” he answered testily.

“We request you make yourself available for a transcribed interview on June 25, 2025,” Comer concluded.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

On Thursday, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to former White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor, alerting him that he is being investigated for his medical assessments of former President Joe Biden, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer that has spread to his bones.

“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating the accuracy, transparency, and credibility of your medical assessments of former President Joe Biden given his recent acknowledgment of an advanced physical condition and a publicly apparent cognitive decline,” Comer wrote, noting that the Committee had first written to O’Connor on July 7, 2024, 10 days after the Trump-Biden debate in which Biden had shown clear signs of a mental decline.

“Biden White House officials stalled all attempts by the Committee to obtain your testimony,” Comer recalled. “In light of mounting evidence that confirms the Committee’s initial observation that President Biden was significantly unwell while serving in office, the Committee seeks information to ensure accurate information was provided to the American people and your health reports were not subject to any improper influence.”

Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday if the White House would further scrutinize O’Connor.

.@MaryMargOlohan: “Is there interest in further scrutiny of Kevin O’Connor, the former president’s physician?”@PressSec: “[President Trump] wanted to extend his warmest wishes to the former president … as for any further action, I’ll let the President speak on that first.” pic.twitter.com/XTogdSMjSQ

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) May 19, 2025

In early July 2024, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, “Dr. O’Connor is a world class medical professional” whose “unique expertise is sought across the medical community, in which he is respected for his candor, attention to detail, and work ethic,” The Washington Post reported.

O’Connor, an osteopathic physician who became Biden’s doctor in 2009, said in February 2024 that Biden was “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male, who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency.”

The committee is also investigating whether O’Connor’s “financial relationship with the Biden family affected [his] assessment” of the former president’s fitness to serve. 

“Given your connections with the Biden family, the Committee seeks to understand if you contributed to an effort to hide former President Biden’s fitness to serve from the American people,” Comer warned, mentioning Special Counsel Robert Hur’s interview with Biden that had depicted Biden as deteriorating mentally.

Looking forward, Comer stated, “The Committee seeks information about your assessment of and relationship with former President Biden to explore whether the time has come for Congress to revisit potential legislation to address the oversight of presidents’ fitness to serve pursuant to its authority under Section 4 of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.”

In August 2020, Biden, then 77, was asked whether he had taken a cognitive test. “Why the hell would I take a test?” he answered testily.

“We request you make yourself available for a transcribed interview on June 25, 2025,” Comer concluded.

“}]] 

The post House GOP Investigating Biden’s Doc, Who Said He Was ‘Fit’ To ‘Execute The Duties Of The Presidency’ appeared first on Spin Politico.